Seasonal Variability in Ocean Heat Content and Heat Flux in the Arabian Gulf

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the seasonal variability in surface heat content in the Arabian Gulf (AG) based on hydrographic data. The ocean heat content (OHC) was initially estimated from surface to maximum depth (75 m) to show the seasonal variability, where the seasonal temperature reaches to that depth. Then OHC was re-estimated from the surface to a depth of 35 m, which represents the average depth of AG, to obtain accurate horizontal distributions. Results showed that during winter, the northern part of AG experiences the lowest OHC compared to the southeastern part. The monthly spatial average implies that the highest OHC of AG water was in September and October, while the lowest heat content was found in February and March. However, the OHC horizontal distributions were almost the same for the entire gulf during summer. In general, there was increasing in the OHC in the southeast region of the gulf. OHC anomalies are concentrated in the northern region of the AG, while the southeastern part near the Strait of Hormuz has the lowest values. Regarding heat flux, the highest heat gains were during spring, while the highest loss was in autumn. The water exchange between the AG and the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz may play a major role in the seasonal variability in OHC.