Seasonal mixed layer temperature and salt balances in the Banda Sea observed by an Argo float

Abstract

For the first time, the processes controlling the variations of mixed layer temperature (MLT) and salinity (MLS) in the Banda Sea are quantified using data from a single Argo float in combination with satellite and reanalysis outputs from August 2017 to August 2019. This augments previous studies that utilized ocean model data only. We document the presence of a barrier layer and quantify the roles of air-sea heat and mass exchanges, horizontal advection, and vertical entrainment in the seasonal variability of MLT and MLS. We find that heat gains and losses at the air-sea interface are the main contributor to the warming and cooling of the MLT. Seasonal changes in MLS are driven by advection of low salinity water rather than freshwater fluxes from precipitation and evaporation. This is particularly the case during the late northwest and monsoon transition period from February to April when low salinity is advected eastward from the Java Sea into the Banda Sea.