Sustained freshening of Arabian Sea High Salinity Water induced by extreme precipitation events

Prasad G. Thoppil ()
Additional contact information
Prasad G. Thoppil: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract In the northern Arabian Sea, high salinity levels are primarily sustained by year-round evaporation, driving the convective formation of Arabian Sea High Salinity Water (ASHSW) during the winter monsoon (November–February). Although precipitation has largely been discounted as a critical controlling mechanism for winter convection, recent years have seen a notable increase in extreme cyclones over the Arabian Sea, particularly in post-monsoon cyclones (September–December) since 2014. However, the extent to which these cyclone-induced freshwater inputs disrupt the region’s freshwater balance (evaporation – precipitation) and impact ASHSW formation remains unclear. Here, we present observational evidence supported by a suite of model simulation experiments, revealing a significant weakening in ASHSW formation triggered and sustained by extreme tropical cyclones. The addition of freshwater reduces the density of high-salinity water, augmenting stratification and disrupting the convective sinking process, ultimately limiting the depth of convective mixing. These findings underscore the profound implications of extreme cyclone-induced freshwater inputs.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58950-9 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58950-9

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58950-9

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().