The Indian Ocean and its Role in the Global Climate System

1st Edition - April 18, 2024
Editors: Caroline C. Ummenhofer, Raleigh R. Hood
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 2 6 9 8 - 8
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 3 2 8 6 - 6

The Indian Ocean and its Role in the Global Climate System provides an overview of our contemporary understanding of the Indian Ocean (geology, atmosphere, ocean, hydrology, biogeo… Read more

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The Indian Ocean and its Role in the Global Climate System provides an overview of our contemporary understanding of the Indian Ocean (geology, atmosphere, ocean, hydrology, biogeochemistry) and its role in the climate system. It describes the monsoon systems, Indian Ocean circulation and connections with other ocean basins. Climatic phenomena in the Indian Ocean are detailed across a range of timescales (seasonal, interannual to multi-decadal). Biogeochemical and ecosystem variability is also described. The book will provide a summary of different tools (e.g., observations, modeling, paleoclimate records) that are used for understanding Indian Ocean variability and trends. Recent trends and future projections of the Indian Ocean, including warming, extreme events, ocean acidification and deoxygenation will be detailed. The Indian Ocean is unique and different from other tropical ocean basins due to its geography. It is traditionally under-observed and understudied, yet plays a fundamental role for regional and global climate. The vagaries of the Asian monsoon affect over a billion people and a third of the global population live in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean. It is also particularly vulnerable to climate change, with robust warming and trends in heat and freshwater observed in recent decades. Advances have recently been made in our understanding of the Indian Ocean’s circulation, interactions with adjacent ocean basins, and its role in regional and global climate. Nonetheless, significant gaps remain in understanding, observing, modeling, and predicting Indian Ocean variability and change across a range of timescales. As such, this book is the perfect compendium to any researcher, student, teacher/lecturer in the fields of oceanography, atmospheric science, paleoclimate, environmental science, meteorology and geology, as well as policy managers and water resource managers.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Contributors
Preface
Glossary
Acronyms
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Indian Ocean
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Research history
3 Geology
4 Oceanography
5 Atmosphere
6 Hydrology and hydrography
7 Biogeochemistry, productivity, and fisheries
8 Summary and conclusions
9 Educational resources
References
Chapter 2 A brief historical overview of the maritime Indian Ocean World (ancient times to 1950)
Abstract
Acknowledgments
1 Monsoon winds, fishing, and coastwise trade: The earliest maritime peoples of the Indian Ocean rim
2 Arab traders and the spread of Islamic culture by sea (c. 800–1400 CE)
3 The Chola kingdom: Maritime power of South Asia (9th–12th centuries CE)
4 Indian Ocean world seaborn trade from China (13th–15th centuries CE): Merchants of the Song and Ming dynasties
5 Sea change: Arrival of the Portuguese, armed trade, and colonization (c. 1498–1600)
6 Advent of the Dutch: Dutch East India Company ambitions and activities in the Indian Ocean world (c. 1600–1800)
7 The English East India company in the Indian Ocean world (c. 1600–1858)
8 Arrival of the French (18th–20th centuries)
9 Slave trading in the Indian Ocean
10 Whaling voyages in the Indian Ocean (c. 1785–1920)
11 The Indian Ocean world during the late colonial era (1860–1950)
12 Conclusion
13 Educational resources
References
Chapter 3 Past, present, and future of the South Asian monsoon
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Monsoon dynamics
3 Drivers of South Asian monsoon variability
4 Past variability in the South Asian monsoon
5 Changes in the South Asian monsoon in a warming world
6 Seasonal forecasting
7 Conclusions
8 Educational resources
References
Chapter 4 Intraseasonal variability in the Indian Ocean region
Abstract
1 Introduction to intraseasonal ocean-atmosphere coupling
2 The intraseasonal oscillation
3 Intraseasonal oceanic variability
4 Ocean feedbacks to the atmosphere
5 ISV and the maritime continent prediction barrier
6 Conclusions
7 Educational resources
References
Chapter 5 Climate phenomena of the Indian Ocean
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 IOD and its flavors
3 Indian Ocean Basin mode and interbasin connections
4 Indian Ocean subtropical dipole
5 Ningaloo Niño/Niña
6 Predictability and prediction of IOD, Indian Ocean subtropical dipole, and Ningaloo Niño
7 Conclusions
8 Educational resources
Author contributions
References
Chapter 6 Extreme events in the Indian Ocean: Marine heatwaves, cyclones, and tsunamis
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Marine heatwaves
3 Tropical cyclones
4 Tsunami
5 Conclusions
6 Educational resources
References
Chapter 7 Impacts of the Indian Ocean on regional and global climate
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Impacts on regional (hydro)climate
3 Indian Ocean-ENSO interactions
4 The effect of long-term warming of the Indian Ocean on regional and global climate
5 Conclusions
6 Educational resources
References
Chapter 8 Indian Ocean circulation
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Monsoon circulation
3 Equatorial regime
4 Southern hemisphere circulation
5 Overturning circulations
6 Conclusions
7 Educational resources
References
Chapter 9 Oceanic basin connections
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 The Indonesian Throughflow
3 Southeastern boundary exchanges
4 The Agulhas leakage
5 Southern Ocean water mass exchanges
6 Predicted changes to Interbasin boundary current connections
7 Conclusions
8 Educational resources
References
Chapter 10 Decadal variability of the Indian Ocean and its predictability
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Observational datasets
3 Internal decadal climate variability
4 Externally forced signals
5 Predictability
6 Conclusions
7 Educational resources
References
Chapter 11 Indian Ocean primary productivity and fisheries variability
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Indian Ocean productivity: Variability and trends
3 Trends in coastal fisheries
4 Trends in tuna fisheries
5 Conclusion
6 Educational resources
References
Chapter 12 Oxygen, carbon, and pH variability in the Indian Ocean
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Oxygen concentrations and the biogeochemical impacts of the OMZs
3 Carbon concentrations and fluxes
4 Summary and conclusions
5 Educational resources
References
Chapter 13 Nutrient, phytoplankton, and zooplankton variability in the Indian Ocean
Abstract
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
2 Nutrient, phytoplankton and zooplankton variability
3 Summary and conclusions
4 Educational resources
Author contributions
References
Chapter 14 Air-sea exchange and its impacts on biogeochemistry in the Indian Ocean
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Greenhouse gases
3 Reactive gases
4 Aerosols
5 Conclusions and outlook
6 Educational resources
References
Chapter 15 Microbial ecology of the Indian Ocean
Abstract
1 Microbial diversity in the Indian Ocean
2 Microbial diversity in the Indian Ocean
3 Functional diversity of microbes in the Indian Ocean
4 Microbial feedback loops impacting OMZ intensity and expansion
5 Conclusions and outlook
6 Educational resources
References
Chapter 16 Physical and biogeochemical characteristics of the Indian Ocean marginal seas
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 The Andaman Sea
3 The Arabian/Persian Gulf
4 The Gulf of Aden
5 The Red Sea
6 The Sea of Oman
7 Conclusions
8 Educational resources
References
Chapter 17 The Indian Ocean Observing System (IndOOS)
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Historical background
3 IndOOS design
4 Scientific highlights
5 Challenges and future directions
6 Educational resources
References
Chapter 18 Modeling the Indian Ocean
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Ocean circulation and upper-ocean structure
3 Climate variability
4 Regional coupled climate modeling
5 Biogeochemistry
6 Conclusions and discussion
7 Educational resources
References
Chapter 19 Paleoclimate evidence of Indian Ocean variability across a range of timescales
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Interannual to decadal variability
3 Centennial to millennial variability
4 Orbital and glacial-interglacial variability
5 Conclusions
6 Educational resources
References
Chapter 20 Future projections for the tropical Indian Ocean
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Projected changes in sea surface temperature, Indian Ocean Dipole, and heat content
3 Projected changes in marine heatwaves
4 Projected changes in the biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean
5 Summary and discussion
6 Educational resources
Author contributions
References
Index

Caroline C. Ummenhofer

Dr. Caroline Ummenhofer received a Joint Honours B.Sc. in Marine Biology and Oceanography from University of Wales in the UK, followed by a PhD in Applied Mathematics, specializing in climate modeling, from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Since 2012, she holds a faculty position in the Physical Oceanography Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA. Dr. Ummenhofer has won several awards, including the Uwe Radok Award by the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, the Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation by the Australian Museum, and the James B. Macelwane Medal by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Her research addresses the hydrological cycle with a focus on the Indian Ocean, its variability on seasonal to multi-decadal timescales and its role for global and regional climate, including extreme events such as droughts and floods. Dr. Ummenhofer is a fellow of the AGU, was co-chair of the US CLIVAR Process Study and Model Improvement Panel, member of the US CLIVAR Scientific Steering Committee, and served on various other panels, including the CLIVAR Indian Ocean Regional Panel and the Pacific Decadal Variability Working Group.

Affiliations and expertise

Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA, USA

Raleigh R. Hood

Dr. Raleigh Hood graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Oceanography from the University of Washington, Washington State, USA, and received his Ph.D. in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, USA. His Ph.D. thesis examined the impact of coastal upwelling on phytoplankton community composition and productivity off northern California, USA. Dr. Hood did his postdoctoral research at Oregon State University and the University of Miami with the latter focused on modeling biogeochemical variability in the North Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. He is currently a full professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science where he has been a faculty member since 1995. Dr. Hood has authored and co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed research papers and also numerous popular articles focusing on marine biogeochemical and ecological processes over a wide range of spatial scales. Dr. Hood has been involved in research and program development in the Indian Ocean for more than 25 years. These efforts include co-development of one of the first coupled physical-biogeochemical models of the Indian Ocean, and the formation of the Sustained Indian Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (SIBER) Program and the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2). Dr. Hood was chair of the SIBER Steering Committee from 2010 to 2019 and he is currently a member of the IIOE-2 Core Group / Steering Committee as co-chair of the Science and Research Working Group. Dr. Hood was the lead author of the SIBER and IIOE-2 Science Plans. He was also a member of the US Ocean Carbon Biogeochemistry Program Steering Committee from 2019 to 2021.

Affiliations and expertise

Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD, USA

Life Sciences

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Social Sciences & Humanities

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