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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.18, 145-150
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
148
Figure 4 Monthly distribution of variance (
℃
) of SST at the
study locations for the period 1961 to 2009
Figure
7
Annual mean SSH anomalies (cm) from altimetry for
Muscat (red line) and for Masirah (blue line)
Figure 5 Modeled SST (solid line) versus observed SST (dots) off Muscat for the period 1961 to 2009
Figure 6 Modeled SST (solid line) versus observed SST (dots) off Masirah for the period 1961 to 2009
in the SST were better simulated off Muscat where the
standard deviation is relatively smaller. The model
simulation shows very small departures from the
cooling phase off Masirah in certain years. The impact
of long-term warming on sea level was examined by
comparing SSTA with SSHA from altimetry for the
period 1993 to 2009. The SSHA (Figure 7) exhibited,
in general, a continued rising trend between 1993 and
2009 following the similar trend in SSTA. The sea
level variability occurred simultaneously in the Sea of
Oman and in the western Arabian Sea along the east
coast of Oman during the above period. However, the
variability is larger in the Sea of Oman compared to
the western Arabian Sea. While the sea level was
gradually rising, it also exhibited an embedded 6-year
cycle of rise and fall in western Arabian Sea off
Masirah, but such signal was not clear in Sea of Oman.
4 Discussion
The SSTA off Muscat and Masirah Island showed
evidence for differential heating and cooling patterns
during the study period. During summer (April to
October), the SSTA off Muscat showed that the SST is
about 3
℃
above the annual mean and then drops to
approximately 4
℃
below the annual mean during the
peak winter (Jan-March). Thus, the SSTA distribution
off Muscat showed 6 months of warming phase and 6
months of a cooling phase. In contrast, the Masirah
region showed shorter warming and cooling phases
with cooling phase off Masirah Island beginning in
late December and continues though March. The
negative SSTA was about 3
℃
below the annual mean
during this period. A short warming phase begins in
April and lasts until early June and negative SSTA
from mid-June till early September. The second