@article{fdi:010061752,
  title = {{T}he upper {B}ay of {B}engal salinity structure in a high-resolution model},
  author = {{B}enshila, {R}. and {D}urand, {F}abien and {M}asson, {S}. and {B}ourdalle-{B}adie, {R}. and {M}ontegut, {C}. {D}. and {P}apa, {F}abrice and {M}adec, {G}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{S}alinity in the {B}ay of {B}engal is highly heterogeneous, with extremely fresh waters found at the surface in the {N}orthern part of the basin, and saltier waters at subsurface as well as to the south. {T}his paper investigates the seasonal structure of sea surface salinity of the {B}ay in a regional high-resolution model forced by {ERA}-{I}nterim reanalysis and various precipitation products. {S}urface circulation is believed to drive the spreading of northern {B}ay of {B}engal fresh waters to the rest of the {I}ndian {O}cean. {W}e first present a series of experiments to infer the sensitivity of modeled circulation to various numerical choices. {S}urface circulation is found to be sensitive to the horizontal resolution of the model, with the 1/12 degrees version appearing much more realistic than the 1/4 degrees version. {T}he sidewall boundary condition is also drastically influencing the characteristics of the western boundary current simulated. {W}e then investigate the sensitivity of the salinity response to the various precipitation products. {W}e observe that {ERA}-{I}nterim excess precipitation induces a fresh bias in the surface salinity response. {S}paceborne precipitation products are more satisfactory. {W}e then identify the pathways of the northern {B}ay freshwater mass, based on passive tracers experiments. {O}ur model suggests that over timescales of a few months, vertical exchanges between the upper fresh layer and the underlying saltier layer appear to be the main export pathway for the freshwater. {T}he horizontal circulation within the mixed layer also acts to convey fresh waters out of the {B}ay at these timescales, but in a lesser quantity compared to the vertical export. {B}eyond its intrinsic interest for the understanding of {B}ay of {B}engal physics, this study highlights the need for a careful design of any realistic numerical model, in three key aspects: the choice of the resolution of the model, the choice of the sub-grid scale parameterizations, and the choice of the forcing fluxes.},
  keywords = {{S}alinity ; {B}ay of {B}engal ; {E}xport of fresh water plume ; {H}igh resolution ; ocean modeling ; {OCEAN} {INDIEN} ; {GOLFE} {DU} {BENGALE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{O}cean {M}odelling},
  volume = {74},
  numero = {},
  pages = {36--52},
  ISSN = {1463-5003},
  year = {2014},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.ocemod.2013.12.001},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010061752},
}