@article{fdi:010063900,
  title = {{S}alinity measurements collected by fishermen reveal a "river in the sea" flowing along the eastern coast of {I}ndia},
  author = {{C}haitanya, {A}. {V}. {S}. and {L}engaigne, {M}atthieu and {V}ialard, {J}{\'e}r{\^o}me and {G}opalakrishna, {V}. {V}. and {D}urand, {F}abien and {K}ranthikumar, {C}. and {A}mritash, {S}. and {S}uneel, {V}. and {P}apa, {F}abrice and {R}avichandran, {M}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{B}eing the only tropical ocean bounded by a continent to the north, the {I}ndian {O}cean is home to the most powerful monsoon system on {E}arth. {M}onsoonal rains and winds induce huge river discharges and strong coastal currents in the northern {B}ay of {B}engal. {T}o date, the paucity of salinity data has prevented a thorough description of the spreading of this freshwater into the bay. {T}he potential impact of the salinity on cyclones and regional climate in the {B}ay of {B}engal is, however, a strong incentive for a better description of the water cycle in this region. {S}ince {M}ay 2005, the {N}ational {I}nstitute of {O}ceanography conducts a program in which fishermen collect seawater samples in knee-deep water at eight stations along the {I}ndian coastline every 5 days. {C}omparison with open-ocean samples shows that this cost-effective sampling strategy is representative of offshore salinity evolution. {T}his new dataset reveals a salinity drop exceeding 10 g kg(-1) in the northern part of the bay at the end of the summer monsoon. {T}his freshening signal propagates southward in a narrow (similar to 100 km wide) strip along the eastern coast of {I}ndia, and reaches its southern tip after 2.5 months. {S}atellite-derived alongshore-current data shows that the southward propagation of this "river in the sea" is consistent with transport by seasonal coastal currents, while other processes are responsible for the ensuing erosion of this coastal freshening. {T}his simple procedure of coastal seawater samples collection could further be used to monitor phytoplankton concentration, bacterial content, and isotopic composition of seawater along the {I}ndian coastline.},
  keywords = {{INDE} ; {GOLFE} {DU} {BENGALE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{B}ulletin of the {A}merican {M}eteorological {S}ociety},
  volume = {95},
  numero = {12},
  pages = {1897--1908},
  ISSN = {0003-0007},
  year = {2014},
  DOI = {10.1175/bams-d-12-00243.1},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010063900},
}