Impact of a tropical cyclone on coastal upwelling processes

A three-dimensional numerical model is described to study the response of a coastal ocean excited by a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. The numerical experiments have been carried out using the model to understand the dynamics and thermodynamics of the ocean due to different cyclonic systems approaching in different directions. In the first experiment, the model is used to simulate the vertical thermal structure of the ocean as a response of passage of the less intensified 1997 cyclone, which was skirting the east coast of India before crossing the Bangladesh coast. The simulations are compared with the buoy data available during the storm period. In the next experiment, it is considered an idealized cyclone with hurricane winds moving normal to the east coast of India crossing between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada to evolve thermal structure and currents of the ocean. A net decrease of the SST of 6-7degreesC is simulated when the severe cyclonic storm moved over the coastal ocean.