A Road Map to IndOOS-2: Better Observations of the Rapidly Warming Indian Ocean

L. M. Beal Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

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J. Vialard Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, Université Paris 06)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN, LOCEAN Laboratory, IPSL, Paris, France

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M. K. Roxy Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra, India

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J. Li International CLIVAR Project Office, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao, China

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M. Andres Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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H. Annamalai International Pacific Research Center, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

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M. Feng Centre for Southern Hemisphere Oceans Research, Hobart, Tasmania, and Oceans and Atmosphere, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

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W. Han Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

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R. Hood University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, Maryland

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T. Lee NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

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M. Lengaigne Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, Université Paris 06)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN, LOCEAN Laboratory, IPSL, Paris, France

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R. Lumpkin NOAA/Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, Florida

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Y. Masumoto The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, and Application Laboratory, JAMSTEC, Yokohama, Japan

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M. J. McPhaden NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington

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M. Ravichandran National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Goa, India

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T. Shinoda Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Texas

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B. M. Sloyan Centre for Southern Hemisphere Oceans Research, Hobart, Tasmania, and Oceans and Atmosphere, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

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P. G. Strutton Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

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A. C. Subramanian Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

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T. Tozuka The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

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C. C. Ummenhofer Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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A. S. Unnikrishnan National Institute of Oceanography, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Goa, India

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J. Wiggert University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

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L. Yu Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

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L. Cheng International Center for Climate and Environment Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China

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D. G. Desbruyères Ifremer, University of Brest, CNRS, IRD, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, IUEM, Brest, France

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V. Parvathi Center for Prototype Climate Modeling, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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Abstract

The Indian Ocean Observing System (IndOOS), established in 2006, is a multinational network of sustained oceanic measurements that underpin understanding and forecasting of weather and climate for the Indian Ocean region and beyond. Almost one-third of humanity lives around the Indian Ocean, many in countries dependent on fisheries and rain-fed agriculture that are vulnerable to climate variability and extremes. The Indian Ocean alone has absorbed a quarter of the global oceanic heat uptake over the last two decades and the fate of this heat and its impact on future change is unknown. Climate models project accelerating sea level rise, more frequent extremes in monsoon rainfall, and decreasing oceanic productivity. In view of these new scientific challenges, a 3-yr international review of the IndOOS by more than 60 scientific experts now highlights the need for an enhanced observing network that can better meet societal challenges, and provide more reliable forecasts. Here we present core findings from this review, including the need for 1) chemical, biological, and ecosystem measurements alongside physical parameters; 2) expansion into the western tropics to improve understanding of the monsoon circulation; 3) better-resolved upper ocean processes to improve understanding of air–sea coupling and yield better subseasonal to seasonal predictions; and 4) expansion into key coastal regions and the deep ocean to better constrain the basinwide energy budget. These goals will require new agreements and partnerships with and among Indian Ocean rim countries, creating opportunities for them to enhance their monitoring and forecasting capacity as part of IndOOS-2.

Corresponding author: J. Vialard, jerome.vialard@ird.fr

Abstract

The Indian Ocean Observing System (IndOOS), established in 2006, is a multinational network of sustained oceanic measurements that underpin understanding and forecasting of weather and climate for the Indian Ocean region and beyond. Almost one-third of humanity lives around the Indian Ocean, many in countries dependent on fisheries and rain-fed agriculture that are vulnerable to climate variability and extremes. The Indian Ocean alone has absorbed a quarter of the global oceanic heat uptake over the last two decades and the fate of this heat and its impact on future change is unknown. Climate models project accelerating sea level rise, more frequent extremes in monsoon rainfall, and decreasing oceanic productivity. In view of these new scientific challenges, a 3-yr international review of the IndOOS by more than 60 scientific experts now highlights the need for an enhanced observing network that can better meet societal challenges, and provide more reliable forecasts. Here we present core findings from this review, including the need for 1) chemical, biological, and ecosystem measurements alongside physical parameters; 2) expansion into the western tropics to improve understanding of the monsoon circulation; 3) better-resolved upper ocean processes to improve understanding of air–sea coupling and yield better subseasonal to seasonal predictions; and 4) expansion into key coastal regions and the deep ocean to better constrain the basinwide energy budget. These goals will require new agreements and partnerships with and among Indian Ocean rim countries, creating opportunities for them to enhance their monitoring and forecasting capacity as part of IndOOS-2.

Corresponding author: J. Vialard, jerome.vialard@ird.fr

While the Indian Ocean is the smallest of the four major oceanic basins, close to one-third of humankind lives in the 22 countries that border its rim. Many of these countries have developing or emerging economies, or are island states, and are vulnerable to extreme weather events, to changes in monsoon cycles, and to climate variations and climate change.

Many Indian Ocean rim countries depend on rain-fed agriculture. In India, for example, 60% of jobs are in agriculture, which accounts for 20% of GDP, and there is a tight link between grain production and monsoon rainfall (Gadgil and Gadgil 2006). Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures (SST) influence monsoon rainfall over India (Ashok et al. 2001; Annamalai et al. 2005a), floods and droughts over Indonesia, Africa, and Australia (Saji et al. 1999; Webster et al. 1999; Reason 2001; Ashok et al. 2003; Yamagata et al. 2004;