Monsoon Variability

• Accomplishments
  • Awards & Recognitions
  • Timeline
  • Systems
  • Rockets
  • Solar & Lunar Studies
  • Astronomy
  • Ocean & Environment
    • Deep-Sea Search
    • Meteorology
    • Improved Forecasts
    • Monsoon Variability
    • Mine Countermeasures
    • Depicting El Nino
    • Polar Ozone
    • Gulf War Illness
    • Seafloor Mapping
    • Digital Moving Maps
  • Materials
  • 85 Years of Innovation
• Research
• Accept the Challenge
• About NRL
• Doing Business
• Public Affairs & Media
• Field Sites
• Visitor Info
• Contact NRL

The Navy's operational atmospheric surface winds in the Arabian Sea were validated through a collaborative project between NRL and ONR-funded scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). The daily Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) winds from Fleet Numerical Meteorology Oceanography Center (FNMOC) were archived at NRL and used to examine the variability of the Indian Ocean monsoon surface winds on submonthly time scales. Prior to this study, the monthly averages of ship wind observations provided the state-of-the-art depiction of Indian Ocean surface winds. The figure reveals the rich structure of the daily winds relative to the very smooth monthly averages.