Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The northern Bay of Bengal plays a crucial role in regional climate, human activities, and ecological diversity, but it is unstudied by oceanographers. In 2022, the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute began to address this important problem by initiating a project to collect in situ data off the coast of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. We report the initial results from winter 2022–23 here. High-resolution spatial measurements of ocean temperature, salinity, and horizontal velocities were made using modern sensors adapted to local boats. During this period, the coastal seas display sharp salinity-dominated density fronts, prominent temperature inversions, and partially compensated water masses. We hypothesize that these characteristics result from the stirring and mixing of cold and fresh water from local rivers, and warm and salty water from the central Bay of Bengal, creating distinct water masses on the Bangladeshi shelf. Future work aims to continue to modernize the capabilities of Bangladeshi oceanography through international collaborations, emphasizing state-of-the-art instrumentation, experimental design, and data analysis. These activities combine in a novel “cost-conscious oceanography” approach, pointing toward an innovative solution for the Global South to address data gaps in uncharted coastal seas.
Source: Oceanography
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $500
Funder: Office of Naval Research
Awards: G3481592811, G4504108201, G8876996369
OpenAlex ID: W4416623972