Equatorial waves substantially modulate currents in the tropical Indian Ocean

Abstract

The Indian Ocean is a key component of the global thermohaline conveyor, linking global mass and heat exchanges, and has contributed to a quarter of the global oceanic heat uptake over the last two decades, fundamentally affecting weather and climate globally and regionally, especially its rim countries hosting one-third of the world’s population. To date, our knowledge of the complex Indian Ocean circulation that reverses with the monsoon is the poorest among the three ocean basins (Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian).