Long-term trend and variability of ocean heat content in the Indonesian Maritime Continent
Subekti Mujiasih(1)(2),Mochamad Furqon Azis Ismail(1),Abdul Basit(1),Herlina Ika Ratnawati(1), Rahaden Bagas Hatmaja(1), Johanis Dominggus Lekalette(1)

(1) Research Center for Climate and Atmosphere, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Dr. Djunjunan No. 133 Bandung 40173, West Java, Indonesia

(2) GeoHydrodynamics and Environment Research (GHER), Department of Astrophysics, Geophysics and Oceanography (AGO), University of Liege, Sart-Tilman B5a, 4000 Liege, Belgium

Abstract

The evolution of 64 years of the ocean heat content for the upper 300 meters (OHC300) in the Indonesian Maritime Continent, viz the Banda Sea, the Sulu Sea, the Java Sea, and the Karimata Strait, was investigated to understand its long-term trend variability and its association with El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The result showed a positive trend in all basins except the Banda Sea. The most significant rise was the Sulu Sea. The fluctuation of OHC300 in the Java Sea and the Karimata Strait followed the trend of IOD and ENSO, in which the OHC300 increased significantly during El Nino and positive IOD. In contrast, OHC300 in the Banda Sea and the Sulu Sea changed conversely compared to the IOD and ENSO.

Keywords: Ocean heat content 300 meters, Banda Sea, Sulu Sea, Java Sea, Karimata Strait

Topic: Ocean Sciences