Water Masses Stratification of Timor and Arafura Seas at The First Transitional Season in 2010
Nida El-Islamy Q., Ivonne M. Radjawane, and Ayi Tarya

Oceanography Department, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung

Abstract

The Timor and Arafura Seas are part of the Eastern Archipelago waters which directly meet the Indian Ocean and make the Timor Sea as the largest exit of Indonesian Throughflow. The aims of this research are to study the structure of stratification, types and contribution of water masses in the Timor and Arafura Seas. This study used temperature, salinity, and density data from Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) measurements in the 2010 Arafura and Timor Seas Ecosystem Action Program (ATSEA). The water masses stratification was determined by calculating the temperature and salinity gradient per one meter depth, the type of water masses was determined by the T-S diagrams, and the contribution of each type of water masses is known from the Optimum Multi Parameter (OMP) analysis. The results showed that there are three water masses layers in the Timor Sea, namely the mixed layer, thermocline and halocline, and the deep layer; and two layers in the Arafura Sea are the mixed layer and the thermocline and halocline. There are 6 types of water masses identified in the Timor Sea with its contributions as follows; in the mixed layer there are Halmahera – Misool Water (HMW) contributing around 40 – 70% and Seram – Banda Water (SBW) contributing around 50 – 60%; in the thermocline layer there are Southern Subtropical Lower Water (SSLW) contributing around 30 – 40% and Indonesian Upper Water (IUW) contributing around 40 – 50%, and in the deep layer there are Austral Asian Intermediate Water (AAMW) contributing around 100% and Antartic Intermediate Water (AAIW) contributing around 20 – 70%. In the Arafura Sea, 2 types of water masses were identified with its contribution as follows; Halmahera – Misool Water (HMW) contributing around 30 – 50% and Seram – Banda Water (SBW) contributing around 100%.

Keywords: Stratification; water masses; ATSEA 2010; Timor Sea; Arafura Sea.

Topic: Coastal and Ocean Dynamics

Link: https://ifory.id/abstract-plain/dYbwGkNxDLPq

Web Format | Corresponding Author (Nida El-Islamy Qomaruddin)