[1] A new observational record of upper-ocean currents at 15°N on the western coast of India is dominated by intraseasonal (55 -110 day) variations of alongshore currents, whereas sea level at the same location has a clear seasonal signal. These observations can be interpreted within the framework of linear wave theory. At 15°N, the minimum period for planetary waves is $90 day, meaning that intraseasonal energy is largely trapped at the coast in the form of poleward-propagating Kelvin waves, while lower-frequency signals associated with the annual cycle can radiate offshore as planetary waves. This dynamical difference results in a steeper offshore slope of sea level at intraseasonal timescale, and thus stronger geostrophic alongshore currents. A consequence is that the alongshore currents are in-phase with intraseasonally-filtered sea level near the coast, and a gridded satellite product is shown to reproduce the current variations reasonably well. The intraseasonal current variations along the west coast of India are part of basin-scale sea-level fluctuations of the Northern Indian Ocean equatorial and coastal waveguides. The wind forcing associated with this basin scale circulation closely matches surface wind signals associated with the MaddenJulian Oscillation. Citation: Vialard, J., S.

We present data from three acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) moored off Cuddalore (12 • N), Kakinada (16.5 • N), and Gopalpur (19 • N) on the continental slope of the western Bay of Bengal and one mooring on the slope of the northern bay (89 • E, 19 • N; referred to as being located at Paradip). The data were collected during May 2009 to March 2013 and the observations show that the seasonal cycle, which includes the annual cycle, the semi-annual cycle, and a peak around 120 days, dominates the observed variability of the East India Coastal Current (EICC). Spectral analysis suggests that the 120-day peak dominates the seasonal variability at Paradip and is strong at Gopalpur and Kakinada. The annual cycle is coherent along the western boundary of the bay, i.e., the east coast of India, but with significant phase differences between moorings. At the semi-annual and 120-day periods, the alongshore coherence is weaker. Intraseasonal variability is weaker than the seasonal cycle, particularly at Cuddalore and Paradip, and it exhibits seasonality: the strongest intraseasonal variation is during spring (February-April). Peaks around 12 and 20-22 days are also seen at Gopalpur, Kakinada, and Cuddalore. A striking feature of the currents is the upward phase propagation, but there are also instances when phase propagates downward. The much lower vertical phase speed in the top ∼100 m at Cuddalore leads to a distinct undercurrent at this location; at other locations, the undercurrent, though it exists often, is not as striking. During spring, however, the EICC tends to flow poleward (eastward) at Cuddalore, Kakinada, and Gopalpur (Paradip) over the top ∼300 m, which is the maximum depth to which observations were made. The cross-shore component of the EICC is much weaker than the alongshore component at Cuddalore and, except for a few bursts during spring, at Kakinada and Gopalpur. It is only at Paradip, on the slope of the northern boundary, that significant cross-shore flows are seen during spring and the summer monsoon (June-August) and these flows are seen to be associated with eddy-like circulations in the altimeter data. We use the ADCP data to validate popular current data products like OSCAR (Ocean Surface Currents Analyses Real-time), ECCO2 (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II), and GODAS (Global Ocean Data Assimilation System). The OSCAR currents at Paradip match the observed currents well, but the correlation is much weaker at the other three locations. Both ECCO2 and GODAS fair poorly, particularly the latter because its variability in this boundary-current regime is extremely weak. Though it performs badly at Paradip, ECCO2 does capture the observed variability on occasions at the other locations.

We present current data from acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) moored on the continental slope off the west coast of India. The data were collected at four locations (roughly at Kanyakumari, Kollam, Goa, and Mumbai) extending from ∼ 7 • to ∼ 20 • N during 2008-2012. The observations show that a seasonal cycle, including an annual cycle, is present in the West India Coastal Current (WICC); this seasonal cycle, which strengthens northward, shows considerable interannual variability and is not as strongly correlated along the coast as in climatologies based on ship drifts or the altimeter. The alongshore decorrelation of the WICC is much stronger at intraseasonal periods, which are evident during the winter monsoon all along the coast. This intraseasonal variability is stronger in the south. A striking feature of the WICC is upward phase propagation, which implies an undercurrent whose depth becomes shallower as the season progresses. There are also instances when the phase propagates downward. At the two southern mooring locations off Kollam and Kanyakumari, the cross-shore current, which is usually associated with eddy-like circulations, is comparable to the alongshore current on occasions. A comparison with data from the OSCAR (Ocean Surface Currents Analyses Real-time) data product shows not only similarities, but also significant differences, particularly in the phase. One possible reason for this phase mismatch between the ADCP current at 48 m and the OSCAR current, which represents the current in the 0-30 m depth range, is the vertical phase propagation. Current products based on Ocean General Circulation Models like ECCO2 (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II) and GODAS (Global Ocean Data Assimilation System) show a weaker correlation with the ADCP current, and ECCO2 does capture some of the observed variability.

We use data from six Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings deployed during March–September 2008 on the continental shelf and slope off Bhatkal, Goa, and Jaigarh on the central west coast of India to present evidence for poleward propagation of shelf or coastal‐trapped waves (CTWs). Wave propagation is seen on the shelf in the 20–40‐day, 10–14‐day, and 3–5‐day‐period bands. The lag from south to north indicates that remote forcing is important even at periods as short as 4 days. Using QuikSCAT wind data, we show that the contribution of remote forcing to the shelf West Indian Coastal Current (WICC) is significant even when the local alongshore wind is strong, as during the summer‐monsoon onset during May–June, and forces a strong local response that masks the effect of remote forcing. Forced wave calculations using CTW theory show that remote forcing of the WICC is present at all times, but is most striking when the local winds are weak, as during March–April. The CTW calculations show that the source region for the remote forcing may extend beyond the west coast into the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka. On the slope, propagation is seen only at the 4‐day period. At higher periods, the slope WICC decorrelates rapidly along the coast, but upward phase propagation, implying downward propagation of energy associated with poleward propagation, is evident even at these higher periods.

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