Implications of the salt and heat budgets of the Gulf of
Thailand
J. Mar. Res., 55, 935-963, 1997.
Hydrographic data collected during 1959 and 1960 in the Gulf of Thailand,
combined with supporting climatological data, have been used to investigate
the salt and heat budgets of the Gulf. A simple model including mixing, net
precipitation, local river runoff and Ekman flux predicts the flushing time
of the Gulf, associated with processes other than the Ekman flux, to be 9.3
months, but predicts too small a magnitude and the wrong phase for the
observed salinity cycle. Adding the discharge from the Mekong River reduces
the non-Ekman flushing time to 4.1 months and improves the fit to the magnitude
of the observed salinity cycle. The phase matches if a two month delay in the
time for the Mekong discharge to reach the Gulf is allowed for. The Mekong River
appears to be a vital source of fresh water to the Gulf. Using the flushing times
required to balance the salt budget and a model for temperature which incorporates the
climatological net heat flux values, the Gulf is predicted to be warmer than observed.
The annual cycle of net heat flux required to match the observed temperature cycle
has a mean and an amplitude both of which are smaller than the published climatological
values. Our simple model suggests that a uniformly distributed tracer would be flushed
(90% removal) from the Gulf in 4 to 7 months, with the Ekman and non-Ekman exchange
process dominant.
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