Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information
Published on: June 13, 2020
Global warming hiatus contributed weakening of the Mascarene High in the Southern Indian Ocean
Vidya P J1, M Ravichandran2, M P Subeesh2
1ESSO- National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Headland Sada, Goa, 403 804, India. vidya@ncpor.res.in.
Abstract:
The Mascarene High (MH) is a semi-permanent subtropical high-pressure zone in the South Indian Ocean. Apart from its large influence on African and Australian weather patterns, it also helps in driving the inter-hemispheric circulation between the Indian Ocean in the south and subcontinental landmass in the north. Using observations and reanalysis products, this study for the first time investigates recent warming trend observed in the MH region during the Global Warming Hiatus (GWH) period (1998-2016). Significant positive trends are observed in sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height (SSH) and oceanic heat content (OHC) during this period in the MH region. Mixed layer heat budget analysis reveals the dominant role of heat advection in the observed warming trend. During the GWH period, stronger zonal currents advect the warm waters from the Western Pacific (WP) towards the MH region via the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). This warming in the MH reduces the sea level pressure therein and establishes a weak pressure gradient between the MH and the northern hemisphere landmass. This in-turn weakens the cross-equatorial winds in the western Indian Ocean.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Threats to Biodiversity
What is Climate?
Isothermal Processes
An ideal gas can also undergo isothermal expansion or compression.
For example, consider 1 mole of an ideal gas inside an isolated cylinder at initial volume V...
Isochoric and Isobaric Processes
Suppose 1000 g of water is heated from 40...
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions

