Fig 1.
Bathymetry in the Gulf of Aden.
The 500- and 1000-m isobaths are plotted on the map in addition to the depth shadings.
Fig 2.
Monthly climatological SCOW wind stress and curl (×10−7 N m−3) in the Gulf of Aden and western Arabian Sea for (a) February and (b) August, and the WOA thermocline depths (m), represented by the 20°C isotherm, for (c) February and (d) August.
Fig 3.
Seasonal cycles of the WOA vertical profiles averaged in the Gulf of Aden for (a) nitrate and (b) phosphate, with temperature contours (°C) superimposed, and (c) the SeaWiFS chlorophyll-a (CHLA) concentrations averaged in the Gulf of Aden for 1998–2010 shown in logarithmic scale, with the thin lines denoting individual year values, the thick line denoting the climatologically mean values, and the shaded envelop denoting the ±1 standard deviations.
Fig 4.
Seasonal distributions of the climatological SeaWiFS chlorophyll concentrations (mg m−3) in the Gulf of Aden and the western Arabian Sea.
Fig 5.
Impact of mesoscale eddies on the distributions of surface chlorophyll-a: monthly mean sea level anomalies (SLA, cm) in (a) August 1998 and (b) November 2003, and monthly mean chlorophyll-a (CHLA) concentration (mg m-3) in (c) August 1998 and (d) November 2003.
The cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies as suggested by the SLA are marked as “C” and “A”, respectively.