Comparison of chlorophyll distributions in the northeastern Arabian Sea and southern Bay of Bengal using IRS-P4 Ocean Color Monitor data

Water masses of different temperature and salinity partially govern the distributions of chlorophyll concentration. In the present paper, chlorophyll concentration has been deduced over the northeastern Arabian Sea and the southern Bay of Bengal using Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) data onboard Indian Remote Sensing Series Polar satellite (IRS-P4). The chlorophyll concentration is found to be higher in the northeastern Arabian Sea compared to those in the southern Bay of Bengal. The higher chlorophyll concentration is found during the northeast monsoon compared to those during the pre- and post-monsoon period and also in the coastal water compared to the open ocean. Higher spatial and seasonal chlorophyll distributions in the northeastern Arabian Sea compared to the southern Bay of Bengal is attributed to the shallow depth of the shelf in the Arabian Sea.