Sea Surface Salinity Estimation in the Bay of Bengal Using Multisatellite Measurements

An algorithm is developed to estimate sea surface salinity (SSS) from the combined use of outgoing longwave radiation and freshwater flux derived by the First Generation Meteosat Visible and InfraRed Imager and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data sets, respectively. A preliminary assessment of the estimated SSS is carried out in the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon season (June-September). The monthly estimated SSS at 1° × 1° spatial resolution shows a significant correlation ranging from 0.83 to 0.93 and a root-mean-square error of 0.4- 0.5 psu with the in situ-based objectively analyzed SSS from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). The independent SSS estimated from the present algorithm would provide supplementary information to verify the spatiotemporal variability of SSS along with the comprehensive SSS maps by the two recent salinity satellite missions.