Ocean Circulation and Variability in the Seram and Northern Banda Seas Amanda Christin Dompeipen (a*), Agus S Atmadipoera (b), Nabil Balbeid (b), Apriansyah (c), Delta Richelly Rumohoira (a), Dwiyoga Nugroho (d), Natih M N Natih (b)
a) Graduate Magister program in Marine Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, IPB University, 16680, Bogor, Indonesia
*amanda.dompeipen[at]apps.ipb.ac.id
b) Marine Science and Technology Department, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, IPB University, 16680, Bogor, Indonesia
c) Marine Science Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Tanjungpura University, 10340, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia
d) Research Center for Oceanography, National Research and Innovation Agency, 10340, Central Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia
Abstract
The Seram and Banda Seas (SBS) convey the eastern pathway of Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) from Maluku and Halmahera inflow portals. This study aims to investigate circulation and variability at near surface (25 m) and thermocline (110 m) layers in the SBS region, using validated INDESO model output datasets (2008 to 2015). It is shown that much warmer and saltier thermocline ITF water from Halmahera is predominat, flowing southward and impinging northern coast of Seram near 128.5E. The flows then bifurcate eastward into the Banda outer ring arc and westward into Banda via Manipa Strait and western Seram Seas. In Banda, two clockwise eddies are found related to these inflows. Secondary southward inflow via Lifamatola is associated with cooler and less salty water, which merges with ITF Halmahera. The variability of oceanographic parameters is dominated by annual period. However, on interannual scale, the response of seawater temperature on ENSO is evident, and its amplitude is much stronger in Banda rather than in Seram. A decrease trend of seawater temperature is also found in the last 5 year datasets.
Keywords: Seram and Banda Seas, Indonesian Throughflow, INDESO model, ocean circulation, ocean variability
