Demonstrating the potential of Regional Ocean Model System in simulating the upper ocean characteristic over Arabian Sea: impact of horizontal resolution

Abstract This study attempted to demonstrate the skill of the regional ocean model system (ROMS) is simulating the hydrographic property of the Arabian Sea (AS). Additionally, the impact of horizontal resolution is investigated. In this regard, ROMS is integrated over AS covering [30˚E-80˚E; 5˚N-30N˚] at two different horizontal resolutions 1/6˚(~ 17km) and 1/4˚(~ 25km) for ten years. The comparison of model results with available observation and reanalysis indicates reasonable resemblances in reproducing the spatial-temporal distribution of surface and subsurface hydrographic property i.e. sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), sea surface currents, and subsurface temperature and salinity at both resolutions. The increasing resolution shows minimal improvement, indicating the fact that its not always guaranty to enhance the performance towards increasing resolution for every aspect.