Multidecadal Changes of the Upper Indian Ocean Heat Content during 1965–2016

Ocean heat uptake is the primary heat sink of the globe and modulates its surface warming rate. In situ observations during the past half century documented obvious multidecadal variations in the upper-ocean heat content (0–400 m; OHC 400 ) of the Indian Ocean (IO). The observed OHC 400 showed an increase of (5.9 ± 2.5) × 10 21 J decade −1 during 1965–79, followed by a decrease of (−5.2 ± 2.5) × 10 21 J decade −1 during 1980–96, and a rapid...