Oceanographic conditions in Pelabuhanratu Bay, west Java

In December 1994 and August 1995, field observations by STD were carried out from sea surface to 200m depth in Pelabuhanratu Bay, which is a small bay located at the southern coast of west Java, facing to the Indian Ocean. Remarkable difference between both months was found in temperature and salinity profiles, that is, remarkable seasonal variations. Compared with August, higher temperature and lower salinity water occupied near the sea surface in De-cember. In subsurface layer, the temperature in December is 2 to 5 °C higher than that in August through the water column of 200m, and the salinity in December is lower from the surface to about 80m depth than that in August, but higher below about 80m depth. The density stratification is affected by salinity near the sea surface, but below 80m depth by the temperature. In the observations in August, the spatial variations of the thermocline depth existed along the section of the bay axis, but it cannot be confirmed whether or not the internal waves occurred. In addition, the occurrence of coastal upwelling is not confirmed for the internal radius of deformation larger than the bay length.