Influx of Bay of Bengal Waters and Stirring Trends in the Arabian Sea Based on Satellite Altimetry

Abstract Freshwater transport and stirring affect air–sea interactions in the Arabian Sea (AS). Using three decades of satellite‐based surface currents, this study examines (a) the volume influx of water masses into southeastern AS from the Bay of Bengal (BoB), and (b) horizontal stirring over seasonal to interannual timescales in the AS. The total zonal transport within the mixed layer between the BoB and the AS is notably enhanced by wind‐driven currents. During the post‐monsoon period, passive tracers initialized near Sri Lanka in the BoB reside in the southeastern AS for about 1.5–2 months. Finite‐Time Lyapunov Exponent diagnostics indicate that stirring in the western AS is approximately 1.2 times stronger than in the eastern AS. Over the past three decades, geostrophic eddy kinetic energy and wind power input have increased by approximately 10% and 25%, respectively, with a 1%–5% rise in horizontal stirring rates.