Theme 2: Regional Ocean Influences Western boundary currents Marginal seas and exchanges with open ocean Atmosphere/Ocean interaction: impact on.

Theme 2: Regional Ocean Influences

Western boundary currents

Marginal seas and exchanges with open ocean

Atmosphere/Ocean interaction: impact on local and far field climate

Equatorial connection between Pacific and Indian Oceans

The WEP is the “hatchery” for ENSO

Scale interactions

Representation of regional processes in global models

Sea of Okhotsk

Yaremchuk, Mitsudera (Hokkaido),

South China Sea and Throughflow

Qu, Yaremchuk, YuExchange through Luzon Strait

Yarumchuk, Qu, Yu

SE Indian Ocean heat budget and mixed layer

Qu, Masumoto(UT), Sasaki (ES)

Outflow of ITF

Yu, Potemra

ITF and its relation to variability of Indian and Pacific Oceans

McCreary, Potemra and Schneider

Western equatorial Pacific and LLWBCs

Richards, Qu, Natarov, Kashino (J), Sasaki (ES)

Regional studies

Indian Ocean: Tracer transport, freshwater constraints, O2 min

Jensen, Yaremchuk, Yu, Aiki, et al

Banda Sea

Kida

LCS: Δd, n = 1 mode

Circulation induced by throughflow

McCreary, Miyama (FRCGC), et al

Circulation induced by throughflow

There is a westward and equatorward surface (eastward

and poleward subsurface) geostrophic flow across PO interior

There is anomalous upwelling caused by the ITF in the Pacific

wherever Δd is negative.

The general structure of circulation, upwelling and downwelling is a robust

feature, but details of are strongly dependent on the imposed mixing.

McCreary, Miyama (FRCGC), et al

Details of the exchange (pathways, vertical structure, mixing) depend on geometry and wind forcing.

Water entering the South China Sea through Luzon Strait is lower in temperature and higher in salinity (blue) than water leaving it through Karimata, Mindoro, and Taiwan Strait (red).

South China Sea throughflow and its impact on the Indonesian throughflow

1. The SCSTF is a heat and freshwater conveyor, transferring up to 0.1-0.2 PW of heat and 0.1 Sv of freshwater from the SCS into the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean.

2. The SCSTF impacts the SCS heat content. In response, the SCS acts as a heat capacitor, storing heat in certain years and releasing it in others.

3. The SCSTF impacts the Indonesian throughflow. In response, the ITF heat transport is significantly (by up to 47%) reduced.

Thus, the SCS is likely to play an active role in climate variability.

1/60 deg. topography (GEBCO) 1/10 deg. OfES model topography

Retrieving the South China Sea throughflow from T/S climatologies

NPTW maximum

OfES 0.1deg model

WOA climatology

Karimata transport: 1.5-3 times less than diagnosed by direct simulations

Topography in Karimata St.T/S in South China Sea

October 1999 October 2002

NECC

Analysis of OFES

Varying currents in the Western Equatorial Pacific

1994 2004Eq

10 N

Zonal current along 138 E

Sep 2001

June 2004

OFES Obs (Kashino)

0

400Eq 10N

El Niño

La Niña

CCSMOFES

Lateral mixing: interleaving

U Salinity

V TracerModel

Kashino

Natarov and Richards (2007)

Use of regional models to study ocean/atmosphere couplings

Analysis of OFES, CFES, SINTEX-F experiments

Use of TAO/TRITON, Argo, Satellite data

Participation in R/V Mirai cruise to study mixing in the thermocline

Use of Earth Simulator for mixing experiments

Major field programs: NPOCE, PACWIN, SPICE

Western equatorial Pacific: future activities

3yr average near surface currents from 1/10 degree POP

NEC

NECC

SEC

SECC

NGCC

MC

SEC

SPICE

Marine Ecosystem

Chlorophyll (phytoplankton)

Krill

Tuna

IPRC Activities on the Marine Ecosystem

Impact of stirring and mixing (Richards)

Biofeedback on SST (Timmermann)

SST ΔSST caused by bio

Phytoplankton

2oC

Use of regional models (e.g. iROAM) with imbedded ecosystem model

Biofeedbacks Eastern Tropical Pacific Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone

Future ecosystem modeling work