A new look at circulation in the western North Pacific
Journal
Oceanography
Journal Volume
28
Journal Issue
4
Pages
16-23
Date Issued
2015
Author(s)
Abstract
the connectivity of these flows has traditionally been achieved through tracking water masses defined by extrema in water properties. In this region, the dominant salinity extrema are the maximum near 200 m depth known as North Pacific Tropical Water (NPTW), and the salinity minimum near 400 m that is the signal of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW). These water masses and their modification through mixing are the second theme running through many of the articles in this issue. The oldest theories of gyre circulation, found in the work of Norwegian oceanographer Harald Sverdrup (1888Sverdrup ( -1957)), suggest that meridional flow driven by the Ekman pumping of wind stress curl across the basin must be balanced by the flow in intense western boundary currents. Thus, the control of western boundary currents is set by conditions to the east, and this control arrives at the western boundary through westwardpropagating waves and eddies. Mesoscale eddies are a dominant feature of the flow
SDGs
Type
journal article