| LI Yuanlong,WANG Fan. 2013. Thermohaline intrusions in the thermocline of the western tropical Pacific Ocean. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 32(7):47－56 |
| Thermohaline intrusions in the thermocline of the western tropical Pacific Ocean |
| Thermohaline intrusions in the thermocline of the western tropical Pacific Ocean |
| Received:December 15, 2011 Revised:October 16, 2012 |
| DOI：10.1007/s13131-013-0331-3 |
| Key words:thermohaline intrusions thermocline watermass western tropical Pacific |
| 中文关键词: thermohaline intrusions thermocline watermass western tropical Pacific |
| 基金项目:The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 40890152; the National Basic Research Program of China under contract No. 2012CB417401. |
| Author Name | Affiliation | E-mail | | LI Yuanlong | Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation andWaves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100049, China | | | WANG Fan | Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation andWaves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China | fwang@qdio.ac.cn |
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| Abstract: |
| The existing high-resolution hydrographic data in the western tropical Pacific Ocean are used to explore the spatial distribution and primary characteristics of thermohaline intrusions in the thermocline. Statistics show that the vertical scales of intrusions are 20-40 min the upper thermocline (22.0-26.0σ0) and 40-80 m in the lower thermocline (26.0-27.2σ0). In the upper thermocline, themost intensive intrusions exist at the equatorial front (EF) where north/south Pacific water masses converge, and the westward spreading of the north Pacific tropical water (NPTW) in the Philippines Sea also produces patches of intrusions surrounding its high-salinity tongue. In the lower thermocline, intrusions are also strong at the tropical front (TF) which is the boundary between the north Pacific subtropical/tropical waters. At the bottom of the thermocline (at about 27.0σ0), intrusionsmainly exist near the western boundary, which are produced by intermediate water convergence through the advection of subthermocline western boundary flows. Most strikingly a “C”-shape distribution of intrusions at around 26.4σ0 is revealed, covering the vicinity of the EF, the TF, and theMindanao Current (MC), i.e., the western boundary pathway of the north Pacific subtropical cell (STC). Synoptic section analysis reveals that intrusions aremore prominent on the warm/salty flank of the fronts, implying more cross-front tongues of cold/fresh water. Among the intrusions, those at the EF are of best lateral coherence which implies a unique drivingmechanism involving near-inertial velocity perturbations near the equator. |
| 中文摘要: |
| The existing high-resolution hydrographic data in the western tropical Pacific Ocean are used to explore the spatial distribution and primary characteristics of thermohaline intrusions in the thermocline. Statistics show that the vertical scales of intrusions are 20-40 min the upper thermocline (22.0-26.0σ0) and 40-80 m in the lower thermocline (26.0-27.2σ0). In the upper thermocline, themost intensive intrusions exist at the equatorial front (EF) where north/south Pacific water masses converge, and the westward spreading of the north Pacific tropical water (NPTW) in the Philippines Sea also produces patches of intrusions surrounding its high-salinity tongue. In the lower thermocline, intrusions are also strong at the tropical front (TF) which is the boundary between the north Pacific subtropical/tropical waters. At the bottom of the thermocline (at about 27.0σ0), intrusionsmainly exist near the western boundary, which are produced by intermediate water convergence through the advection of subthermocline western boundary flows. Most strikingly a “C”-shape distribution of intrusions at around 26.4σ0 is revealed, covering the vicinity of the EF, the TF, and theMindanao Current (MC), i.e., the western boundary pathway of the north Pacific subtropical cell (STC). Synoptic section analysis reveals that intrusions aremore prominent on the warm/salty flank of the fronts, implying more cross-front tongues of cold/fresh water. Among the intrusions, those at the EF are of best lateral coherence which implies a unique drivingmechanism involving near-inertial velocity perturbations near the equator. |
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