The intraseasonal variability (ISV) of the subthermocline current east of Mindanao was characterized and shown to be caused by the activity of subthermocline eddies using mooring observations at 8 N, 127.03 E and a high-resolution numerical model. The ISV of the observed current east of Mindanao is vertically coherent in the upper 940 m but is significantly intensified below the thermocline. The ISV amplitude (8 cm s 21 ) of zonal subthermocline current is comparable with that (11 cm s 21 ) of the meridional current, revealing the nature of active eddies. The ISV of the subthermocline current was caused by the subthermocline eddies from three different pathways. The subthermocline eddies propagating along approximately 10 N-11 N contributed more to the ISV of the subthermocline current east of Mindanao than did those eddies propagating westward along 8 N or northwestward from the New Guinea coast. Subthermocline eddies mainly exist south of the bifurcation latitude of the North Equatorial Current in the western tropical Pacific, and their generation and propagation mechanisms are briefly discussed.

[1] The interannual variability of the North Equatorial Current (NEC) transport in the tropical northwestern Pacific Ocean is investigated with the output from ECMWF Ocean Analysis/Reanalysis System 3 (ORA-S3). The results show that the amplitude and root mean square (RMS) of interannual NEC transport anomalies increase from about 3.0-4.0 Sv and 2.0 Sv at 170 E to above 5.0 and 3.4 Sv at 135 E, respectively. The NEC transport variation agrees well with the variation of the sea surface height (SSH) anomaly difference between the southern and northern boundaries of the NEC region. Further analysis near the Philippine coast suggests that their good agreement mainly comes from the agreement of the NEC transport and SSH variations south of the gyre boundary. Around the bifurcation point off the Philippine coast, the southern branch of the NEC transport is highly related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. During El Niño/La Niña years, westerly/easterly wind anomalies and positive/negative wind stress curl anomalies develop in the tropical northwestern Pacific Ocean south of 20 N before the mature phase. The wind forcing center moves eastward with time and reaches the easternmost position around 170 E several months before the mature phase. This wind forcing generates upwelling/downwelling Rossby waves, which propagate westward to result in negative/positive SSH anomalies, hence inducing a cyclonic/anticyclonic gyre anomaly, which is responsible for the increase/decrease of the NEC transport. The northern branch of the NEC transport near the Philippine coast has no significant simultaneous relation with ENSO events.

The relationship of the interannual variability of the transport and bifurcation latitude of the North Equatorial Current (NEC) to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is investigated. This is done through composite analysis of sea surface height (SSH) observed by satellite altimeter during October 1992−July 2009, and correspondingly derived sea surface geostrophic currents. During El Niño/La Niña years, the SSH in the tropical North Pacific Ocean falls/rises, with maximum changes in the region 0−15°N, 130°E−160°E. The decrease/increase in SSH induces a cyclonic/anticyclonic anomaly in the western tropical gyre. The cyclonic/anticyclonic anomaly in the gyre results in an increase/decrease of NEC transport, and a northward/southward shift of the NEC bifurcation latitude near the Philippine coast. The variations are mainly in response to anomalous wind forcing in the west-central tropical North Pacific Ocean, related to ENSO events.