A study on wind‐driven circulation in the subarctic North Pacific using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data

Isoguchi, Osamu; Kawamura, Hiroshi; Kono, Tokihiro

doi:10.1029/97jc00447

Cited by 50 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…However, the two modes are not well separated in the satellite altimetry era or in the period considered here, and EOFs artificially separate a shift and intensification into two independent modes (Qiu and Chen 2010). The transport of the Oyashio rapidly responds to the wind stress changes associated with the Aleutian low via barotropic Rossby wave propagation (e.g., Isoguchi et al 1997) and to local Ekman pumping via baroclinic wave propagation. It is also remotely forced about three years before by wind stress curl anomalies in the central Pacific (Qiu 2002;Nonaka et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the Meridional Shifts of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio Extensions on the Atmospheric Circulation

et al. 2011

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The meridional shifts of the Oyashio Extension (OE) and of the Kuroshio Extension (KE), as derived from high-resolution monthly sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in 1982-2008 and historical temperature profiles in 1979-2007, respectively, are shown based on lagged regression analysis to significantly influence the large-scale atmospheric circulation. The signals are independent from the ENSO teleconnections, which were removed by seasonally varying, asymmetric regression onto the first three principal components of the tropical Pacific SST anomalies. The response to the meridional shifts of the OE front is equivalent barotropic and broadly resembles the North Pacific Oscillation/western Pacific pattern in a positive phase for a northward frontal displacement. The response may reach 35 m at 250 hPa for a typical OE shift, a strong sensitivity since the associated SST anomaly is 0.5 K. However, the amplitude, but not the pattern or statistical significance, strongly depends on the lag and an assumed 2-month atmospheric response time. The response is stronger during fall and winter and when the front is displaced southward. The response to the northward KE shifts primarily consists of a high centered in the northwestern North Pacific and hemispheric teleconnections. The response is also equivalent barotropic, except near Kamchatka, where it tilts slightly westward with height. The typical amplitude is half as large as that associated with OE shifts.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the Meridional Shifts of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio Extensions on the Atmospheric Circulation

et al. 2011

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“…Previous observational and modeling studies have suggested that interannual variability of the southward Oyashio transport is related to wintertime changes in basin-scale wind stress with no time lag (Sekine 1988;Isoguchi et al 1997;Nonaka et al 2008). These studies have suggested that a barotropic adjustment of the ocean circulation, via westward propagation of Rossby waves, is responsible for the interannual FIG.…”

Section: Basin-scale Wind Stress Pattern Related To the Change In mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They suggested that the observed changes in salinity of NPIW could be interpreted as the result of an increase in the freshwater flux over the source region and, along with the other hydrographic sections in this study, are consistent with an increase in Earth's hydrological cycle. On the other hand, a half-century scale change characterized by the deepened Aleutian low of 1977/78 (Nitta and Yamada 1989;Trenberth 1990), which is known to be a part of the periodic change of the PDO (Mantua et al 1997;Minobe 1997), is an alternative interpretation for the freshening in NPIW because the southward transport of the Oyashio water can be governed by large-scale wind stress change (Sekine 1988;Isoguchi et al 1997;Nonaka et al 2008). In this study, we used all available historical oceanographic data and model simulation of an eddyresolving ice-ocean coupled model to examine the spatial pattern of the multidecadal-scale change in the NPIW and the role of the wind-driven ocean circulation change with emphasis on the salinity minimum density.…”

Section: Basin-scale Wind Stress Pattern Related To the Change In mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous observational and modeling studies have suggested that interannual variability of southward Oyashio transport is related to wintertime changes in basin-scale wind stress (Sekine 1988;Isoguchi et al 1997;Nonaka et al 2008). The atmospheric variability over the North Pacific bears a half-century scale change characterized by the deepened Aleutian low of 1976/77 (Nitta and Yamada 1989;Trenberth 1990), which is known to be a part of the periodic change of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) characterized by a basinwide scale change in sea surface temperature (SST) and sea level pressure (SLP) (Mantua et al 1997;Minobe 1997).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Multidecadal-Scale Freshening at the Salinity Minimum in the Western Part of North Pacific: Importance of Wind-Driven Cross-Gyre Transport of Subarctic Water to the Subtropical Gyre

Nakanowatari

Mitsudera

Motoi³

et al. 2015

Journal of Physical Oceanography

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Using oceanographic observations and an eddy-resolving ice-ocean coupled model simulation from 1955 to 2004, the effects of the wind-driven ocean circulation change that occurred in the late 1970s during multidecadal-scale freshening of the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) at salinity minimum density (;26.8 s u ) were investigated. An analysis of the observations revealed that salinity decreased significantly at the density range of 26.6-26.8 s u in the western subtropical gyre, including the mixed water region (MWR). The temporal variability of the salinity is dominated by the marked change in the late 1970s. With results similar to the observations, the model, selectively forced by the interannual variability of the wind-driven ocean circulation, simulated significant freshening of the intermediate layer over the subtropical gyre. The significant freshening is related to the increase in southward transport of the Oyashio associated with the intensification of the Aleutian low. Accompanying these changes, the intrusion of fresh and low potential vorticity water, originating in the Okhotsk Sea, to the MWR increased, and the freshening signal propagated farther southward in the western subtropical gyre during the subsequent 6 yr, crossing the Kuroshio Extension. These results indicate that the multidecadal-scale freshening of the NPIW is partly caused by intensification of the wind-driven cross-gyre transport of the subarctic water to the subtropical gyre.

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“…In the Pacific sector, frequent low-pressure systems (storms) exert strong control over the western Arctic and sub-Arctic through their influence on ocean circulation patterns, mixing and upwelling (Overland, 1986;Isoguchi et al, 1997;Pickart et al, 2009), and link the two regions through oceanic forcing. For example, these storms mediate flow variations in Bering Strait (e.g., Roach et al, 1995;Cherniawsky et al, 2005;Woodgate et al, 2005b;Danielson et al, 2014) and hence influence the variability of transport of nutrient-rich Pacific waters into the Arctic.…”

Section: Atmospheric Conditions and Circulation In The Arcticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

Hunt

Drinkwater

Arrigo

et al. 2016

Progress in Oceanography

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a b s t r a c tWe compare and contrast the ecological impacts of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns on polar and sub-polar marine ecosystems. Circulation patterns differ strikingly between the north and south. Meridional circulation in the north provides connections between the sub-Arctic and Arctic despite the presence of encircling continental landmasses, whereas annular circulation patterns in the south tend to isolate Antarctic surface waters from those in the north. These differences influence fundamental aspects of the polar ecosystems from the amount, thickness and duration of sea ice, to the types of organisms, and the ecology of zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Meridional flows in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans transport heat, nutrients, and plankton northward into the Chukchi Sea, the Barents Sea, and the seas off the west coast of Greenland. In the North Atlantic, the advected heat warms the waters of the southern Barents Sea and, with advected nutrients and plankton, supports immense biomasses of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. On the Pacific side of the Arctic, cold waters flowing northward across the northern Bering and Chukchi seas during winter and spring limit the ability of boreal fish species to take advantage of high seasonal production there. Southward flow of cold Arctic waters into sub-Arctic regions of the North Atlantic occurs mainly through Fram Strait with less through the Barents Sea and the Canadian Archipelago. In the Pacific, the transport of Arctic waters and plankton southward through Bering Strait is minimal.In the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its associated fronts are barriers to the southward dispersal of plankton and pelagic fishes from sub-Antarctic waters, with the consequent evolution of Antarctic zooplankton and fish species largely occurring in isolation from those to the north. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current also disperses biota throughout the Southern Ocean, and as a result, the biota tends to be similar within a given broad latitudinal band. South of the Southern Boundary of the ACC, there is a large-scale divergence that brings nutrient-rich water to the surface. This divergence, along with more localized upwelling regions and deep vertical convection in winter, generates elevated nutrient levels throughout the Antarctic at the end of austral winter. However, such elevated nutrient levels do not support elevated phytoplankton productivity through the entire Southern Ocean, as iron concentrations are rapidly removed to limiting levels by spring blooms in deep waters. However, coastal http://dx

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A study on wind‐driven circulation in the subarctic North Pacific using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data

Cited by 50 publications

References 28 publications

Influence of the Meridional Shifts of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio Extensions on the Atmospheric Circulation

Influence of the Meridional Shifts of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio Extensions on the Atmospheric Circulation

Multidecadal-Scale Freshening at the Salinity Minimum in the Western Part of North Pacific: Importance of Wind-Driven Cross-Gyre Transport of Subarctic Water to the Subtropical Gyre

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

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