Equatorward Pathways of Solomon Sea Water Masses and Their Modifications

Melet, Angélique; Verron, Jacques; Gourdeau, Lionel; Koch-Larrouy, Ariane

doi:10.1175/2010jpo4559.1

Cited by 27 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Site MD05-2925 (9.3 • S, 151.5 • E, water depth 1661 m) is located at the northern slope of the Woodlark Basin in the Solomon Sea, which is the passage of surface and subsurface water masses between low-and middle-latitude South Pacific Ocean gyre and cross equatorial currents (Grenier et al, 2011;Melet et al, 2011) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Millennial meridional dynamics of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool during the last termination

Shen

Wei

et al. 2014

Clim. Past

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Abstract.To develop an in-depth understanding of the natural dynamics of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) during the last deglaciation, stacked north-(N-) and south-IPWP (S-IPWP) thermal and hydrological records over the past 23-10.5 ka were built using planktonic foraminiferal geochemistry data from a new core, MD05-2925 (9.3 • S, 151.5 • E, water depth 1661 m) in the Solomon Sea and eleven previous sites. Ice-volume-corrected seawater δ 18 O (δ 18 O SW−IVC ) stacks show that S-IPWP δ 18 O SW−IVC values are indistinguishable from their northern counterparts through glacial time. The N-IPWP SST (sea surface temperature) stacked record features an increasing trend of 0.5 • C ka −1 since 18 ka. Its S-IPWP counterpart shows an earlier onset of temperature increase at 19 ka and a strong teleconnection to high-latitude climate in the Southern Hemisphere. Meridional SST gradients between the N-and S-IPWP were 1-1.5 • C during the Bølling/Allerød period and 1 • C during both Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Dryas, due to a warmer S-IPWP. A warm S-IPWP during the cold events could weaken the southern hemispheric branch of the Hadley cell and reduce precipitation in the Asian monsoon region.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Millennial meridional dynamics of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool during the last termination

Shen

Wei

et al. 2014

Clim. Past

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“…The models were validated in the Solomon Sea and at the equator [ Melet et al ., ; Grenier et al ., ] and their performances will not be shown in this study, for the sake of clarity and paper length. Here we first evaluated the ¼° OGCM performance in the southwestern Pacific against the CARS climatology [ Ridgway et al ., ] (Figures a and b).…”

Section: Tools and Experiments Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

From the subtropics to the equator in the Southwest Pacific: Continental material fluxes quantified using neodymium data along modeled thermocline water pathways

2014

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The southwestern tropical Pacific, part of a major pathway for waters feeding the Equatorial Undercurrent, is a region of important geochemical enrichment through land-ocean boundary exchange. Here we develop an original method based on the coupling between dynamical modeling and geochemical tracer data to identify regions of enrichment along the water pathways from the subtropics to the equator, and to allow a refined quantification of continental material fluxes. Neodymium data are interpreted with the help of modeled Lagrangian trajectories of an Ocean General Circulation Model. We reveal that upper and lower thermocline waters have different pathways together with different geochemical evolutions. The upper thermocline waters entering the Solomon Sea mainly originate from the central subtropical gyre, enter the Coral Sea in the North Vanuatu Jet and likely receive radiogenic neodymium from the basaltic island margins encountered along their route. The lower thermocline waters entering the Solomon Sea mainly originate from northeast of New Zealand and enter the Coral Sea in the North Caledonian Jet. Depletion of their neodymium content likely occurs when flowing along the Australian and Papua coasts. Downstream from the Solomon Sea, waters flowing along the Papua New Guinea margins near the Sepik river mouth become surprisingly depleted in their neodymium content in the upper thermocline while enriched in the lower thermocline. This coupled approach is proposed as strong support to interpret the origin of the equatorial Pacific natural fertilization through a better understanding of the circulation, important objectives of the international GEOTRACES and SPICE programs, respectively.

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“…In their modeling study, Melet et al . [] showed that the temperature and salinity of the waters transiting through the Solomon Sea were in better agreement with observations when vertical mixing induced by the dissipation of internal tides was parameterized in their model. Strong diapycnal mixing in the Solomon Sea mostly explained the erosion of the high salinity of upper thermocline water [ Donguy , ], and its export toward surface and deeper layers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the mesoscale activity in the Solomon Sea: A complementary approach with a numerical model and altimetric data

Gourdeau

Verron

Melet

et al. 2014

J. Geophys. Res. Oceans

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The Solomon Sea is an area of high level of eddy kinetic energy (EKE), and represents a transit area for the low-latitude western boundary currents (LLWBCs) connecting the subtropics to the equatorial Pacific and playing a major role in ENSO dynamics. This study aims at documenting the surface mesoscale activity in the Solomon Sea for the first time. Our analysis is based on the joint analysis of altimetric data and outputs from a 1/12 model simulation. The highest surface EKE is observed in the northern part of the basin and extends southward to the central basin. An eddy tracking algorithm is used to document the characteristics and trajectories of coherent mesoscale vortices. Cyclonic eddies, generated in the south basin, are advected to the north by the LLWBCs before merging with stationary mesoscale structures present in the mean circulation. Anticyclonic eddies are less numerous. They are generated in the southeastern basin, propagate westward, reach the LLWBCs, and dissipate. The seasonal and interannual modulations of the mesoscale activity are well marked. At seasonal time scale, maximum (minimum) activity is in May-June (September). At interannual time scale, the mesoscale activity is particularly enhanced during La Niña conditions. If instabilities of the regional circulations seem to explain the generation of mesoscale features, the modulation of the mesoscale activity seems to be rather related with the intrusion at Solomon Strait of the surface South Equatorial Current, rather than to the LLWBCs, by modulating the horizontal and vertical shears suitable for instabilities.

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Equatorward Pathways of Solomon Sea Water Masses and Their Modifications

Cited by 27 publications

References 34 publications

Millennial meridional dynamics of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool during the last termination

Millennial meridional dynamics of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool during the last termination

From the subtropics to the equator in the Southwest Pacific: Continental material fluxes quantified using neodymium data along modeled thermocline water pathways

Exploring the mesoscale activity in the Solomon Sea: A complementary approach with a numerical model and altimetric data

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