Hydrographic observations from the US/PRC Cooperative Program in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean, cruises 1-4

Cook, Margaret F.; Mangum, L. J.; Millard, Robert C.; LaMontagne, G.; Pu, Stiksrud; Toole, John M.; Wang, Z.; Yang, Kui; Zhao, Liuzhi

doi:10.1575/1912/999

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…EG&G/Neil Brown Instrument System (bIBIS) MKI•b CTDs were employed by the US/PRC program. Profiles of temperature and salinity were reduced to a 2-dbar interval as described by Cook et al [1990] and Lake et al [1991]. The early SURTROPAC expeditions sampled to 1000 dbar; subsequent cruises extended the measurements to about 2000 dbar.…”

Section: Hydrographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All US/PRC casts in the present study extended to at least 2000 dbar or the ocean bottom where shallower, with approximately 1/3 reaching below 3000 dbar. These deep-water potential temperature-salinity data were employed during data reduction to insure internal consistency of the US/PRC salinity data to better than 0.005 psu [Cook et al, 1990;Lake et al, 1991].…”

Section: Hydrographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mean circulation of the upper layers of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean

Gouriou¹,

Toole²

1993

J. Geophys. Res.

110

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Hydrographic (0–1000 dbar) and direct current measurements (0–600 dbar) along 165°E (20°S‐10°N) between January 1984 and July 1991 are used to investigate the mean circulation and its relationships with the distributions of salinity and potential vorticity on isopycnal surfaces. Less well documented mean sections along 142°E and 137°E are used to complement the 165°E analysis. The Equatorial Undercurrent is centered on the equator at 165°E and on 0.5°N at 142°E. No variation in its transport (15.0 × 106 m3 s−1) is found between those longitudes. We find indication of the Equatorial Undercurrent at 137°E‐0.75°N in the geostrophic field. The northern and southern Subsurface Countercurrents are clearly identified by extrema of eastward velocity at 165°E around 3°N and 3°S (250 dbar). No evidence of a southern Subsurface Countercurrent is found at 142°E. At 137°E the northern Subsurface Countercurrent is not characterized by a local extrema of eastward velocity: the North Equatorial Countercurrent seems to extend from the surface to 400 dbar with a southward shift of its core. Analysis of the seasonal variability at 165°E indicates that the Equatorial Undercurrent transport increases by a factor 2 between January (10.7 × 106 m3 s−1) and July (21.5 × 106 m3 s−1) and the Equatorial Intermediate Current transport is halved (6.3 × 106 m3 s−1 in January, 3.5 × 106 m3 s−1 in July). In contrast, the transport of the Subsurface Countercurrents does not vary substantially between those two months. The meridional distributions of salinity and potential vorticity show that the axes of the main eastward currents are associated with strong meridional property gradients, not with property extrema. The eastward currents thus represent a barrier to the northward extension of the high salinity Tropical Water. Relatively weak meridional gradients of salinity and potential vorticity are observed in the westward directed South Equatorial Current and Equatorial Intermediate Current.

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Section: Hydrographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hydrographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mean circulation of the upper layers of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean

Gouriou¹,

Toole²

1993

J. Geophys. Res.

110

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The distribution of intermediate water in the western equatorial Pacific during January–February 1986

Bingham

Lukas

1995

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

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Variation of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean, 1986–1988

Delcroix¹,

Eldin²,

Radenac³

et al. 1992

J. Geophys. Res.

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Twenty‐one oceanographic sections made along 165°E during 1984–1988 provide a unique picture of the 1986–1987 El Niño and the subsequent La Niña in the western equatorial Pacific. The mean of six cruises from January 1984 through June 1986, a relatively normal period, provides a reference with which the later sections are compared. The net warm water transport across 165°E within 10° of the equator was small in this mean reference section: 7 × 106 m3 s−1 to the east. In December 1986, strong westerly winds at and to the west of 165°E increased the net eastward transport of warm water to 88 × 106 m3 s−1, and the 1986–1987 El Niño was underway. During the following 2 years the net transport varied widely and rapidly; the extrema were 56 × 106 m3 s−1 to the east and 58 × 106 m3 s−1 to the west. Changes in the stratification along 165°E were correspondingly large, reflecting both the geostrophic balance of the strong zonal currents and the changes in the volume of warm water in the western equatorial Pacific. The anomaly of warm water volume corresponded closely to the time integral of the warm water transport across 165°E. Local wind forcing and remotely forced waves were both important causes of the transport fluctuations. Winds, precipitation, and currents were all important factors determining the depth of the surface mixed layer and the thickness of the underlying barrier layer. The way in which these factors interact is a strong function of latitude.

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Hydrographic observations from the US/PRC Cooperative Program in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean, cruises 1-4

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Mean circulation of the upper layers of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean

Mean circulation of the upper layers of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean

The distribution of intermediate water in the western equatorial Pacific during January–February 1986

Variation of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean, 1986–1988

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