The Impact of Indonesian Throughflow Constrictions on Eastern Pacific Upwelling and Water‐Mass Transformation

Abstract

The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) is the tropical pathway connecting the Pacific Ocean (PO) and the Indian Ocean (IO) via a complex series of topographical barriers, with deep basins connected by shallow sills, linking the passages through the Indonesian archipelago (Gordon et al., 2003;Sprintall et al., 2009). The ITF plays a key role in the global overturning circulation. Gordon (1986) noted the importance of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) in the "warm-water route" of the upper overturning cell that ultimately feeds North Atlantic Deep Water production. ITF transport is a key component in the PO heat budget, linked to large-scale upwelling in the eastern PO (Toggweiler et al., 2019a;, and is important in influencing IO watermass characteristics and circulation (e.g.,