HR: 1645h
AN: OS44A-04 INVITED    [Abstracts]
TI: Formation and Circulation of Thermocline Waters in the South Pacific
AU: * Qu, T
EM: tangdong@hawaii.edu
AF: International Pacific Research Center, SOEST, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1680 East- West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, United States
AB: Using available high-resolution CTD observations, complemented by a large number of recently available Argo floating profiles, this study provides a brief description of the formation and circulation of thermocline waters in the South Pacific. Based on a new, reliable climatological dataset on mixed layer properties, an annual subduction rate of about 50 Sv (1 Sv=106 m3 s-1) is obtained. Two peaks stand out in this subduction rate sorted by winter mixed layer density. One corresponds to the formation of Eastern Subtropical Mode Water and the other to the formation of Sub-Antarctic Mode and Antarctic Intermediate Water. After being subducted into the thermocline, these waters circulate about the subtropical gyre and make their ways to the equator. Both interior and western boundary pathways are revealed, but the latter becomes increasingly important with depth. Some preliminary results on the origin and pathway of Equatorial 13°C Water will also be presented, which we believe will initiate a more complete understanding of how the shallow subtropical cells relate to thermocline waters originating in the South Pacific and how variabilities in these waters contribute to climate variability.
DE: 4513 Decadal ocean variability (1616, 1635, 3305, 4215)
DE: 4532 General circulation (1218, 1222)
DE: 4572 Upper ocean and mixed layer processes
DE: 4576 Western boundary currents
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting