Numerical Study on the Bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current

A 1.5-layer reduced-gravity model forced by wind stress is used to study the bifurcations of the North Equatorial Current(NEC).The authors found that after removing the Ekman drift,the modelled circulations can serve well as a proxy of the SODA circulations on the σθ=25.0 kg m～-3 potential density surface based on available long-term reanalysis wind stress data.The modelled results show that the location of the western boundary bifurcation of the NEC depends on both zonal averaged and local zero wind stress curl latitude.The effects of the anomalous wind stress curl added in different areas are also investigated and it is found that they can change the strength of the Mindanao Eddy(ME),and then influence the interior pathway.

Interannual variability of transport and bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current in the tropical North Pacific Ocean

The relationship of the interannual variability of the transport and bifurcation latitude of the North Equatorial Current (NEC) to the El Ni o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is investigated. This is done through composite analysis of sea surface height (SSH) observed by satellite altimeter during October 1992-July 2009, and correspondingly derived sea surface geostrophic currents. During El Nio/La Ni a years, the SSH in the tropical North Pacific Ocean falls/rises, with maximum changes in the region 0-15°N, 130°E-160°E. The decrease/increase in SSH induces a cyclonic/anticyclonic anomaly in the western tropical gyre. The cyclonic/anticyclonic anomaly in the gyre results in an increase/decrease of NEC transport, and a northward/southward shift of the NEC bifurcation latitude near the Philippine coast. The variations are mainly in response to anomalous wind forcing in the west-central tropical North Pacific Ocean, related to ENSO events.

BIFURCATION OF THE NORTH EQUATORIAL CURRENT DERIVED FROM ALTIMETRY IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN

The gridded （1/3°＊1/3°） altimetry data from October 1992 through December 2004 were analyzed to study the seasonal and interannual variabilities of the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current （NEC） at the surface in the western North Pacific Ocean. Calculations show that on annual average the bifurcation occurs at about 13.4°N at the surface. The geostrophic flow derived from Sea Surface Height （SSH） data shows that the southernmost latitude of the NEC bifurcation at the surface is about 12.9°N in June and the northernmost latitude is about 14.1°N in December. Correlation analyses between the bifurcation latitude and the Southern Oscillation Index （SOl） suggest that the bifurcation latitude is highly correlated with the E1 Nino/Southern Oscillation （ENSO） events. During the E1 Nino years the bifurcation of the NEC takes place at higher latitudes and vice versa.

Low-frequency variability of the North Equatorial Current bifurcation in the past 40 years from SODA

The low-frequency variability of the North Equatorial Current （NEC） bifurcation during 1958 to 2001 was investigated with the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation （SODA） 2.0.2 dataset. In agreement with recent observations, the NEC bifurcation latitude （NBL） shifted northward as depth increases, from about 12.7°N near the surface to about 17.1°N at depths around 500 m for the annual average. This study reveals that the interannual variations of NBL, with five years period, mainly focused on the upper 500 m with amplitude increasing as depth increased. The NBL shifted southward in the past 40 years, which was more significant in the subsurface at more than -0.02°/a. The NBL manifests itself in the transports of NMK （NEC-Mindanao Current （MC）-Kuroshio） system in strong relationship with MC （0.7） and Kuroshio （-0.7）. The EOF analysis of meridional velocity off the Philippine coast shows that the first mode, explaining 62% of variance and 5 years period, was highly correlated with the southward shift of NBL with coefficient at about 0.75. The southward shift of NBL consists with the weakening of MC and strengthening of Kuroshio, which exhibited linear trends at -0.24Sv/a and 0.11Sv/a. Both interannual variation and trend of NBL were closely related to the variation of NMK system.

Correlation analysis of the North Equatorial Current bifurcation and the Indonesian Throughflow

Based on monthly mean Simple Ocean Data Assimilation （SODA） products from 1958 to 2007, this study analyzes the seasonal and interannual variability of the North Equatorial Current （NEC） bifurcation latitude and the Indonesian Throughflow （ITF） volume transport. Further, Empirical Mode Decomposition （EMD） method and lag-correlation analysis are employed to reveal the relationships between the NEC bifurcation location, NEC and ITF volume transport and ENSO events. The analysis results of the seasonal variability show that the annual mean location of NEC bifurcation in upper layer occurs at 14.33°N and ITF volume transport has a maximum value in summer, a minimum value in winter and an annual mean transport of 7.75×10^6 m^3/s. The interannual variability analysis indicates that the variability of NEC bifurcation location can be treated as a precursor of El Nino. The correlation coefficient between the two reaches the maximum of 0.53 with a time lag of 2 months. The ITF volume transport is positively related with E1 Nifio events with a maximum coefficient of 0.60 by 3 months. The NEC bifurcation location is positively correlated with the ITF volume transport with a correlation coefficient of 0.43.

The Change Features of the West Boundary Bifurcation Line of the North Equatorial Current in the Pacific

The equatorial Current in the North Pacific(NEC) is an upper layer westward ocean current, which flows to the west boundary of the ocean, east of the Philippines, and bifurcates into the northerly Kuroshio and the main body of the southerly Mindanao current. Thus, NEC is both the south branch of the Subtropical Circulation and the north branch of the Tropical Circulation. The junction of the two branches extends to the west boundary to connect the bifurcation points forming the bifurcation line. The position of the North Pacific Equatorial Current bifurcation line of the surface determines the exchange between and the distribution of subtropical and tropical circulations, thus affecting the local or global climate. A new identification method to track the line and the bifurcation channel was used in this study, focusing on the climatological characteristics of the western boundary of the North Equatorial Current bifurcation line. The long-term average NEC west boundary bifurcation line shifts northwards with depth. In terms of seasonal variation, the average position of the western boundary of the bifurcation line is southernmost in June and northernmost in December, while in terms of interannual variation, from spring to winter in the years when ENSO is developing, the position of the west boundary bifurcation line of NEC is relatively to the north(south) in EI Ni?o(La Ni?a) years as compared to normal years.

Seasonal variability of the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current

Seasonal variability of the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current （NEC） is studied by constructing the analytic solu- tion for the time-dependent horizontal linear shallow water quasi-geostrophic equations. Using the Florida State University wind data from 1961 through 1992, we find that the bifurcation latitude of the NEC changes with seasons. Furthermore, it is shown that the NEC bifurcation is at its southernmost latitude （12.7°N） in June and the northernmost latitude （14.4~ N） in November.

Variation of the North Equatorial Current, Mindanao Current, and Kuroshio Current in a High-Resolution Data Assimilation during 2008–2012

Outputs from a high-resolution data assimilation system,the global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model and Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation （HYCOM＋NCODA） 1/12° analysis,were analyzed for the period September 2008 to February 2012.The objectives were to evaluate the performance of the system in simulating ocean circulation in the tropical northwestern Pacific and to examine the seasonal to interannual variations of the western boundary currents.The HYCOM assimilation compares well with altimetry observations and mooring current measurements.The mean structures and standard deviations of velocities of the North Equatorial Current （NEC）,Mindanao Current （MC） and Kuroshio Current （KC） also compare well with previous observations.Seasonal to interannual variations of the NEC transport volume are closely correlated with the MC transport volume,instead of that of the KC.The NEC and MC transport volumes mainly show well-defined annual cycles,with their maxima in spring and minima in fall,and are closely related to the circulation changes in the Mindanao Dome （MD） region.In seasons of transport maxima,the MD region experiences negative SSH anomalies and a cyclonic gyre anomaly,and in seasons of transport minima the situation is reversed.The sea surface NEC bifurcation latitude （NBL） in the HYCOM assimilation also agrees well with altimetry observations.In 2009,the NBL shows an annual cycle similar to previous studies,reaching its southernmost position in summer and its northernmost position in winter.In 2010 and 2011,the NBL variations are dominantly influenced by La Ni（n）a events.The dynamics responsible for the seasonal to interannual variations of the NEC-MC-KC current system are also discussed.

Interannual variations of North Equatorial Current transport in the Pacific Ocean during two types of El Ni?o

Interannual variations of Pacific North Equatorial Current(NEC) transport during easternPacific El Ni?os(EP-El Ni?os) and central-Pacific El Ni?os(CP-El Ni?os) are investigated by composite analysis with European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast Ocean Analysis/Reanalysis System 3.During EP-El Ni?o,NEC transport shows significant positive anomalies from the developing to decay phases,with the largest anomalies around the mature phase.During CP-El Ni?o,however,the NEC transport only shows positive anomalies before the mature phase,with much weaker anomalies than those during EP-El Ni?o.The NEC transport variations are strongly associated with variations of the tropical gyre and wind forcing in the tropical North Pacific.During EP-El Ni?o,strong westerly wind anomalies and positive wind stress curl anomalies in the tropical North Pacific induce local upward Ekman pumping and westward-propagating upwelling Rossby waves in the ocean,lowering the sea surface height and generating a cyclonic gyre anomaly in the western tropical Pacific.During CP-El Ni?o,however,strength of the wind and associated Ekman pumping velocity are very weak.Negative sea surface height and cyclonic flow anomalies are slightly north of those during EP El Ni?o.

Comparison of Some Features of the Subtropical Countercurrent, the North Equatorial Current and the North Equatorial Countercurrent in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Based on the data of temperature and salinity of the 137°E section in the winters and summers from 1967 to 1995, the geo-strophic current of the section is calculated and analyzed, and the drifting tracks of the satellite tracking drift buoy distributed on the 144°E section are also analyzed. In light of the surface dynamic height distribution in the CSK atlas, this paper compares some features of the Subtropical Countercurrent, the North Equatorial Current and the North Equatorial Countercurrent. The main results are as follows:1. The Subtropical Countercurrent, the North Equatorial Current and the North Equatorial Countercurrent are not simple single currents, but have two branches or more. One of the common features of the three currents mentioned above is "multi-branching" of the current.2. The zonal distribution of the flow velocity structure, the alternate and intermittent occurrence of the eastward and westward flows, with a shallower flow layer and belonging to the surface flow or subsurface

Seasonal variability of the North Equatorial Current transport in the western Pacific Ocean

Seasonal variability of the North Equatorial Current(NEC) transport in the western Pacifi c Ocean is investigated with ECMWF Ocean Analysis/Reanalysis System 3(ORA-S3). The result shows that NEC transport(NT) across different longitudes in the research area shows a similar double-peak structure, with two maxima(in summer and winter), and two minima(in spring and autumn). This kind of structure can also be found in NEC geostrophic transport(NGT), but in a different magnitude and phase. These differences are attributable to Ekman transport induced by the local meridional wind and transport caused by nonzero velocity at the reference level, which is assumed to be zero in the NGT calculation. In the present work, a linear vorticity equation governing a 1.5-layer reduced gravity model is adopted to examine the dynamics of the seasonal variability of NGT. It is found that the annual cycle of NGT is mainly controlled by Ekman pumping induced by local wind, and westward-propagating Rossby waves induced by remote wind. Further research demonstrates that the maximum in winter and minimum in spring are mostly attributed to wind east of the dateline, whilst the maximum in summer and minimum in autumn are largely attributed to that west of the dateline.

Instability in boundary layer between the North Equatorial Current and underlying zonal jets based on mooring observations

Instability/stability in the North Equatorial Current(NEC)basin is studied based on data obtained from nine moorings deployed at 8.5°N,10.5°N,11.0°N,12.5°N,13.0°N,15.0°N,15.5°N,17.5°N,and 18.0°N along 130.0°E during cruises in 2015–2017.In low latitudes,the Coriolis parameter and stratifi cation ratio play important roles in NEC stability,whereas velocity shear and the layer depth ratio are important for NEC stability in high latitudes.Beneath the westward NEC,eastward zonal jets occur intermittently centered around 8.5°N,12.5°N,and 17.5°N along 130.0°E.Similar to the NEC,the main body of these zonal jets also deepens with latitude.In the boundary layer comprising the bottom NEC and upper zonal jets,the growth rate of the NEC is attributed not only to velocity shear but also to zonal jet velocity based on the longwave assumption.Based on the shortwave assumption,the growth rate is proportional to zonal jet velocity but has no relationship with velocity shear.Climatologically,the growth rate in the boundary layer is not zero at 8.5°N,12.5°N,and 13.0°N,where the velocity shear and zonal jets are larger than at other stations.The instability also occurs at the time node when the zonal jets are strong enough,although the mean zonal jets may disappear at this station.

The North Equatorial Current/Undercurrent volume transport and its 40-day variability from a mooring array along 130°E

Traditionally,the estimated volume transport of the North Equatorial Current/Undercurrent(NEC/NEUC)is based on geostrophic equations and/or model results;however,direct observational evidence has not been acquired.We focused on one-year mooring observation data collected along 130°E and calculated the NEC/NEUC volume transport and explore its variability.Results show that the mean NEC and NEUC volume transports calculated from the mean velocity structures in the upper 950 m are 39 Sv and 6 Sv,respectively.Analysis of daily mooring data indicated that the volume transport of the NEC is approximately 52(±14)Sv and the volume transport of the NEUC is approximately 18(±13)Sv.A significant 40-day variation existed for the volume transport of both the NEC and NEUC.Overall,the intraseasonal variability of the NEC is vertically coherent with that of the NEUC.Observations indicated that the NEUC has three cores centered at approximately 8.5°N(~500 m),12.5°N(~700 m),and 17.5°N(~900 m),of which the middle core(12.5°N)is the strongest.The 40-day variability of the NEC and NEUC is related to the variability of local wind stress curl anomalies among various Madden-Julian Oscillation phases.When local wind field generates a negative(positive)wind stress curl anomaly,a weaker NEC(NEUC)and stronger NEUC(NEC)would occur.

A quasi-synoptic interpretation of water mass distribution and circulation in the western North Pacific II:Circulation

Using the data of conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) intensive observations conducted during Oct.-Nov.2005,this study provides the first three-dimension quasi-synoptic description of the circulation in the western North Pacific.Several novel phenomena are revealed,especially in the deep ocean where earlier observations were very sparse.During the observations,the North Equatorial Current (NEC) splits at about 12°N near the sea surface.This bifurcation shifts northward with depth,reaching about 20°N at 1 000 m,and then remains nearly unchanged to as deep as 2 000 m.The Luzon Undercurrent (LUC),emerging below the Kuroshio from about 21°N,intensifies southward,with its upper boundary surfacing around 12°N.From there,part of the LUC separates from the coast,while the rest continues southward to join the Mindanao Current (MC).The MC extends to 2 000 m near the coast,and appears to be closely related to the subsurface cyclonic eddies which overlap low-salinity water from the North Pacific.The Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC),carrying waters from the South Pacific,shifts eastward upon approaching the Mindanao coast and eventually becomes part of the eastward undercurrent between 10°N and 12°N at 130°E.In the upper 2 000 dbar,the total westward transport across 130oE between 7.5oN and 18oN reaches 65.4 Sv (1 Sv=10-6 m3s-1),the northward transport across 18oN from Luzon coast to 130oE is up to 35.0 Sv,and the southward transport across 7.5oN from Mindanao coast to 130oE is 27.9 Sv.

Variabilities of Surface Current in the Tropical Pacific Ocean

The Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) package is used to better understand the variabilities of surface current transport in the Tropical Pacific Ocean from 1950 to 1999. Seasonal variation, interannual and decadal variability analyses are conducted on the three major surface currents of the Tropical Pacific Ocean: the North Equatorial Current (NEC), the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC), and the South Equatorial Current (SEC). The transport of SEC is quite larger than those of NEC and NECC. The SEC has two maximums in February and August. The NEC has a small annual variation. The NECC has a maximum in October and is very weak in March and April. All currents have remarkable interannual and decadal variabilities. The variabilities of the NEC and the SEC relate to the winds over them well, but the relationship between the NECC and the wind over it is not close. Analysis related to El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) suggests that before El Nio (La Nia) the SEC is weaker (stronger) and the NECC is stronger (weaker), after El Nio (La Nia) the SEC is stronger (weaker) and the SEC is weaker (stronger). There is no notable relationship between the NEC and ENSO.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE MINDANAO EDDY AND TROPICAL CURRENTS OF PACIFIC OCEAN

Results of numerical simulation of currents in the western North Tropical Pacific Ocean by using a barotropic primitive equation model with fine horizontal resolution agreed well with observations and showed that the Mindanao Cyclonic Eddy located north of the equator and east of Mindanao Island exists during most of the year with monthly (and large seasonal) variations in scope . strength and central location . In June , an anticyclonic eddy occurs northeast of Halmahera Island, strengthens to maximum in August , exists until October and then disappears . The observed large-scale circulation systems such as the North Equatorial Current . the Mindanao Current and the North Equatorial Countercurrent are all very well reproduced in the simulations.

Bifurcation of Pacific North Equatorial Current at the surface

The grid altimetry data between 1993 and 2006 near the Philippines were analyzed by the method of Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) to study the variation of bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current at the surface of the Pacific. The relatively short-term signals with periods of about 6 months, 4 months, 3 months and 2 months are found besides seasonal and interannual variations mentioned in previous studies. Local wind stress curl plays an important role in controlling variation of bifurcation latitude except in the interannual timescale. The bifurcation latitude is about 13.3°N in annual mean state and it lies at the northernmost position (14.0°N) in January, at the southernmost position (12.5°N) in July. The amplitude of variation of bifurcation latitude in a year is 1.5°, which can mainly be explained as the contributions of the signals with periods of about 1 year (1.2°) and 0.5 year (0.3°).

Low-frequency variability of the shallow meridional overturning circulation in the South China Sea

The low-frequency variability of the shallow meridional overturning circulation（MOC） in the South China Sea（SCS） is investigated using a Simple Ocean Data Assimilation（SODA） product for the period of 1900-2010. A dynamical decomposition method is used in which the MOC is decomposed into the Ekman, external mode, and vertical shear components. Results show that all the three dynamical components contribute to the formation of the seasonal and annual mean shallow MOC in the SCS. The shallow MOC in the SCS consists of two cells： a clockwise cell in the south and an anticlockwise cell in the north; the former is controlled by the Ekman flow and the latter is dominated by the external barotropic flow, with the contribution of the vertical shear being to reduce the magnitude of both cells. In addition, the strength of the MOC in the south is found to have a falling trend over the past century, due mainly to a weakening of the Luzon Strait transport（LST） that reduces the transport of the external component. Further analysis suggests that the weakening of the LST is closely related to a weakening of the westerly wind anomalies over the equatorial Pacific, which leads to a southward shift of the North Equatorial Current（NEC） bifurcation and thus a stronger transport of the Kuroshio east of Luzon.

Vorticity Budget Study on the Seasonal Upper Circulation in the Northern South China Sea from Altimetry Data and a Numerical Model

Based on the EOF analyses of Absolute Dynamic Topography satellite data,it is found that,in summer,the northern South China Sea(SCS) is dominated by an anticyclonic gyre whilst by a cyclonic one in winter.A connected single-layer and two-layer model is employed here to investigate the dynamic mechanism of the circulation in the northern SCS.Numerical experiments show that the nonlinear term,the pressure torque and the planetary vorticity advection play important roles in the circulation of the northern SCS,whilst the contribution by seasonal wind stress curl is local and limited.Only a small part of the Kuroshio water intrudes into the SCS,it then induces a positive vorticity band extending southwestward from the west of the Luzon Strait(LS) and a negative vorticity band along the 200 m isobath of the northern basin.The positive vorticity field induced by the local summer wind stress curl is weaker than that induced in winter in the northern SCS.Besides the Kuroshio intrusion and monsoon,the water transports via the Sunda Shelf and the Sibutu Passage are also important to the circulation in the northern SCS,and the induced vorticity field in summer is almost contrary to that in winter.The strength variations of these three key factors(Kuroshio,monsoon and the water transports via the Sunda Shelf and the Sibutu Passage) determine the seasonal variations of the vorticity and eddy fields in the northern SCS.As for the water exchange via the LS,the Kuroshio intrusion brings about a net inflow into the SCS,and the monsoon has a less effect,whilst the water transports via the Sunda Shelf and the Sibutu Passage are the most important influencing factors,thus,the water exchange of the SCS with the Pacific via the LS changes dramatically from an outflow of the SCS in summer to an inflow into the SCS in winter.

基于OFES模式数据的北赤道流分叉研究

利用1957—2006共50年高分辨率的长时间序列海洋模式OFES(OGCM for the Earth Simulator)数据,对北赤道流(NEC)的分叉规律及其与ENSO循环的关系进行了分析。结果表明:(1)NEC分叉纬度具有明显的季节和年际变化,周期主要呈现为3—6个月的季节内振荡和2年、2—7年左右ENSO尺度周期振荡以及10年以上的年代际变化。在季节尺度上,分叉位置春季偏南,秋季偏北,并且分叉纬度随深度的增加向北移动,其北移幅度冬季最大,夏季最小。而在年际变化尺度上,NEC分叉纬度具有较强的年际变化信号,与ENSO循环密切相关,El Ni?o年分叉位置偏北,La Ni?a年分叉位置偏南。(2)NEC分叉纬度的变化与北太平洋0—30°N之间的纬向风应力旋度积分零线位置密切相关,零线的南北偏移导致了分叉位置的改变,在不同深度上,零线位置对分叉纬度改变的影响时间不同,表层需1个月,而500 m深度则需4个月左右。(3)NEC分叉影响着黑潮(KC)与(棉兰老流)MC的流量分配率,其年际异常变化与冷、暖ENSO事件发生密切相关,当El Ni?o发生时,KC流量分配率减少,MC流量分配率增加;La Ni?a年情况则相反。