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Subthermocline eddies observed by rapid‐sampling Argo floats in the subtropical northwestern Pacific Ocean in Spring 2014
Author(s) -
Zhang Zhiwei,
Li Peiliang,
Xu Lixiao,
Li Cheng,
Zhao Wei,
Tian Jiwei,
Qu Tangdong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl064601
Subject(s) - argo , water mass , oceanography , subtropics , subtropical front , mode water , salinity , mixed layer , eddy , geology , spring (device) , subarctic climate , temperature salinity diagrams , thermocline , western hemisphere warm pool , environmental science , climatology , ocean gyre , sea surface temperature , geography , turbulence , meteorology , fishery , mechanical engineering , engineering , biology
In Spring 2014, two subthermocline eddies (STEs) were observed by rapid‐sampling Argo floats in the subtropical northwestern Pacific (STNWP). The first one is a warm, salty, and oxygen‐poor lens, with its temperature/salinity /dissolved oxygen ( T / S /DO) anomalies reaching 1.16°C/0.21 practical salinity unit (psu)/−29.9 µmol/kg, respectively, near the 26.62 σ 0 surface. The other is a cold, fresh, and oxygen‐rich lens, with its T / S /DO anomalies reaching −1.95°C/−0.34 psu/88.0 µmol/kg, respectively, near the 26.54 σ 0 surface. The vertical extent of the water mass anomalies in the warm (cold) STE is about 190 m (150 m), and its horizontal length scale is 22 ± 7 km (18 ± 10 km). According to their water mass properties, we speculate that the warm and cold STEs are generated in the North Pacific Subtropical and Subarctic Front region, respectively. The observed STEs may play an important role in modifying the intermediate‐layer water properties in the STNWP, and this needs to be confirmed by more focused observations in the future.