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Mesoscale Eddies in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean: Three‐Dimensional Eddy Structures and Heat/Salt Transports
Author(s) -
Dong Di,
Brandt Peter,
Chang Ping,
Schütte Florian,
Yang Xiaofeng,
Yan Jinhui,
Zeng Jisheng
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1002/2017jc013303
Subject(s) - argo , eddy , mesoscale meteorology , geology , ocean heat content , climatology , zonal and meridional , temperature salinity diagrams , sea surface height , oceanography , ocean current , atmospheric sciences , salinity , sea surface temperature , meteorology , geography , turbulence
The region encompassing the Kuroshio Extension (KE) in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean (25°N–45°N and 130°E–180°E) is one of the most eddy‐energetic regions of the global ocean. The three‐dimensional structures and transports of mesoscale eddies in this region are comprehensively investigated by combined use of satellite data and Argo profiles. With the allocation of Argo profiles inside detected eddies, the spatial variations of structures of eddy temperature and salinity anomalies are analyzed. The results show that eddies predominantly have subsurface (near‐surface) intensified temperature and salinity anomalies south (north) of the KE jet, which is related to different background stratifications between these regions. A new method based on eddy trajectories and the inferred three‐dimensional eddy structures is proposed to estimate heat and salt transports by eddy movements in a Lagrangian framework. Spatial distributions of eddy transports are presented over the vicinity of the KE for the first time. The magnitude of eddy‐induced meridional heat (freshwater volume) transport is on the order of 0.01 PW (10 3 m 3 /s). The eddy heat transport divergence results in an oceanic heat loss south and heat gain north of the KE, thereby reinforcing and counteracting the oceanic heat loss from air‐sea fluxes south and north of the KE jet, respectively. It also suggests a poleward heat transport across the KE jet due to eddy propagation.