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Repeat meridional survey of the Western North Pacific Subtropical Gyre by a VOS ADCP during 1997 to 1998
Author(s) -
Kaneko Arata,
Yuan Zhou,
Gohda Noriaki,
Arai Masazumi,
Nakajima Hideo,
Zheng Hong,
Sugimoto Takashige
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1029/2001gl012887
Subject(s) - ocean gyre , geology , mesoscale meteorology , oceanography , baroclinity , acoustic doppler current profiler , rossby wave , eddy , current (fluid) , anticyclone , subtropics , latitude , climatology , zonal and meridional , gulf stream , boundary current , circumpolar star , middle latitudes , ocean current , geography , meteorology , geodesy , fishery , biology , turbulence
During 1997 to 1998, near‐surface currents in the western North Pacific subtropical gyre have been measured repeatedly by an ADCP mounted on the hull of the volunteer observing ship (VOS) operated mainly between Japan and Australia. The Kuroshio Current, the Kuroshio Recirculation and the North Equatorial Current are clearly identified as two‐year mean currents in the latitude belt 10–34.5° N. Current variability was dominated by baroclinic Rossby waves or mesoscale eddies over the 10–30° N belt except in the latitude belt 13–17° N where the north‐to‐south shifts of the North Equatorial Current stream axis may dominate current variability. The energy of the mesoscale variability was concentrated to form large peaks around 18.5°N and 23°N.