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Time‐frequency variability of Kuroshio meanders in Tokara Strait
Author(s) -
Nakamura Hirohiko,
Yamashiro Toru,
Nishina Ayako,
Ichikawa Hiroshi
Publication year - 2006
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 - 10.1029/2006gl027516
Subject(s) - geology , oceanography , climatology , geodesy
The meander of the Kuroshio path, with periods of 30–90 days, dominates Tokara Strait, Japan. To understand the time‐frequency variability of this meander, two Kuroshio indicators were subjected to wavelet analysis for the period 1984–2004. The 30–90 day variance of the position of the Kuroshio in Tokara Strait shows a season‐fixed nature, with larger amplitudes in the period December–July. The amplitude of the variance in this phenomenon is also modulated by interannual variations, with small variance recorded during 1989–1992, large variance during 1993–1998, and a return to small variance from 1999–2003. This interannual variation is positively correlated with that of Kuroshio volume transport in Tokara Strait. The largest variance during February–April precedes the largest volume transport in April–May by about 1 month, suggesting that mesoscale menders are the forcing of the volume transport increase, not the other way around.