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Dramatic impact of the South China Sea on the Indonesian Throughflow
Author(s) -
Tozuka Tomoki,
Qu Tangdong,
Yamagata Toshio
Publication year - 2007
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 - 10.1029/2007gl030420
Subject(s) - throughflow , oceanography , geology , climatology , china sea , soil science
Using OGCM experiments with and without the South China Sea throughflow, it is shown that this throughflow plays an important role in generating the subsurface maxima in the meridional velocity of the Makassar Strait throughflow. The maximum in the southward flow is located at subsurface around 110 m in the control run, whereas that exists near the surface without the South China Sea throughflow. This results in 0.18 PW difference in the southward heat transport by the Makassar Strait throughflow, suggesting that the South China Sea throughflow may play an important role in climate variability of the Indo‐Pacific region. Furthermore, the South China Sea throughflow, which undergoes a seasonal variation with a maximum in boreal winter, significantly influences the simulated seasonal variation in the Makassar Strait throughflow.