What causes the subsurface velocity maximum of the East Australian Current?

Abstract

The East Australian Current (EAC) system includes a poleward jet that flows adjacent to the continental shelf, a southward and eastward extension, and a complex eddy field. The EAC jet is often observed to be subsurface-intensified. Here, we explain that there are two factors that cause the EAC to develop a subsurface maximum. First, the EAC flows as a narrow current, carrying low-density water from the Coral Sea into the denser waters of the Tasman Sea. This results in horizontal density gradients with a different sign on either side of the jet, negative onshore and positive offshore. According to the thermal wind relation, this produces vertical gradients in southward current that are surface-intensified onshore, and subsurface-intensified offshore. Second, we show that the winds over the shelf are mostly downwelling favourable, drawing the surface EAC waters onshore. This aligns the region of positive horizontal density gradients with the EAC core, producing a subsurface velocity maximum. The presence of a subsurface maximum may produce baroclinic instabilities that play a role in eddy formation and EAC separation from the coast.