{"title":"Variations in the Central Mode Water in the North Pacific as a manifestation of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation","authors":"Iwasaka Naoto, Fumiaki Kobashi, Yoshimi Kawai","doi":"10.1007/s10872-024-00725-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The North Pacific Central Mode Water (CMW) is examined from the viewpoint of its volume variations. The volume of the CMW layers thicker than <span>\\(150 m\\)</span> is used as an index of CMW variations, which successfully represents the year-to-year and decadal variations in the CMW volume. The CMW index shows the variation close to that of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The CMW variation is strongly tied with large-scale, dominant variations in sea surface temperature (SST), surface dynamic height (SDH), and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the North Pacific, with a significant correlation with the PDO. Year-to-year and decadal variations of CMW volume in May to July are significantly correlated with the wintertime Aleutian Low and 500<span>\\(hPa\\)</span> geopotential height variations, which indicates that the Aleutian Low induces the eastward extension/retreat of the strong winter westerlies and resultant net surface heat flux anomaly over the CMW distribution region. Thus, the CMW volume variation can be regarded as a significant manifestation of the PDO. The SST, SDH, and SSH anomalies are associated with the surface cooling in the northern sector of the CMW distribution region. On the other hand, the SDH and SSH anomalies throughout a year and the SST anomaly in the cold season in the southeastern sector of the CMW region are formed due to the heaving of isopycnal surfaces in the subsurface layer above the CMW in response to its volume variations.</p>","PeriodicalId":16640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oceanography","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Oceanography","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-024-00725-9","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"OCEANOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The North Pacific Central Mode Water (CMW) is examined from the viewpoint of its volume variations. The volume of the CMW layers thicker than \(150 m\) is used as an index of CMW variations, which successfully represents the year-to-year and decadal variations in the CMW volume. The CMW index shows the variation close to that of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The CMW variation is strongly tied with large-scale, dominant variations in sea surface temperature (SST), surface dynamic height (SDH), and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the North Pacific, with a significant correlation with the PDO. Year-to-year and decadal variations of CMW volume in May to July are significantly correlated with the wintertime Aleutian Low and 500\(hPa\) geopotential height variations, which indicates that the Aleutian Low induces the eastward extension/retreat of the strong winter westerlies and resultant net surface heat flux anomaly over the CMW distribution region. Thus, the CMW volume variation can be regarded as a significant manifestation of the PDO. The SST, SDH, and SSH anomalies are associated with the surface cooling in the northern sector of the CMW distribution region. On the other hand, the SDH and SSH anomalies throughout a year and the SST anomaly in the cold season in the southeastern sector of the CMW region are formed due to the heaving of isopycnal surfaces in the subsurface layer above the CMW in response to its volume variations.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Oceanography is the official journal of the Oceanographic Society of Japan and open to all oceanographers in the world. The main aim of the journal is to promote understandings of ocean systems from various aspects including physical, chemical, biological, geological oceanography as well as paleoceanography, etc. The journal welcomes research focusing on the western North Pacific and Asian coastal waters, but the study region is not limited to the Asian Pacific. The journal publishes original articles, short contributions, reviews, and correspondence in oceanography and related fields.