Abstract
A simple experiment was carried out to give substance to an idealized theory of Masuda, which interprets the bimodality of the Kuroshio in terms of bifurcation and multiple steady states. The subtropical gyre and the Kuroshio were simulated in a tank on a turntable by use of a source and sinks. When bottom topographies are placed to model the two “water gates”, located to the south of Kyushu and at the Izu Ridge, the observed flow bears a strong resemblance to either kind of the observed Kuroshio: (1) the N-type without meander or (2) the A-type with large amplitude meander. Both kinds of flow appear possible under the same experimental conditions in a certain parameter range; one type of path can shift to the other through finite amplitude of disturbances.
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