A preliminary study on an upper ocean heat and salt content of the western Pacific warm pool region

Abstract

On the basis of Argo profile data of the temperature and salinity from January 2001 to July 2014, the spatial distributions of an upper ocean heat content (OHC) and ocean salt content (OSC) of the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP) region and their seasonal and interannual variations are studied by a cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function (CSEOF) decomposition, a maximum entropy spectral analysis, and a correlation analysis. Probable reasons for variations are discussed. The results show the following. (1) The OHC variations in the subsurface layer of the WPWP are much greater than those in the surface layer. On the contrary, the OSC variations are mainly in the surface layer, while the subsurface layer varies little. (2) Compared with the OSC, the OHC of the WPWP region is more affected by El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. The CSEOF analysis shows that the OHC pattern in mode 1 has strong interannual oscillation, with eastern and western parts opposite in phase. The distribution of the OSC has a positive-negative-positive tripole pattern. Time series analysis shows that the OHC has three phase adjustments with the occurrence of ENSO events after 2007, while the OSC only had one such adjustment during the same period. Further analysis indicates that the OHC variations are mainly caused by ENSO events, local winds, and zonal currents, whereas the OSC variations are caused by much more complex reasons. Two of these, the zonal current and a freshwater flux, have a positive feedback on the OSC change in the WPWP region.