Shallow Salinity Minima in the North Pacific

Abstract

Abstract CTD/STD data from 24 cruises in the North Pacific are studied for their vertical salinity structure and compared to bottle observations. A triple-salinity minimum is found in two separated regions in the eastern North Pacific. In the first region, bounded by the northern edge of the subarctic frontal zone and the 34°N front between 160° and 150°W, a middle salinity minimum is found below the permanent pycnocline in the density range of 26.0 and 26.5 σθ. This middle minimum underlies Reid's shallow salinity minimum and overlies the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW). In the second region, southeast of the first, a seasonal salinity minimum appears above the shallow salinity minimum at densities lower than 25.1 σθ. The shallow salinity minimum and the NPIW can be found throughout year, while the seasonal minimum only appears in summer and fall. The middle and shallow salinity minima, as well as the seasonal minimum, originate at the sea surface in the northeast Pacific. The properties at the m...