The vertical structure and variability of the western boundary currents east of the Philippines: case study from in situ observations from December 2010 to August 2014

Abstract

In this work, the vertical structure and variability along the western boundary of the Philippines are investigated using direct observations from acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), Doppler volume sampler (DVS) and Aanderaa Seaguard instruments, which are mounted on a subsurface mooring deployed at 8°N, 127°3′E. In climatology, the southward Mindanao Current (MC) and northward Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC) play a dominant role in the upper layer. The mean currents at 1200 and 3500 m flow northward, whereas those at 2500 and 5600 m flow equatorward. The power spectral density (PSD) shows that an intraseasonal signal of 60–80 days is common from the sea surface to the bottom. The semiannual signals are strongest in the MUC layer, and the amplitude then decreases with depth to 3500 m. The seasonal variability at 2500 and 5600 m is similar between the two depths, suggesting a southward current in winter and northward flow in autumn. The current at 3500 m exhibits a northward direction in spring and southward flow in winter. In addition, the linear correlations between mooring data and altimetry products indicate that the variations in surface meridional currents along the western boundary of the Pacific Ocean can reach the bottom via low-frequency processes. The vertical-mode decomposition for observations indicates that the first four modes can effectively capture the original data. The relative contributions of different modes exhibit seasonal variability. The first baroclinic mode plays a dominant role in spring and autumn. In winter and summer, its contribution decreases and becomes comparable to that of the other modes.