Indonesian Passages Research Articles

Impact of oceanic gateway and CO2 changes on the East Asian summer monsoon during the mid-pliocene in a coupled general circulation model

The Pliocene epoch from about 5.3 million to about 2.6 million years before present is the most recent period of sustained global warmth similar to the near future projections. The restriction of the Indonesian Passages, the closure of the Panama Seaway and declining atmospheric CO 2 -concentration are suggested to have caused the global climate evolution to the present-day condition. Here, we present the Pliocene sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions along with sensitivity experimental results from a coupled General Circulation Model. We find that, in terms of SST, simulated model sensitivity to CO 2 is in good agreement with the Pliocene reconstructions in most regions except the North Atlantic and Arctic. This suggests the necessity for improved boundary conditions and a possible underestimation of internal climate feedback at the high-latitudes. The responses of East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) to the oceanic gateway and CO 2 are investigated. Influences of declining CO 2 on the EASM are more prominent. An intensification of the intensity of EASM by ∼50% is simulated in response to the declining CO 2 , which is largely attributed to the strengthened land-ocean thermal contrast, while the precipitation decreases by ∼4.8%. In contrast, the restriction of two seaway changes only drives relatively weak changes with respect to wind speed and precipitation. A water vapor budget analysis suggests that the reduced atmospheric moisture content due to decreasing CO 2 significantly contributes to precipitation response.

Influence of seaway changes during the Pliocene on tropical Pacific climate in the Kiel climate model: mean state, annual cycle, ENSO, and their interactions

The El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the leading mode of tropical Pacific interannual variability in the present-day climate. Available proxy evidence suggests that ENSO also existed during past climates, for example during the Pliocene extending from about 5.3 million to about 2.6 million years BP. Here we investigate the influences of the Panama Seaway closing and Indonesian Passages narrowing, and also of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) on the tropical Pacific mean climate and annual cycle, and their combined impact on ENSO during the Pliocene. To this end the Kiel Climate Model), a global climate model, is employed to study the influences of the changing geometry and CO2-concentration. We find that ENSO is sensitive to the closing of the Panama Seaway, with ENSO amplitude being reduced by about 15–20 %. The narrowing of the Indonesian Passages enhances ENSO strength but only by about 6 %. ENSO period changes are modest and the spectral ENSO peak stays rather broad. Annual cycle changes are more prominent. An intensification of the annual cycle by about 50 % is simulated in response to the closing of the Panama Seaway, which is largely attributed to the strengthening of meridional wind stress. In comparison to the closing of the Panama Seaway, the narrowing of the Indonesian Passages only drives relatively weak changes in the annual cycle. A robust relationship is found such that ENSO amplitude strengthens when the annual cycle amplitude weakens.

The connection of the Indonesian Throughflow, South Indian Ocean Countercurrent and the Leeuwin Current

Abstract. East of Madagascar, the shallow “South Indian Ocean Counter Current (SICC)” flows from west to east across the Indian Ocean against the direction of the wind-driven circulation. The SICC impinges on west Australia and enhances the sea level slope, strengthening the alongshore coastal jet: the Leeuwin Current (LC), which flows poleward along Australia. An observed transport maximum of the LC around 22° S can likely be attributed to this impingement of the SICC. The LC is often described as a regional coastal current that is forced by an offshore meridional density gradient or sea surface slope. However, little is known about the controls of these open-ocean gradients. The regional circulation system is embedded in the subtropical “super gyre” that connects the Indo-Pacific via the Tasman Gateway and the Indonesian passages. The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) circulates through the Indian Ocean back into the Pacific south of Australia. This return pathway appears to be partly trapped in the upper layer north of an outcrop line. It is redirected along this outcrop line and joins the eastward flow of the SICC. To study the connection of the basin-scale and the inter-ocean-scale dynamics, we apply both an ocean general circulation model and a conceptual two-layer model. Shutdown of the ITF in the models leads to a large decrease in Leeuwin Current transport. Most of the SICC was found to then reconnect to the internal gyre circulation in the Indian Ocean. ITF, SICC and LC thus appear to be dynamically connected.

Pacific‐to‐Indian Ocean connectivity: Tasman leakage, Indonesian Throughflow, and the role of ENSO

AbstractThe upper ocean circulation of the Pacific and Indian Oceans is connected through both the Indonesian Throughflow north of Australia and the Tasman leakage around its south. The relative importance of these two pathways is examined using virtual Lagrangian particles in a high‐resolution nested ocean model. The unprecedented combination of a long integration time within an eddy‐permitting ocean model simulation allows the first assessment of the interannual variability of these pathways in a realistic setting. The mean Indonesian Throughflow, as diagnosed by the particles, is 14.3 Sv, considerably higher than the diagnosed average Tasman leakage of 4.2 Sv. The time series of Indonesian Throughflow agrees well with the Eulerian transport through the major Indonesian Passages, validating the Lagrangian approach using transport‐tagged particles. While the Indonesian Throughflow is mainly associated with upper ocean pathways, the Tasman leakage is concentrated in the 400–900 m depth range at subtropical latitudes. Over the effective period considered (1968–1994), no apparent relationship is found between the Tasman leakage and Indonesian Throughflow. However, the Indonesian Throughflow transport correlates with ENSO. During strong La Niñas, more water of Southern Hemisphere origin flows through Makassar, Moluccas, Ombai, and Timor Straits, but less through Moluccas Strait. In general, each strait responds differently to ENSO, highlighting the complex nature of the ENSO‐ITF interaction.

Impact of the Indonesian Throughflow on Agulhas leakage

Abstract. Using ocean models of different complexity we show that opening the Indonesian Passage between the Pacific and the Indian oceans increases the input of Indian Ocean water into the South Atlantic via the Agulhas leakage. In a strongly eddying global ocean model this response results from an increased Agulhas Current transport and a constant proportion of Agulhas retroflection south of Africa. The leakage increases through an increased frequency of ring shedding events. In an idealized two-layer and flat-bottom eddy resolving model, the proportion of the Agulhas Current transport that retroflects is (for a wide range of wind stress forcing) not affected by an opening of the Indonesian Passage. Using a comparison with a linear model and previous work on the retroflection problem, the result is explained as a balance between two mechanisms: decrease retroflection due to large-scale momentum balance and increase due to local barotropic/baroclinic instabilities.

Nd isotope systematics on ODP Sites 756 and 762 sediments reveal major volcanic, oceanic and climatic changes in South Indian Ocean over the last 35 Ma

We have analyzed the Nd isotopic composition of both ancient seawater and detrital material from long sequences of carbonated oozes of the South Indian Ocean which are ODP Site 756 (Ninety East Ridge (−30°S), 1518m water depth) and ODP Site 762 (Northwest Australian margin, 1360m water depth). The measurements indicate that the εNd changes in Indian seawater over the last 35Ma result from changes in the oceanic circulation, large volcanic and continental weathering Nd inputs. This highlights the diverse nature of those controls and their interconnections in a small area of the ocean.These new records combined with those previously obtained at the equatorial ODP Sites 757 and 707 in the Indian Ocean (Gourlan et al., 2008) established that the distribution of intermediate seawater εNd was uniform over most of the Indian Ocean from 35Ma to 10Ma within a geographical area extending from 40°S to the equator and from −60°E to 120°E. However, the εNd value of Indian Ocean seawater which kept an almost constant value (at about −7 to −8) from 35 to 15Ma rose by 3 εNd units from 15 to 10Ma. This sharp increase has been caused by a radiogenic Nd enrichment of the water mass originating from the Pacific flowing through the Indonesian Passage. Using a two end-members model we calculated that the Nd transported to the Indian Ocean through the Indonesian Pathway was 1.7 times larger at 10Ma than at 15Ma.The Nd isotopic composition of ancient seawater and that of the sediment detrital component appear to be strongly correlated for some specific events. A first evidence occurs between 20 and 15Ma with two positive spikes recorded in both εNd signals that are clearly induced by a volcanic crisis of, most likely, the St. Paul hot-spot. A second evidence is the very large εNd decrease recorded at ODP Sites 756 and 762 during the past 10Ma which has never been previously observed. The synchronism between the εNd decrease in seawater from 10 to 5Ma and evidences of desertification in the western part of the nearly Australian continent suggests enhanced weathering inputs in this ocean from this continent as a result of climatic changes.

Pliocene aridification of Australia caused by tectonically induced weakening of the Indonesian throughflow

Tectonic changes of the Early to Mid-Pliocene largely modified the Indonesian Passages by constricting and uplifting the passages between today's New Guinea and Sulawesi. The associated changes in strength and water mass properties of the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) might have influenced the amount of heat transported from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean and thus contributed to Pliocene climate change of the Indo-Pacific. We study the climate response to changes in the geometry of the Indonesian Passages in an atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM). We compare climate simulations with present-day topography and with a topography resembling the Early Pliocene situation in the Indo-Pacific, i.e. passages East of Sulawesi deepened and widened to the South. We find that transport through the Indonesian Archipelago is weakened in the constricted passage by 1.7 Sv and in the unchanged Makassar Strait West of Sulawesi by 3.5 Sv, while transport weighted temperature of the outflow into the Indian Ocean increases by 1 °C. Consistent with recent proxy evidence the reduction in ITF transport causes a decrease in subsurface temperatures in the Indian Ocean while surface waters of the equatorial Pacific exhibit an increase by up to 0.9 °C centred in the warm pool. As a local response to the sea surface temperature anomalies, we observe an anomalous precipitation dipole across the Indonesian passages with increased rainfall over the Pacific warm pool and decreased precipitation in the eastern Indian Ocean. The Australian continent experiences a pronounced aridification with mean annual precipitation rates dropping by 30% over most parts of the continent. Using an uncoupled vegetation model, we demonstrate that the simulated climate change might partly explain the observed Late Pliocene desertification of Australia.

Indonesian Throughflow variability during the last 140 ka: the Timor Sea outflow

Abstract The transfer of surface and intermediate water from the Pacific to Indian Ocean through the Indonesian passages (Indonesian Throughflow: ITF) strongly influences the heat and freshwater budgets of tropical water masses, in turn affecting global climate. Here, we use combined δ 18 O and Mg/Ca analyses of surface and thermocline planktonic foraminifers to estimate variations in sea surface temperature, salinity and mixed layer thickness over the last 140 ka. Comparison of water mass properties reveals a steeper thermocline temperature gradient in the Timor Strait than in the eastern Indian Ocean during glacials, implying a decrease in ITF cool thermocline outflow. A major freshening and cooling of thermocline waters occurred at c . 9.5 ka, when sea level rose above a critical threshold, allowing establishment of a shallow marine connection from the South China Sea to the Java Sea. Comparison of benthic δ 13 C profiles ( c . 1800 to 3000 m water depth) suggests vigorous mixing of Indian Ocean and ITF outflow intermediate waters during interglacials. In contrast, deep and intermediate water masses became more stratified during glacials. Lower δ 13 C values at c . 3000 m water depth reflect a decrease in deepwater ventilation, probably related to slowdown of the global thermohaline circulation during glacials.

The impact of ocean gateways on ENSO variability in the Miocene

Abstract The existence of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability in past climates is still debated. Based on evidence from geological records indicating a different long-term mean climate in the tropical Pacific, a permanent El Niño state has been hyothesized to exist prior to the Plio-Pleistocene transition. However, model studies of past climate and geological records suggest that ENSO variability has existed on Earth as far back as in the Eocene and the Miocene. In the early-to-middle Miocene, climate was not only warmer than today, but oceanic gateways such as the Indonesian Passage and the Central American Seaway established deep connections between the main ocean basins. Here, we analyse the effect of increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases and open tropical gateways on the amplitude, period and pattern of ENSO variability using results of fully coupled climate model simulations. While our model shows only small changes in ENSO variability under increased greenhouse gas levels, it suggests a significantly stronger and less frequent ENSO due to altered oceanic gateways. In particular, a deeper and more open Indonesian Passage does not prevent a Western Pacific warm pool from developing, but it allows the warm pool to shift into the Indian Ocean.

APPLICATION OF WAVELET TRANSFORM FOR INTERNAL WAVE DETECTION IN SAR IMAGE

In this paper, wavelet transform based on dyadic scales and spatial location have been used for internal wave detection in SAR image. It performed by using multi resolution analysis of image for feature detection and image enhancement. Wavelet transform uses local analysis to analyze a shorter region in image in time and scale data allows precise information than time and frequency region analysis such as Fourier analysis. Internal wave is observed in SAR image by effect of Bragg scattering process in sea surface that represents the meso-scale feature of sea processes. SAR image data is used considering to the effectiveness of large scales area monitoring on near real time data. Internal waves were observed in ERS-1 per 2 SAR images data over Lombok Strait during 1996-2001 period using 2D Symlet analysis for the symmetric extension of data at the image boundaries, to prevent discontinuities by a periodic wrapping of data in fast algorithm and space-saving code. Lombok Strait is chosen as study area because this strait is a major passage of the flow from Pacific Ocean to Indonesian seas (ARLINDO) and passage of Indian Ocean Kelvin wave to Makassar Strait. Keyword: SAR image, internal wave, wavelet analysis.

Dynamics of the Northern Tsuchiya Jet*

Abstract The Tsuchiya jets (TJs) are narrow eastward currents located along thermal fronts at the poleward edges of thermostad water in the Pacific Ocean. In this study, an oceanic general circulation model (OGCM) is used to explore the dynamics of the northern TJ. Solutions are found in a rectangular basin, extending 100° zonally and from 40°S to 40°N. They are forced by three idealized forcings: several patches of idealized wind fields, including one that simulates the strong Ekman pumping region in the vicinity of the Costa Rica Dome (CRD); surface heating that warms the ocean in the tropics; and a prescribed interocean circulation (IOC) that enters the basin through the southern boundary and exits through the western boundary from 2° to 6°N (the model’s Indonesian passages). Solutions forced by all the aforementioned processes and with minimal diffusion resemble the observed flow field in the tropical North Pacific. A narrow eastward current, the model’s northern TJ, flows across the basin along the northern edge of a thick equatorial thermostad. Part of the TJ water upwells at the CRD upwelling region and the rest returns westward in the lower part of the North Equatorial Current. The deeper part of the TJ is supplied by water that leaves the western boundary current somewhat north of the equator. Its shallower part originates from water that diverges from the deep portion of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC); as a result, the TJ transport increases to the east and the TJ warms as it flows across the basin. These and other properties suggest that the dynamics of the model’s TJ are those of an arrested front, which in a 2½-layer model are generated when characteristics of the flow converge strongly or intersect. Eddy form stress, due to instability waves generated at the CRD region, extends the TJ circulation to deeper levels. When diffusivity is increased to commonly used values, the thermostad is less well defined and the TJ is weak. In a solution without the IOC, the TJ is shifted to higher temperatures with its water supplied by the subtropical cell. When horizontal viscosity is reduced, the TJ becomes narrower and is flanked by a westward current on its equatorward side.

PREDICTION OF SOUTHERN OSCILLATION USING THE INDONESIAN THROUGHFLOW VARIABILITY

Atmospheric boundary layer derived from NCEP/NCAR reanalyses for the period of 1974 to 2002 has been used as boundary forcings for the global ocean model Max Planck Institute Ocean Model (MPIOM). The ocean model is a curvilinear grid model, whose poles are located over mainland China and over the Australian continent, thus focusing on the maritime continent. The model simulates major Indonesian throughflow passages that focus on six cannels representing three inlets and three outlets (the Makassar, Lifamatola, Halmahera, Lombok, Ombai and Timor Straits). The model results have been validated using the Arlindo observation Project over the Makassar Strait in the period of January 1997 to February 1998, which fortunately was during a strong El Niño episode. The model simulation results were then investigated for their prediction capabilities of any of those channels in foreseeing the incoming southern oscillation events. Temporal correlation analysis with lag and advance time correlation methods were performed against simulated data at all levels on those channels. Variabilities in depth of 74 to 200m (thermocline depth) show the strongest correlation with SOI index (Darwin minus Tahiti mean sea level pressure). The temperature and salinity correlations with SOI are the highest with one-month in advance over Lifamatola Strait (0.77) and two-month in advance over the Makassar Straits (0.74). These significant correlations highlight the important of those two straits in prediction of incoming southern oscillation that usually leads to ENSO episode which brings most of the time devastating impact to economy, agriculture and ecosystem.

The deep-water motion through the Lifamatola Passage and its contribution to the Indonesian throughflow

In order to estimate the contribution of cold Pacific deep water to the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) and the flushing of the deep Banda Sea, a current meter mooring has been deployed for nearly 3 years on the sill in the Lifamatola Passage as part of the International Nusantara Stratification and Transport (INSTANT) programme. The velocity, temperature, and salinity data, obtained from the mooring, reflect vigorous horizontal and vertical motion in the lowest 500 m over the ∼2000 m deep sill, with speeds regularly surpassing 100 cm/s. The strong residual flow over the sill in the passage and internal, mainly diurnal, tides contribute to this bottom intensified motion. The average volume transport of the deep throughflow from the Maluku Sea to the Seram Sea below 1250 m is 2.5 Sv (1 Sv=10 6 m 3/s), with a transport-weighted mean temperature of 3.2 °C. This result considerably increases existing estimates of the inflow of the ITF into the Indonesian seas by about 25% and lowers the total mean inflow temperature of the ITF to below 13 °C. At shallower levels, between 1250 m and the sea surface, the flow is directed towards the Maluku Sea, north of the passage. The typical residual velocities in this layer are low (∼3 cm/s), contributing to an estimated northward flow of 0.9–1.3 Sv. When more results from the INSTANT programme for the other Indonesian passages become available, a strongly improved estimate of the mass and heat budget of the ITF becomes feasible.

The seasonal variability of the circulation in the South Indian Ocean: Model and observations

This article compares the seasonal variability patterns of the South Indian Ocean circulation derived from a global, eddy-permitting, numerical model and altimeter observations. The seasonal variability of the Indian Ocean circulation is driven by the inflow from the Indonesian Passages and by the local wind forcing. Our analysis indicates that the influence of the Indonesian throughflow is confined to the easternmost portion of the basin, while the influence of the wind stress forcing is important everywhere. Model and observations indicate that, between ~ 105°E and 75°E, the seasonal variability is characterized by the southwestward propagation of an annual wave over a period of ~ 4 months. Preliminary calculations using Pathfinder data also indicate that, in the western region, there are seasonal perturbations that originate in the tropics and propagate poleward through the Mozambique Channel. Our calculations, however, did not find the connections between the tropical and the Agulhas Current variability suggested by earlier modeling studies.

Interactions between the Indonesian Throughflow and circulations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

Circulations associated with the Indonesian Throughflow (IT), particularly concerning subsurface currents in the Pacific Ocean, are studied using three types of models: a linear, continuously stratified (LCS) model and a nonlinear, 4 1 2 -layer model (LOM), both confined to the Indo-Pacific basin; and a global, ocean general circulation model (COCO). Solutions are wind forced, and obtained with both open and closed Indonesian passages. Layers 1–4 of LOM correspond to near-surface, thermocline, subthermocline (thermostad), and upper-intermediate (AAIW) water, respectively, and analogous layers are defined for COCO. The three models share a common dynamics. When the Indonesian passages are abruptly opened, barotropic and baroclinic waves radiate into the interiors of both oceans. The steady-state, barotropic flow field from the difference (open − closed) solution is an anticlockwise circulation around the perimeter of the southern Indian Ocean, with its meridional branches confined to the western boundaries of both oceans. In contrast, steady-state, baroclinic flows extend into the interiors of both basins, a consequence of damping of baroclinic waves by diapycnal processes (internal diffusion, upwelling and subduction, and convective overturning). Deep IT-associated currents are the subsurface parts of these baroclinic flows. In the Pacific, they tend to be directed eastward and poleward, extend throughout the basin, and are closed by upwelling in the eastern ocean and Subpolar Gyre. Smaller-scale aspects of their structure vary significantly among the models, depending on the nature of their diapycnal mixing. At the exit to the Indonesian Seas, the IT is highly surface trapped in all the models, with a prominent, deep core in the LCS model and in LOM. The separation into two cores is due to near-equatorial, eastward-flowing, subsurface currents in the Pacific Ocean, which drain layer 2 and layer 3 waters from the western ocean to supply water for the upwelling regions in the eastern ocean; indeed, depending on the strength and parameterization of vertical diffusion in the Pacific interior, the draining can be strong enough that layer 3 water flows from the Indian to Pacific Ocean. The IT in COCO lacks a significant deep core, likely because the model’s coarse bottom topography has no throughflow passage below 1000 m. Consistent with observations, water in the near-surface (deep) core comes mostly from the northern (southern) hemisphere, a consequence of the wind-driven circulation in the tropical North Pacific being mostly confined to the upper ocean; as a result, it causes the near-surface current along the New Guinea coast to retroflect eastward, but has little impact on the deeper New Guinea undercurrent. In the South Pacific, the IT-associated flow into the basin is spread roughly uniformly throughout all four layers, a consequence of downwelling processes in the Indian Ocean. The inflow first circulates around the Subtropical Gyre, and then bends northward at the Australian coast to flow to the equator within the western boundary currents. To allow for this additional, northward transport, the bifurcation latitude of the South Equatorial Current shifts southward when the Indonesian passages are open. The shift is greater at depth (layers 3 and 4), changing from about 14°S when the passages are closed to 19°S when they are open and, hence, accounting for the northward-flowing Great Barrier Reef Undercurrent in that latitude range. After flowing along the New Guinea coast, most waters in layers 1–3 bend offshore to join the North Equatorial Countercurrent, Equatorial Undercurrent, and southern Tsuchiya Jet, respectively, thereby ensuring that northern hemisphere waters contribute significantly to the IT. In contrast, much of the layer 4 water directly exits the basin via the IT, but some also flows into the subpolar North Pacific. Except for the direct layer 4 outflow, all other IT-associated waters circulate about the North Pacific before they finally enter the Indonesian Seas via the Mindanao Current.

Dynamics of the Southern Tsuchiya Jet*

Abstract The Tsuchiya jets (TJs) are narrow eastward currents, located a few degrees on either side of the equator at depths from 200 to 500 m in the Pacific Ocean. In this study, non-eddy-resolving, oceanic general circulation models (OGCMs) are used to investigate the dynamics of the southern TJ. Most solutions are found in a rectangular basin extending 100° zonally and from 40°S to 10°N. They are forced by idealized zonal and meridional winds representing the trades and the southerly winds near the South American coast, by a prescribed interocean circulation (IOC) that enters the basin through the southern boundary and exits through the western boundary from 2° to 6°N (the model’s Indonesian passages), and by surface heating that warms the ocean in the Tropics. A suite of solutions is presented to isolate effects of each forcing and mixing process. A few solutions are also found to a global OGCM driven by realistic forcings. Solutions forced by all of the aforementioned processes and with minimal diffusion resemble the observed flow field in the tropical South Pacific. A narrow eastward current, the model southern TJ, flows across the basin along the southern edge of a thick equatorial thermostad, and upwells at the eastern boundary. Its deeper part is supplied by water that leaves the western boundary current somewhat south of the equator. Its shallower part originates from water that diverges from the deep portion of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC); as a result, the TJ transport increases to the east and the TJ warms as it flows across the basin. A major part of the water that upwells at the eastern boundary is supplied by the TJ with a minor contribution from the southern boundary region. In idealized-basin solutions without forcing either by the IOC or meridional wind, the TJ is weak or absent. These, and other, properties suggest that the dynamics of the model’s TJ are those of an arrested front, which in a 2½-layer model are generated when characteristics of the flow merge or intersect. When diffusivity is increased to commonly used values, the thermostad is less well defined or even absent and the TJ is weak, suggesting that excessive diffusion is the reason why TJs are not present in many previous OGCMs. In the solution to a global OGCM, the southern TJ still exists without the IOC, although it is warmed by 1°C, indicating that much of its water is supplied by an overturning cell confined within the Pacific basin.

Indian Ocean Dipolelike Variability in the CSIRO Mark 3 Coupled Climate Model

Abstract Coupled ocean–atmosphere variability in the tropical Indian Ocean is explored with a multicentury integration of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Mark 3 climate model, which runs without flux adjustment. Despite the presence of some common deficiencies in this type of coupled model, zonal dipolelike variability is produced. During July through November, the dominant mode of variability of sea surface temperature resembles the observed zonal dipole and has out-of-phase rainfall variations across the Indian Ocean basin, which are as large as those associated with the model El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In the positive dipole phase, cold SST anomaly and suppressed rainfall south of the equator on the Sumatra–Java coast drives an anticyclonic circulation anomaly that is consistent with the steady response (Gill model) to a heat sink displaced south of the equator. The northwest–southeast tilting Sumatra–Java coast results in cold sea surface temperature (SST) centered south of the equator, which forces anticylonic winds that are southeasterly along the coast, which thus produces local upwelling, cool SSTs, and promotes more anticylonic winds; on the equator, the easterlies raise the thermocline to the east via upwelling Kelvin waves and deepen the off-equatorial thermocline to the west via off-equatorial downwelling Rossby waves. The model dipole mode exhibits little contemporaneous relationship with the model ENSO; however, this does not imply that it is independent of ENSO. The model dipole often (but not always) develops in the year following El Niño. It is triggered by an unrealistic transmission of the model’s ENSO discharge phase through the Indonesian passages. In the model, the ENSO discharge Rossby waves arrive at the Sumatra–Java coast some 6 to 9 months after an El Niño peaks, causing the majority of model dipole events to peak in the year after an ENSO warm event. In the observed ENSO discharge, Rossby waves arrive at the Australian northwest coast. Thus the model Indian Ocean dipolelike variability is triggered by an unrealistic mechanism. The result highlights the importance of properly representing the transmission of Pacific Rossby waves and Indonesian throughflow in the complex topography of the Indonesian region in coupled climate models.

Dynamics of the Pacific Subsurface Countercurrents*

A hierarchy of models, varying from 2 -layer to 4 -layer systems, is used to explore the dynamics of the 11 22 Pacific Subsurface Countercurrents, commonly referred to as ‘‘Tsuchiya Jets’’ (TJs). The TJs are eastward currents located on either side of the equator at depths from 200 to 500 m and at latitudes varying from about 28 to 78 north and south of the equator, and they carry about 14 Sv of lower-thermocline (upper-intermediate) water throughout the tropical Pacific. Solutions are found in idealized and realistic basins and are obtained both analytically and numerically. They are forced by winds and by a prescribed Pacific interocean circulation (IOC) with transport M (usually 10 Sv), representing the outflow of water in the Indonesian passages and a compensating inflow from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Analytic solutions to the 2 -layer model suggest that the TJs are geostrophic currents along arrested fronts. 1 2 Such fronts are generated when Rossby wave characteristics, carrying information about oceanic density structure away from boundaries, converge or intersect in the interior ocean. They indicate that the southern and northern TJs are driven by upwelling along the South American coast and in the ITCZ band, respectively, that the northern TJ is strengthened by a recirculation gyre that extends across the basin, and that TJ pathways are sensitive to stratification parameters. Numerical solutions to the 2 -layer and 4 -layer models confirm the analytic results, 11 22 demonstrate that the northern TJ is strengthened considerably by unstable waves along the eastward branch of the recirculation gyre, show that the TJs are an important branch of the Pacific IOC, and illustrate the sensitivity of TJ pathways to vertical-mixing parameterizations and the structure of the driving wind. In a solution to the 2 -layer model with M 5 0, the southern TJ vanishes but the northern one remains, being 1 2 maintained by the unstable waves. In contrast, both TJs vanish in the M 5 0 solution to the 4 -layer model,

Effects of the Indonesian Throughflow on the Pacific and Indian Oceans

Abstract Effects of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) on the circulation and thermal structure of the Pacific and Indian Oceans are studied by comparing solutions of a near-global ocean general circulation model with open and closed Indonesian passages from 1981 to 1997. The ITF contributes to the maintenance of the model circulation system around eastern Australia and the southern Indian Ocean. Blockage of the ITF weakens the Indian Ocean South Equatorial Current and Agulhas Current and strengthens the East Australian Current. The ITF does not affect the Mindanao Current, but drains waters carried by this current into the Indian Ocean and thus reduces tropical–subtropical exchange in the North Pacific. Meanwhile, it helps maintain a stronger New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent and thus enhances tropical–subtropical exchange in the south. Water parcels traveling along the western boundary of the South Pacific cross the equator in the presence of the ITF but are confined to the Southern Hemisphere without the I...

Influence of the Indonesian Throughflow on the Circulation of Pacific Intermediate Water*

Abstract A 4½ layer model is used to study intermediate-water circulation in the Pacific Ocean. Solutions are forced by annual-mean winds. They are also driven by a prescribed inflow of water through the southwestern corner of the basin [12 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1)] and a compensating outflow in layers 1, 2, and 3 through the western boundary just north of the equator; this mass exchange simulates the Pacific interocean circulation (IOC), in which intermediate water enters the South Pacific, and the same amount of upper water exits via the Indonesian passages. The water in each subsurface layer is formed by specific processes, and hence can be interpreted as corresponding to a distinct water-mass type. The types are thermocline water generated by subtropical subduction (layer 2), upper-intermediate and lower-thermocline water generated by midlatitude subduction in the North and South Pacific (NPIW and SPLTW, respectively; layer 3), and lower-intermediate water that corresponds to Antarctic Intermediate Water ...