Negative Wind Stress Curl Research Articles

From monsoon to marine productivity in the Arabian Sea: insights from glacial and interglacial climates

Abstract. The current-climate Indian monsoon is known to boost biological productivity in the Arabian Sea. This paradigm has been extensively used to reconstruct past monsoon variability from palaeo-proxies indicative of changes in surface productivity. Here, we test this paradigm by simulating changes in marine primary productivity for eight contrasted climates from the last glacial–interglacial cycle. We show that there is no straightforward correlation between boreal summer productivity of the Arabian Sea and summer monsoon strength across the different simulated climates. Locally, productivity is fuelled by nutrient supply driven by Ekman dynamics. Upward transport of nutrients is modulated by a combination of alongshore wind stress intensity, which drives coastal upwelling, and by a positive wind stress curl to the west of the jet axis resulting in upward Ekman pumping. To the east of the jet axis there is however a strong downward Ekman pumping due to a negative wind stress curl. Consequently, changes in coastal alongshore stress and/or curl depend on both the jet intensity and position. The jet position is constrained by the Indian summer monsoon pattern, which in turn is influenced by the astronomical parameters and the ice sheet cover. The astronomical parameters are indeed shown to impact wind stress intensity in the Arabian Sea through large-scale changes in the meridional gradient of upper-tropospheric temperature. However, both the astronomical parameters and the ice sheets affect the pattern of wind stress curl through the position of the sea level depression barycentre over the monsoon region (20–150° W, 30° S–60° N). The combined changes in monsoon intensity and pattern lead to some higher glacial productivity during the summer season, in agreement with some palaeo-productivity reconstructions.

The influence of ENSO on an oceanic eddy pair in the South China Sea

AbstractAn eddy pair off the Vietnam coast is one of the most important features of the summertime South China Sea circulation. Its variability is of interest due to its profound impact on regional climate, ecosystems, biological processes, and fisheries. This study examines the influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a basin‐scale climatic mode, on the interannual variability of this regional eddy pair using satellite observational data and historical hydrographic measurements. Over the last three decades, the eddy pair strengthened in 1994 and 2002, and weakened in 2006, 2007, and 2008. It was absent in 1988, 1995, 1998, and 2010, coinciding with strong El Nino‐to‐La Nina transitions. Composite analyses showed that the strong transition events of ENSO led to radical changes in the summer monsoon, through the forcing of a unique sea surface temperature anomaly structure over the tropical Indo‐Pacific basin. With weaker zonal wind, a more northward wind direction, and the disappearance of a pair of positive and negative wind stress curls, the eastward current jet turns northward along the Vietnam coast and the eddy pair disappears.

Mesoscale circulation along the Sakhalin Island eastern coast

The seasonal and interannual variability of mesoscale circulation along the eastern coast of the Sakhalin Island in the Okhotsk Sea is investigated using AVISO velocity field and oceanographic data for the period from 1993 to 2016. It is found that mesoscale cyclones with the horizontal dimension of about 100 km occur there predominantly during summer, whereas anticyclones occur predominantly during fall and winter. The cyclones are generated due to the coastal upwelling forced by northward winds and the positive wind stress curl along the Sakhalin coast. The anticyclones are formed due to an inflow of low-salinity Amur-River waters from the Sakhalin Gulf intensified by southward winds and the negative wind stress curl in the cold season. The mesoscale cyclones support the high biological productivity at the eastern Sakhalin shelf in July - August.

Weakest winter South China Sea western boundary current caused by the 2015–2016 El Niño event

AbstractDuring the winter of 2015–2016, the strongest El Niño event of the twenty‐first century occurred. At the same time, volume transport (VT) time series of the South China Sea western boundary current (SCSWBC) exhibited a minimum value of 3.7 Sv (1 Sv = 1 × 106 m3 s−1) toward the southwest, indicating the weakest strength ever recorded in boreal winter (from November to February). The South China Sea (SCS) cyclonic gyre, inferred from the satellite‐derived surface absolute geostrophic current, was significantly reduced. It was considered that the weakened wind stress curl (negative anomaly) over the SCS resulting from an anticyclone over the Philippine Sea played an essential role. The anticyclone arose from a Rossby‐wave response to a negative sea surface temperature anomaly in the northwest Pacific. This idea is further supported by composite analysis, which shows that during El Niño (La Niña) winter, negative (positive) wind stress curl anomalies prevail in the Philippine Sea and the SCS; thus, the wind stress curl over the SCS is reduced (strengthened), leading to a weaker (stronger) SCS cyclonic gyre and SCSWBC. The mean VT of SCSWBC is 4.7 Sv (5.6 Sv), which is smaller (larger) than 5.2 Sv in normal years. This study provides robust observational evidence from long‐term in situ volume transport monitoring that El Niño can have a significant impact on the SCSWBC through an atmosphere‐bridged teleconnection.

ENSO Teleconnection to the Isopycnal Depth Fluctuations of the East/Japan Sea Intermediate Water in the Ulleung Basin during 1968–2002

AbstractThis study first detects the decadal variability in the depths of the East/Japan Sea (EJS) Intermediate Water (ESIW) using in situ observations and relates it to strong El Niño–Southern Oscillations (ENSOs). Using multitaper cross-spectrum and cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function analysis, this study found significant coherences at the 99% confidence level and opposite phases between Niño-3 and the ESIW isopycnal depths in the Ulleung Basin (UB) at a period of 14.1 yr during 1968–2002. This suggests a teleconnection between strong ENSOs and the ESIW, the cause of which is explored. When a strong El Niño (EN) develops, the Pacific–North American pattern is intensified by the EN-related Rossby wave interfering constructively with the climatological stationary wave. The amplified wave propagates upward into the stratosphere and breaks, weakening the polar vortex. The EN-related geopotential height increases over the pole with poleward converging air and decreases over the Yakutsk Basin (YB), indicating a negative northern annular mode with the south-to-north gradient balancing the easterly anomaly that responds to vortex weakening. The converged air at the pole warms adiabatically and raises the height as it sinks. This height distribution, including the east-to-west gradient balancing the southward flow, induces the polar vortex split into two with the colder one in the YB where the EJS is closer than from the pole. The EN-related northwesterly wind directing toward the EJS is also strong. Thus, the coldest air with negative wind stress curls reaches the EJS quickly and forms more ESIW, which converges into the UB, causing the observed decadal isopycnal fluctuations.

Modelling the upwelling offthe east Hainan Island coast in summer 2010

A synoptic-scale upwelling event that developed offthe east coast of the Hainan Island (EHIU) in the summer of 2010 is defined well via processing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sea surface temperature (SST) data. The Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) with high spatial resolution has been used to investigate this upwelling event. By comparing the ROMS results against tide station data, Argo float profiles and MODIS SST, it is confirmed that the ROMS reproduces the EHIU well. The cooler-water core (CWC) distinguished by waters < 27.5°C in the EHIU, which occurred in the east Qiongzhou Strait mouth area and was bounded by a high temperature gradient, was the focus of this paper. Vertical structure of the CWC suggests that interaction between the westward flow and the bathymetry slope played a significant role in the formation of CWC. Numerical experiments indicated that the westward flow in the Qiongzhou Strait was the result of tidal rectification over variable topography (Shi et al., 2002), thus tides played a critical role on the development of the CWC. The negative wind stress curl that dominated the east Qiongzhou Strait mouth area suppressed the intensity of the CWC by 0.2–0.4°C. Further, nonlinear interaction between tidal currents and wind stress enhanced vertical mixing greatly, which would benefit the development of the CWC.

Seasonal Variability in Middepth Gyral Circulation Patterns in the Central East/Japan Sea as Revealed by Long-Term Argo Data

AbstractTrajectories of Argo floats deployed in the East/Japan Sea from 2001 to 2014 reveal that the middepth gyral circulation pattern of the Japan basin, the central part of the East/Japan Sea, undergoes a seasonal variation. The middepth circulation of the Japan basin is found to be characterized usually by the gyres trapped to the east of the Bogorov Rise (E-gyres) and those extending farther westward into the whole basin (BW-gyres). The E-gyre trajectories are generally associated with the turning of the floats toward deeper regions off the isobaths. This occurs in winter either on the northern or eastern side of the eastern Japan basin. It seems that the upstream part of the otherwise BW-gyre is subject to a strong negative wind stress curl in winter, and there the circulating water columns are driven toward the deeper region, thus triggering the formation of the E-gyre. The topographic effect associated with the Bogorov Rise seems to interfere thereafter in the process of determining the passage of the E-gyre. Otherwise, the water columns continue to flow along the isobaths, hence maintaining the BW-gyre. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first observational evidence of seasonal variability in the middepth gyral circulation pattern in the East/Japan Sea. It suggests that oceanic middepth circulation, usually known to be quasi steady or slowly varying on climatological time scales, might also undergo a significant seasonal variation as it does in the East/Japan Sea.

Role of Mesoscale Eddies in the Distribution Pattern of Zooplankton Standing Stock of Western Bay of Bengal During Spring Transition

Hydrography and spatial variability of zooplankton community during spring transition associated with Anti Cyclonic Eddies (ACE) and Cyclonic Eddies (CE) in the south western Bay of Bengal is investigated. In situ data collected on board FORV Sagar Sampada and satellite derived products were used for the study. Physical parameters such as temperature, salinity, and sigma-t in the surface waters showed typical spring condition with almost uniform distribution in the region. However, MLD, ILD and BLT showed noticeable variation between ACE and CE region. The satellite derived SSHA overlaid geostrophic current pattern indicates the piling up of surface water (20cm) in the region as the result of ACE centred at 13.25°N, 83°E and negative anomaly of 24cm associated with Cyclonic eddy at 15°N, 84°E. Observed cyclonic eddies (15°N, 84°E) are characterised by depressing temperature by about 7°C at 100m depth. The forcing mechanism of ACE identified as negative wind stress curl and associated westward propagating Rossby waves and formation of CE might be due to baroclinic instability developed by equator ward flow of fresh plume water from the north during the winter monsoon period. The biological response in the primary and secondary level to these phenomena explained based on chlorophyll-a distribution and mesozooplankton standing stock. Satellite imagery showed a uniform distribution of surface chlorophyll (< 0.1 mg m˗3) in the study region, except a slight increase in the CE. Subsurface Chlorophyll Maxima (SCM) observed at the base of the mixed layer showed the preference of phytoplankton community to the optimum environmental conditions. Mesozooplankton standing stock observed was relatively higher at CE and the centre of ACE. Enhanced phytoplankton standing stock due to the nutrient enrichment at CE favoured the abundance of zooplankton community. In contrast to the general trend, core of ACE supported higher zooplankton standing with dominance of copepods, chaetognaths, ostracods etc. Relatively higher biological production in the primary as well as secondary level during the present study was associated either with the extended winter production to the early months of spring or the characteristics like intensity, age, spatial variation of prevailing physical processes.

A numerical study of circulation in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. Part I: Whole-basin gyres and mean currents

A regional model of the Gulf of Riga (GoR) with horizontal grid spacing of 0.5 nautical miles was applied to study the features and driving forces of the whole-basin circulation in the GoR. The initial conditions and atmospheric forcing were taken from the operational models High Resolution Operational Model for the Baltic (HIROMB) and High Resolution Limited Area Model (HIRLAM), respectively. The wind stress curl is shown to be a major contributor to the whole-basin circulation pattern. An anticyclonic circulation pattern in the summer is determined by a combined effect of the negative wind stress curl, thermal density stratification and bottom topography. Positive values of the wind stress curl and a cyclonic circulation pattern prevail during the cold period of the year when seasonal thermocline is absent. During calm periods, the anticyclonic type of circulation is established due to a combined effect of the river runoff, saltier water inflow into and mixed water outflow from the GoR. Two seasonal baroclinic jet-like currents are identified in the summer: the Northward Longshore Current in the western GoR and Southward Subsurface Longshore Current in the eastern GoR. The alteration of the circulation pattern in the GoR from cyclonic in the cold period of the year to anticyclonic in the summer, and vice versa, was shown to be observed not every year due to inter-annual variability of wind forcing.

Interannual variability in chlorophyll-a on the southern Queensland continental shelf and its relationship to ENSO

Coastal phytoplankton blooms can result from upwelling of colder nutrient-rich water, seasonal fluvial or anthropogenic point sources of nutrient. Here we analyze 15-year time series of monthly mean and 8-day satellite-derived chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and sea surface temperature (SST) on the southern Queensland continental shelf (24.25–28.25°S) from March 2000 to February 2015. We examine the interannual variability in these parameters and its relationship to algal bloom dynamics. Seasonal climatological means are computed and analyzed. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis is applied to these time series. Cross-correlation and spatial correlation analyses are used to investigate the relationship between the multivariate ENSO index (MEI), Chl-a and SST. Computed eigenvectors of the time series of Chl-a and SST present a strong seasonal variability on the first EOF modes. Thus, the seasonal variability was removed by computing monthly and 8-day Chl-a and SST anomalies. The EOF analysis was then applied to the anomaly time series. Correlation analysis results show a positive correlation between MEI and the eigenvector of the first EOF of the monthly Chl-a anomaly with time lag of three to four months. We find a negative correlation between MEI and the eigenvector of the second EOF of the monthly Chl-a anomaly with time lag of three to four months. There is no correlation between MEI and eigenvectors of the monthly SST anomaly. There are significant correlations between eigenvectors of the first and second EOF modes of 8-day Chl-a and the first and second EOF modes of 8-day SST respectively. Negative correlation coefficients between 8-day anomalies of Chl-a and SST are found on the continental shelf to the east of Fraser Island and Stradbroke Island. Analysis of a particular algal bloom event indicates a negative SST anomaly and negative curl of wind stress in the waters to the southeast of Fraser Island suggesting that wind stress is possibly a secondary but significant physical driver of the upwelling system. Our results suggest that variability in phytoplankton biomass on the southern Queensland continental shelf is driven by upwelling of nutrients during the spring dry season and fluvial nutrient loads during the summer and autumn wet seasons. Seasonal change is the primary factor controlling the variability of Chl-a and SST while climate variability (ENSO) and upwelling are secondary but significant factors.

Eddy formation and surface flow field in the Luzon Strait area during the summer of 2009

The formation of mesoscale eddies and the structure of the surface flow field in the Luzon Strait area were examined using in-situ CTD data, Argo float data, and multi-satellite remote sensing data collected from May to August 2009. The results show that vigorous water exchange between Kuroshio water and South China Sea (SCS) water began to emerge over the 200 m water column throughout the strait. Based on an objective definition of surface currents, float A69 tracked an anti-cyclonic eddy southwest of Taiwan Island under a Lagrangian current measurement. The salinity inside the anti-cyclonic eddy was higher than in typical SCS water but lower than in Kuroshio mainstream water, indicating that this eddy was induced by Kuroshio frontal intrusion through the Luzon Strait and into the SCS. From hydrographic data, we propose that continuous horizontal diffusion with high-salinity characteristics in the subsurface layer could extend to 119A degrees E or even further west. The high-temperature filament, large positive sea level anomaly and clockwise geostrophic current all confirmed the existence of this warm eddy in May and June. A strongly negative wind stress curl maintained the eddy until it died. The surface flow field during July and August was rather complicated. Float A83 described an east-west orientated shuttle run in the 20A degrees N section that was not reported by previous studies. At the same time, float A80 indicated a Kuroshio bend into the north-central region of Luzon Strait but it did not cross 120.5A degrees E. The water mass rejoining the Kuroshio mainstream from the southern tip of Taiwan Island was less saline, indicating an entrainment of water from SCS by the Kuroshio bend.

Replicating the 1970s' Weddell Polynya using a coupled ocean‐sea ice model with reanalysis surface flux fields

AbstractThe 1970s' Weddell Polynya is simulated in the framework of a coupled ocean‐sea ice model forced by reanalysis surface flux fields. A rapid emergence of strongly negative wind stress curl over the Weddell Sea intensifies the cyclonic Weddell gyre and thus causes the relatively warm and salty Weddell Deep Water (WDW) to upwell, generating an open‐ocean polynya by melting sea ice or hindering its formation. Once the polynya occurs in the austral winter, the underlying water column is destabilized due to the combined effect of the high‐salinity WDW, a massive cooling at the air‐sea interface, and the ensuing brine rejection from newly forming ice, thus inducing open‐ocean deep convection. Further analysis shows that the buildup of a large heat reservoir at depth by the mid‐1970s was a necessary condition to establish the Weddell Polynya of the 1970s.

Winter coastal upwelling off northwest Borneo in the South China Sea

Winter coastal upwelling off northwest Borneo in the South China Sea (SCS) is investigated by using satellite data, climatological temperature and salinity fields and reanalysis data. The upwelling forms in December, matures in January, starts to decay in February and almost disappears in March. Both Ekman transport induced by the alongshore winter monsoon and Ekman pumping due to orographic wind stress curl are favorable for the upwelling. Transport estimates demonstrate that the month-to-month variability of Ekman transport and Ekman pumping are both consistent with that of winter coastal upwelling, but Ekman transport is two times larger than Ekman pumping in January and February. Under the influence of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the upwelling shows remarkable interannual variability: during winter of El Nino (La Nina) years, an anticyclonic (a cyclonic) wind anomaly is established in the SCS, which behaves a northeasterly (southwesterly) anomaly and a positive (negative) wind stress curl anomaly off the northwest Borneo coast, enhancing (reducing) the upwelling and causing anomalous surface cooling (warming) and higher (lower) chlorophyll concentration. The sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) associated with ENSO off the northwest Borneo coast has an opposite phase to that off southeast Vietnam, resulting in a SSTA seesaw pattern in the southern SCS in winter.

Wind-induced upwelling in the Kerguelen Plateau region

Abstract. In contrast to most of the Southern Ocean, the Kerguelen Plateau supports an unusually strong spring chlorophyll (Chl a) bloom, likely because the euphotic zone in the region is supplied with higher iron concentrations. This study uses satellite wind, sea surface temperature (SST), and ocean color data to explore the impact of wind-driven processes on upwelling of cold (presumably iron-rich) water to the euphotic zone. Results show that, in the Kerguelen region, cold SSTs correlate with high wind speeds, implying that wind-mixing leads to enhanced vertical mixing. Cold SSTs also correlate with negative wind-stress curl, implying that Ekman pumping can further enhance upwelling. In the moderate to high eddy kinetic energy (EKE) regions surrounding Kerguelen, we find evidence of coupling between winds and SST gradients associated with mesoscale eddies, which can locally modulate the wind-stress curl. This coupling introduces persistent wind-stress curl patterns and Ekman pumping around these long-lived eddies, which may modulate the evolution of Chl a in the downstream plume far offshore. Close to the plateau, this eddy coupling breaks down. Kerguelen has a significant wind shadow on its downwind side, which changes position depending on the prevailing wind and which generates a wind-stress curl dipole that shifts location depending on wind direction. This leads to locally enhanced Ekman pumping for a few hundred kilometers downstream from the Kerguelen Plateau; Chl a values tend to be more elevated in places where wind-stress curl induces Ekman upwelling than in locations of downwelling, although the estimated upwelling rates are too small for this relationship to derive from direct effects on upward iron supply, and thus other processes, which remain to be determined, must also be involved in the establishment of these correlations. During the October and November (2011) KErguelen Ocean and Plateau compared Study (KEOPS-2) field program, wind conditions were fairly typical for the region, with enhanced Ekman upwelling expected to the north of the Kerguelen Islands.

The relation of wind stress curl and meridional transport in the Benguela upwelling system

Spatially high resolved wind data reveals the existence of a very pronounced and persistent cyclonic (negative) wind stress curl (WSC) along the southwest African coast. Several theoretical studies have shown that negative WSC modifies the meridional currents in eastern boundary systems significantly. Since the water mass composition on the southwest African shelf is primarily controlled by the meridional currents, understanding the relation between WSC and the meridional advection is of great importance for the Benguela ecosystem. In this study, we use a regional general circulation model that is validated with observations in order to study the effect of cyclonic WSC on the meridional transport along the southwest African coast. We show that there is a connection between the meridional transport and the WSC on a seasonal time scale in the northern Benguela upwelling system (BUS). The meridional transport follows the annual and semi-annual cycles of the WSC between 20° S and 25° S. The cyclonic WSC in the northern BUS may therefore support a southward advection of tropical waters into the upwelling system.

Tropical Indian Ocean subsurface temperature variability and the forcing mechanisms

The first two leading modes of interannual variability of sea surface temperature in the Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) are governed by El Nino Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) respectively. TIO subsurface however does not co-vary with the surface. The patterns of the first mode of TIO subsurface temperature variability and their vertical structure are found to closely resemble the patterns of IOD and El Nino co-occurrence years. These co-occurrence years are characterized by a north–south subsurface dipole rather than a conventional IOD forced east–west dipole. This subsurface dipole is forced by wind stress curl anomalies, driven mainly by meridional shear in the zonal wind anomalies. A new subsurface dipole index (SDI) has been defined in this study to quantify the intensity of the north–south dipole mode. The SDI peaks during December to February (DJF), a season after the dipole mode index peaks. It is found that this subsurface north–south dipole is a manifestation of the internal mode of variability of the Indian Ocean forced by IOD but modulated by Pacific forcing. The seasonal evolution of thermocline, subsurface temperature and the corresponding leading modes of variability further support this hypothesis. Positive wind stress curl anomalies in the south and negative wind stress curl anomalies in the north of 5°S force (or intensify) downwelling and upwelling waves respectively during DJF. These waves induce strong subsurface warming in the south and cooling in the north (especially during DJF) and assist the formation and/or maintenance of the north–south subsurface dipole. A thick barrier layer forms in the southern TIO, supporting the long persistence of anomalous subsurface warming. To the best of our knowledge the existence of such north–south subsurface dipole in TIO is being reported for the first time.

Long-Term Variations of the Kuroshio Extension Path in Winter: Meridional Movement and Path State Change

Abstract As an indicator of the Kuroshio Extension (KE) path, the KE northern boundary (KENB) was detected based on the position of the strong winter sea surface temperature (SST) gradient between 142° and 155°E, using high spatial resolution satellite-derived SST for the 30 winters (January to March) from 1982 to 2011. The KE path showed meridional movement with a period of 10–15 yr and an amplitude of about 2° latitude. The changes in latitudinal position of the KE path were initiated by a north–south shift of the Aleutian low (AL). Negative wind stress curl anomalies around 35°N in the eastern North Pacific associated with a northward shift of the AL induced a deepening of the main thermocline depth, and then this deepening signal propagated westward, reaching the KE region after about 3 yr, where it caused the KE path to move northward. The path state of the KE (straight path/convoluted path) modulated on a time scale of 8–12 yr, but this was not significantly correlated with the meridional movement of the KE path. The anticyclonic eddies containing warm-salty water that detached northward from the convoluted KE exerted a strong influence on oceanic conditions in the Kuroshio–Oyashio Confluence (KOC) region. The changes in path state of the KE were related to the path of the Kuroshio south of Japan over the long term; a convoluted (straight) KE path was associated with the Kuroshio taking the offshore nonlarge (nearshore nonlarge or typical large) meander path.

Horizontal and residual circulations driven by wind stress curl in Tokyo Bay

This study investigates the horizontal and residual circulations in Tokyo Bay using field observations, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis. Numerical simulations show that the observed deepening of isopycnals and associated anticyclonic horizontal circulation in the bay head are mainly driven by negative wind stress curl. The effects of river discharge, surface heat fluxes, and tides are found to be small. Under strong wind events, the wind stress curl over the bay head can be large enough to make the surface Ekman layer strongly nonlinear. Theoretical and numerical analyses show that, under large negative wind stress curl, the nonlinearity tends to induce positive pumping velocity (at the base of the surface mixed layer) that counteracts the Ekman pumping; however, the typical duration of wind events in the bay head is not long enough to induce positive pumping under negative wind stress curl. These results and historical wind data suggest that the average horizontal circulation and residual circulation immediately below the surface mixed layer in Tokyo Bay are, respectively, cyclonic and convergent in summer but anticyclonic and divergent in winter.

Impacts of the Madden–Julian Oscillation on the Summer South China Sea Ocean Circulation and Temperature

Abstract The present study investigates the impact of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) on the South China Sea (SCS) in summer with three types of models: a theoretical Sverdrup model, a 1.5-layer reduced gravity model, and a regional ocean model [Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)]. Results show that the ocean circulation in the SCS has an intraseasonal oscillation responding to the MJO. During its westerly phase, the MJO produces positive (negative) wind stress curl over the northern (southern) SCS and thus induces an enhanced cyclonic (anticyclonic) circulation in the northern (southern) SCS. This not only cools sea surface temperature (SST) but also decreases (increases) subsurface temperature in the northern (southern) SCS. During its easterly phase, the MJO basically produces a reversed but weaker influence on SCS ocean circulation and temperature. Thus, the MJO can have an imprint on the summer climatology of SCS circulation and temperature. The authors' analysis further indicates that the MJO's dynamic effect associated with wind is generally more important than its thermodynamic effect in modulating the regional ocean circulation and temperature. The present study suggests that the MJO is important for summer ocean circulation and temperature in the SCS.

Mass‐induced sea level change in the northwestern North Pacific and its contribution to total sea level change

Over the period 2003–2011, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite pair revealed a remarkable variability in mass‐induced sea surface height (MSSH) in the northwestern North Pacific. A significant correlation is found between MSSH and observed total sea surface height (SSH), indicative of the importance of barotropic variability in this region. For the period 2003–2011, MSSH rose at a rate of 6.1 ± 0.7 mm/yr, which has a significant contribution to the SSH rise (8.3 ± 0.7 mm/yr). Analysis of the barotropic vorticity equation based on National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis product, GRACE, and altimetry data suggests that the MSSH signal is primarily caused by negative wind stress curl associated with an anomalous anticyclonic atmospheric circulation. Regression analysis indicates that trends in MSSH and surface wind are related to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, whose index had a decreasing trend in the last decade.