North Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water simulation and future projection

XIA Ruibin; LIU Qinyu; XU Lixiao; LU Yiqun

doi:10.1007/s13131-015-0630-y

Article Contents

Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2015 > 34(3): 25-30

XIA Ruibin, LIU Qinyu, XU Lixiao, LU Yiqun. North Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water simulation and future projection[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2015, 34(3): 25-30. doi: 10.1007/s13131-015-0630-y

Citation:

XIA Ruibin, LIU Qinyu, XU Lixiao, LU Yiqun. North Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water simulation and future projection[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2015, 34(3): 25-30. doi: 10.1007/s13131-015-0630-y

Citation:

PDF( 511 KB)

North Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water simulation and future projection

doi: 10.1007/s13131-015-0630-y

Physical Oceanography Laboratory/Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction and Climate in Universities of Shandong, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China

Received Date: 2014-06-11
Rev Recd Date: 2014-12-18

Abstract

Abstract

The present climate simulation and future projection of the Eastern Subtropical Mode Water (ESTMW) in the North Pacific are investigated based on the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Earth System Model (GFDL-ESM2M). Spatial patterns of the mixed layer depth (MLD) in the eastern subtropical North Pacific and the ESTMW are well simulated using this model. Compared with historical simulation, the ESTMW is produced at lighter isopycnal surfaces and its total volume is decreased in the RCP8.5 runs, because the subduction rate of the ESTMW decreases by 0.82×10^-6 m/s during February-March. In addition, it is found that the lateral induction decreasing is approximately four times more than the Ekman pumping, and thus it plays a dominant role in the decreased subduction rate associated with global warming. Moreover, the MLD during February-March is banded shoaling in response to global warming, extending northeastward from the east of the Hawaii Islands (20°N, 155°W) to the west coast of North America (30°N, 125°W), with a maximum shoaling of 50 m, and then leads to the lateral induction reduction. Meanwhile, the increased northeastward surface warm current to the east of Hawaii helps strengthen of the local upper ocean stratification and induces the banded shoaling MLD under warmer climate. This new finding indicates that the ocean surface currents play an important role in the response of the MLD and the ESTMW to global warming.
- eastern subtropical mode water

FullText(HTML)

References(21)

References

Dunne J P, Coauthors. 2012. GFDL's ESM2 Global Coupled Climate-Carbon Earth System Models. Part I: Physical Formulation and Baseline Simulation Characteristics. Journal of Climate, 25: 6646-6665

Gao S, Chen Y. 2011. The formation, pathway and destination of the north pacific subduction water identified by a simulated passive tracer. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting

Hanawa K, Talley L. 2001. Chapter 5.4 Mode waters. In: Siedler Gould J C, John G, eds. International Geophysics, vol. 77. San Diego, Calif: Academic Press, 373-386

Hautala S L, Roemmich D H. 1998. Subtropical mode water in the northeast Pacific Basin. J Geophys Res, 103: 13055-13066

Hu H, Liu Q, Zhang Y, et al. 2011. Variability of subduction rates of the subtropical North Pacific mode waters. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 29: 1131-1141

Huang Rui Xin, Qiu Bo. 1994. Three-dimensional structure of the wind-driven circulation in the Subtropical North Pacific. J Phys Oceanogr, 24: 1608-1622

Iselin C O D. 1939. The influence of vertical and lateral turbulence on the characteristics of the waters at mid-depths. Trans Amer Geophys Union, 20: 414-417

Luo Y, Liu Q, Rothstein L M. 2009. Simulated response of North Pacific Mode Waters to global warming. Geophysical Research Letters, 36 McCreary J P, Lu P. 1994. On the interaction between the subtropical and the equatorial oceans: The subtropical cell. J Phys Oceanogr, 24: 466-497

Oka E, Qiu B. 2011. Progress of North Pacific mode water research in the past decade. Journal of Oceanography, 68: 5-20

Pond S, Pickard G L. 1983. Introductory Dynamical Oceanography. New York: Pergamon, 379

Qu T, Chen J. 2009. A North Pacific decadal variability in subduction rate. Geophys Res Lett, 36: L22602

Stommel H. 1979. Determination of water mass properties of water pumped down from the Ekman layer to the geostrophic flow below. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 76: 3051-3055

Suga T, Motoki K, Aoki Y. 2004. The North Pacific climatology of winter mixed layer and Mode Waters. J Phys Oceanogr, 34: 3-22

Suga T, Aoki Y, Saito H, et al. 2008. Ventilation of the North Pacific subtropical pycnocline and mode water formation. Progress in Oceanography, 77(4): 285-297

Taylor K E, Stouffer R J, Meehl G A. 2012. An overview of CMIP5 and the experiment design. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 93: 485-498

Toyoda T, Awaji T, Ishikawa Y, et al. 2004. Preconditioning of winter mixed layer in the formation of North Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water. Geophys Res Lett, 31: L17206

Williams R G. 1991: The role of the mixed layer in setting the potential vorticity of the main thermocline. J Phys Oceanogr, 21: 1803- 1814

Xie S-P, Kunitani T, Kubokawa A, et al. 2000. Interdecadal thermocline variability in the North Pacific for 1958-1997: A GCM simulation. J Phys Oceanogr, 30: 2798-2813

Xie S-P, Deser C, Gabriel A, et al. 2010. Global warming pattern formation: Sea surface temperature and rainfall. J Climate, 23: 966-986

Xie S-P, Xu L, Liu Q, et al. 2011. Dynamical role of mode water ventilation in decadal variability in the central subtropical gyre of the North Pacific. J Climate, 24: 1212-1225

Xu L, Xie S-P, Liu Q, et al. 2012. Response of the North Pacific subtropical countercurrent and its variability to global warming. Journal of Oceanography, 68: 127-137

Relative Articles

Supplements(0)

Cited By

Proportional views