Multi-decadal scale changes in the intermediate water mass in the Sea of Okhotsk and North Pacific and their mechanisms

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  • オホーツク海と北太平洋中層水の数十年スケール変動とそのメカニズム
  • オホーツクカイ ト キタタイヘイヨウ チュウソウスイ ノ スウジュウネン スケール ヘンドウ ト ソノ メカニズム

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The Okhotsk Sea is a marginal sea located on the northwest rim of the Pacific Ocean, and is known to be the ventilation source of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW). It has recently been reported that there was a significant freshening of NPIW salinity in the latter half of 20 th century (the water mass was cooled on its isopycnal surfaces) (Wong et al., 1999). Several studies have indicated that freshening in the surface water of the subarctic North Pacific and the Sea of Okhotsk occurs on a multidecadal timescale, implying that freshened source water could modify NPIW. On the contrary, the potential temperature of intermediate water in the Sea of Okhotsk and the western subarctic region increased significantly on 26.8-27.2 σθ isopycnals, which translated to a salinification signal on isopycnal surfaces due to the surrounding T-S curve. In this paper, we present the recent numerical modeling studies focusing on the causes of the multidecadal-scale changes observed in the intermediate water in the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific.

Journal

  • 低温科学

    低温科学 74 127-141, 2016-03-31

    低温科学第74巻編集委員会

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