Abstract
Surface and subsurface temperature changes in the Kuroshio induced by tropical cyclones (TCs) were investigated using both 10-year observational datasets (SST maps and Argo data) and temperature budget analysis of idealized numerical simulations. Although Argo data are very limited during a TC’s passage, they provided unique in situ measurements at the subsurface of the Kuroshio. Compared to the surface water in the Kuroshio and in the general ocean, the subsurface water of the Kuroshio shows a rapid temperature warming (recovery) after a TC’s passage. Budget analysis on the model simulations suggested that the temperature changes at surface Kuroshio are dominated by the wind-induced vertical mixing, while the subsurface temperature changes are primarily dominated by TC-induced Ekman pumping (downwelling-upwelling-downwelling pattern). The Kuroshio subsurface water is warmed up mainly by the downwelling process, and then transported downstream by strong Kuroshio currents. Sensitivity experiments suggested that the recovery time of the subsurface temperature cooling is more sensitive to TC translation speeds and less sensitive to the Kuroshio current velocities.
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This work is supported by the National Science Foundation of China, under grant no. 41476008, the Major State Basic Research Development Program (2015CB452805), and by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA11010303).
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Responsible Editor: Jinyu Sheng
This article is part of the Topical Collection on the 6th International Workshop on Modeling the Ocean (IWMO) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 23-27 June 2014
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Liu, X., Wei, J. Understanding surface and subsurface temperature changes induced by tropical cyclones in the Kuroshio. Ocean Dynamics 65, 1017–1027 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0851-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0851-9