Impact of the closure of Indonesian seaway on climate: A numerical modeling study

Using a global OGCM and its relevant coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM with the contemporary, 6 MaBP and 14 MaBP oceanic topography, respectively, a series of numerical experiments are implemented in order to investigate the effect of the north shift of Australian continent on the tropical oceanic circulation, especially the formation of the western Pacific warm pool. The numerical experiments of the individual OGCM forced by the modern atmospheric circulation indicate that the closure of Indonesian passage results in warming in the tropical Pacific Ocean and cooling in the tropical Indian Ocean; furthermore, it also results in change in source of the Indonesian Through Flow (ITF) water, e.g. ITF mainly originates from the south Pacific at 14 MaBP, but it mainly originates from the north Pacific now. The coupled model shows similar results as the individual OGCM qualitatively.