Effect of meridional wind on gap-leaping western boundary current |
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Authors: | Zheng Wang Dongliang Yuan Yijun Hou |
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Affiliation: | (1) Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academic of Science, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People’s Republic of China;(2) State Key Laboratory of Oceanography in the Tropics, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academic of Science, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou, 510301, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China |
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Abstract: | Using a 1.5-layer reduced-gravity nonlinear shallow-water equation model, we studied the effect of the meridional wind on
the western boundary currents (WBC) at critical states with hysteresis courses. The results of the simulation indicate that
the WBC is prone to penetrating into the gap under northerly winds, and its path is more difficult to alter due to the larger
interval between the two critical transition curves (C
1
P and C
1
L). For southerly winds, the WBC is prone to leaping across the gap, and its path is easier to alter due to the smaller interval
between the two critical transition curves. The simulation results also indicate that the meridional winds over the southern
region of the gap are the dominant factor determining the formation of the WBC. The dynamic mechanism influencing the transport
of WBC near the gap is both Ekman transport and the blocking of Ekman transport. Ekman transport induced by northerly winds
may reduce the transport of the WBC, causing the β-effect to dominate the meridional advection (promoting the penetration). Southerly winds, however, may enhance the transport
of the WBC, causing the meridional advection to dominate the β-effect (promoting the leaping state). These results explain
some structural features of the Kuroshio at the Luzon Strait. |
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Keywords: | |
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