A Short Surface Pathway of the Subsurface Indonesian Throughflow Water from the Java Coast Associated with Upwelling, Ekman Transport, and Subduction

[摘要] A surface pathway of the subsurface Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) in the southeasternIndian Ocean is proposed using a combined analysis of Lagrangian particles andpassive tracers derived from two independent tools: an Ocean General Circulation Model(OGCM) and Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA.2.0.2) reanalysis data. This newlysuggested pathway follows the processes in succession as upwelling in the south Java coast, offshore Ekman driftand subduction into the thermocline centered on 20∘S. The upwelling of subsurface ITFalong the south Java coast is found to occur from August to October. Upon surfacing,the ITF advects southwestward being trapped in the surface Ekman layer for an approximateperiod of 260 days and reaches the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean subductionzone centered on 20∘S which is demarcated by the Zero Wind Stress Curl (ZWSC) andsubducts there. The particle trajectory revealed that during the subduction within theZWSC region, the surface eastward flow above 120 m depth carries the particle about 10∘to the east and westward flow below this depth carries the particle to the western IndianOcean along the thermocline. These pathways are confirmed by a series of tracer experimentsusing SODA reanalysis data. The effects of vertical mixing and entrainment onthe surfacing of the ITF at south Java coast were identified.

[学科分类] 地质学