CAS Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China.
Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China.
Sci Rep. 2018 May 16;8(1):7632. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-26047-7.
Meridional ocean current in the northwestern Pacific was documented by seven subsurface moorings deployed at 142°E during August 2014-October 2015. A sandwich structure of the tropical meridional overturning circulation (TMOC) was revealed between 0-6°N that consists of a surface northward flow (0-80 m), a thermocline southward flow (80-260 m; 22.6-26.5 σ ), and a subthermocline northward flow (260-500 m; 26.5-26.9 σ ). Based on mooring data, along with satellite and reanalysis data, prominent seasonal-to-interannual variations were observed in all three layers, and the equatorial zonal winds were found to be a dominant cause of the variations. The TMOC is generally stronger in boreal winter and weaker in summer. During 2014-2015, the TMOC was greatly weakened by westerly wind anomalies associated with the El Niño condition. Further analysis suggests that the TMOC can affect equatorial surface temperature in the western Pacific through anomalous upwelling/downwelling and likely plays a vital role in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
西北太平洋的经向海流是由 2014 年 8 月至 2015 年 10 月部署在 142°E 的七个次表层系泊观测到的。在 0-6°N 之间揭示了热带经向翻转环流（TMOC）的夹层结构，它由一个表面向北的流动（0-80m）、一个温跃层向南的流动（80-260m；22.6-26.5 σ ）和一个次温跃层向北的流动（260-500m；26.5-26.9 σ ）组成。基于系泊数据以及卫星和再分析数据，在所有三个层中都观察到了显著的季节性到年际变化，并且发现赤道纬向风是变化的主要原因。TMOC 在冬季通常较强，夏季较弱。在 2014-2015 年期间，与厄尔尼诺条件相关的西风异常大大削弱了 TMOC。进一步的分析表明，TMOC 可以通过异常上升/下沉来影响西太平洋的赤道表面温度，并可能在厄尔尼诺-南方涛动（ENSO）中发挥重要作用。
