Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction
The lower deep branch of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation (L-PMOC) is responsible for the deep-water transport from Antarctic to the North Pacific and is a key ingredient in the regulation of global climate through its influence on the storage and residence time of heat and carbon. At...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:98b8fd5e59684dfe8c67f8d6ac8fc34d 2023-05-15T14:03:35+02:00 Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction Jianing Wang Fan Wang Youyu Lu Qiang Ma Larry J. Pratt Zhixiang Zhang 2021-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.672199 https://doaj.org/article/98b8fd5e59684dfe8c67f8d6ac8fc34d EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.672199/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.672199 https://doaj.org/article/98b8fd5e59684dfe8c67f8d6ac8fc34d Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) PMOC mooring observations seasonal variability pathways transport Yap-Mariana Junction Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.672199 2022-12-31T16:22:31Z The lower deep branch of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation (L-PMOC) is responsible for the deep-water transport from Antarctic to the North Pacific and is a key ingredient in the regulation of global climate through its influence on the storage and residence time of heat and carbon. At the Pacific Yap-Mariana Junction (YMJ), a major gateway for deep-water flowing into the Western Pacific Ocean, we deployed five moorings from 2018 to 2019 in the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Channels in order to explore the pathways and variability of L-PMOC. We have identified three main patterns for L-PMOC pathways. In Pattern 1, the L-PMOC intrudes into the YMJ from the East Mariana Basin (EMB) through the Eastern Channel and then flows northward into the West Mariana Basin (WMB) through the Northern Channel and southward into the West Caroline Basin (WCB) through the Southern Channel. In Pattern 2, the L-PMOC intrudes into the YMJ from both the WCB and the EMB and then flows into the WMB. In Pattern 3, the L-PMOC comes from the WCB and then flows into the EMB and WMB. The volume transports of L-PMOC through the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Channels all exhibit seasonality. During November–April (May–October), the flow pathway conforms to Pattern 1 (Patterns 2 and 3), and the mean and standard deviation of L-PMOC transports are −4.44 ± 1.26 (−0.30 ± 1.47), −0.96 ± 1.13 (1.75 ± 1.49), and 1.49 ± 1.31 (1.07 ± 1.10) Sv in the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Channels, respectively. Further analysis of numerical ocean modeling results demonstrates that L-PMOC transport at the YMJ is forced by a deep pressure gradient between two adjacent basins, which is mainly determined by the sea surface height (SSH) and water masses in the upper 2,000-m layer. The seasonal variability of L-PMOC transport is attributed to local Ekman pumping and westward-propagating Rossby waves. The L-PMOC transport greater than 3,500 m is closely linked to the wind forcing and the upper ocean processes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Pacific Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
PMOC mooring observations seasonal variability pathways transport Yap-Mariana Junction Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
PMOC mooring observations seasonal variability pathways transport Yap-Mariana Junction Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Jianing Wang Fan Wang Youyu Lu Qiang Ma Larry J. Pratt Zhixiang Zhang Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction |
topic_facet |
PMOC mooring observations seasonal variability pathways transport Yap-Mariana Junction Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
The lower deep branch of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation (L-PMOC) is responsible for the deep-water transport from Antarctic to the North Pacific and is a key ingredient in the regulation of global climate through its influence on the storage and residence time of heat and carbon. At the Pacific Yap-Mariana Junction (YMJ), a major gateway for deep-water flowing into the Western Pacific Ocean, we deployed five moorings from 2018 to 2019 in the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Channels in order to explore the pathways and variability of L-PMOC. We have identified three main patterns for L-PMOC pathways. In Pattern 1, the L-PMOC intrudes into the YMJ from the East Mariana Basin (EMB) through the Eastern Channel and then flows northward into the West Mariana Basin (WMB) through the Northern Channel and southward into the West Caroline Basin (WCB) through the Southern Channel. In Pattern 2, the L-PMOC intrudes into the YMJ from both the WCB and the EMB and then flows into the WMB. In Pattern 3, the L-PMOC comes from the WCB and then flows into the EMB and WMB. The volume transports of L-PMOC through the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Channels all exhibit seasonality. During November–April (May–October), the flow pathway conforms to Pattern 1 (Patterns 2 and 3), and the mean and standard deviation of L-PMOC transports are −4.44 ± 1.26 (−0.30 ± 1.47), −0.96 ± 1.13 (1.75 ± 1.49), and 1.49 ± 1.31 (1.07 ± 1.10) Sv in the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Channels, respectively. Further analysis of numerical ocean modeling results demonstrates that L-PMOC transport at the YMJ is forced by a deep pressure gradient between two adjacent basins, which is mainly determined by the sea surface height (SSH) and water masses in the upper 2,000-m layer. The seasonal variability of L-PMOC transport is attributed to local Ekman pumping and westward-propagating Rossby waves. The L-PMOC transport greater than 3,500 m is closely linked to the wind forcing and the upper ocean processes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jianing Wang Fan Wang Youyu Lu Qiang Ma Larry J. Pratt Zhixiang Zhang |
author_facet |
Jianing Wang Fan Wang Youyu Lu Qiang Ma Larry J. Pratt Zhixiang Zhang |
author_sort |
Jianing Wang |
title |
Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction |
title_short |
Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction |
title_full |
Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction |
title_fullStr |
Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pathways, Volume Transport, and Seasonal Variability of the Lower Deep Limb of the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation at the Yap-Mariana Junction |
title_sort |
pathways, volume transport, and seasonal variability of the lower deep limb of the pacific meridional overturning circulation at the yap-mariana junction |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.672199 https://doaj.org/article/98b8fd5e59684dfe8c67f8d6ac8fc34d |
geographic |
Antarctic Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Pacific |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.672199/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.672199 https://doaj.org/article/98b8fd5e59684dfe8c67f8d6ac8fc34d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.672199 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
_version_ |
1766274307904765952 |