Global Distribution and Interannual Variation in the Winter Halocline

The distribution and interannual variation in the winter halocline in the upper layers of the World Ocean were investigated via analyses of hydrographic data from the World Ocean Database 2013 using a simple definition of the halocline. A halocline was generally observed in the tropics, equatorward...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Physical Oceanography
Main Authors: Ueno, Hiromichi, Oda, Masato, Yasui, Katsura, Dobashi, Ryo, Mitsudera, Humio
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Meteorological Society
Subjects:
Ocean
Salinity
Interannual variability
452
Gulf of Alaska
Pacific
Southern Ocean
Subarctic
Alaska
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2115/87781
https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-21-0056.1
Description
Summary:The distribution and interannual variation in the winter halocline in the upper layers of the World Ocean were investigated via analyses of hydrographic data from the World Ocean Database 2013 using a simple definition of the halocline. A halocline was generally observed in the tropics, equatorward portions of subtropical regions, subarctic North Pacific, and Southern Ocean. A strong halocline tended to occur in areas where the sea surface salinity (SSS) was low. The interannual variation in halocline strength was correlated with variation in SSS. The correlation coefficients were usually negative: the halocline was strong when the SSS was low. However, in the Gulf of Alaska in the northeastern North Pacific, the correlation coefficient was positive. There, halocline strength was influenced by interannual variation in Ekman pumping.

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