scholarly journals Indian Ocean Subtropical Mode Water: its water characteristics and spatial distribution

Ocean Science ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Tsubouchi ◽  
T. Suga ◽  
K. Hanawa
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Formation Region ◽  
Subtropical Mode Water ◽  
Water Characteristics ◽  
South Indian

Abstract. We have improved a basic description (water characteristics and spatial distribution) of the Indian Ocean Subtropical Mode Water (IOSTMW) using an isopycnally averaged three-dimensional hydrographic dataset. Two mode waters and corresponding wintertime mixed layer depth maxima were observed north of the subtropical front (STF) in the South Indian Ocean: IOSTMW (within 25.8–26.2 σθ) in the region of 28–45° E and another subtropical mode water in the subtropical gyre (within 26.4–26.7 σθ) in the 60–80° E longitudinal band. Through careful examination of the spatial distribution and water characteristics of a core in the layer of minimum vertical temperature gradient (LMVTG), we identified that a mass of LMVTG corresponds to IOSTMW. The average water characteristics of the IOSTMW during approximately 1960–2004 were 16.54 ± 0.49 °C, 35.51 ± 0.04 psu and 26.0 ± 0.1 σθ. The IOSTMW distribution area was estimated to be 25–50° E, 27–38° S. The formation region and approximate water characteristics of the second subtropical mode water were also estimated. Its probable formation region was 37–42° S, 60–80° E and north of the STF, with approximate water characteristics of 12.84 ± 0.57 °C, 35.17 ± 0.11 psu and 26.57 ± 0.04 σθ.

scholarly journals Indian Ocean subtropical mode water: its water characteristics and spatial distribution

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 723-739
Author(s):  
T. Tsubouchi ◽  
T. Suga ◽  
K. Hanawa
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Vertical Temperature ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Subtropical Mode Water ◽  
Water Characteristics ◽  
The Indian Ocean

Abstract. We examined Indian Ocean Subtropical Mode Water (IOSTMW) and described its characteristics using an isopycnally averaged three-dimensional hydrographic dataset. Through careful examination of the spatial distribution and water characteristics of the core in the layer of minimum vertical temperature gradient, we concluded that the IOSTMW exists as a robust structure in the western part of the Indian Ocean subtropical gyre in summer. The averaged IOSTMW properties during approximately 1960–2004 were 16.54±0.49°C, 35.51±0.04 psu, and 26.0±0.1 σθ. The IOSTMW distribution area was 27–38° S, 25–50° E.

Spiciness Anomalies of Subantarctic Mode Water in the South Indian Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 3927-3953
Author(s):  
Motoki Nagura
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water

AbstractThis study investigates spreading and generation of spiciness anomalies of the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) located on 26.6 to 26.8 σθ in the south Indian Ocean, using in situ hydrographic observations, satellite measurements, reanalysis datasets, and numerical model output. The amplitude of spiciness anomalies is about 0.03 psu or 0.13°C and tends to be large along the streamline of the subtropical gyre, whose upstream end is the outcrop region south of Australia. The speed of spreading is comparable to that of the mean current, and it takes about a decade for a spiciness anomaly in the outcrop region to spread into the interior up to Madagascar. In the outcrop region, interannual variability in mixed layer temperature and salinity tends to be density compensating, which indicates that Eulerian temperature or salinity changes account for the generation of isopycnal spiciness anomalies. It is known that wintertime temperature and salinity in the surface mixed layer determine the temperature and salinity relationship of a subducted water mass. Considering this, the mixed layer heat budget in the outcrop region is estimated based on the concept of effective mixed layer depth, the result of which shows the primary contribution from horizontal advection. The contributions from Ekman and geostrophic currents are comparable. Ekman flow advection is caused by zonal wind stress anomalies and the resulting meridional Ekman current anomalies, as is pointed out by a previous study. Geostrophic velocity is decomposed into large-scale and mesoscale variability, both of which significantly contribute to horizontal advection.

scholarly journals Changes in the Subantarctic Mode Water Properties and Spiciness in the Southern Indian Ocean based on Argo Observations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying ZHANG ◽  
Yan DU ◽  
Tangdong QU ◽  
Yu HONG ◽  
Catia M. DOMINGUES ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Southern Indian Ocean ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Formation Region ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water ◽  
Subduction Rate

AbstractThe Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) plays an essential role in the global heat, freshwater, carbon, and nutrient budgets. In this study, decadal changes in the SAMW properties in the Southern Indian Ocean (SIO) and associated thermodynamic and dynamic processes are investigated during the Argo era. Both temperature and salinity of the SAMW in the SIO show increasing trends during 2004-2018. A two-layer structure of the SAMW trend, with more warm and salty light SAMW but less cool and fresh dense SAMW, is identified. The heaving and spiciness processes are important but have opposite contributions to the temperature and salinity trends of the SAMW. A significant deepening of isopycnals (heaving), peaking at σθ=26.7-26.8 kg m−3in the middle layer of the SAMW, expands the warm and salty light SAMW and compresses the cool and fresh dense SAMW corresponding to the change in subduction rate during 2004-2018. The change in the SAMW subduction rate is dominated by the change in the mixed layer depth, controlled by the changes in wind stress curl and surface buoyancy loss. An increase in the mixed-layer temperature due to weakening northward Ekman transport of cool water leads to a lighter surface density in the SAMW formation region. Consequently, density outcropping lines in the SAMW formation region shift southward and favor the intrusion and entrainment of the cooler and fresher Antarctic surface water from the south, contributing to the cooling/freshening trend of isopycnals (spiciness). Subsequently, the cooler and fresher SAMW spiciness anomalies spread in the SIO via the subtropical gyre.

scholarly journals Spiciness Anomalies in the Upper South Indian Ocean

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 2081-2101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motoki Nagura ◽  
Shinya Kouketsu
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Sea Surface Salinity ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Generation Region ◽  
Upper South

AbstractThis study investigates an isopycnal temperature/salinity T/S, or spiciness, anomaly in the upper south Indian Ocean for the period from 2004 to 2015 using observations and reanalyses. Spiciness anomalies at about 15°S on 24–26σθ are focused on, whose standard deviation is about 0.1 psu in salinity and 0.25°C in temperature, and they have a contribution to isobaric temperature variability comparable to thermocline heave. A plausible generation region of these anomalies is the southeastern Indian Ocean, where the 25σθ surface outcrops in southern winter, and the anticyclonic subtropical gyre advects subducted water equatorward. Unlike the Pacific and Atlantic, spiciness anomalies in the upper south Indian Ocean are not T/S changes in mode water, and meridional variations in SST and sea surface salinity in their generation region are not density compensating. It is possible that this peculiarity is owing to freshwater originating from the Indonesian Seas. The production of spiciness anomalies is estimated from surface heat and freshwater fluxes and the surface T/S relationship in the outcrop region, based on several assumptions including the dominance of surface fluxes in the surface T/S budget and effective mixed layer depth proposed by Deser et al. The result agrees well with isopycnal salinity anomalies at the outcrop line, which indicates that spiciness anomalies are generated by local surface fluxes. It is suggested that the Ningaloo Niño and El Niño–Southern Oscillation lead to interannual variability in surface heat flux in the southeastern Indian Ocean and contribute to the generation of spiciness anomalies.

scholarly journals Subduction over the Southern Indian Ocean in a High-Resolution Atmosphere–Ocean Coupled Model

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (15) ◽  
pp. 3830-3849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-Man Lee ◽  
A. J. George Nurser ◽  
I. Stevens ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Sallée
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Current System ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Layer Depth ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Coarse Resolution ◽  
Winter Mixed Layer

Abstract This study examines the subduction of the Subantarctic Mode Water in the Indian Ocean in an ocean–atmosphere coupled model in which the ocean component is eddy permitting. The purpose is to assess how sensitive the simulated mode water is to the horizontal resolution in the ocean by comparing with a coarse-resolution ocean coupled model. Subduction of water mass is principally set by the depth of the winter mixed layer. It is found that the path of the Agulhas Current system in the model with an eddy-permitting ocean is different from that with a coarse-resolution ocean. This results in a greater surface heat loss over the Agulhas Return Current and a deeper winter mixed layer downstream in the eddy-permitting ocean coupled model. The winter mixed layer depth in the eddy-permitting ocean compares well to the observations, whereas the winter mixed layer depth in the coarse-resolution ocean coupled model is too shallow and has the wrong spatial structure. To quantify the impacts of different winter mixed depths on the subduction, a way to diagnose local subduction is proposed that includes eddy subduction. It shows that the subduction in the eddy-permitting model is closer to the observations in terms of the magnitudes and the locations. Eddies in the eddy-permitting ocean are found to 1) increase stratification and thus oppose the densification by northward Ekman flow and 2) increase subduction locally. These effects of eddies are not well reproduced by the eddy parameterization in the coarse-resolution ocean coupled model.

Interannual to decadal variability in subtropical circulation transport in the south Indian Ocean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motoki Nagura
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Subsurface Flow ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Meridional Transport ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Meridional Velocity ◽  
South Indian

<p><span>This study estimates variability in meridional velocity and transport of the subtropical circulation in the south Indian Ocean using in-situ hydrographic observations, satellite altimetry and two reanalysis products for the period from 2006 to 2017. Previous studies used the zonal difference of satellite sea surface height (SSH) between the western and eastern parts of the basin as an index to variability in basinwide meridional geostrophic transport.</span> <span>This study estimates </span><span>meridional geostrophic velocity in the upper 1800 m from in-situ observations and compares results with SSH variability.</span><span> Results show that zonal SSH difference represents a surface trapped variability in meridional velocity, the amplitude of which is large in the upper 250 m and decreases to zero at about 1000 m depth. Zonal SSH difference is significantly correlated with zonally integrated meridional transport relative to 1000 m depth. It is likely that wind variability both in the south Indian Ocean and tropical Pacific Ocean is responsible for this surface trapped variability, as is suggested by past studies. Results of this study also show meridional velocity variability at subsurface, which peaks in magnitude at about 400 to 800 m depth and is not correlated with zonal SSH difference. Waves radiated from the eastern boundary are possibly responsible for the generation of this subsurface flow, but detailed forcing mechanisms are not known in this study. This subsurface flow can contribute to interannual variability in mode water transport and warrants a further study.</span></p>

scholarly journals Structure and Modification of the South Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 1700-1714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanako Sato ◽  
Toshio Suga
Keyword(s):  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
The South ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Argo Data ◽  
Formation Region ◽  
Subtropical Mode Water ◽  
Vertical Changes ◽  
Salt Fingering ◽  
Vertical Gradients

Abstract Using all available temperature and salinity profiles obtained by Argo floats from July 2004 to June 2007, this study investigated the structure and modification of the South Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water (SPESTMW). Based on the observed characteristics of the vertical minima of potential vorticity over the subtropical South Pacific, SPESTMW is defined as water with potential vorticity magnitude less than 2.5 × 10−10 m−1 s−1 and thickness exceeding 40 m. It is found between 35°–5°S and 160°–70°W and has a temperature of 13°–26°C, salinity greater than 34.0, and density of 24.5–25.8 kg m−3 at its core. This study confirmed that vertical changes in temperature and salinity tend to compensate for each other in terms of density changes, resulting in favorable salt fingering conditions, as previously reported. By analyzing many profiles of Argo data in spring immediately after the SPESTMW formation period, its temperature and salinity are vertically uniform in the formation region, but large vertical gradients of temperature and salinity are found downstream from that region, even in the SPESTMW core. Consequently, the low potential vorticity signature of SPESTMW spread much wider than its signature as a thermostad. The Argo data also captured the seasonal changes of the vertical gradients of temperature and salinity at the SPESTMW core; these gradients increased as the seasons progressed, even in the formation region. Therefore, SPESTMW is truly vertically uniform water (i.e., thermostad, halostad, and pycnostad simultaneously) only immediately after the formation period. Afterward, it is only pycnostad. This seasonal evolution is related to temperature and salinity diffusion due to salt fingering in a manner similar to the rapid modification of interannual anomalies as shown by previous research. The temperature and salinity near the SPESTMW core and lower region decreased soon after its formation.

scholarly journals Observational estimates of turbulent mixing in the southeast Indian Ocean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajitha Cyriac ◽  
Helen E. Phillips ◽  
Nathaniel L. Bindoff ◽  
Huabin Mao ◽  
Ming Feng
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Turbulent Mixing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Bottom Topography ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Spatio Temporal

AbstractThis study investigates the spatio-temporal variability of turbulent mixing in the eastern South Indian Ocean using a collection of data from EM-APEX profiling floats, shipboard CTD and microstructure profilers. The floats collected 1566 profiles of temperature, salinity and horizontal velocity data down to 1200 m over a period of about four months. A fine-scale parameterization is applied to the float and CTD data to estimate turbulent mixing. Elevated mixing is observed in the upper ocean, over bottom topography and in mesoscale eddies. Mixing is enhanced in the anticyclonic eddies due to trapped near-inertial waves within the eddy. We found that cyclonic eddies contribute to turbulent mixing in the depth range of 500 – 1000 m, which is associated with downward propagating internal waves. The mean diapycnal diffusivity over 250 – 500 m depth is O(10−6) m2 s−1 and it increases to O(10−5) m2 s−1 in 500 – 1000 m in cyclonic eddies. The turbulent mixing in this region has implications for watermass transformation and large-scale circulation. Higher diffusivity (O(10−5) m2 s−1) is observed in the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) layer in cyclonic eddies whereas weak diffusivity is observed in the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) layer (O(10−6) m2 s−1). Counter-intuitively, then, the SAMW watermass properties are strongly affected in cyclonic eddies whereas the AAIW layer is less affected. Comparatively high diffusivity at the location of the South Indian Countercurrent (SICC) jets suggests there are wave-mean flow interactions in addition to the wave-eddy interactions that warrant further investigation.

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