Spatial distribution of turbulent diapycnal mixing along the Mindanao current inferred from rapid-sampling Argo floats

The Mindanao Current (MC) bridges the North Pacific low-latitude western boundary current system region and the Indonesian Seas by supplying the North Pacific waters to the Indonesian Throughflow. Although the previous study speculated that the diapycnal mixing along the MC might be strong on the basis of the water mass analysis of the gridded climatologic dataset, the real spatial distribution of diapycnal mixing along the MC has remained to be clarified. We tackle this question here by applying a finescale parameterization to temperature and salinity profiles obtained using two rapid-sampling profiling Argo floats that drifted along the MC. The western boundary (WB) region close to the Mindanao Islands and the Sangihe Strait are the two mixing hotspots along the MC, with energy dissipation rate ε and diapycnal diffusivity Kρ enhanced up to ~ 10–6 W kg−1 and ~ 10–3 m2 s−1, respectively. Except for the above two mixing hotspots, the turbulent mixing along the MC is mostly weak, with ε and Kρ to be 10–11–10–9 W kg−1 and 10–6–10–5 m2 s−1, respectively. Strong mixing in the Sangihe Strait can be basically attributed to the existence of internal tides, whereas strong mixing in the WB region suggests the existence of internal lee waves. We also find that water mass transformation along the MC mainly occurs in the Sangihe Strait where the water masses are subjected to strong turbulent mixing during a long residence time.

Volume Transport Variability in the Western Equatorial Pacific and its Relations to Halmahera Throughflow

This study investigates the coherency of volume transport between Halmahera throughflow and current major system in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean (Mindanao Current – MC, New Guinea Coastal/Under Current – NGCC/NGCUC, and North Equatorial Counter Current – NECC). The validated daily ocean general circulation model datasets of INDESO (2010-2014) were used in this study. The results showed that the estimated average transport volume was 25.6 Sv flowing southward through MC, 34.5 Sv flowing eastward through NECC, 18.3 Sv flowing northwestward through NGCC/NGCUC, and 2.5 Sv flowing southward through the Halmahera Sea. The variability of volume transport was dominated by intraseasonal, semiannual, and annual time-scales. The increased transport of NECC corresponded to the intensification of MC and NGCC/NGCUC transports. NGCC/ NGCUC significantly controlled the South Pacific water inflow into the Halmahera Sea because of the positively high correlation between NGCC/NGCUC transport and Halmahera throughflow transport.

Variability of the Mindanao Current Induced by El Niño Events

Historical observations have documented prominent changes of the Mindanao Current (MC) during El Niño events, yet a systematic understanding of how El Niño modulates the MC is still lacking. Mooring observations during December 2010–August 2014 revealed evident year-to-year variations of the MC in the upper 400 m that were well reproduced by the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Composite analysis was conducted for 10 El Niño events during 1980–2015 using five model-based datasets (HYCOM, OFES, GEOS-ODA, SODA2.2.4, and SODA3.3.1). A consensus is reached in suggesting that a developing (decaying) El Niño strengthens (weakens) the MC, albeit with quantitative differences among events and datasets. HYCOM experiments demonstrate that the MC variability is mainly a first baroclinic mode response to surface wind forcing of the tropical Pacific, but the specific mechanism varies with latitude. The upstream part of the MC north of 7.5°N is controlled by wind forcing between 6° and 9°N through Ekman pumping, whereas its downstream part south of 7.5°N is greatly affected by equatorial winds. Prevailing westerly winds and Ekman upwelling in the developing stage cause cyclonic anomalous circulation in the northwest tropical Pacific that strengthens the MC, and the opposite surface wind forcing effect in the decaying stage weakens the MC. Although ocean models show difficulties in realistically representing the northward-flowing Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC) beneath the MC and its seasonal and interannual variations, all five products suggest an enhancement of the MUC during the decaying stage of El Niño.

Structure and Variability of Indonesian Throughflow in Labani Canal

Libani Canal is one of the areas which the flows water masses of the Pacific Ocean toward Indonesian seas. The existence of Mindanao current that affects an input of Indonesian Through-flow should be predicted. The influence of climate change on large scale circulation will affect the variations of physical condition. This study focused to investigate the variation of meridional Libani Current at 30 levels deep based on INDESO models data from January 2007 to January 2014. An area of interested was located at 4.16 °S and 117.92 - 119.42 °E. The results showed a strong current average reaches 0.5 m/s with a north-south orientation as the impact of bottom topography. Variations of current through Fourier analysis showed the annual and inter-annual fluctuations in the 365 days and 120-200 days related impacts strong El-Nino in 2009-2010. Spectrum energy density peaks in the 3 days and 53 days period that indicated as the impact of intra-seasonal variations.

Observed Transport Variations in the Maluku Channel of the Indonesian Seas Associated with Western Boundary Current Changes

The Maluku Channel is a major opening of the eastern Indonesian Seas to the western Pacific Ocean, the upper-ocean currents of which have rarely been observed historically. During December 2012–November 2016, long time series of the upper Maluku Channel transport are measured successfully for the first time using subsurface oceanic moorings. The measurements show significant intraseasonal-to-interannual variability of over 14 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) in the upper 300 m or so, with a mean transport of 1.04–1.31 Sv northward and a significant southward interannual change of over 3.5 Sv in the spring of 2014. Coincident with the interannual transport change is the Mindanao Current, choked at the entrance of the Indonesian Seas, which is significantly different from its climatological retroflection in fall–winter. A high-resolution numerical simulation suggests that the variations of the Maluku Channel currents are associated with the shifting of the Mindanao Current retroflection. It is suggested that the shifting of the Mindanao Current outside the Sulawesi Sea in the spring of 2014 elevates the sea level at the entrance of the Indonesian Seas, which drives the anomalous transport through the Maluku Channel. The results suggest the importance of the western boundary current nonlinearity in driving the transport variability of the Indonesian Throughflow.

Mindanao Current and Undercurrent: Thermohaline Structure and Transport from Repeat Glider Observations

Autonomous underwater Spray gliders made repeat transects of the Mindanao Current (MC), a low-latitude western boundary current in the western tropical North Pacific Ocean, from September 2009 to October 2013. In the thermocline (<26 kg m−3), the MC has a maximum velocity core of −0.95 m s−1, weakening with distance offshore until it intersects with the intermittent Mindanao Eddy (ME) at 129.25°E. In the subthermocline (>26 kg m−3), a persistent Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC), with a velocity core of 0.2 m s−1 and mean net transport, flows poleward. Mean transport and standard deviation integrated from the coast to 130°E is −19 ± 3.1 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) in the thermocline and −3 ± 12 Sv in the subthermocline. Subthermocline transport has an inverse linear relationship with the Niño-3.4 index and is the primary influence of total transport variability. Interannual anomalies during El Niño are greater than the annual cycle for sea surface salinity and thermocline depth. Water masses transported by the MC/MUC are identified by subsurface salinity extrema and are on isopycnals that have increased finescale salinity variance (spice variance) from eddy stirring. The MC/MUC spice variance is smaller in the thermocline and greater in the subthermocline when compared to the North Equatorial Current and its undercurrents.