Estimation of the Pacific Ocean meridional heat flux at 35°N

Abstract

The meridional heat flux in the North Pacific Ocean at 35°N is estimated primarily using hydrographic section data, following the method of Bryan (1962) and Bennett (1978). The meridional heat flux in the Kuroshio, computed using the Worthington and Kawai section across the current, was 1.76 PW (positive northward), with over 80% of the flux occurring in the upper 400 m. The large‐scale baroclinic heat flux across the rest of the section (145°? to North America) was —1.0 PW for the indopac (1976) section and —0.5 PW for the IOS‐72 section. The fluxes across the sections were also concentrated in the upper ocean with the upper 300 m accounting for over 75% of the flux. The mean horizontal barotropic gyre circulation results in little (0.1 PW) net heat flux because the northward‐moving water is only about 0.5°C warmer than the southward‐moving water. The contributions due to Ekman heat flux (—0.16 PW) and flow through the Japan Sea (0.13 PW) are also relatively small. The eddy heat flux is quite uncertain, but estimated to be about 0.3 PW. The total meridional heat flux, for the 1976 section, is calculated to be about 1.0 PW. The total is very dependent on the baroclinic heat flux in the highly variable Kuroshio region. The northward heat flux found in this study is more consistent with large‐scale atmospheric estimates and with Bryden et al. ‘s (1990) estimate for 24°? in the Pacific.