Origins and pathways of the subsurface and intermediate water masses of the Indonesian Throughflow derived from historical and Argo data

On the basis of Argo data and historic temperature/salinity data from the World Ocean Database 2001 （ WOD01 ）, origins and spreading pathways of the subsurface and intermediate water masses in the Indonesian Throughflow （ITF） region were discussed by analyzing distributions of salinity on representative isopyenal layers. Results were shown that, subsurface water mostly comes from the North Pacific Ocean while the intermediate water originates from both the North and South Pacific Ocean, even possibly from the Indian Ocean. Spreading through the Sulawesi Sea, the Makassar Strait, and file Flores Sea, the North Pacific subsurface water and the North Pacific Intermediate water dominate the western part of the Indonesian Archipelago. Furthermore as the depth increases, the features of the North Pacific sourced water masses become more obvious. In the eastern part of the waters, high sa- linity South Pacific subsurface water is blocked by a strong salinity front between Halmahera and New Guinea. Intermediate water in the eastern interior region owns salinity higher than the North Pacific intermediate water and the antarctic intermediate water （ AAIW）, possibly coming from the vertical mixing between subsurface water and the AAIW from the Pacific Ocean, and possibly coming from the northward extending of the AAIW from the Indian Ocean as well.     

基于历史资料和Argo资料的印尼贯通流次表层和中层水起源与路径探讨

利用Argo资料和《世界海洋数据集2001版》(WOD01)温盐历史资料,通过对代表性等位势面上盐度分布的分析,探讨了次表层和中层等不同层次上印尼贯通流(ITF)的起源与路径问题.分析结果表明,ITF的次表层水源主要来自北太平洋,中层水源地既包括北太平洋、南太平洋,同时也不能排除有印度洋的可能性.在印度尼西亚海域西部,ITF的次表层和中层水源分别为北太平洋热带水(NPTW)和中层水(NPIW),经苏拉威西海、望加锡海峡到达弗洛勒斯海,层次越深特征越明显.在印度尼西亚海域东部,发现哈马黑拉-新几内亚水道附近存在次表层强盐度锋面,阻隔了南太平洋热带水(SPTW)由此进入ITF海域;中层水具有高于NPIW和来自南太平洋的南极中层水(AAIW)的盐度值,既可能是AAIW和SPTW在当地发生剧烈垂直混合而形成,也可能是来自印度洋的AAIW向北延伸进入ITF的结果.     

环南澳大利亚太平洋-印度洋海洋间南极中层水环流

On the basis of the salinity distribution of isopycnal(σ_0=27.2 kg/m~3) surface and in salinity minimum, the Antarctic Intermediate Water(AAIW) around South Australia can be classified into five types corresponding to five regions by using in situ CTD observations. Type 1 is the Tasman AAIW, which has consistent hydrographic properties in the South Coral Sea and the North Tasman Sea. Type 2 is the Southern Ocean(SO) AAIW, parallel to and extending from the Subantarctic Front with the freshest and coldest AAIW in the study area. Type 3 is a transition between Type 1 and Type 2. The AAIW transforms from fresh to saline with the latitude declining(equatorward). Type 4, the South Australia AAIW, has relatively uniform AAIW properties due to the semienclosed South Australia Basin. Type 5, the Southeast Indian AAIW, progressively becomes more saline through mixing with the subtropical Indian intermediate water from south to north. In addition to the above hydrographic analysis of AAIW, the newest trajectories of Argo(Array for real-time Geostrophic Oceanography) floats were used to constructed the intermediate(1 000 m water depth) current field, which show the major interocean circulation of AAIW in the study area. Finally, a refined schematic of intermediate circulation shows that several currents get together to complete the connection between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. They include the South Equatorial Current and the East Australia Current in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, the Tasman Leakage and the Flinders Current in the South Australia Basin, and the extension of Flinders Current in the southeast Indian Ocean.     

Sperm whales in the western south pacific

The distribution and movements of sperm whales, Physeter catodon Linn., in the western South Pacific (latitudes 30–70° S, longitudes 150E‐150°W) are examined. An undetermined number of catches by nineteenth century American whaleships, 9,720 catches by pelagic fleets in 1961–70, and 427 sightings in 1967 are analysed and correlated with oceanographic data from Australian and New Zealand surveys.

The proportion of females decreases southwards, abruptly at about latitude 44° S in the Tasman Sea, and at about 46–47° S east of New Zealand. Virtually no females occur south of 50° S. The male population density also decreases southwards: the density between 50–70° S appears to be less than 25% of that between 30–50° S. Sperm whales also appear to be less abundant in the eastern part of the region away from the New Zealand plateau, but more data are required.

The pattern of distribution and its seasonal changes probably correlate with vertical temperature gradients of about 5°c in the upper 100 m of water, i.e., optimal conditions for squid schooling. Catch per unit effort in autumn is lower than in spring. A northward population shift in autumn is inferred, based on reduction of available food species and probable temperature tolerances of calves, most of which are born in February and March, towards the end of the southern summer. Some males overwinter in areas where suitable gradients persist, e.g., around the Chatham Islands.

Possibly the summer surface temperature maxima south of the South Island are low enough to inhibit the passage of breeding schools with calves from one side of the New Zealand archipelago to the other. Sperm whales do not pass through Cook Strait normally. Thus, unless considerable mixing of stocks occurs north of New Zealand in winter, there may be two “unit stocks”, one oscillating seasonally between the central Tasman Sea and the Fiji‐Tonga region, and another (probably smaller) between the east coast of the South Island and the region just north of the Chatham Islands.     

Characterising the intermediate depth waters of the Pacific Ocean using δ13C and other geochemical tracers

Evidence from geochemical tracers (salinity, oxygen, silicate, nutrients, alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), carbon isotopes (δ¹³C_DIC) and radiocarbon (Δ¹⁴C)) collected during the Pacific Ocean World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) voyages (P10, P15, P17 and P19) indicate there are three main water types at intermediate depths in the Pacific Ocean; North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Equatorial Pacific Intermediate Waters (EqPIW). We support previous suggestions of EqPIW as a separate equatorial intermediate depth water as it displays a distinct geochemical signature characterised by low salinity, low oxygen, high nutrients and low Δ¹⁴C (older radiocarbon). Using the geochemical properties of the different intermediate depth waters, we have mapped out their distribution in the main Pacific Basin.From the calculated pre-formed δ¹³C_air–sea conservative tracer, it is evident that EqPIW is a combination of AAIW parental waters, while quasi-conservative geochemical tracers, such as radiocarbon, also indicate mixing with old upwelling Pacific Deep Waters (PDW). The EqPIW also displays a latitudinal asymmetry in non-conservative geochemical tracers and can be further split into North (NEqPIW) and South (SEqPIW) separated at ～2°N. The reason for this asymmetry is caused by higher surface diatom production in the north driven by higher silicate concentrations.The δ¹³C signature measured in benthic foraminifera, Cibicidoides spp. (δ¹³C_Cib), from four core tops bathed in AAIW, SEqPIW and NPIW, reflects that of the overlying intermediate depth waters. The δ¹³C_Cib from these cores show similarities and variations down-core that highlight changes in mixing over the last 30,000 yr BP. The reduced offset between the δ¹³C_Cib of AAIW and SEqPIW during the last glacial indicates that AAIW might have had an increased influence in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) region at this time. Additional intermediate depth cores and other paleo-geochemical proxies such as Cd/Ca and radiocarbon are required from the broader Pacific Ocean to further understand changes in intermediate depth water formation, circulation and mixing over glacial/interglacial cycles.     

Dianeutral mixing,transformation and transport of Antarctic Intermediate Water in the South Atlantic Ocean

Recently obtained World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) sections combined with a specially prepared pre-WOCE South Atlantic data set are used to study the dianeutral (across neutral surface) mixing and transport achieving Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) being transformed to be part of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) return cell. Five neutral surfaces are mapped, encompassing the AAIW from 700 to 1100 db at the subtropical latitudes.Coherent and significant dianeutral upwelling is found in the western boundary near the Brazil coast north of the separation point (about 25°S) between the anticyclonic subtropical and cyclonic south equatorial gyres. The magnitude of dianeutral upwelling transport is 10^-3 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³ s^-1) for 1°×1° square area. It is found that the AAIW sources from the southwestern South Atlantic and southwestern Indian Ocean do not rise significantly into the Benguela Current. Instead, they contribute to the NADW return formation by dianeutral upwelling into the South Equatorial Current. In other words, the AAIW sources cannot obtain enough heat/buoyancy to rise until they return to the western boundary region but north of the separation point. The basin-wide integration of dianeutral transport shows net upward transports, ranging from 0.25 to 0.6 Sv, across the lower and upper boundary of AAIW north of 40°S. This suggests that the equatorward AAIW is a slow rising water on a basin average. Given one order of uncertainty in evaluating the along-neutral-surface and dianeutral diffusivities from the assumed values, K=10³ m² s^-1 and D=10^-5 m² s^-1, the integrated dianeutral transport has an error band of about 10–20%. The relatively weak integrated dianeutral upwelling transport compared with AAIW in other oceans implies much stronger lateral advection of AAIW in the South Atlantic.Mapped Turner Angle in diagnosing the double-diffusion processes shows that the salty Central Water can flux salt down to the upper half of AAIW layer through salt-fingering. Therefore, the northward transition of AAIW can gain salt either through along-neutral-surface advection and diffusion or through salt fingering from the Central Water and heat through either along-neutral-surface advection and diffusion or dianeutral upwelling. Cabbeling and thermobaricity are found significant in the Antarctic frontal zone and contribute to dianeutral downwelling with velocity as high as −1.5×10^-7 m s^-1. A schematic AAIW circulation in the South Atlantic suggests that dianeutral mixing plays an essential role in transforming AAIW into NADW return formation.     

南太平洋南极中层水的中尺度特征

The Argo float observations are used to investigate the mesoscale characteristics of the Antarctic Intermediate Water(AAIW) in the South Pacific in this paper. It is shown that a subsurface mesoscale phenomenon is probably touched by an Argo float during the float's ascent-descent cycles and is identified by the horizontal salinity gradient between the vertical temperature-salinity profiles. This shows that the transportation of the AAIW may be accompanied with the rich mesoscale characteristics. To derive the spatial length, time, and propagation characteristics of the mesoscale variability of the AAIW, the gridded temperature-salinity dataset ENACT/ENSEMBLE Version 3 constructed on the in-situ observations in the South Pacific since 2005 is used. The Empirical Mode Decomposition method is applied to decompose the isopycnal-averaged salinity anomaly from26.8 σθ–27.4 σθ, where the AAIW mainly resides, into the basin scale and two mesoscale modes. It is found that the first mesoscale mode with the length scale on the order of 1 000 km explains nearly 50% variability of the mesoscale characteristics of the AAIW. Its westward-propagation speeds are slower in the mid-latitude(around 1cm/s) and faster in the low latitude(around 6 cm/s), but with an increasing in the latitude band on 25°–30°S. The second mesoscale mode is of the length scale on the order of 500 km, explaining about 30% variability of the mesoscale characteristics of the AAIW. Its westward-propagation speed keeps nearly unchanged(around 0.5cm/s). These results presented the stronger turbulent motion of the subsurface ocean on the spatial scale, and also described the significant role of Argo program for the better understanding of the deep ocean.     

Descending surface water at the antarctic marginal ice zone and its contribution to intermediate water: An ice-ocean model

This study concerns the unique physical mechanism of Ekman convergence at the marginal ice zone (ECMIZ) produced by the difference between air-ice drag and air-water drag. A coupled ice-ocean model is used to show the strength and distribution of the ECMIZ with respect to Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) formation, which is important for the uptake of carbon dioxide. Strong ECMIZ occurs in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors from July to October, matched in time and space with ice melting, while it is significantly weaker due to strongly divergent background winds in the Indian sector. Transport analysis by artificial tracer experiments reveals the interannual variability of the ECMIZ correlates well with the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). The downward transport of surface water at the MIZ during a positive SAM (2001) is about 1.4 times as large as that during a negative SAM (2000). In particular the transport in the Atlantic sector is twice that in the Pacific sector in both years. Once the downward flux is analyzed in isolation, the contribution from synoptic scale variability is found to increase the volume transport of surface water in the eastern region of the Pacific. Assuming strong isopycnal mixing, we suggest that ECMIZ is an important mechanism supplying surface water to the formation of AAIW, and its zonal variability is responsible for the interbasin differences in AAIW properties. In particular, the increased ECMIZ and surface melt water input in the Atlantic sector would produce AAIW that is colder and fresher than in the Pacific.     

Hydrological conditions and circulation off the west coast of the North Island,New Zealand

Temperature and salinity surveys were carried out in the Tasman Sea in winter (August 1973) and summer (February‐March 1974). In both surveys the presence of the Westland Current was indicated by the distribution of surface water properties; in summer it was associated with a subsurface salinity maximum. The current extended further northwards in summer than in winter. In summer, an east‐going geostrophic flow at about latitude 35°S separated on approaching New Zealand; part of the flow passed north around the North Island and part moved slowly eastwards in the deeper off‐shore water to at least latitude 38°S. The West Auckland Current was apparent in the winter, but not in the summer. To the west of Cape Reinga, relatively low values of surface temperature and salinity are probably associated with upwelling between Cape Reinga and the Three Kings Islands. Upwelling was observed along the coast between Kaipara and Manukau Harbour.     

El Niño and decadal effects on sea‐level variability in northern New Zealand: A wavelet analysis

Sea‐level data from two sites in northern New Zealand, along with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), are analysed for interannual and decadal variability using wavelets. The analysis shows, using statistically significant wavelet power, there is a significant relationship between mean sea level (MSL) and SOI. However, the relationship is highly variable, both in magnitude and in the range of time‐scales over which it occurs. This non‐stationarity necessitates the use of techniques such as wavelets for analysis. An interdecadal response in MSL around northern New Zealand has been isolated, with shifts occurring in 1950 and the late 1970s. This behaviour in MSL appears to coincide with shifts in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, thought previously to be largely centred in the North Pacific. A strong correlation between SOI and sea surface temperature (SST) is also demonstrated. This relationship appears to be stable in magnitude (a large change in SOI produces a large change in SST) and to occur over the same range of time‐scales. More SST and MSL data are required for other parts of New Zealand to determine whether these findings apply elsewhere.     

The mid-depth circulation of the northwestern tropical Atlantic observed by floats

A comprehensive analysis of velocity data from subsurface floats in the northwestern tropical Atlantic at two depth layers is presented: one representing the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW, pressure range 600–1050 dbar), the other the upper North Atlantic Deep Water (uNADW, pressure range 1200–2050 dbar). New data from three independent research programs are combined with previously available data to achieve blanket coverage in space for the AAIW layer, while coverage in the uNADW remains more intermittent. Results from the AAIW mainly confirm previous studies on the mean flow, namely the equatorial zonal and the boundary currents, but clarify details on pathways, mostly by virtue of the spatial data coverage that sets float observations apart from e.g. shipborne or mooring observations. Mean transports in each of five zonal equatorial current bands is found to be between 2.7 and 4.5 Sv. Pathways carrying AAIW northward beyond the North Brazil Undercurrent are clearly visible in the mean velocity field, in particular a northward transport of 3.7 Sv across 16°N between the Antilles islands and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. New maps of Lagrangian eddy kinetic energy and integral time scales are presented to quantify mesoscale activity. For the uNADW, mean flow and mesoscale properties are discussed as data availability allows. Trajectories in the uNADW east of the Lesser Antilles reveal interactions between the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) and the basin interior, which can explain recent hydrographic observations of changes in composition of DWBC water along its southward flow.     

Decadal change of Antarctic Intermediate Water in the region of Brazil and Malvinas confluence

The Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) exhibits a decadal variability during recent years, i.e., salinification before 1997 and freshening thereafter, with the maximum anomalies locating at the region of Brazil and Malvinas currents confluence. Our study proposed that the local mesoscale eddies may play an important role in triggering this decadal oscillation. The eddy activity intensification (weakening) leads to the increase (decrease) of poleward cross-frontal eddy salinity flux and upward eddy buoyancy flux, which results in the weakening (strengthening) of the subsurface stratification and potential vorticity (PV). The PV anomalies facilitate (block) the poleward transport of warm saline subtropical water, while the stratification weakening favors the further downward transmission of salinity anomalies by processes of eddy flux as well as mean-flow advection (the stratification strengthening inhibits the vertical transport), then initiates the decadal change of the AAIW property. The whole process of the eddy-related propagation of salinity anomalies takes about 4 to 6 years.     

Ocean temperature change around New Zealand over the last 36 years

Ocean temperature changes around New Zealand are estimated from satellite sea surface temperature (SST) products since 1981, two high resolution expendable bathythermograph transects (HRXBT) since 1986 and 1991, and Argo data since 2006. The datasets agree well where they overlap. Significant surface warming is found in subtropical waters. Greatest warming is east of Australia and in the central Pacific. All NZ coastal waters are warming, with strongest warming east of Wairarapa and weakest between East Cape and North Cape. Temperature changes are surface intensified, extending to ～200 m in the northeast and at least 850 m in the eastern Tasman. Significant interannual variability is coherent over a large area of ocean north of the Subtropical Front and modulates extreme events. NZ air temperatures are highly correlated at interannual timescales with SSTs over a broad region of ocean north of the Subtropical Front from the eastern Tasman to east of the dateline.     

Velocity measurements in the East Auckland Current north‐east of North Cape,New Zealand

Flow in the East Auckland Current (EAUC) system to the north‐east of North Cape, New Zealand is examined using data from two current meter mooring arrays, with supporting data from conductivity/temperature/depth (CTD) and satellite altimetry. Variable currents up to 45 cm s_–1 were observed. The variability was partly attributable to changes in position and strength of the North Cape Eddy whose centre lies some 150 km offshore. The observed flows across the mooring line correlate well with those estimated from satellite altimetry. This gives confidence in the use of the satellite data to estimate the transport variability in the EAUC in the 1992–2001 period. No seasonal cycle was found in the volume transports but rather broadband variability at periods longer than 100 days.     

New Zealand wave climate from satellite observations

Wave data derived from radar altimeters carried on four satellite missions are combined into a wave climatology for New Zealand waters. These data provide extensive observations of wave conditions around New Zealand, where the paucity of measurements has previously hindered definition of the wave climate. The data span the period 1985 to the present with the exception of a 2‐year gap in 1989–91. The spatial distribution of the long‐term mean of significant wave heights (SWH) indicates a strong latitudinal variation in the south‐west Pacific, with values of over 4 m at latitudes of 50–60°S and under 2.5 m towards the tropics. The shadowing of New Zealand is quite marked; a result of the dominant contribution of south‐westerly wave events. The annual range of the mean SWH also varies over the region; within 0.6 m in the north and 1.3 m in the south. A principal component analysis of the monthly anomalies in mean SWH identifies spatial patterns of variation. Some components vary with the local wind more than others suggesting that some anomalies are associated with wind sea and some with swell. Some patterns also appear to vary with the Southern Oscillation Index and can be related to the wind anomalies associated with El Nino events. Frequency distributions of SWH are also determined, and it is noted that in the north of the region the spatial pattern of the high waves differs considerably from the means.     

Geostrophic currents derived from oceanic density measurements north and south of the subtropical convergence east of New Zealand

Temperature and salinity observations at 17 stations off the east coast of New Zealand are presented. Geostrophic current stations just north of the Subtropical Convergence suggest the presence of an anticyclonic eddy similar to but east of that found by Garner in the period February‐March 1963 (Garner 1967). Ridgway (in press) has suggested that eddies formed at East Cape proceed down the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand giving rise to the East Cape Current. It is proposed here that these eddies move east after leaving the coast in the vinicity of the southern limit of the Hikurangi Trench.     

Relationships between long-term ocean warming,marine heat waves and primary production in the New Zealand region

ABSTRACT

We test the paradigm that in a future warmer ocean, shallower winter mixing will lead to less net primary production (NPP), by investigating whether warming between 2002 and 2018 led to changes in NPP in the Tasman Sea/New Zealand region. The 2002–18 trend in sea surface temperature (SST) was positive over most of the region, and was driven by increasingly warmer summers and marine heat waves (MHWs) rather than year-round warming. In contrast, the trends in sea surface chlorophyll (SSC) and NPP were generally positive over the Subtropical Front (STF) and in a subtropical band north-east of New Zealand, but negative elsewhere. Regressions between SSC and SST, and between spring SSC and the coldest SST during the preceding winter, show similar spatial patterns to the SSC trend. We suggest these findings reflect different ecosystem functioning in the subtropical and subantarctic biomes that are separated by the STF. We conclude that any future warming is likely to lead to less production in the Tasman Sea, but more production over the STF. Three recent MHWs had different impacts on production, but generally led to less surface biomass north of the STF and more biomass south of the front.     

Distribution,seasonality, lengths,and feeding behaviour of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) observed in New Zealand waters

Data from 36 whale shark (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828) sightings off north‐east North Island, New Zealand are summarised. Sightings were concentrated over the outer shelf and shelf break in areas influenced by the East Auckland Current at sea surface temperatures (SST) of 21–24°C. Sightings occurred from late spring to early autumn (November‐April) but were most frequent in midsummer (February) when upwelling along the north‐east shelf is weakest. The data indicate whale sharks occur off north‐east New Zealand most summers, including those when SST is colder than usual. A cluster of sightings and three observations of whale sharks feeding on schools of anchovy (Engraulis australis) near Whale Island, Bay of Plenty, suggest whale sharks may aggregate seasonally in this area. Estimated total lengths (TL) of 26 whale sharks ranged from 3.5 to 15 m, with 73% between 6 and 9 m TL.