Observations of flow variability through the Kerama Gap between the East China Sea and the Northwestern Pacific

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

1-1-2014

Abstract

The Kerama Gap, near the middle of the Ryukyu Island chain, is the deepest channel with a sill depth of 1050 m connecting the East China Sea (ECS) to the Northwestern Pacific. We measured the flow through the Kerama Gap from June 2009 to June 2011. The 2 year mean transport, 2.0 ± 0.7 Sv, is into the ECS from the Northwestern Pacific; it contributes about 11% of the mean Kuroshio transport in the ECS at the PN line. Subtidal standard deviation of the transport through the Kerama Gap is 3.2 Sv, comparable to that of the PN-line Kuroshio transport (4.0 Sv), suggesting a significant effect of Kerama Gap transport on temporal variability of the Kuroshio transport in the ECS. Comparison with time series of satellite-measured sea surface height maps reveals that temporal variability of the Kerama Gap transport is related to the arrival of mesoscale eddies from the east: high (low) transport into the ECS is associated with the presence of a cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddy south of the Kerama Gap. Key Points Mean flow through the Kerama Gap is 2 Sv into the East China Sea Variability of subtidal Kerama Gap flow is larger than the mean This variability is related to the arrival of mesoscale eddies from the east © 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans

Volume

119

Issue

2

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