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The role of mindanao dome in the variability of the Pacific North equatorial current bifurcation

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Abstract

The Mindanao Dome (MD) features prominent oceanic variability and is located geographically close to the bifurcation latitude Y b of the Pacific North Equatorial Current. In this study, the role of the MD in the variability of Y b is examined with 20 years of satellite altimetric sea surface height (SSH) data and a 1.5-layer linear Rossby wave model. It is shown that the seasonal variations of surface Y b are related to not only the SSH fluctuations near the bifurcation point (bifurcation box; 125°–130°E, 12°–15°N) but also those outstanding in the MD region (MD box; 127°–132°E, 6°–9°N). The impact of the MD SSH changes is significant when the bifurcation point stays at southerly latitudes during February–September, which hinders (delays) the southward leap (northward retreat) of Y b in April–May (July–August) and thus leads to the asymmetry of the mean Y b seasonal cycle (with a positive skewness of γ = +0.64). Such asymmetry also shows year-to-year variations depending on yearly mean Y b value. A southerly yearly mean Y b involves larger contribution of the MD and thus causes larger asymmetry of Y b seasonal cycle. At interannual and longer timescales, the MD acts to amplify the fluctuations of the bifurcation. It is responsible for about 20 % of the total low-frequency Y b variances and plays an important role in the 0.12° year−1 southward trend of Y b in the past two decades. The impact of the MD on Y b changes is becoming increasingly significant at various timescales such as the bifurcation point migrating southward in recent years.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank Prof. Bo Qiu for his thoughtful suggestions. Insightful comments made by Dr. Tomoki Tozuka and two anonymous reviewers are very helpful in improving the manuscript. Discussions with Zhaohui Chen, Fangguo Zhai, Xiaolin Yu, Yongli Chen, and Lingling Liu also contribute to our work. This research is financially supported by the National Basic Research (973) Program of China (Grant 2012CB417401) and Major Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 40890152).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Jun Zhao, Yuanlong Li & Fan Wang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Jun Zhao

  3. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Yuanlong Li

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  1. Jun Zhao
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Correspondence to Fan Wang.

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Zhao, J., Li, Y. & Wang, F. The role of mindanao dome in the variability of the Pacific North equatorial current bifurcation. J Oceanogr 69, 313–327 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-013-0175-7

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