Northward expansion of the western Pacific Warm Pool in late 1990s and early 2000s

• Published in: Chinese journal of oceanology and limnology Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 684 - 689
• Main Author: 杨宇星 王法明
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.07.2012; SP Science Press; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Chemical analysis; Data collection; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Fluctuations; Heat; Heat budget; Heat flux; Heat transfer; Marine; Mixed layer; Ocean temperature; Oceanography; Physics; Radiation; Seawater; Short wave radiation; temperature; Upper ocean; Water analysis; Water temperature; 再分析资料; 后期; 年代; 数据同化; 海洋表面; 短波辐射; 经向变化; 西太平洋暖池; IW, Pacific; IN, Pacific; mixed layer; western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP); northward expansion
• ISSN: 0254-4059; 2096-5508; 1993-5005; 2523-3521
• DOI: 10.1007/s00343-012-1209-5

Based on 48-year (1958–2006) ocean reanalysis data of Simple Ocean Data Assimilation and 23-year (1984–2006) global ocean-surface heat flux products developed by the Objectively Analyzed Air-Sea Heat Flux Project, meridional variation of the western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) is addressed. The results show that there is a significant expansion of the northern edge of the WPWP in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This variation is mainly within 120°E–160°E by 8°N–20°N, we define this region (120°E-1 by 8°N–20°N) as the core region. Furthermore, analyses on upper ocean heat budget show that the short wave radiation plays a key role in the northward expansion of the northern edge of the WPWP in the core region. It is proved that the northward expansion may be caused by the change of the mixed layer which became shallower in 1994–2006 compared with 1984–1993 in the study region. The short wave radiation flux distribution within the shallower mixed layer leads to a positive anomaly in seawater temperature, promoting the northward expansion of the WPWP.