Interaction between an Island and the Ventilated Thermocline: Implications for the Hawaiian Lee Countercurrent

Abstract

The ventilated thermocline theory is adapted to include the interaction between an island and the wind-driven subtropical circulation. The primary goal is an understanding of the effect of this interaction on the Hawaiian Lee Countercurrent (HLCC), an eastward current crossing the Pacific west of Hawaii in the latitude band 18°?21°N. A two-and-one-half-layer model is used, with the model island located in midgyre and equatorward of the gyre center, simulating the Hawaiian Islands. The presence of the island creates two wakes. A transport wake directly west of the island is characterized by an alteration of the zonal transport caused by the diversion of the interior flow incident upon the east coast of the island into zonal jets extending westward from the northern and southern tips of the island. A potential vorticity (pv) wake embedded in the second-layer streamlines westward and equatorward of the island is characterized by an alteration of the ventilated pv signature and of the baroclinic nature of the flow. The effects of the two wakes combine for a significant impact on both the transport and the baroclinic structure of the modeled HLCC, indicating that effective modeling of the HLCC should include not only the forcing mechanism, but also the influence of the large-scale Sverdrup flow to the east as modified by the Hawaiian Islands. In particular, a zonal variation in baroclinic structure is predicted that is consistent with observations.