Pathways into the Pacific Equatorial Undercurrent: A Trajectory Analysis

Abstract

A time-dependent trajectory algorithm is used to determine the sources of the Pacific Ocean Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) in a global climate model with ¼° (eddy permitting) resolution and forced with realistic winds. The primary sources and pathways are identified, and the transformation of properties in temperature/salinity space is explored. An estimate for the quantity of recirculation, a notoriously difficult property to estimate from observational data, is given. Over two-thirds of the water in the Pacific EUC at 140°W originates south of the equator; 70% of the EUC is ventilated outside of the Tropics (poleward of 13°S or 10°N): three-quarters of these extratropical trajectories travel through the western boundary currents between their subduction and incorporation into the EUC, and one-fifth of the extratropical trajectories enter and leave the tropical band at least once before entering the EUC.