Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

North Pacific Gyre Oscillation Synchronizes Climate Fluctuations in the Eastern and Western Boundary Systems

Lina I. Ceballos School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

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Emanuele Di Lorenzo School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

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Carlos D. Hoyos School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

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Niklas Schneider International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

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Bunmei Taguchi Earth Simulator Center, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Japan

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Print Publication:
01 Oct 2009
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI2848.1
Page(s):
5163–5174
Restricted access

Abstract

Recent studies have identified the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) as a mode of climate variability that is linked to previously unexplained fluctuations of salinity, nutrient, and chlorophyll in the northeast Pacific. The NPGO reflects changes in strength of the central and eastern branches of the subtropical gyre and is driven by the atmosphere through the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO), the second dominant mode of sea level pressure variability in the North Pacific. It is shown that Rossby wave dynamics excited by the NPO propagate the NPGO signature in the sea surface height (SSH) field from the central North Pacific into the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension (KOE), and trigger changes in the strength of the KOE with a lag of 2–3 yr. This suggests that the NPGO index can be used to track changes in the entire northern branch of the North Pacific subtropical gyre. These results also provide a physical mechanism to explain coherent decadal climate variations and ecosystem changes between the North Pacific eastern and western boundaries.

Corresponding author address: Lina I. Ceballos, 311 Ferst Drive, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0340. Email: lina.ceballos@eas.gatech.edu

Abstract

Recent studies have identified the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) as a mode of climate variability that is linked to previously unexplained fluctuations of salinity, nutrient, and chlorophyll in the northeast Pacific. The NPGO reflects changes in strength of the central and eastern branches of the subtropical gyre and is driven by the atmosphere through the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO), the second dominant mode of sea level pressure variability in the North Pacific. It is shown that Rossby wave dynamics excited by the NPO propagate the NPGO signature in the sea surface height (SSH) field from the central North Pacific into the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension (KOE), and trigger changes in the strength of the KOE with a lag of 2–3 yr. This suggests that the NPGO index can be used to track changes in the entire northern branch of the North Pacific subtropical gyre. These results also provide a physical mechanism to explain coherent decadal climate variations and ecosystem changes between the North Pacific eastern and western boundaries.

Corresponding author address: Lina I. Ceballos, 311 Ferst Drive, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0340. Email: lina.ceballos@eas.gatech.edu

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