Global Distribution and Interannual Variation in the Winter Halocline
- 1 April 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Meteorological Society in Journal of Physical Oceanography
- Vol. 52 (4), 665-676
- https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0056.1
Abstract
The distribution and interannual variation in the winter halocline in the upper layers of the world ocean were investigated via analyses of hydrographic data from the World Ocean Database 2013 using a simple definition of the halocline. A halocline was generally observed in the tropics, equatorward portions of subtropical regions, subarctic North Pacific and Southern Ocean. A strong halocline tended to occur in areas where the sea surface salinity (SSS) was low. The interannual variation in halocline strength was correlated with variation in SSS. The correlation coefficients were usually negative: the halocline was strong when the SSS was low. However, in the Gulf of Alaska in the northeastern North Pacific, the correlation coefficient was positive. There, halocline strength was influenced by interannual variation in Ekman pumping. The distribution and interannual variation in the winter halocline in the upper layers of the world ocean were investigated via analyses of hydrographic data from the World Ocean Database 2013 using a simple definition of the halocline. A halocline was generally observed in the tropics, equatorward portions of subtropical regions, subarctic North Pacific and Southern Ocean. A strong halocline tended to occur in areas where the sea surface salinity (SSS) was low. The interannual variation in halocline strength was correlated with variation in SSS. The correlation coefficients were usually negative: the halocline was strong when the SSS was low. However, in the Gulf of Alaska in the northeastern North Pacific, the correlation coefficient was positive. There, halocline strength was influenced by interannual variation in Ekman pumping.Keywords
Funding Information
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI Grant number 18K03736)
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