Changes in Mixed Layer Depth and Spring Bloom in the Kuroshio Extension under Global Warming

摘要

The mixed layer is deep in January–April in the Kuroshio Extension region. This paper investigates the response in this region of mixed layer depth(MLD) and the spring bloom initiation to global warming using the output of 15 models from CMIP5. The models indicate that in the late 21 st century the mixed layer will shoal, and the MLD reduction will be most pronounced in spring at about 33?N on the southern edge of the present deep-MLD region. The advection of temperature change in the upper 100 m by the mean eastward flow explains the spatial pattern of MLD shoaling in the models. Associated with the shoaling mixed layer, the onset of spring bloom inception is projected to advance due to the strengthened stratification in the warming climate.