Inter-annual and inter-decadal variability of Kuroshio heat transport in the East China Sea

摘要

High inter-annual and inter-decadal variability was identified in the Kuroshio heat transport (KHT), primarily following 5.4-, 22- and 2-year cycles. The KHT experienced a sharp climatic jump around 1976. Inter-decadal variability of the KHT was strongly associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). A linear long-term KHT upward trend was identified from 1956 to 2003, and the KHT increased 0.65 × 10 ~(15) W in this period. The northeastward volume transport of the Kuroshio made a greater contribution to the KHT across the PN section than sea temperature did. Correlation and composite analyses showed that the meridional wind anomalies over the Kuroshio area and the southern portion of the South China Sea were responsible for the inter-annual variability of the KHT in the East China Sea, i.e. the KHT increased (decreased) when the southerly (northerly) anomalies strengthened.