Moored observations of the deep western boundary current east of the Gagua Ridge in the Northwestern Pacific
Abstract
The deep western boundary current (DWBC) of the Pacific serves as a lower limb of the meridional overturning circulation that has been identified as a key component of the global climate system. Here, we report the results of observations from a set of full-depth subsurface moorings deployed in the Northwestern Pacific from August 2017 to May 2020. The observations reveal a southward, bottom-intensified DWBC east of the Gagua Ridge, featuring a core velocity of 4.5 cm/s and a mean southward volume transport of 1.79 ± 0.75 Sv (1 Sv = 10 ⁶ m ³ /s). Seasonally, this DWBC shows a tendency to move southward with relatively cold water in summer and northward with warm water in winter. On intraseasonal time scales, its variability is closely related to surface-detectable mesoscale eddies, suggesting that some of these eddies are deep ocean reaching and can directly modulate the bottom current as deep as ~ 5500 m east of the Gagua Ridge. These results enhance our understanding of the deep circulation and pathway of deep water in the Pacific.
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BibTeX
@article{xun2026moored,
title = {{Moored observations of the deep western boundary current east of the Gagua Ridge in the Northwestern Pacific}},
author = {Hao Xun and Chun Zhou and Xin Xiao and Tong Zou and Tangdong Qu and Zhiwei Zhang and Shoude Guan and Xiaodong Huang and Wei Zhao and Jiwei Tian},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-72472-4},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-72472-4},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Moored observations of the deep western boundary current east of the Gagua Ridge in the Northwestern Pacific
AU - Hao Xun
AU - Chun Zhou
AU - Xin Xiao
AU - Tong Zou
AU - Tangdong Qu
AU - Zhiwei Zhang
AU - Shoude Guan
AU - Xiaodong Huang
AU - Wei Zhao
AU - Jiwei Tian
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-72472-4
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-72472-4
AB - The deep western boundary current (DWBC) of the Pacific serves as a lower limb of the meridional overturning circulation that has been identified as a key component of the global climate system. Here, we report the results of observations from a set of full-depth subsurface moorings deployed in the Northwestern Pacific from August 2017 to May 2020. The observations reveal a southward, bottom-intensified DWBC east of the Gagua Ridge, featuring a core velocity of 4.5 cm/s and a mean southward volume transport of 1.79 ± 0.75 Sv (1 Sv = 10 ⁶ m ³ /s). Seasonally, this DWBC shows a tendency to move southward with relatively cold water in summer and northward with warm water in winter. On intraseasonal time scales, its variability is closely related to surface-detectable mesoscale eddies, suggesting that some of these eddies are deep ocean reaching and can directly modulate the bottom current as deep as ~ 5500 m east of the Gagua Ridge. These results enhance our understanding of the deep circulation and pathway of deep water in the Pacific.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -