Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2011, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (6): 37-46.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2011.06.037cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2011.06.037

Special Issue: 海上丝绸之路专题

• Marine Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

CSEOF analysis of the upper ocean heat content over tropical western Pacific

WU Xiao-fen1,2, XU Jian-ping1,2, ZHANG Qi-long3, LIU Zeng-hong1,2   

  1. 1. Second Institute of Oceanography, SOA, Hangzhou 310012, China ; 2. State Key Lab of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, SOA, Hangzhou 310012, China ; 3. Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Wave, CAS, Qingdao 266071, China
  • Received:2010-03-11 Revised:2011-03-21 Online:2011-12-20 Published:2011-12-22

Abstract: The spatial and temporal distribution of the upper (0 - 700 m) ocean heat content (UOHC) over the tropical western Pacific and the probable causes for the variation are studied, using gridded monthly mean Argo profiling dataset from the JMESTC (Japan Marine-Earth Science and Technology Center), zonal wind data, SST data and SSH (Sea Surface Height) data. The research tools include cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function (CSEOF) analysis, Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) and correlation analysis. The main results indicate that the UOHC anomaly of the tropical western Pacific has an east-west anti-phase oscillation and remarkable seasonal and bi-annual variation. Moreover, the UOHC anomaly displayed a sharper “negative-positive-negative” undulation , which had obvious seasonal and inter-annual (~4a) changes. With further analysis, we find that the bi-annual oscillation was highly related to the ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) events and displayed a lagged response of about 1 - 2 months to the local zonal wind anomaly.

Key words: heat content;spatial and temporal distribution , cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function (CSEOF) , ENSO event;Argo profiling data;tropical western Pacific

CLC Number: 

  • P731