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On the seasonal variation of transport through the Tokara Strait

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Abstract

Results are described from a limited area barotropic model of the North Pacific with 1/3°×1/3° resolution and bounded by latitudes 10°N and 50°N and longitudes 120°E and 160°E. The model employs dynamics linearised about a state of rest and incorporates realistic bottom topography. It is driven by the seasonally varying part of the Hellerman and Rosenstein wind stress field and by inflow along the northern and eastern boundaries specified from a 1°×1° version of the model applied to the whole North Pacific. The model-calculated transport variations through the Tokara Strait are similar to those of the observed seasonal sea level differences across the Strait, although the model appears to underestimate the amplitude of the signal by a factor of at least 2. The inclusion of realistic bottom topography is shown to be crucial in determining the model response.

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Greatbatch, R.J., Goulding, A. On the seasonal variation of transport through the Tokara Strait. Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 46, 9–20 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02334220

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02334220

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