Indonesian Throughflow Heat Transport, and Spreading Within the Eastern Tropical Indian Ocean
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Gruenburg, Laura Kristen
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Gordon, Arnold L.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Columbia University
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2021
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
128
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
Columbia University
Text preceding or following the note
2021
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) is the only low latitude connector between the Pacific and Indian Oceans affecting upper ocean stratification and regional climate. Here we focus on the Indian Ocean side of this connection, first identifying changes within the primary throughflow pathway within the Indonesian Seas, then following the throughflow as it moves within the eastern tropical Indian Ocean. Moored velocity measurements and an ENSO varying temperature profile developed from all available observations within the Makassar Strait are used to determine the southward heat flux anomaly (HFa) within this primary pathway of the ITF. Variability in the velocity profile is more important than that of the temperature profile for determining changes in the total heat flux with the former accounting for 72% of the variance in HFa and the latter 28%. As the upper layer (0-300 m) is the site of the largest volume transports and also the largest transport variability, upper layer HFa is far more dominant than the lower (320-740 m) in influencing the total depth integrated HFa. Upper ocean heat content anomaly (0-300 m; HCa) in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean calculated from gridded Argo datasets is well correlated with Makassar HFa at interannual timescales (r = 0.8). The lag between the two is 2.5 years, indicating that this is consistent with an advective signal.