OFES reveals imprint of PDO

1
OFES reveals imprint of PDO on South China Sea
Throughflow  
Kai Yu and Tangdong Qu
Analysis of the OFES hindast reveals the imprint
of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the
transport of Pacific Water through Luzon Strait
into the South China Sea (SCS). The transport is
stronger during positive PDO phases and weaker
during negative phases.
The PDO modulates the transport into the SCS
through the North Pacific Tropical Gyre during
positive PDO phases, the northeasterly trades
weaken, and the North Equatorial Current
bifurcation shifts northward, leading to weaker
Kuroshio flow and stronger Luzon Strait
transport. During negative PDO phases the
opposite sequence of events takes place.
(a) Time series of Luzon Strait transport (blue)
and PDO index (red), (b) long-term mean wind
stress, and (c) difference between the strong and
weak PDO years as marked by the black circles in
(a).