Profiling Float System in the Origins of the Kuroshio and Mindanao Current

摘要

The long-term goal of this work is to improve and validate techniques for observing energetic western boundary currents. In this DURIP, we plan to acquire a profiling float system consisting of 20 newly developed SOLO- II floats. The deployment of these floats in the Origins of the Kuroshio and Mindanao Current (OKMC) DRI is in service of this goal. The overarching objective of OKMC is to quantify the processes leading to the bifurcation of the NEC into the northward flowing Kuroshio and the southward flowing Mindanao Current. As these are the dominant currents in the region, an improved dynamical understanding of them should lead directly to better predictions. The technical objective is to demonstrate the capabilities of a new generation of profiling float. The SOLO-II float system will be deployed in the NEC from a volunteer ship. Data will be made available in real time to scientists involved in the project, and to the Naval Oceanographic Office for use in assimilating models. Analysis will focus on the dynamics of the currents in the western Pacific, with an eye towards improving predictability.