Dynamics of the Southern Tsuchiya Jet

Abstract The Tsuchiya jets (TJs) are narrow eastward currents, located a few degrees on either side of the equator at depths from 200 to 500 m in the Pacific Ocean. In this study, non-eddy-resolving, oceanic general circulation models (OGCMs) are used to investigate the dynamics of the southern TJ. Most solutions are found in a rectangular basin extending 100° zonally and from 40°S to 10°N. They are forced by idealized zonal and meridional winds representing the trades and the southerly winds near the South American coast, by a prescribed interocean circulation (IOC) that enters the basin through the southern boundary and exits through the western boundary from 2° to 6°N (the model’s Indonesian passages), and by surface heating that warms the ocean in the Tropics. A suite of solutions is presented to isolate effects of each forcing and mixing process. A few solutions are also found to a global OGCM driven by realistic forcings. Solutions forced by all of the aforementioned processes and with minimal diffu...