LATITUDINAL VARIATION OF DEEP SCATTERING LAYER IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

The acoustic Echo Intensity(EI)was recorded with 38k shipborne Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler(ADCP)in the Western Pacific in four cruises between Sept.2001 and Oct.2002.The main Deep Scattering Layer(DSL)was observed at 400m-600 m depth in the four cruises.The latitudinal variation of the main DSL,which has high level of backscatter strength(BS)at high latitude,is prominent during both nighttime and daytime.The influences of environmental conditions on the DSL are discussed.Since high-oxygen water in the north is a friendly environment of marine animals which form the main DSL,more animals are expected to aggregate in the 400dbars-600dbars layer in the north.Dissolved Oxygen(DO)is the principal factor that causes the main DSL to vary with latitude,and its spatial distributions result from formation and transport of North Pacific Intermediate Water(NPIW).