The capture of current meander by coastal geometry with possible application to the Kuroshio Current
Open Access
- 1 March 1987
- journal article
- Published by Stockholm University Press in Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography
- Vol. 39A (2) , 161-169
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0870.1987.tb00297.x
Abstract
The problem of the bimodal behavior of the Kuroshio path, south of Japan is discussed by use of the Korteweg-de Vries equation with forcing and dissipation. We show that a localized, large meander of the ocean current is produced by coastal step-like geometry when the upstream current is faster than the long Rossby wave speed. In particular, even if the forcing due to coastal geometry is weak, our dynamical system has a chance to jump from a small meander state to a large meander state because of multiple equilibria. This transition is accomplished by capturing a large, propagating disturbance. These model results are consistent, at least qualitatively, with observations of the Kuroshio. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0870.1987.tb00297.xKeywords
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