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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Physical Oceanography
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1535962
This article is part of the Research TopicPrediction Models and Disaster Assessment of Ocean Waves, and the Coupling Effects of Ocean Waves in Various Ocean-Air ProcessesView all 11 articles
Impact of Meridional Wave-Induced Transport on Sea Surface Temperature in Mid -Low Latitude Cold Tongues
Provisionally accepted- 1College of Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- 2Department of Infrastructure Engineering, School of Electrical, Mechanical and Infrastructure Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia
- 3Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany
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This study employs reanalysis data published by ECMWF to investigate the impact of ocean waves on cold tongues in the southern hemisphere. By examining the global sea surface temperature (SST) characteristics and wave-induced water transport patterns, the scope of the cold tongue is defined in this paper. Compared to Ekman transport, wave transport dominates and plays a critical role in the cold tongue region. This study examines the characteristics of cold tongues across the three major ocean basins, with a primary focus on the Pacific cold tongue, which serves as the most representative region. Analysis of the relationship between meridional wave transport and SST in the southeastern Pacific cold tongue indicates a lagged negative correlation between abnormal SST and meridional wave-induced water transport from high latitudes. Specifically, negative SST anomalies in the Pacific cold tongue occur 3~4 months after a positive anomaly in northward cold-water transport from high latitudes. Meridional wave transport between 30°S and 38°S has a significant cooling effect on SST in the cold tongue region, with the strongest cooling observed along the northeastern coastline. Additionally, the combined effects of northward and westward water transport result in a distinct temperature gradient in the western cold tongue. These findings highlight the connection between wave-induced transport and the cold tongue, providing a novel perspective for exploring the causes of SST anomalies.
Keywords: Wave transport, Stokes drift, Cold tongue, sea surface temperature, Ekman Transport
Received: 28 Nov 2024; Accepted: 18 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wu, Li, Zhang, Dong and Lyu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rui Li, College of Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
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