The waters of the Kuroshio Current in the northwestern Pacific Ocean transport heat, salt, and organic and inorganic matter from south to north, shaping the ocean ecosystem.
Western boundary currents
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Wrinkles and Bumps in the Gulf Stream
Observations of tiny vortices in the ocean interior provide hints of a dynamic richness of the deep ocean that we are yet to fully appreciate.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Energetics of Western Boundary Current Surface Flows Are Similar
Despite different wind forcing and air-sea heating conditions, the surface layer energetics of two Western Boundary Current systems in different ocean basins are surprisingly similar.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tracing the North Atlantic's Bottom Waters
Chemicals released by two European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, along with certain chlorofluorocarbons, are helping to constrain the speed and behavior of North Atlantic deep-ocean circulation.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
High-Resolution Ocean Model Captures Large-Scale Heat Transport
A lower-resolution model is sufficient to capture air-sea interactions, but a high-resolution model better simulates average sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Can the North Brazil Current Help Us Understand Atlantic Water Flow?
Currents off the coast of northern Brazil can be used to study changes in the larger oceanic circulation pattern in the Atlantic, when variable winds in the regions are properly accounted for.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Large Variability Measured in Kuroshio Current East of Taiwan
Ship surveys show that the "Gulf Stream" of the Pacific is not a stable boundary current.
Posted inScience Updates
Observing and Modeling the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
2014 U.S. AMOC Science Team Meeting;
Seattle, Washington, 9–11 September 2014
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Satellite Salinity Data Improves Gulf Stream Eddy Detection
A pronounced contrast in salinity between the Gulf Stream and current rings makes satellite salinity measurements valuable.