Investigation of the Kuroshio variability south of Japan with special emphasis on scale interaction

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We tried to understand scale-interactions between the regional oceanic phenomena such as the Kuroshio meander and the basin-wide ocean climate phenomena such as El Nino. Our study region covers the North Equatorial Current, the Kuroshio and the Kuroshio Extension in the Subtropical Gyre. The present research discussed the following phenomena and clarified mechanisms using data analysis methods and numerical simulations. Those are 1)interannual variations of the seasonal evolution of the Mindanao Dome and their relation with El Nino, 2)relations between El Nino and the bifurcation latitude of the Kuroshio and the Mindanao Current, 3)relations among El Nino, the Kuroshio transport and the Luzon Strait throughflow, 4)relations between the Kuroshio veering phenomenon southwest of Kyushu and the joint effect of baroclinicity and bottom relief, 5)roles of meso-scale eddies in the Kuroshio meander, 6)<Furiwakeshio> (branching of the Kuroshio impinged on the Kii Peninsula), 7)influences of the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge on the seasonal variation of the Subtropical Gyre system, and 8)relations between the 1988/89 warming in the surface layer of the northern North Pacific and the variation of the Subtropical Gyre system. All the above results are mostly published in well-known international journals.