Observations of the North Equatorial Current, Mindanao Current, and Kuroshio current system during the 2006/07 El Niño and 2007/08 La Niña

• DOI: 10.1007/s10872-009-0030-z
• Publication Date: 2009-04-25T02:29:41Z
• Authors: Yuji Kashino; Norievill España; Fadli Syamsudin; Kelvin J. Richards; Tommy Jensen; Pierre Dutrieux; Akio Ishida
• Keywords: Boundary current

Two onboard observation campaigns were carried out in the western boundary region of the Philippine Sea in December 2006 and January 2008 during the 2006/07 El Nino and the 2007/08 La Nina to observe the North Equatorial Current (NEC), Mindanao Current (MC), and Kuroshio current system. The NEC and MC measured in late 2006 under El Nino conditions were stronger than those measured during early 2008 under La Nina conditions. The opposite was true for the current speed of the Kuroshio, which was stronger in early 2008 than in late 2006. The increase in dynamic height around 8°N, 130°E from December 2006 to January 2008 resulted in a weakening of the NEC and MC. Local wind variability in this region did not appear to contribute to changes in the current system.