Strengthening of the Kuroshio current by intensifying tropical cyclones

Abstract

Changing forces in midstream The intensity and frequency of the strongest cyclones east of Taiwan have increased over the past several decades as the climate has warmed. Zhang et al. found that one result of this trend has been the strengthening of Kuroshio current transport off the coast of Japan. The Kuroshio, like its Atlantic counterpart the Gulf Stream, is a surface current that moves huge volumes of warm water from low latitudes to high ones. As strong Pacific cyclones have become stronger, they have increased the amount of energy contained in cyclonic mesoscale ocean eddies and decreased that of anticyclonic ones. This in turn has increased the transfer of energy to the Kuroshio as eddies move into the current, providing a feedback between climate warming and ocean heat transport. Science , this issue p. 988