Variations of deep western boundary currents in the Melanesian Basin in the western North Pacific

Five moorings MLI-ML5 were deployed on the slope of the Solomon Rise in the Melanesian Basin in the western North Pacific, northeastward at increasing water depths. We measured the velocities of the western branch current of the deep western boundary current (DWBC) and the upper deep current carrying the Lower and Upper Circumpolar Waters (LCPW, UCPW), respectively. The daily mean velocity data from 1-3 February 1999 to 24-26 February 2000 were analyzed, and variability of the DWBCs was clarified. Although the current meters did not entirely cover the western branch current of the DWBC composed of two or three streams, a stream of the western branch current was observed at a depth of 4700 m at ML4 or 4260 m at ML5 for more than half of the observation period. The stream had a mean velocity of 3.7 cm s(-1) and alternated between ML4 and ML5 at 20- to 40-day intervals without occupying both of ML4 and ML5 simultaneously. This shows that the width of the stream is less than 120 km (distance between ML4 and ML5), and the position changes in a similar range. In contrast to the velocity of the eastern branch current of the DWBC, that of the western branch current did not decrease with decreasing depths to 4000 m. This reflects the vertical division into the branch currents by the bifurcation of the DWBC. The western branch current of the DWBC is located at the deep side of the countercurrent which was almost always observed at depths of 3880 and 4080 m at ML3. The countercurrent was thought to be the return flow of the western branch current that is partly reversed in the East Mariana Basin. The previous estimate of geostrophic transport of LCPW at the time of the mooring deployment was corrected to 1.4 Sv (10(6)m(3)s(-1)) in the western branch current, 1.7 Sv in the countercurrent, and 1.1 Sv in the inflow to the East Caroline Basin. The upper deep current was located over the slope of the Solomon Rise with water depth less than 4500 m including ML1-ML3. It flowed at depths of approximately 2000-3500 m with the highest velocity in the middle of this layer and seldom reached the near-bottom where eddy-like disturbances existed. Its volume transport at the mooring deployment was 10.4 Sv. The upper deep current during the first half of the observation period had double cores divided by the countercurrent at ML1, whereas that during the second half had a single core, as the countercurrent at ML1 disappeared in early September 1999. The vector mean velocities of the upper deep current were 5.0 (2650 m, ML2) and 3.6 cm s-1 (1880 m, ML3) during the first half of the observation period and 7.0 cm s-1 (2670 m, ML1) during the second half, they ranged from 3 to 7 cm s(-1). Similarly, those of the countercurrent at ML1 during the first half were 6.4, 3.8, 4.6 cm s(-1) (2170, 2670, 3570 m). (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.