Acoustic thermometry time series in the North Pacific

Acoustic measurements of large-scale, depth-averaged temperatures are continuing in the North Pacific as a follow on to the Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) project. An acoustic source is located just north of Kauai. It transmits to six receivers to the east at 1-4-Mm ranges and one receiver to the northwest at about 4-Mm range. The transmission schedule is six times per day at four-day intervals. The time series were obtained from 1998 through 1999 and, after a two-year interruption because of permitting issues, began again in January 2002 to continue for at least another five years. The intense mesoscale thermal variability around Hawaii is evident in all time series; this variability is much greater than that observed near the California coast. The paths to the east, particularly those paths to the California coast, show cooling this year relative to the earlier data. The path to the northwest shows a modest warming. The acoustic rays sample depths below the mixed layer near Hawaii and to the surface as they near the California coast or extend north of the sub-arctic front. The temperatures measured acoustically are compared with those inferred from TOPEX altimetry, ARGO float data, and with ECCO (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean) model output. This on-going data collection effort, to be augmented over the next years with a more complete observing array, can be used for, e.g., separating whole-basin climate change from low-mode spatial variability such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). [*NPAL (North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory) Group: J. A. Colosi, B. D. Cornuelle, B. D. Dushaw, M. A. Dzieciuch, B. M. Howe, J. A. Mercer, R. C. Spindel, and P. F. Worcester. Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]