Impact of the Indonesian throughflow on Agulhas leakage

Abstract

Using ocean models of different complexity we show that opening the Indonesian Passage between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean increases the input of Indian Ocean water into the South Atlantic via the Agulhas leakage. In a strongly eddying global 5 ocean model this response results from an increased Agulhas Current transport and a constant proportion of Agulhas retroflection south of Africa. The leakage increases through an increased frequency of ring shedding events. In an idealized two-layer and flat-bottom eddy resolving model, the proportion of the Agulhas Current transport that retroflects is (for a wide range of wind stress forcing) not affected by an opening of the 10 Indonesian Passage. A linear ocean model is not able to explain this behavior which reveals the importance of mixed barotropic/baroclinic instabilities in controlling the Agulhas leakage.