Ocean surface heat budget and basin-scale mass transport are estimated from the global Isopycnal ocean model with embeded mixed layer (designated as OPYC), a revised version of the model developed by ‚i. M. Oberhuber at German Climate Computer Center (Oberhuber, 1993).
The ocean model was forced with the observed atmospheric flux between 1963 and 1993.
The mass transport from North Pacific to the Indian ocean is called Indonesian throughflow (ITF) and is compensated with cross equatorial mass flux from the southern Pacific water situated in the layer deeper than 400 meter upwells in the northern Pacific and flow into the Indonesian channel, indicating that the deep Pacific water join the ITF and its longer time scale variation and influence to the surface heat budget.
The model showed significant decrease of ITFfs mass transport in 1970s associated with weakening of the basin scale meridional overturning in the Pacific. We will discuss this mass transport change in the 1970s focusing on its influence on the surface heat content and possible interaction with the atmosphere