Articles | Volume 12, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-771-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-771-2016
Research article
 | 
02 Jun 2016
Research article |  | 02 Jun 2016

The connection of the Indonesian Throughflow, South Indian Ocean Countercurrent and the Leeuwin Current

Erwin Lambert, Dewi Le Bars, and Wilhelmus P. M. de Ruijter

Data sets

Aviso Satellite Altimetry Data Aviso http://www.aviso.altimetry.fr/

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Short summary
In the upper layers of the South Indian Ocean, three anomalous currents are observed: The South Indian Ocean Countercurrent, the Leeuwin Current and the Indonesian Throughflow. Using two models of different complexity, we show how these three currents can be dynamically connected, unravelling the large-scale connectivity. Further, we produce a conceptual theory of how this current system follows an idealized pattern of wind stress and buoyancy forcing.