This project will determine the role played by low-latitude boundary currents in seasonal to decadal variability of the tropical Pacific. First, historical observational and model data will be analyzed to obtain descriptions of the mean and varying structure of the upper and intermediate-depth circulation in the tropical western Pacific. From these, the oceanic processes involved in seasonal to decadal variability of the region will be diagnosed and hypotheses about dynamical role of low-latitude western boundary currents will be developed. Ideas about low-latitude western boundary current dynamics will be tested with numerical models of the tropical Pacific.
