Three subtropical fronts in the North Pacific: Observational evidence for mode water-induced subsurface frontogenesis

Subsurface fronts in the subtropical North Pacific were investigated by constructing a high-resolution temperature climatology. Three distinct subtropical fronts (STFs) are identified, which are the southern, northern and eastern STFs according to their relative geographical locations. The southern STF extends along 19 degrees-21 degrees N west of the dateline, while the northern and eastern STFs appear along 21 degrees-24 degrees N and 26 degrees N in the western and central subtropical gyre, respectively. Our analysis showed that each of these STFs is associated with large negative meridional potential vorticity (PV) gradient in the thermocline below the front. The northern STF is located on the southern edge of the Kuroshio recirculation, where the negative PV gradient occurs within a narrow density range and is maintained by the low PV core of the subtropical mode water (STMW). On the other hand, the negative PV gradient at the eastern and southern STFs spans over a wide density range. The eastern STF forms near the center axis of the subtropical gyre, north of which the upper and lower portions of the central mode water (CMW) converge, forming a thick low PV pool that maintains the negative PV gradient on the front. Similarly, at the southern STF, the negative PV gradient is due to a low PV pool to the north, with the southernmost portion of the STMW stacked above the upper CMW advected from the central subtropical gyre. It is concluded that the mode waters are essential for the North Pacific STFs.