Measurements of Kuroshio Current velocity at the entrance to Luzon Strait along 18.75°N were made with an array of six moorings during June 2012 to June 2013. Strong positive relative vorticity of the order of the planetary vorticity f was observed on the western flank of the Kuroshio in the upper 150 m. On the eastern flank, the negative vorticity observed was about an order of magnitude smaller than f. Kuroshio transport near its origin is computed from direct measurements for the first time. Kuroshio transport has an annual mean of 15 Sv with a standard deviation of 3 Sv. It is modulated strongly by impinging westward propagating eddies, which are identified by an improved eddy detection method and tracked back to the interior ocean. Eight Kuroshio transport anomalies >5 Sv are identified; seven are explained by the westward propagating eddies. Cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddies decrease (increase) the zonal sea level anomaly (SLA) slope and reduce (enhance) Kuroshio transport. Large transport anomalies of >10 Sv within O(10 days) are associated with the pairs of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies. The observed Kuroshio transport was strongly correlated with the SLA slope (correlation = 0.9). Analysis of SLA slope data at the entrance to Luzon Strait over the period 1992–2013 reveals a seasonal cycle with a positive anomaly (i.e., an enhanced Kuroshio transport) in winter and spring and a negative anomaly in summer and fall. Eddy induced vorticity near the Kuroshio has a similar seasonal cycle, suggesting that seasonal variation of the Kuroshio transport near its origin is modulated by the seasonal variation of the impinging mesoscale eddies.

The sea level anomaly data derived from satellite altimetry are analyzed to investigate statistical characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the North Pacific. Eddies are detected by a free-threshold eddy identification algorithm. The results show that the distributions of size, amplitude, propagation speed, and eddy kinetic energy of eddy follow the Rayleigh distribution. The most active regions of eddies are the Kuroshio Extension region, the Subtropical Counter Current zone, and the Northeastern Tropical Pacific region. By contrast, eddies are seldom observed around the center of the eastern part of the North Pacific Subarctic Gyre. The propagation speed and kinetic energy of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies are almost the same, but anticyclonic eddies possess greater lifespans, sizes, and amplitudes than those of cyclonic eddies. Most eddies in the North Pacific propagate westward except in the Oyashio region. Around the northeastern tropical Pacific and the California currents, cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies propagate westward with slightly equatorward (197° average azimuth relative to east) and poleward (165°) deflection, respectively. This implies that the background current may play an important role in formation of the eddy pathway patterns.

Internal solitary waves are ubiquitous in coastal regions and marginal seas of the world’s oceans. As the waves shoal shoreward, they lose the energy obtained from ocean tides through globally significant turbulent mixing and dissipation and consequently pump nutrient-rich water to nourish coastal ecosystem. Here we present fine-scale, direct measurements of shoaling internal solitary waves in the South China Sea, which allow for an examination of the physical processes triggering the intensive turbulent mixing in their interior. These are convective breaking in the wave core and the collapse of Kelvin–Helmholtz billows in the wave rear and lower periphery of the core, often occurring simultaneously. The former takes place when the particle velocity exceeds the wave’s propagating velocity. The latter is caused by the instability induced by the strong velocity shear overcoming the stratification. The instabilities generate turbulence levels four orders of magnitude larger than that in the open ocean.