Abstract
Spreading and transport of the Maximum Salinity Core Layer (MSCL),
defined as water with salinity higher than 36 psu, is investigated from
hydrographic data sets collected along twelve cross-sections by the Sea
education Association (SEA) between Tahiti and the equator from 2008 and
2015, the ARGO data objectively mapped from JAMSTEC and satellite remote
sensing. Aquarius sea surface salinity data show that the MSCL occupied
an area averaged over time of about 6.7 106 km² with an increase of the
occupancy in 2015. The variation of the area occupied by the MSCL at the
surface does not show any seasonal cycle. Hydrographic dataset are used
to show the extent of the MSCL below the surface. The SEA dataset
exhibits the spreading of the MSCL northward of Tahiti between
isopycnals 24 σt and 25 σt and is observed as far north as 4°S. The MSCL
is observed at the surface as far north as 12°S and the disappearance of
the MSCL from the surface is due to input of fresher water from the
equatorial region or from the west. Even tough ARGO data have a poorer
vertical resolution, comparison with SEA dataset shows that the core of
the MSCL is well determined. But ARGO data has a better time resolution
and monthly data are available from 2001 to 2017. ARGO data allow us to
visualize the whole volume of the MSCL and the westward extension of the
MSCL. Geostrophic currents are calculated from ARGO data relative to the
surface where surface currents are adjusted to velocities provided by
the satellite derived OSCAR data set. The transport calculation shows
that most of the water north of Tahiti is transported westward with the
highest volume during an El Niño year.