The upper ocean response to tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific analyzed with Argo data

A large number of autonomous profiling floats deployed in global oceans have provided abundant temperature and salinity profiles of the upper ocean. Many floats occasionally profile observations during the passage of tropical cyclones. These in-situ observations are valuable and useful in studying the ocean’s response to tropical cyclones, which are rarely observed due to harsh weather conditions. In this paper, the upper ocean response to the tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific during 2000–2005 is analyzed and discussed based on the data from Argo profiling floats. Results suggest that the passage of tropical cyclones caused the deepening of mixed layer depth (MLD), cooling of mixed layer temperature (MLT), and freshening of mixed layer salinity (MLS). The change in MLT is negatively correlated to wind speed. The cooling of the MLT extended for 50–150 km on the right side of the cyclone track. The change of MLS is almost symmetrical in distribution on both sides of the track, and the change of MLD is negatively correlated to pre-cyclone initial MLD.