A Strong Sub?Thermocline Intrusion of the North Equatorial Subsurface Current Into the Makassar Strait in 2016–2017

The poorly resolved pathway of the sub-thermocline waters (>300 m) within Makassar Strait, primary inflow path Indonesian Throughflow, is investigated using in situ mooring measurements and Argo profiles at entrance to Seas. We focus on strong intrusion summer 2016, when significant changes transport thrice as large interannual standard deviation occurred. Analysis suggests that was drawn from North Equatorial Subsurface Current (NESC) flowing westward below Countercurrent, which composed a mixture intermediate-depth both South Pacific. anomalously NESC 2016 suggested be response 2015/2016 extreme El Niño event, forced by trade wind anomalies over western-central Pacific Ocean through downward propagating baroclinic Rossby waves.