A North Pacific decadal variability in subduction rate

Abstract

Analysis of results from a global eddy‐resolving general circulation model has revealed the existence of a North Pacific decadal variability in subduction rate. This decadal variability corresponds well with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The zero‐lag correlation between the two time series reaches 0.61 for the period of integration (1950–2003), and increases to as high as 0.80 after the climate shift in the mid‐1970s. Much of the North Pacific decadal variability in subduction rate is due to changes in winter mixed layer depth, which in turn are closely related to changes in surface wind and heat flux.