Heat content and steric height change in the Pacific Ocean

Changes in the heat content and the steric height in the Pacific Ocean were studied by comparing results from ship-based basin-scale repeat hydrographic surveys mainly conducted in the 2000s in and previous surveys conducted mostly in 1990s. The layer from the surface to a depth of 1000 m accounted for 90% of the increased heat content. In this layer, heat content increased in the western Pacific, with large increases in the western Pacific warm pool and near New Zealand, and decreased in the eastern Pacific. In the bottom layers, below 5000 m the heat content increased in almost entire Pacific. There is a notable heat content increase along the pathway of Lower Circumpolar Deep Water and we can also see the trend toward the northwest. The steric height below 2000 dbar increased in the western Pacific and decreased in the eastern Pacific. The largest increase was seen in the Southern Oceans and as well as the western boundary region off the coast of Japan.