Mesoscale ocean-atmosphere coupling effects on the North Pacific subtropical mode water

Subtropical mode water (STMW) is a thick layer of water mass characterized by homogeneous properties within the main pycnocline, important for oceanic oxygen utilization, carbon sequestration, and climate regulation. North Pacific STMW is formed in the Kuroshio Extension region, where vigorous mesoscale eddies strongly interact with the atmosphere. However, it remains unknown how such mesoscale ocean-atmosphere (MOA) coupling affects the STMW formation. By conducting twin simulations with an eddy-resolving global climate model, we find that approximately 25% more STMW is formed with the MOA coupling than without it. This is attributable to a significant increase in ocean latent heat release primarily driven by higher wind speed over the STMW formation region, which is associated with the southward deflection of storm tracks in response to oceanic mesoscale imprints. Such enhanced surface latent heat loss overwhelms the stronger upper-ocean restratification induced by vertical eddy and turbulent heat transport, leading to the formation of colder and denser STMW in the presence of MOA coupling. Further investigation of a multi-model and multi-resolution ensemble of global coupled models reveals that the agreement between the STMW simulation in eddy-present/rich coupled models and observations is superior to that of eddy-free ones, likely due to more realistic representation of MOA coupling. However, the ocean-alone model simulations show significant limitations in improving STMW production, even with refined model resolution. This indicates the importance of incorporating the MOA coupling into Earth system models to alleviate biases in STMW and associated climatic and biogeochemical impacts.