The Indonesian seas play a fundamental role in the coupled ocean and climate system with the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF), providing the only tropical pathway connecting the global oceans. Recent multi-decadal changes in the wind and buoyancy forcing over the tropical Indo-Pacific have directly affected the vertical profile, strength, and the heat and freshwater transports of the ITF. These changes influence the large-scale sea level, SST, precipitation and wind patterns. This talk discusses these recent changes and their subsequent impacts on the regional climate.

Janet Sprintall is a Research Physical Oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She enjoys working with colleagues and students investigating the role of the ocean in the variability of the coupled air-sea climate system, with a particular focus on the western Pacific marginal seas, the Indian and the Southern Oceans. She is a sea-going scientist, collecting in situ observations from ships and moorings, and also contributes to the Global Ocean Observing System.

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