Progress of Studies on Kuroshio Path Variations South of Japan in the Past Decade

Understanding of mechanism of the Kuroshio path variations south of Japan has made much progress in the past decade. Advancements in high-resolution ocean modeling and data assimilation techniques, along with enhancement of supercomputing capability and ocean observation systems, has played an essential role in the progress. This chapter reviews the progress of studies on the Kuroshio path variations in the past decade with particular focus on eddy-Kuroshio interaction and a relationship between the Kuroshio path and its volume transport. By focusing on the effects of mesoscale eddies as well as local topographic features south of Japan, many characteristics of path transition mechanisms of the Kuroshio have been clarified. In addition to the effects of mesoscale eddies, clarification of the role of the Kuroshio transport in its path variations contributed to deeper understanding of the long-term variability of the Kuroshio path. Evaluations of those findings are also presented with the latest large meander in 2017.