Thermal Response to Tropical Cyclones Over the Kuroshio

Abstract The sea surface temperature (SST) and surface enthalpy flux response to tropical cyclones (TCs) in the Kuroshio are investigated using 18‐year observational datasets. The statistical results show that the maximum TC‐induced SST cooling and its occurrence time, recovery time, spatial patterns of the SST anomaly, and the surface enthalpy flux anomaly between the Kuroshio and the warm core eddies (WCEs) and typical oceanic water (i.e., eddy‐free and Kuroshio‐free, TOW) varies considerably. Specifically, the Kuroshio suppresses TC‐induced SST cooling more so than the WCE. The Kuroshio can make the maximum SST cooling occur approximately half a day sooner than that in the WCE and TOW. The recovery time is also shorter in the presence of the Kuroshio and is more pronounced with increasing SST reduction. Compared to the cold wake in the TOW, the composited SST decrease exhibits a long strip with a width of approximately 2° in the presence of the Kuroshio, rather than having a circular distribution of SST decrease as in the WCE. In the recovery period, the negative SST anomaly propagates leftward slowly under TOW conditions, whereas the negative SST anomaly shifts rightward gradually in the Kuroshio condition. Similarly, the air‐to‐sea flux anomaly propagates rightward slowly in the Kuroshio, which moves leftward in the WCE and TOW. These results emphasize that the impact of the Kuroshio on the tropical cyclone‐induced SST anomaly and the surface enthalpy flux anomaly cannot be ignored.