The unique nature of New Zealand ocean boundary currents

Several fast, narrow boundary currents flow along the eastern margin of New Zealand forming part of the western boundary current system of the South Pacific. The currents play a critical role for the physical and biological environment because the transport of heat, salt and nutrients influences the regional climate and biota including fisheries off the east coast of New Zealand.

Our study shows that, individually, the currents have their own intrinsic variabilities and show considerable interannual variation. There is no evidence of trends in the transport of the currents and there is little correlation with each other and with winds. This is the first comprehensive description of the variability and forcing mechanisms of the New Zealand boundary currents studied simultaneously. A research article was recently published in Progress in Oceanography:

Article:  “Fernandez, D., Bowen, M., and Sutton, P. (2018), Variability, coherence and forcing mechanisms in the New Zealand ocean boundary currents, Prog. in Ocean., 165, pp. 168-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.06.002 ”