Quasiperiodic small meanders of the Kuroshio off Cape Ashizuri and their inter-annual modulation caused by quasiperiodic arrivals of mesoscale eddies

A quasiperiodic variation of 100-110 days in the Kuroshio path off Cape Ashizuri, resulting from the passage of small meanders, was detected by observation with moored current meters during 1993-1995. TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data covering 9 years showed that the quasiperiodic variation period was not persistent and modulated twice, with a ∼110-day period from mid-1993 to late 1996, a ∼150-day period from late 1996 to mid-1999, and a ∼110-day period from mid-1999 to late 2001. The quasiperiodic variations of the Kuroshio path migration were contemporaneous with the quasiperiodic arrivals of mesoscale eddies from the east along 27-32°N over the same ∼110- and ∼150-day period quasiperiodic variations. The periodic arrivals of the eddies configure the periodic variations of the Kuroshio path and its inter-annual modulation.