Salinity dominance on the Indian Ocean Eastern Gyral current

This study demonstrates the importance of salinity gradients to the formation of the Eastern Gyral Current (EGC) in the South Indian Ocean. The EGC flows eastward near 15∘S, opposite to the direction predicted by classical theories of wind‐driven circulation and is a source of water for the Leeuwin Current. In the upper ocean, a strong salinity front exists between fresh water from the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) in the South Equatorial Current (SEC) and salty subtropical waters. In that region, salinity overwhelms the temperature contribution to density gradients, generating eastward geostrophic shear and establishing the EGC. Without the salinity front the EGC cannot be maintained: If the salinity contribution is neglected in the calculation of geostrophic currents, the EGC vanishes. Our observational analysis associated with the fact that both Sverdrup and Ekman theories produce westward flows in the region strongly supports the idea that the EGC is a salinity‐driven current.