Seasonal variability of the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current （NEC） is studied by constructing the analytic solu- tion for the time-dependent horizontal linear shallow water quasi-geostrophic equations. Using the Florida State University wind data from 1961 through 1992, we find that the bifurcation latitude of the NEC changes with seasons. Furthermore, it is shown that the NEC bifurcation is at its southernmost latitude （12.7°N） in June and the northernmost latitude （14.4~ N） in November.
In this paper, we analyze the bifurcation and the confluence of the Pacific western boundary currents by an analytical approach. Applying the conservation law, the geostrophic balance relation and the Bernoulli integral to a reduced gravity model, we get a quantitative relation for the outflow and the inflow, and establish the related formulae for the width and the veering angle of offshore currents under the inflow condition. Furthermore, a comparison between the volume transport based on the observation data and the analytical value for the Pacific western boundary currents is presented, which validates the theoretical analysis.
