Fig. 4: Relationship between ocean currents and ocean surface stress.

a, b Regression coefficients (arrows) of Ocean Surface Stress (OSS) anomalies on the leading mode’s principal component (PC1) of ocean current, and the correlation coefficients (colour shading) between the PC1 and both zonal and meridional OSS, in a and b, respectively. Statistically insignificant regions in the 90%-level are transparently shaded. A green colour-coded contour indicates the bathymetry of 500 m and 700 m depth. c, d The same as in a, b, but zoomed on the grey box region in a, b. e, f The PC1 of ocean current (black line) in comparison with the zonal OSS (red line) averaged off the continental shelf break (region A in c) and meridional OSS (red line) averaged on the shelf (region B in d), respectively.