Bottom water circulation in the western equatorial Pacific as inferred from carbon tetrachloride observations

Hydrographic and tracer data from the western equatorial Pacific, collected during cruise 113 of R/V Sonne in October-November 1996, are discussed in the context of spreading of lower Circumpolar Deep Water (lCDW). The horizo ntal distribution of CCl4 and other properties indicate a: deep western bou ndary current north of the Caroline Seamounts. Elevated concentrations of C Cl4 at the bottom show- that a small fraction of lCDW in this region is you nger than about 70 years. This age is used to infer a minimum spreading rat e of about 0.8 cm/s for the young components of this water mass. The curren t appears to bifurcate at about 143 degrees E into topographically guided n orthward and westward currents.