Progress of North Pacific modeling over the past decade

Progress of North Pacific modeling over the past decade is reviewed with a focus on studies under minimally idealized setups, which enables us to directly compare modeling results with observed features. Modeling targets are here categorized into three categories: surface currents, subsurface and intermediate waters, and deep circulation. These three are very different in terms of the level of observation-based understanding and what has been achieved by modeling. Progress of modeling is constrained by that of observation, and emergence of high-resolution observed datasets is encouraging higher and more precise modeling in each of these categories.