Upper ocean responses to category 5 typhoon Megi in the western north Pacific

Category 5 typhoon Megi was the most intense typhoon in 2010 of the world. It lingered in the South China Sea (SCS) for 5 d and caused a significant phytoplankton bloom detected by the satellite image. In this study, the authors investigated the ocean biological and physical responses to typhoon Megi by using chlorophylla (chla) concentration, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), sea surface wind measurements derived from different satellites and in situ data. The chla concentration (>3 mg/m³) increased thirty times in the SCS after the typhoon passage in comparison with the mean level of October averaged from 2002 to 2009. With the relationship of wind stress curl and upwelling, the authors found that the speed of upwelling was over ten times during typhoon than pretyphoon period. Moreover, the mixed layer deepened about 20 m. These reveal that the enhancement of chla concentration was triggered by strong vertical mixing and upwelling. Along the track of typhoon, the maximum sea surface cooling (6-8℃) took place in the SCS where the moving speed of typhoon was only 1.4-2.8 m/s and the mixed layer depth was about 20 m in pretyphoon period. However, the SST drop at the east of the Philippines is only 1-2℃ where the translation speed of typhoon was 5.5-6.9 m/s and the mixed layer depth was about 40 m in pretyphoon period. So the extent of the SST drop was probably due to the moving speed of typhoon and the depth of the mixed layer. In addition, the region with the largest decline of the sea surface height anomaly can indicate the location where the maximum cooling occurs.     

南海中西部叶绿素时空变化特征分析

本文使用2003年1月—2019年12月MODIS遥感数据,结合海表温度、风速分析南海中西部叶绿素质量浓度分布特征和影响因素。结果显示南海中西部叶绿素质量浓度分布存在时空变化。EOF分解表明,EOF1可能反映台风等极端天气对叶绿素的影响;而EOF2 和EOF3均反映了夏季沿岸上升流对叶绿素分布的影响。相关分析表明南海中西部叶绿素质量浓度与海面风场呈正相关(r=0.87,p<0.01),与海表温度呈负相关(r=-0.59,p<0.05)。夏季在西南季风影响下越南东南沿海形成上升流,导致该区浮游植物旺发、叶绿素质量浓度升高;冬季受强东北季风影响,研究区海洋上层混合作用强烈,营养盐供应增加,促进了浮游植物生长,叶绿素质量浓度高于其他季节。     

Ocean temperature responses to Typhoon Mstsa in the East China Sea

The MASNUM wave-tide-circulation coupled model, with 21 layers in the vertical and （1/8） °horizontal resolution, was employed to investigate the oceanic responses to Typhoon Mstsa which traversed the East China Sea （ECS） during the period of 4 - 6 August, 2005. Numerical experiment results are analyzed and compared with observation. The responses of the sea surface temperature （SST）, in a focused area of （27° -29°N, 121° - 124°E）, include heating and cooling stages. The heating is mainly due to warm Kuroshio water transportation and downwelling due to the water accumulation. In the cooling stage, the amplitude of the simulated cold wake （ -3℃ ）, located on the right side of this typhoon track, is compared quite well with that of the satellite observed SST data. The wave-induced mixing（Bv） plays a key role for the SST cooling. Bv still plays a leading role, which accounts for 36%, for the ocean temperature drop in the upper ocean of 0 - 40 m, while the upwelling is responsible for 84% of the cooling for the lower layer of 40 - 70 m. The mixed layer depth （MLD） increased quickly from 28 to 50 m in the typhoon period. However, the simulated MLD without the wave-induced vertical mixing, evolution from 13 to 32 m, was seriously underestimated. The surface wave is too important to be ignored for the ocean responses to a typhoon.     

利用Argo剖面浮标分析上层海洋对台风“布拉万”的响应

In situ observations from Argo profiling floats combined with satellite retrieved SST and rain rate are used to investigate an upper ocean response to Typhoon Bolaven from 20 through 29 August 2012. After the passage of Typhoon Bolaven, the deepening of mixed layer depth(MLD), and the cooling of mixed layer temperature(MLT) were observed. The changes in mixed layer salinity(MLS) showed an equivalent number of increasing and decreasing because the typhoon-induced salinity changes in the mixed layer were influenced by precipitation, evaporation, turbulent mixing and upwelling of thermocline water. The deepening of the MLD and the cooling of the MLT indicated a significant rightward bias, whereas the MLS was freshened to the left side of the typhoon track and increased on the other side. Intensive temperature and salinity profiles observed by Iridium floats make it possible to view response processes in the upper ocean after the passage of a typhoon. The cooling in the near-surface and the warming in the subsurface were observed by two Iridium floats located to the left side of the cyclonic track during the development stage of the storm, beyond the radius of maximum winds relative to the typhoon center. Water salinity increases at the base of the mixed layer and the top of the thermocline were the most obvious change observed by those two floats. On the right side of the track and near the typhoon center when the typhoon was intensified, the significant cooling from sea surface to a depth of 200×104 Pa, with the exception of the water at the top of the thermocline, was observed by the other Iridium float. Owing to the enhanced upwelling near the typhoon center, the water salinity in the near-surface increased noticeably. The heat pumping from the mixed layer into the thermocline induced by downwelling and the upwelling induced by the positive wind stress curl are the main causes for the different temperature and salinity variations on the different sides of the track. It seems that more time is required for the anomalies in the subsurface to be restored to pretyphoon conditions than for the anomalies in the mixed layer.     

Anti-warming of deep layers in the World Ocean

Manifestation of the pumping effect (pump up/pump down) in the periodic problem of nonlinear heat conductivity was studied theoretically for the temperature of the deep layers averaged over the latitude and longitude of the World Ocean. It was shown that the pumping effect in the World Ocean is negative; i.e., when the amplitude of the sea surface temperature (SST) fluctuations increases, the temperature in its depths decreases. Thus, heat is pumped from the depths. Vice versa, if the amplitude of the SST fluctuations decreases as compared with the previous period, the temperature in the depths of the ocean increases; i.e., heat is pumped into the deep layers of the ocean. The period of climate warming is characterized by an increase in the amplitude of the interannual SST fluctuations, which, according to the theory developed, should lead to the cooling of the deep layers of the World Ocean.     

20世纪90年代后期南海上层海温变化趋势的转折

In this paper, the interdecadal variability of upper-ocean temperature in the South China Sea(SCS) is investigated based on several objectively analyzed data sets and two reanalysis data sets. The trends of the SCS sea surface temperature(SST) have changed from warming to cooling since the late 1990 s. A heat budget analysis suggests that the warming of the surface mixed layer during 1984–1999 is primarily attributed to the horizontal heat advection and the decrease of upward long wave radiation, with the net surface heat flux playing a damping role due to the increase of upward latent and sensible heat fluxes. On the other hand, the cooling of the surface mixed layer during 2000–2009 is broadly controlled by net surface heat flux, with the radiation flux playing the dominant role. A possible mechanism is explored that the variation of a sea level pressure(SLP) over the North Pacific Ocean may change the prevailing winds over the SCS, which contributes to the change of the SST in the SCS through the horizontal heat advection and heat fluxes.     

Long-term variability of winter mixed layer depth and temperature along the Kuroshio jet in a high-resolution ocean general circulation model

To explore the causes of the winter shallow mixed layer and high sea surface temperature (SST) along the strong Kuroshio jet from the East China Sea to the upstream Kuroshio extension (25.5°N–150°E) during 1988–1994 when the Japanese sardine stocks collapsed, high-resolution ocean general circulation model (OGCM) hindcast data are analyzed with a bulk mixed layer model which traces particles at the mixed layer base. The shallow mixed layer and high SST along the Kuroshio jet are mainly caused by the acceleration of the Kuroshio current velocity and the reduction of the surface cooling. Because the acceleration reduces the time during which the mixed layer is exposed to wintertime cooling, deepening and cooling of the winter mixed layer are restricted. The weaker surface cooling due to less severe meteorological forcing also causes the shallow mixed layer and the high SST. The impact of the strong heat transport along the Kuroshio extends to the southern recirculation gyre of the Kuroshio/Kuroshio extension regions; previous indications that the Japanese sardine recruitment is correlated with the winter SST and the mixed layer depth (MLD) in the Kuroshio extension recirculation region could be related to the velocity, SST, and MLD near the Kuroshio axis which also could affect the variability of North Pacific subtropical water.     

Southern Ocean transformation in a coupled model with and without eddy mass fluxes

A coupled air–sea general circulation model is used to simulate the global circulation. Different parameterizations of lateral mixing in the ocean by eddies, horizontal, isopycnal, and isopycnal plus eddy advective flux, are compared from the perspective of water mass transformation in the Southern Ocean. The different mixing physics imply different buoyancy equilibria in the surface mixed layer, different transformations, and therefore a variety of meridional overturning streamfunctions. The coupled‐model approach avoids strong artificial water mass transformation associated with relaxation to prescribed mixed layer conditions. Instead, transformation results from the more physical non‐local, nonlinear interdependence of sea‐surface temperature, air–sea fluxes, and circulation in the model's atmosphere and ocean. The development of a stronger mid‐depth circulation cell and associated upwelling when eddy fluxes are present, is examined. The strength of overturning is diagnosed in density coordinates using the transformation framework.     

Roles of vertical turbulent mixing in the ocean response to Typhoon Rex (1998)

How the role of vertical turbulent mixing (VTM) in sea surface cooling (SSC) varies with the moving speed of a tropical cyclone was examined for Typhoon Rex (1998) by using the Meteorological Research Institute Community Ocean Model (MRI.COM). The MRI.COM well reproduced TRMM/TMI three-day mean sea surface temperature (SST) fields along Rex’s track. During the fast-moving phase of Rex, SSC simulated by the MRI.COM was caused by shear-induced VTM on the right side of the track. During the slowly-moving phase, on the other hand, the Ekman-pumping area mostly overlapped the VTM area right behind Rex’s center. During the recurvature phase, cool water transported by the upwelling was more efficiently entrained into a mixed layer by the VTM for nearly a 1 near-inertial period after the passage of Rex. We then modified the entrainment formulation of Deardorff (1983), which was incorporated into a slab mixed-layer ocean model (SOM) so as to fit to the results simulated by the MRI.COM. The principal modifications are as follows: (1) consideration of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) production caused by surface wave breaking; (2) increase in the coefficient for estimating dissipation to balance with TKE production due to turbulent transport; and (3) changing the initial guess for the critical Richardson number. These modifications led to an improvement of SST simulations by the SOM. The impact of the modifications on simulated SSTs turned out to be more significant than the impacts of initial mixed-layer depth and the difference between diurnally-varying and daily mean short-wave radiation.     

Winter-to-winter recurrence of sea surface temperature, salinity and mixed layer depth anomalies

The mean seasonal cycle of mixed layer depth (MLD) in the extratropical oceans has the potential to influence temperature, salinity and mixed layer depth anomalies from one winter to the next. Temperature and salinity anomalies that form at the surface and spread throughout the deep winter mixed layer are sequestered beneath the mixed layer when it shoals in spring, and are then re-entrained into the surface layer in the subsequent fall and winter. Here we document this ‘re-emergence mechanism’ in the North Pacific Ocean using observed SSTs, subsurface temperature fields from a data assimilation system, and coupled atmosphere–ocean model simulations. Observations indicate that the dominant large-scale SST anomaly pattern that forms in the North Pacific during winter recurs in the following winter. The model simulation with mixed layer ocean physics reproduced the winter-to-winter recurrence, while model simulations with observed SSTs specified in the tropical Pacific and a 50 m slab in the North Pacific did not. This difference between the model results indicates that the winter-to-winter SST correlations are the result of the re-emergence mechanism, and not of similar atmospheric forcing of the ocean in consecutive winters. The model experiments also indicate that SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific associated with El Niño are not essential for re-emergence to occur.The recurrence of observed SST and simulated SST and SSS anomalies are found in several regions in the central North Pacific, and are quite strong in the northern (>50°N) part of the basin. The winter-to-winter autocorrelation of SSS anomalies exceed those of SST, since only the latter are strongly damped by surface fluxes. The re-emergence mechanism also has a modest influence on MLD through changes in the vertical stratification in the seasonal thermocline.     

南印度洋SST与南亚季风环流年代际变化的研究

利用美国NCEP全球大气再分析资料和JONES全球海表面温度异常(SSTA)资料，分析了南印度洋SSTA和南亚季风环流年代际变化的特征。研究发现，无论是南印度洋副热带海水辐合区的SST还是赤道以北非洲西海岸附近上升运动海区的SST的长期变化趋势，除了准3-5年的变化以外，还存在着明显的年代际的变化。对于全球最显著南亚季风环流的分析表明，南亚季风环流也存在明显的年代际时间尺度的变化。与南太平洋SST的年代际变化相比，南印度洋SST的变化周期要相对短一些。通过分析南半球冷空气年代际活动的特征发现，冷空气与南印度洋SST年代际时间尺度的变化具有密切的联系。     

Simulation of the ocean surface mixed layer under the wave breaking

A one-dimensional mixed-layer model, including a Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure scheme, was implemented to investigate the dynamical and thermal structures of the ocean surface mixed layer in the northern South China Sea. The turbulent kinetic energy released through wave breaking was incorporated into the model as a source of energy at the ocean surface, and the influence of the breaking waves on the mixed layer was studied. The numerical simulations show that the simulated SST is overestimated in summer without the breaking waves. However, the cooler SST is simulated when the effect of the breaking waves is considered, the corresponding discrepancy with the observed data decreases up to 20% and the MLD calculated averagely deepens 3.8 m. Owing to the wave-enhanced turbulence mixing in the summertime, the stratification at the bottom of the mixed layer was modified and the temperature gradient spread throughout the whole thermocline compared with the concentrated distribution without wave breaking.     

The seasonal cycle of surface chlorophyll in the Peruvian upwelling system: A modelling study

The seasonal variability of surface chlorophyll in the northern Humboldt Current System is studied using satellite data, in situ observations and model simulations. The data show that surface chlorophyll concentration is highest in austral summer and decreases during austral winter, in phase opposition with coastal upwelling intensity. A regional model coupling ocean dynamics and biogeochemical cycles is used to investigate the processes which control this apparently paradoxical seasonal cycle. Model results suggest that the seasonal variability of the mixed layer depth is the main controlling factor of the seasonality. In winter, the mixed layer deepening reduces the surface chlorophyll accumulation because of a dilution effect and light limitation. In summer, biomass concentrates near the surface in the shallow mixed layer and nitrate limitation occurs, resulting in a biomass decrease in the middle of summer. Intense blooms occur during the spring restratification period, when winter light limitation relaxes, and during the fall destratification period, when the surface layer is supplied with new nutrients. Model sensitivity experiments show that the seasonal variations in insolation and surface temperature have little impact on the surface chlorophyll variability.     

基于回归模型的热带气旋条件下的海表降温参数化方案设计

Combining a linear regression and a temperature budget formula, a multivariate regression model is proposed to parameterize and estimate sea surface temperature(SST) cooling induced by tropical cyclones(TCs). Three major dynamic and thermodynamic processes governing the TC-induced SST cooling(SSTC), vertical mixing, upwelling and heat flux, are parameterized empirically using a combination of multiple atmospheric and oceanic variables:sea surface height(SSH), wind speed, wind curl, TC translation speed and surface net heat flux. The regression model fits reasonably well with 10-year statistical observations/reanalysis data obtained from 100 selected TCs in the northwestern Pacific during 2001–2010, with an averaged fitting error of 0.07 and a mean absolute error of 0.72°C between diagnostic and observed SST cooling. The results reveal that the vertical mixing is overall the pre dominant process producing ocean SST cooling, accounting for 55% of the total cooling. The upwelling accounts for 18% of the total cooling and its maximum occurs near the TC center, associated with TC-induced Ekman pumping. The surface heat flux accounts for 26% of the total cooling, and its contribution increases towards the tropics and the continental shelf. The ocean thermal structures, represented by the SSH in the regression model,plays an important role in modulating the SST cooling pattern. The concept of the regression model can be applicable in TC weather prediction models to improve SST parameterization schemes.     

Identification and classification of vertical chlorophyll patterns in the Benguela upwelling system and Angola-Benguela front using an artificial neural network

Information on the vertical chlorophyll structure in the ocean is important for estimating integrated chlorophyll a and primary production from satellite. For this study, vertical chlorophyll profiles from the Benguela upwelling system and the Angola-Benguela front were collected in winter to identify characteristic profiles. A shifted Gaussian model was fitted to each profile to estimate four parameters that defined the shape of the curve: the background chlorophyll concentration (B ₀), the height parameter of the peak (h), the width of the peak (σ) and the depth of the chlorophyll peak (z_m ). A type of artificial neural network called a self-organizing map (SOM) was then used on these four parameters to identify characteristic profiles. The analysis identified a continuum of chlorophyll patterns, from those with large surface peaks (>10 mg m^?3) to those with smaller near-surface peaks (<2 mg m^?3). The frequency of occurrence of each chlorophyll pattern identified by the SOM showed that the most frequent pattern (～12%) had a near-surface peak and the least frequent pattern (～2%) had a large surface peak. These characteristic profile shapes were then related to pertinent environmental variables such as sea surface temperature, surface chlorophyll, mixed layer depth and euphotic depth. Partitioning the SOM output map into environmental categories showed large peaks of surface chlorophyll dominating in water with cool temperature, high surface chlorophyll concentration and shallow mixed layer and euphotic depth. By contrast, smaller peaks of subsurface chlorophyll were in water with warmer temperature, lower surface chlorophyll concentration, intermediate mixed layer and deep euphotic depth. These relationships can be used semi-quantitatively to predict profile shape under different environmental conditions. The SOM analysis highlighted the large variability in shape of vertical chlorophyll profiles in the Benguela. This suggests that an ideal typical chlorophyll profile, as used in the framework of biogeochemical provinces, may not be applicable to this dynamic upwelling system.     

The response of the upper ocean to tropical cyclone Viyaru over the Bay of Bengal

Better forecast of tropical cyclone(TC) can help to reduce risk and enhance management. The TC forecast depends on the scientific understanding of oceanic processes, air-sea interaction and finally, the atmospheric process. The TC Viyaru is taken as an example, which is formed at the end of 11 May 2013 and sustains up to 17 May 2013 during pre-monsoon season. Argo data are used to investigate ocean response processes by comparing pre-and post-conditions of the TC. Eight oceanic parameters including the sea surface temperature(SST), the sea surface salinity(SSS), and the barrier layer thickness(BLT), the 26°C isotherm depth in the ocean(D26), the isothermal layer depth(ILD), the mixed layer depth(MLD), the tropical cyclone heat potential(TCHP) and the effective oceanic layer for cyclogenesis(EOLC) are chosen to evaluate the pre-and post-conditions of the TC along the track of Viyaru. The values of the SST, D26, BLT, TCHP and EOLC in the pre-cyclonic condition are higher than the post-cyclonic condition, while the SSS, ILD and MLD in the post-cyclonic condition are higher than the pre-cyclonic condition of the ocean due to strong cyclonic winds and subsurface upwelling. It is interesting that the strong intensity of the TC reduces less SST and vice versa. The satisfied real time Argo data is not available in the northern Bay of Bengal especially in the coastal region. A weather research and forecasting model is employed to hindcast the track of Viyaru, and the satellite data from the National Center Environmental Prediction are used to assess the hindcast.     

东海对台风云娜的海洋响应

Many typhoons pass through the East China Sea(ECS) and the oceanic responses to typhoons on the ECS shelf are very energetic. However, these responses are not well studied because of the complicated background oceanic environment. The sea surface temperature(SST) response to a severe Typhoon Rananim in August 2004 on the ECS shelf was observed by the merged cloud-penetrating microwave and infrared SST data. The observed SST response shows an extensive SST cooling with a maximum cooling of 3°C on the ECS shelf and the SST cooling lags the typhoon by about one day. A numerical model is designed to simulate the oceanic responses to Rananim.The numerical model reasonably simulates the observed SST response and thereby provides a more comprehensive investigation on the oceanic temperature and current responses. The simulation shows that Rananim deepens the ocean mix layer by more than 10 m on the ECS shelf and causes a cooling in the whole mixed layer. Both upwelling and entrainment are responsible for the cooling. Rananim significantly deforms the background Taiwan Warm Current on the ECS shelf and generates strong Ekman current at the surface. After the typhoon disappears, the surface current rotates clockwise and vertically, the current is featured by near inertial oscillation with upward propagating phase.     

Mesoscale features and phytoplankton biomass at the GoodHope line in the Southern Ocean during austral summer

Two sets of high-resolution subsurface hydrographic and underway surface chlorophyll a (Chl a) measurements are used, in conjunction with satellite remotely sensed data, to investigate the upper layer oceanography (mesoscale features and mixed layer depth variability) and phytoplankton biomass at the GoodHope line south of Africa, during the 2010–2011 austral summer. The link between physical parameters of the upper ocean, specifically frontal activity, to the spatially varying in situ and satellite measurements of Chl a concentrations is investigated. The observations provide evidence to show that the fronts act to both enhance phytoplankton biomass as well as to delimit regions of similar chlorophyll concentrations, although the front–chlorophyll relationships become obscure towards the end of the growing season due to bloom advection and ‘patchy’ Chl a behaviour. Satellite ocean colour measurements are compared to in situ chlorophyll measurements to assess the disparity between the two sampling techniques. The scientific value of the time-series of oceanographic observations collected at the GoodHope line between 2004 to present is being realised. Continued efforts in this programme are essential to better understand both the physical and biogeochemical dynamics of the upper ocean in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean.     

Characteristics and mechanisms of the upwelling in the southern Taiwan Strait: a three-dimensional numerical model study

Using a nested circulation model based on the Princeton Ocean Model, we investigate the characteristics and mechanisms of two main upwellings in the southern Taiwan Strait: the Southwest upwelling and the Taiwan Bank upwelling. The Southwest upwelling exists in summer when the southwesterly monsoon dominates, and the Taiwan Bank upwelling occurs over a longer period from May to September. The upslope current over a distinctly widened shelf transports the cold water on-shoreward at the lower layer and the southwesterly monsoon wind drives the cold water to the surface layer, forming the Southwest upwelling, while tidal residual current weakens the upslope advection. For the Taiwan Bank upwelling, the upward transport of the South China Sea water due to the Bank topography carries the cold water from the subsurface layer to the depth of approximately 25 m near the Taiwan Bank, then the strong tidal mixing forces this upwelled water further upward to the surface layer.     

赤道海洋对罕见台风“画眉”的响应

利用GHRSST L4、QuikSCAT、OAFLUX以及SeaWiFS L3资料分析了近赤道罕见台风"画眉"生成前后海表温度SST及其感热通量、潜热通量和叶绿素a浓度的变化。在台风"画眉"生成之前,中南半岛沿岸海表平均温度较其他区域低,并且在南海盛行东北风,在台风生成区有一明显的气旋性涡旋存在。南海北部地区潜热通量和感热通量均较大,而在台风的生成区域仅感热通量较大。台风"画眉"使其路径右侧的区域发生海表温度降低,相对于其他强度较强的台风降温较小,海表温度在马来半岛以东洋面以及马六甲海峡降低明显,降低约2—2.5℃。与高纬度的台风类似,台风"画眉"使中南半岛沿岸以及马来半岛与苏门答腊岛之间的地区叶绿素a浓度相对于台风前增大0.6 mg.m 3以上。