Seasonal and interannual variations in the East Sakhalin current revealed by TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data

Seasonal and interannual variations in the East Sakhalin Current (ESC) are investigated using ten-year records of the sea level anomaly (SLA) observed by the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimeter. The T/P SLA clearly documents seasonal and interannual variations in the ESC along the east coast of Sakhalin Island, although sea ice masks the region from January to April. Estimates of surface current velocity anomaly derived from T/P SLA are in good agreement with drifting buoy observations. The ESC is strong in winter, with a typical current velocity of 30–40 cm s⁻¹ in December, and almost disappears in summer. Southward flow of the ESC is confined to the shelf and slope region and consists of two velocity cores. These features of the ESC are consistent with short-term observations reported in previous studies. Analysis of the ten-year records of T/P SLA confirms that the structure of the ESC is maintained each winter and the seasonal cycle is repeated every year, although the strength of the ESC shows large interannual variations. Seasonal and interannual variations in the ESC are discussed in relation to wind-driven circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk, using wind stress and wind stress curl fields derived from European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis data and a scatterometer-derived wind product. Seasonal and interannual variations of the anticyclonic eddy in the Kuril Basin are also revealed using T/P SLA.     

Air-Sea Interaction, Coastal Circulation and Primary Production in the Eastern Arabian Sea: A Review

Air-sea interaction, coastal circulation and primary production exhibit an annual cycle in the eastern Arabian Sea (AS). During June to September, strong southwesterly winds (4∼9 m s⁻¹) promote sea surface cooling through surface heat loss and vertical mixing in the central AS and force the West India Coastal Current equatorward. Positive wind stress curl induced by the Findlater jet facilitates Ekman pumping in the northern AS, and equatorward-directed alongshore wind stress induces upwelling which lowers sea surface temperature by about 2.5°C (compared to the offshore value) along the southwestern shelf of India and enhances phytoplankton concentration by more than 70% as compared to that in the central AS. During winter monsoon, from November to March, dry and weak northeasterly winds (2–6 m s⁻¹) from the Indo-China continent enhance convective cooling of the upper ocean and deepen the mixed layer by more than 80 m, thereby increasing the vertical flux of nutrients in the photic layer which promotes wintertime phytoplankton blooms in the northern AS. The primary production rate integrated for photic layer and surface chlorophyll-a estimated from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, both averaged for the entire western India shelf, increases from winter to summer monsoon from 24 to 70 g C m⁻²month and from 9 to 24 mg m⁻², respectively. Remotely-forced coastal Kelvin waves from the Bay of Bengal propagate into the coastal AS, which modulate circulation pattern along the western India shelf; these Kelvin waves in turn radiate Rossby waves which reverse the circulation in the Lakshadweep Sea semiannually. This review leads us to the conclusion that seasonal monsoon forcing and remotely forced waves modulate the circulation and primary production in the eastern AS. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Intermediate Circulation in the Northwestern North Pacific Derived from Subsurface Floats

In order to examine the formation, distribution and synoptic scale circulation structure of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), 21 subsurface floats were deployed in the sea east of Japan. A Eulerian image of the intermediate layer (density range: 26.6–27.0σ_θ) circulation in the northwestern North Pacific was obtained by the combined analysis of the movements of the subsurface floats in the period from May 1998 to November 2002 and historical hydrographic observations. The intermediate flow field derived from the floats showed stronger flow speeds in general than that of geostrophic flow field calculated from historical hydrographic observations. In the intermediate layer, 8 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 10⁶ m³s⁻¹) Oyashio and Kuroshio waters are found flowing into the sea east of Japan. Three strong eastward flows are seen in the region from 150°E to 170°E, the first two flows are considered as the Subarctic Current and the Kuroshio Extension or the North Pacific Current. Both volume transports are estimated as 5.5 Sv. The third one flows along the Subarctic Boundary with a volume transport of 5 Sv. Water mass analysis indicates that the intermediate flow of the Subarctic Current consists of 4 Sv Oyashio water and 1.5 Sv Kuroshio water. The intermediate North Pacific Current consists of 2 Sv Oyashio water and 3.5 Sv Kuroshio water. The intermediate flow along the Subarctic Boundary contains 2 Sv Oyashio water and 3 Sv Kuroshio water. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Circulation and transport of water masses in the Lazarev Sea, Antarctica, during summer and winter 2006

The distribution and circulation of water masses in the region between 6°W and 3°E and between the Antarctic continental shelf and 60°S are analyzed using hydrographic and shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data taken during austral summer 2005/2006 and austral winter 2006. In both seasons two gateways are apparent where Warm Deep Water (WDW) and other water masses enter the Weddell Gyre through the Lazarev Sea: (a) a probably topographically trapped westward, then southwestward circulation around the northwestern edge of Maud Rise with maximum velocities of about 20 cm s⁻¹ and (b) the Antarctic Coastal Current (AntCC), which is confined to the Antarctic continental shelf slope and is associated with maximum velocities of about 25 cm s⁻¹.Along two meridional sections that run close to the top of Maud Rise along 3°E, geostrophic velocity shears were calculated from CTD measurements and referenced to velocity profiles recorded by an ADCP in the upper 300 m. The mean accuracy of the absolute geostrophic velocity is estimated at ±2 cm s⁻¹. The net baroclinic transport across the 3°E section amounts to 20 and 17 Sv westward for the summer and winter season, respectively. The majority of the baroclinic transport, which accounts for ∼60% of the total baroclinic transport during both surveys, occurs north of Maud Rise between 65° and 60°S.However, the comparison between geostrophic estimates and direct velocity measurements shows that the circulation within the study area has a strong barotropic component, so that calculations based on the dynamic method underestimate the transport considerably. Estimation of the net absolute volume transports across 3°E suggests a westward flow of 23.9±19.9 Sv in austral summer and 93.6±20.1 Sv in austral winter. Part of this large seasonal transport variation can be explained by differences in the gyre-scale forcing through wind stress curl.     

Velocity structures and transports of the Kuroshio and the Ryukyu current during fall of 2000 estimated by an inverse technique

An inverse calculation using hydrographic section data collected from October to December 2000 yields velocity structure and transports of the Kuroshio in the Okinawa Trough region of the East China Sea (ECS) and south of central Japan, and of the Ryukyu Current (RC) southeast of the Ryukyu Islands. The results show the Kuroshio flowing from the ECS, through the Tokara Strait (TK), with a subsurface maximum velocity of 89 cm s⁻¹ at 460 dbar. In a section (TI) southeast of Kyushu, a subsurface maximum velocity of 92 cm s⁻¹ at 250 dbar is found. The results also show the RC flowing over the continental slope from the region southeast of Okinawa (OS) to the region east of Amami-Ohshima (AE) with a subsurface maximum velocity of 67 cm s⁻¹ at 400 dbar, before joining the Kuroshio southeast of Kyushu (TI). The volume transport around the subsurface velocity maximum southeast of Kyushu (TI) balances well with the sum of those in TK and AE. The temperature-salinity relationships found around these velocity cores are very similar, indicating that the same water mass is involved. These results help demonstrate the joining of the RC with the Kuroshio southeast of Kyushu. The net volume transport of the Kuroshio south of central Japan is estimated to be 64∼79 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 10⁶ m³s⁻¹), of which 27 Sv are supplied by the Kuroshio from the ECS and 13 Sv are supplied by the RC from OS. The balance (about 24∼39 Sv) is presumably supplied by the Kuroshio recirculation south of Shikoku, Japan.     

Interannual Variations of Sea Level at the Nansei Islands and Volume Transport of the Kuroshio Due to Wind Changes

Interannual variations of sea level at the Nansei Islands and volume transport of the Kuroshio during 1967–95 are calculated by integrating variations carried by windforced Rossby waves. Effects of eddy dissipation and ocean ridges are considered. Ridge effect is inferred by comparing between the calculated and observed sea levels. The calculation is satisfactory to sea levels and Kuroshio transport for the whole period. They are mostly caused by Rossby waves forced by wind and modified by the ridges, and are due to barotropic wave primarily and the first baroclinic wave secondly. The calculated Kuroshio transport well represents variations of several-year scales with maximums in respective duration of the large meander (LM) of the Kuroshio, as well as bi-decadal variation that transport was small during the non-LM period of 1967–75 and large during the LM-dominant period of 1975–91. Mean volume transport of the subtropical gyre is estimated at 57 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s^–1) and divided by the Nansei Shoto Ridge into those of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea (25.5 Sv) and a subsurface current east of this ridge (31.5 Sv). The Subtropical Countercurrent and a southward deep current east of the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge are estimated at 16 Sv and 7 Sv, respectively. The calculated transports of the Kuroshio and other subtropical currents reach maximums at every El Niño event due to strong excitement of upwelling barotropic Rossby wave.     

Numerical Study of the Upper-Layer Circulation in the South China Sea

Upper-layer circulation in the South China Sea has been investigated using a three-dimensional primitive equation eddy-resolving model. The model domain covers the region from 99° to 122°E and from 3° to 23°N. The model is forced by the monthly averaged European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model winds and the climatological monthly sea surface temperature data from National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC). Inflow and outflow through the Taiwan Strait and the Sunda shelf are prescribed monthly from the Wyrtki estimates. Inflow of the Kuroshio branch current in the Luzon Strait is assumed to have a constant volume transport of 12 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³/s), and the outflow from the open boundary to the east of Taiwan is adjusted to ensure the net volume transport through all open boundaries is zero at any instant. The model reveals that a cyclonic circulation exists all year round in the northern South China Sea. During the winter time this cyclonic eddy is located off the northwest of Luzon, coinciding with the region of positive wind stress curl in this season. This cyclonic eddy moves northward in spring due to the weakening of the northeast winds. The cyclonic circulation becomes weak and stays in the continental slope region in the northern South China Sea in the summer period. The southwest wind can raise the water level along the west coast of Luzon, but there is no anticyclonic circulation in the northern South China Sea. After the onset of the northeast monsoon winds in fall, the cyclonic eddy moves back to the region off the west coast of Luzon. In the southern South China Sea and off the Vietnam coast, the model predicts a similar flow structure as in the previous related studies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mean flow and variability in the southwestern East Sea

The Ulleung Basin is one of three deep basins that are contained within the East/Japan Sea. Current meter moorings have been maintained in this basin beginning in 1996. The data from these moorings are used to investigate the mean circulation pattern, variability of deep flows, and volume transports of major water masses in the Ulleung Basin with supporting hydrographic data and help from a high-resolution numerical model. The bottom water within the Ulleung Basin, which must enter through a constricted passage from the north, is found to circulate cyclonically—a pattern that seems prevalent throughout the East Sea. A strong current of about 6 cms⁻¹ on average flows southward over the continental slope off the Korean coast underlying the northward East Korean Warm Current as part of the mean abyssal cyclonic circulation. Volume transports of the northward East Korean Warm Current, and southward flowing East Sea Intermediate Water and East Sea Proper Water are estimated to be 1.4 Sv (1 Sv=10⁻⁶ m³ s⁻¹), 0.8 Sv, and 3.0–4.0 Sv, respectively. Deep flow variability involves a wide range of time scales with no apparent seasonal variations, whereas the deep currents in the northern East Sea are known to be strongly seasonal.     

Impact of wind/wind-stress field in the North Pacific constructed by ADEOS/NSCAT data

Data sets of surface wind and wind-stress fields in the North Pacific from September 1996 to June 1997 have been constructed using NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) data on-board ADEOS to investigate their variability and implications for the wind-driven oceanic circulation. Using a weighting function decreasing with the distance between each grid and data points, and of Gaussian type for time, daily, 10-day and monthly averages are calculated for each 1°×1° grid. Products are validated by comparison with those calculated from in-situ measurement data at oceanic buoys around Japan (JMA) and in the equatorial area (TAO). The RMS differences for wind direction and speed never exceed 20° and 2 ms⁻¹, respectively, for the TAO buyos. This does not hold for data taken by JMA buoys, suggesting that the reliability in the mid-latitudes is not good for time averages shorter than several days. Zonal integration of the Sverdrup transport in a zone of 28°–30°N calculated from the monthly-mean products ranges between 25 and 60×10⁶ m³s⁻¹ (Sv) around its mean of 38 Sv. These are not so different from the Kuroshio transport values calculated from oceanic measurements.     

Pacific ocean circulation based on observation

A thorough understanding of the Pacific Ocean circulation is a necessity to solve global climate and environmental problems. Here we present a new picture of the circulation by integrating observational results. Lower and Upper Circumpolar Deep Waters (LCDW, UCDW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) of 12, 7, and 5 Sv (10⁶ m³s⁻¹) in the lower and upper deep layers and the surface/intermediate layer, respectively, are transported to the North Pacific from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The flow of LCDW separates in the Central Pacific Basin into the western (4 Sv) and eastern (8 Sv) branches, and nearly half of the latter branch is further separated to flow eastward south of the Hawaiian Ridge into the Northeast Pacific Basin (NEPB). A large portion of LCDW on this southern route (4 Sv) upwells in the southern and mid-latitude eastern regions of the NEPB. The remaining eastern branch joins nearly half of the western branch; the confluence flows northward and enters the NEPB along the Aleutian Trench. Most of the LCDW on this northern route (5 Sv) upwells to the upper deep layer in the northern (in particular northeastern) region of the NEPB and is transformed into North Pacific Deep Water (NPDW). NPDW shifts southward in the upper deep layer and is modified by mixing with UCDW around the Hawaiian Islands. The modified NPDW of 13 Sv returns to the ACC. The remaining volume in the North Pacific (11 Sv) flows out to the Indian and Arctic Oceans in the surface/intermediate layer.     

Recent advances in ocean-circulation research on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea shelves

Recent advances in ocean-circulation research on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea shelves are summarized. Observations using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) suggest that the connectivity of mean-volume-transports is incomplete between the Tsushima (2.6 Sverdrups; 1 Sv = 10⁶ m³/s) and Taiwan Straits (1.2 Sv). The remaining 1.4-Sv transport must be supplied by onshore Kuroshio intrusion across the East China Sea shelf break. The Yellow Sea Warm Current is not a persistent ocean current, but an episodic event forced by northerly winter monsoon winds. Nevertheless, the Cheju Warm Current is detected clearly regardless of season. In addition, the throughflow in the Taiwan Strait may be episodic in winter when northeasterly winds prevail. The throughflow strengthens (vanishes) under moderate (severe) northeasterly wind conditions. Using all published ADCP-derived estimates, the throughflow transport (V) in the Taiwan Strait is approximated as

Celtic and Armorican slope and shelf residual currents

Current meter data collected over the last 20 years are presented and used to describe the residual currents on the Celtic and Armorican slope and shelf regions. On the slopes, a poleward current of about 6cm s⁻¹ exists at the 500m depth contour. At mid depths, these currents are directed onslope, whereas near the bottom the flow in markedly downslope, reaching mean speeds of about 15cm s⁻¹ near 6°40′W. The downslope currents are thought to be largely tidally induced and balanced by Stokes transports. The total slope transport near 48°N is about 4Sv. On the upper slopes (<1000m depth) the transport increases poleward. On the outer Celtic shelf, a weak (2 cm s⁻¹) counter-current flowing southeastwards was observed. On the Armorican shelf, the residual flow is again nothwestwards and this coastal flow appears to continue northwards across the mouth of the English Chanel and past the Isles of Scilly with typical mean upper layer speeds of about 2cm s⁻¹. Southwest of Ireland the flow is again northwesterly. Numerical model simulations show that the eastern slope boundary current of the NE Atlantic can be driven by realistic distributions of seawater density. The simulations also show only a small wind driven barotropic response on the Celtic and Armorican shelf region and that a component of the residual shelf flows, like the slope current, may be driven by pressure distributions arising from regional differences in the distribution of seawater density, or from non local wind stress.     

2012年南海西北陆架冬季水文特征的观测分析

本文基于2012年12月南海西北部陆架海区的温盐和流速实测资料，分析了粤西和琼东陆架海区冬季三维温、盐结构和流场特征，给出沿陆架和跨陆架方向的水体和热盐通量。结果表明：（1）在50m以浅，粤西和琼东海区温度均由近岸向外海递增，深层则相反；冬季近岸海区混合层较深，外海密度跃层位于60—120m深度且层结较强，浮力频率大于10^–2/s；（2）海流大致沿等深线向西南流动，30m以深流速大小在0.03—0.40m/s之间，且随着深度增加而略有减小；琼东海区100m等深线附近在60m以浅水层观测到水体辐聚并有明显温度锋面存在；（3）沿陆架方向的水体和热盐输送均大于跨陆架方向，其中粤西单位面积沿/跨陆架水体通量平均值为0.13×10^–6/0.03×10^–6Sv/m²，低于琼东海区的0.91×10^–6/0.56×10^–6Sv/m²。     

Process of the Tsushima Current formation revealed by ADCP measurements in summer

In order to clarify detailed current structures over the continental shelf margin in the East China Sea, ADCP measurements were carried out in summers in 1991 and 1994 by the quadrireciprocal method (Katoh, 1988) for removing diurnal and semidiurnal tidal flows from observed flows, together with CTD measurements. We discussed the process of the Tsushima Current formation in the East China Sea. The Tsushima Current with a volume transport of 2 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³s^–1) was found north of 31°N. A current with a volume transport of 0.4 Sv was clearly found along the 100 m isobath. Between the Kuroshio and the current along the 100 m isobath, southeastward component of velocity was dominant compared to northwestward one. Four eastward to southeastward currents were found over the sea bed shallower than 90 m depth. Total volume transport of these four currents was 1 Sv, and they seemed to be originated from the Taiwan Strait. Intrusion of offshore water into the inner shelf northwest of Amami Oshima was estimated to have a volume transport of 0.6 Sv. It is concluded that the Tsushima Current is the confluence of these currents over the continental shelf margin with the offshore water intruding northwest of Amami Oshima.     

Eddy-resolving ocean circulation in the Asian-Australian region inferred from an ocean reanalysis effort

The first global ocean reanalysis with focus on the Asian-Australian region was performed for the period October 1992 to June 2006. The 14-year experiment assimilated available observations of altimetric sea-level anomaly, satellite SST and quality-controlled in situ temperature and salinity profiles from a range of sources, including field surveys and the Argo float array. This study focuses on dominant circulation patterns in the South-East Asian/Australian region as simulated by an eddy-resolving and data-assimilating ocean general circulation model. New estimates of the ocean circulation are provided which are largely in agreement with the limited number of observations. Transports of key currents in the region are as follows: The total (top-to-bottom) annual mean Indonesian Throughflow transport and its standard deviation are 9.7 ± 4.4 Sv from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean with a minimum in January (6.6 Sv) and a maximum in April (12.3 Sv). The Leeuwin Current along the west coast of Australia is dominated by eddy structures with a mean southward transport of 4.1 ± 2.0 Sv at 34°S. Along the southern coast of Australia a narrow shelf edge current known as the South Australian Current advects 4.5 ± 2.6 Sv eastward at 130°E. The South Australian Current converges east of Tasmania with the eddy-rich extension of East Australian Current. At 32°S this current transports 36.8 ± 18.5 Sv southward. A dominating feature of the circulation between north-eastern Australia and Papua-New Guinea is the strong and quasi-permanent Coral Sea Gyre. This gyre is associated with the highly variable Hiri Current which runs along the south coast of Papua-New Guinea and advects 8.2 ± 19.1 Sv into the Western Pacific Ocean. All of these transport estimates are subject to strong eddy variability.     

卡里马塔海峡水体交换的季节变化

Four trawl-resistant bottom mounts, with acoustic Doppler current profilers(ADCPs) embedded, were deployed in the Karimata Strait from November 2008 to June 2015 as part of the South China Sea-Indonesian Seas Transport/Exchange and Impact on Seasonal Fish Migration(SITE) Program, to estimate the volume and property transport between the South China Sea and Indonesian seas via the strait. The observed current data reveal that the volume transport through the Karimata Strait exhibits significant seasonal variation. The winteraveraged(from December to February) transport is –1.99 Sv(1 Sv=1×10~6 m~3/s), while in the boreal summer(from June to August), the average transport is 0.69 Sv. Moreover, the average transport from January 2009 to December2014 is –0.74 Sv(the positive/negative value indicates northward/southward transport). May and September are the transition period. In May, the currents in the Karimata Strait turn northward, consistent with the local monsoon. In September, the southeasterly trade wind is still present over the strait, driving surface water northward, whereas the bottom flow reverses direction, possibly because of the pressure gradient across the strait from north to south.     

Temporal variations in the current structure and volume transport of the Coastal Oyashio revealed by direct current measurement

Direct current measurements by a shipboard and bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler and concurrent hydrographic observations with a CTD were conducted off southeastern Hokkaido, Japan, between January and May 2005 to reveal temporal variations in the current structure and volume transport of the Coastal Oyashio (CO). The CO, which has a baroclinic jet structure with southwestward speeds exceeding 90 cm s^?1 and a width of 7–8 km, was associated with a surface-to-bottom density front and was formed on the offshore side of the shelf break. The volume transport of CO (T _CO) was estimated by integrating the fluxes of lower-density water that was trapped against the coast along the density front represented by the 26.2 σ _θ isopycnal line. This transport decreased monotonously from 0.79 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s^?1) in January to 0.21 Sv in March and subsequently to 0.12 Sv in May, possibly due to the decay of the East Sakhalin Current Water in the Okhotsk Sea. Accompanied by a decrease in T _CO, the location of the jet structure associated with the density front moved toward the coast while the maximum speed of the jet decreased and the tilt of the front became more horizontal. Consequently, more saline offshore Oyashio water flowed into the deep part of the shelf area, and the current structure altered from relatively barotropic in winter to baroclinic in spring. This study is the first to estimate the observed volume transport of the CO from direct current measurements.     

Three dimensional diagnostic study of the circulation in the South China Sea during winter 1998

On the basis of hydrographic data obtained from 28 November to 27 December, 1998, the three-dimensional structure of circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) is computed using a three-dimensional diagnostic model. The combination of sea surface height anomaly from altimeter data and numerical results provides a consistent circulation pattern for the SCS, and main circulation features can be summarized as follows: in the northern SCS there are a cold and cyclonic circulation C1 with two cores C1-1 and C1-2 northwest of Luzon and an anticyclonic eddy (W1) near Dongsha Islands. In the central SCS there is a stronger cyclonic circulation C2 with two cores C2-1 and C2-2 east of Vietnam and a weaker anticyclonic eddy W2 northwest of Palawan Island. A stronger coastal southward jet presents west of the eddy C2 and turns to the southeast in the region southwest of eddy C2-2, and it then turns to flow eastward in the region south of eddy C2-2. In the southern SCS there are a weak cyclonic eddy C3 northwest of Borneo and an anti-cyclonic circulation W3 in the subsurface layer. The net westward volume transport through section CD at 119.125°E from 18.975° to 21.725°N is about 10.3 × 10⁶ m³s⁻¹ in the layer above 400 m level. The most important dynamic mechanism generating the circulation in the SCS is a joint effect of the baroclinicity and relief (JEBAR), and the second dynamical mechanism is an interaction between the wind stress and relief (IBWSR). The strong upwelling occurs off northwest Luzon.     

Volume transport of the Soya Warm Current revealed by bottom-mounted ADCP and ocean-radar measurement

The vertical structure of the Soya Warm Current (SWC) was observed by a bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) in the region of the SWC axis near the Soya Strait during a 1-year period from May 2004. The ADCP data revealed a marked seasonal variability in the vertical structure, with positive (negative) vertical shear in summer and fall (winter and spring). The volume transport of the SWC is estimated on the basis of both the vertical structure observed by the ADCP and horizontal structure observed by the ocean radars near the strait. The transport estimates have a minimum in winter and a maximum in fall, with the yearly-averaged values in the range of 0.94–1.04 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹). These lie within a reasonable range in comparison to those through other straits in the Japan Sea.