Variability modes of sea level in the Sea of Japan

Variability of sea level in the Sea of Japan is studied using multivariate analysis of weekly altimetry fields spanning from October 1992 through October 2009. Interacting (non-orthogonal) modes of variability are revealed on seasonal time scale, representing synchronous oscillations in the entire Sea and meridional sea level gradient, respectively. The highest sea level and sharpest gradient occur in October and the strongest opposite phase occurs in March. Intra-seasonal and quasi-biennial synchronous oscillations also occur. The fluctuations of the level gradients are not statistically significant on these time scales. The 180-degree-out-of-phase oscillations occur in the western and eastern parts of the Sea on semiannual, annual, quasi-biennial, and longer interannual time scales, manifesting substantial changes in the regional circulation patterns. No secular trends related to the revealed modes were detected.     

基于自动探测方法的南海北部涡致海表温度锋面的特征研究

南海北部具有丰富的温度锋面和中尺度涡，它们调节着局地的热量和能量平衡。本文利用卫星海洋高度异常和海表温度数据，并基于自动探测方法，探究了2007年至2017年南海北部中尺度涡边缘的海表温度锋面（涡致锋面）特征。反气旋/气旋边缘出现锋面的概率可达20%。气旋涡在各个方向上出现锋面的概率比较均匀，反气旋涡的东北部和西南部出现锋面的概率大于西北部和东南部。中尺度涡致锋面的数量有明显的季节变化，而涡动能未表现出明显的季节变化。中尺度涡致锋区的总涡动能是中尺度涡内动能的3倍，并且反气旋涡致锋面的总涡动能明显强于气旋涡致锋面的总涡动能。中尺度涡致锋面的数量和涡动能的年际变化与厄尔尼诺南方涛动指数没有明显的相关性。本研究也讨论了中尺度涡致锋面的可能机制，但是中尺度涡对海表温度锋的贡献需要进一步定量研究。     

The interannual variability of the surface eddy kinetic energy in the Labrador Sea

The variability of the surface eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the Labrador Sea is investigated with a suite of numerical integrations using a regional ocean model. Simulations are performed over the period 1980–2001 and are compared to satellite observations over the last 9 years. The surface EKE pattern in the basin is dominated by a region along the West coast of Greenland where eddies, mainly anticyclonic, are formed by instability of the main currents flowing over the continental slope, consistent with previous idealized results. Here the interannual changes are linked to the shear of the incoming boundary current system imposed as boundary condition to the model domain. The highly variable strength of the East Greenland current at the northeast boundary, derived from the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) reanalysis, strongly influences the vortex formation.In the center of the Labrador Sea, where deep convection occurs, a statistically significant portion of the modeled interannual surface EKE variability is correlated with the local atmospheric forcing, and both heat and wind fluxes play an important role and can be adopted as predictors at a lag of 2–3 months. The Arctic Oscillation index can also be used as a remote indicator of the atmospheric fluxes, but with lower skill than local measurements. In contrast the North Atlantic Oscillation index does not correlate significantly with the surface EKE at intraseasonal and interannual scales. The analysis of altimeter data over the 1993–2001 supports the existence of this asymmetry between the regime locally forced by the atmosphere in the central basin, and the regime remotely forced by the incoming boundary current along the west Greenland coast. Those results have important implications for monitoring and predicting the surface eddy kinetic energy variability in the Labrador Sea.     

Eddy Field in the Japan Sea Derived from Satellite Altimetric Data

The Japan Sea is one of the eddy-rich areas in the world. Many researchers have described the variability of the eddy field and its structure in the Tsushima Warm Current region. On the other hand, since there are few data covering the northern part of the Japan Sea, we are not able to understand the detailed variability of the eddy field there. The variation of the eddy field in the Japan Sea is investigated using the temporal fluctuations of sea surface height measured by altimetric data from TOPEX/POSEIDON and ERS-2. Tidal signals are eliminated from the altimetric data on the basis of the results of Morimoto et al. (2000). Distributions of sea surface dynamic height are produced by using the optimal interpolation method every month. The distributions warm and cold eddies that we obtained coincide well with the observed isotherms at 100 m depth measured by the Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute and the sea surface temperature measured by satellite. There are areas with high RMS variability of temporal fluctuation of sea surface dynamic height in the Yamato Basin, the Ulleung Basin, east of North Korea, the eastern part of the Yamato Rise, the Tsushima Strait and west of Hokkaido. The characteristics of eddy propagation in the high RMS variability regions are examined using a lag correlation analysis. Seasonal variations in the number of warm and cold eddies are also examined.     

Autumn atmospheric preconditioning for interannual variability of wintertime sea-ice in the Okhotsk Sea

Relations in year-to-year variability between wintertime Sea-Ice Concentrations (SICs) in the Okhotsk Sea and atmospheric anomalies consisting of zonal and meridional 1000-hPa wind speeds and 850-hPa air temperatures are studied using a singular value decomposition analysis. It is revealed that the late autumn (October–November) atmospheric conditions strongly influence sea-ice variability from the same season (late autumn) through late winter (February—March), in which sea-ice extent is at its maximum. The autumn atmospheric conditions for the positive sea-ice anomalies exhibit cold air temperature anomalies over the Okhotsk Sea and wind anomalies blowing into the Okhotsk Sea from Siberia. These atmospheric conditions yield anomalous ocean-to-atmosphere heat fluxes and cold sea surface temperature anomalies in the Okhotsk Sea. Hence, these results suggest that the atmospheric conditions affect the sea-ice through heat anomalies stored in sea-ice and oceanic fields. The late autumn atmosphere conditions are related to large 700-hPa geopotential height anomalies over the Bering Sea and northern Eurasia, which are related to a stationary Rossby wave propagation over the North Pacific and that from the North Atlantic to Eurasia, respectively. In addition, the late autumn atmospheric preconditioning also plays an important role in the decreasing trend in the Okhotsk sea-ice extent observed from 1980 to the mid-1990s. Based on the lagged sea-ice response to the late autumn atmosphere, a simple seasonal prediction scheme is proposed for the February–March sea-ice extent using four-month leading atmospheric conditions. This scheme explains 45% of the variance of the Okhotsk sea-ice extent.     

Branching of the Tsushima Current in 1981–83

Satellite-derived sea surface temperatures illustrate the variability of the path of the Tsushima Current in the Sea of Japan. In the spring of 1981 the Tsushima Current did not split as it left the Korea Strait and flowed into the Sea of Japan, which is contrary to the historical concept of branching. Warm water remained along Honshu, the main island of Japan, making a strong front oriented in an east-west direction. Hydrographic data confirm that this spring condition lasted through to the fall of 1981. On the other hand, during the springs of 1982 and 1983 the branching is evident from satellite images: one branch flowed northward along the east coast of Korea, and the other flowed eastward along Honshu of Japan.     

Variability of sea surface temperature in the Japan Sea and its relationship to the wind-curl field

The variability of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Japan Sea is investigated using the complex EOF analysis of daily data produced at Tohoku University, Japan (New Generation SST; 2002–2006). The relationship with the wind field is investigated from the daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data with a 1° spatial resolution. Anomalies in the SST (SSTAs) are calculated by subtracting the basin-average annual variation estimated as a leading mode of temperature. The leading mode of an SSTA represents a adjustment to the annual mean variation, most significant in December in the zone of subtropical waters entering the sea through the Korean Strait and in the northwestern sea, over which a cyclonic wind curl develops in the cold period. The semiannual variability mode is identified, which is characterized by the largest temperature increase (decrease) in the western branch of the subarctic front (in the Tatar Strait), which lags by two months behind the semiannual changes in wind curl over the sea. An episodic SSTA movement is detected in the northern part of the sea, which moves from east to west along the western branch of the Tsushima Warm Current with a speed corresponding in magnitude to an advective scale.     

Features of eddy kinetic energy and variations of upper circulation in the South China Sea

The features of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) and the variations of upper circulation in theSouth China Sea (SCS) are discussed in this paper using geostrophic currents estimated from Maps of Sea Level Anomalies of the TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry data. A high EKE center is identified in the southeast of Vietnam coast with the highest energy level 1 400 cm2 ·s~(-2) in both summer and autumn. This high EKE center is caused by the instability of the current axis leaving the coast of Vietnam in summer and the transition of seasonal circulation patterns in autumn. There exists another high EKE region in the northeastern SCS, southwest to Taiwan Island in winter. This high EKE region is generated from the eddy activities caused by the Kuroshio intrusion and accumulates more than one third of the annual EKE, which confirms that the eddies are most active in winter. The transition of upper circulation patterns is also evidenced by the directions of the major axises of velocity variance ellipses between 10°and 14.5°N     

1992-2011年夏季南海西部离岸流区涡流相互作用特征

本文利用南海海洋再分析产品REDOS（Reanalysis Dataset of the South China Sea）和风场资料CCMP（Cross-Calibrated,Multi-Platform）,从能量学角度探讨了1992-2011年夏季（6-9月）越南离岸流区域涡-流相互作用特征,并通过能量收支方程诊断评估了风应力、压力梯度、正压不稳定以及平流的相对贡献。以越南离岸流的强度作为分类标准,对1992-2011年划分为正异常年、负异常年和正常年。结果表明,在正异常年,涡动能EKE（Eddy Kinetic Energy）和涡势能EPE（Eddy available Potential Energy）极大值主要分布在越南离岸流附近;在负异常年,EKE极大值向南北两侧分散,EPE极大值向北延伸;在正常年,EKE和EPE的极值空间分布介于正负异常之间。斜压不稳定是EPE年际变化的主要因素,越南离岸流影响周围海域的速度和密度分布,是斜压不稳定的主要原因。而影响EKE年际变化的因素较为复杂,压力做功是最主要的影响因素,风应力做功和平流做功次之,正压不稳定最小,其中正压不稳定依赖于流速大小和由风应力旋度扰动引起的上层水平流速剪切。     

基于20年卫星遥感资料的黄海、渤海海雾分布季节特征分析

目前对海上雾分布的认识多基于沿岸测站和海上船舶、浮标观测,但这些数据非常稀少,且存在代表性和数据质量方面的问题,因此一直缺乏对海雾分布更全面、清晰的了解。卫星遥感数据空间均一、覆盖范围广、质量一致,具有对无云条件下大范围、离岸海雾监测的优势。本文通过分析算法检测出的1989-2008年黄渤海海雾及云的频数、分布百分率信息,得到了黄渤海海雾季节变化的较全面特征。除印证其他资料或研究的结论外,还发现:(1)黄海海雾频数随季节变化的幅度较渤海明显;(2)黄海、渤海海域存在冬季海雾多发时段;(3)海雾生消过程中有覆盖区变化的东传特征;(4)春夏雾季中存在黄海中部和西朝鲜湾两处海雾多发区,其中西朝鲜湾也是全年海雾最多的海域。另外,在样本充足的情况下,通过对检测出的低云、中高云覆盖百分率和海雾频数的分析统计,还能估算出黄海、渤海部分季节20年海雾发生的平均概率。     

Variability of Sea Surface Circulation in the Japan Sea

Composite sea surface dynamic heights (CSSDH) are calculated from both sea surface dynamic heights that are derived from altimetric data of ERS-2 and mean sea surface that is calculated by a numerical model. The CSSDH are consistent with sea surface temperature obtained by satellite and observed water temperature. Assuming the geostrophic balance, sea surface current velocities are calculated. It is found that temporal and spatial variations of sea surface circulation are considerably strong. In order to examine the characteristics of temporal and spatial variation of current pattern, EOF analysis is carried out with use of the CSSDH for 3.5 years. The spatial and temporal variations of mode 1 indicate the strength or weakness of sea surface circulation over the entire Japan Sea associated with seasonal variation of volume transport through the Tsushima Strait. The spatial and temporal variations of mode 2 mostly indicate the temporal variation of the second branch of the Tsushima Warm Current and the East Korean Warm Current. It is suggested that this variation is possibly associated with the seasonal variation of volume transport through the west channel of the Tsushima Strait. Variations of mode 3 indicate the interannual variability in the Yamato Basin.     

Statistical characteristics and mechanisms of mesoscale eddies in the North Indian Ocean

The statistical characteristics and mechanisms of mesoscale eddies in the North Indian Ocean are investigated by adopting multi-sensor satellite data from 1993 to 2019. In the Arabian Sea(AS), seasonal variation of eddy characteristics is remarkable, while the intraseasonal variability caused by planetary waves is crucial in the Bay of Bengal(BOB). Seasonal variation of the eddy kinetic energy(EKE) is distinct along the west boundary of AS,especially in the Somali Current region. In the BOB, lar...     

基于多源遥感数据的日本海内波特征研究

日本海特殊的地理位置和复杂的地形使得该海域内波表征极为复杂，遥感是大范围观测内波的有效手段，已被广泛应用于内波的探测研究。本文利用MODIS、GF-1和ENVISAT ASAR遥感影像，开展了日本海内波特征研究。通过提取内波波峰线，生成了日本海内波空间分布图；获取了内波的波峰线长度和传播速度，并基于非线性薛定谔方程反演了内波振幅。研究结果表明，日本海内波分布范围宽广，不仅大陆架沿海区内波分布密集，深海盆地也探测到了大量内波；日本海北部45°N附近海域有少量内波出现，利用高分影像探测到朝鲜陆架浅海区有大量小尺度内波，大和海盆、大和隆起的西南部海域没有发现内波。日本海内波波峰线长达100多千米，深海区的传播速度大于1 m/s；浅海区内波振幅约10 m左右，深海区可达60 m以上。     

Persistent thermal fronts in the Black Sea: Existence,variability, and response to atmospheric forcing

High-resolution satellite sea surface temperature (SST) measurements (PATHFINDER dataset) have been used to confirm an existence of persistent thermal frontal zones in the Black Sea. Fronts have been revealed in the winter season between the intensively cooling shallow northwestern area and warmer waters of central part, and in spring-summer season between the actively warming waters of the southeastern part and cooler central area. Interannual and quasi-decadal variability of the northwestern front have been documented, as well as a high negative correlation of its intensity with the winter-mean SST.     

Spatial and seasonal variations of sea level in the Red Sea, 1958–2001

The present study investigated the variability of monthly mean sea level data and discussed its relation with climatic events in the Red Sea during 1958–2001. The data were obtained from Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA), for three different locations (north, central and south) in the Red Sea. Spatial and temporal variability as well as trends and periodicity of sea level time series records in the three locations was investigated using One-way ANOVA test, weighted running mean filter and autocorrelation spectral analysis. Results revealed that mean sea level in the northern Red Sea was permanently lower than its central and southern parts. Moreover, the mean sea level during winter and spring in the three locations was significantly higher than summer and autumn seasons. Increasing and decreasing of sea level trends with respect to time were also observed. Inter-decadal variations in sea level including a fairly regular quasi 2.5–2.7 year oscillation in all seasons were detected, although its amplitude varied among different cycles. Studying the cyclicity in the hydroclimatic record can resolve some of the complexities of the hydroclimate system. The sign of Quasi Biennial Oscillation, El Niño Southern Oscillation and sunspots events may have an important influence in sea level variations of the Red Sea.     

The Mediterranean response to different space–time resolution atmospheric forcings using perpetual mode sensitivity simulations

The Mediterranean basin features a semi-enclosed sea, where interactions and feedbacks between the atmosphere and the Sea at various temporal and spatial scales play a predominant role in the regional climate. This study analyzes the Mediterranean Sea response in sensitivity experiments conducted by driving the NEMO-MED12 oceanic model in perpetual mode with various atmospheric forcings, all produced by the WRF non-hydrostatic mesoscale atmospheric model, but differing by their resolutions: two horizontal resolutions (20 km at basin scale and 6.7 km in the North-Western [NWE] area) and two temporal resolutions (daily and three-hourly). The atmospheric fields available from August 1998 to July 1999 are in good agreement with estimates derived from satellite data. The heat budget of the Mediterranean Sea represents an heat loss of 5 W/m² and the annual freshwater budget is ?1.04 m, in agreement with climatologies. An increase in the spatial resolution in the NWE area modifies the modeled circulation from ?10% to +15% for the SST, from ?30% to +50% for the SSS, from ?10% to +30% for the MLD and from ?10% to +30% for the EKE in surface. The increase in the wind speed with a better chanelling by the land orography enhances in particular the oceanic convection process in the NWE area. On the other hand, the increase in the temporal resolution reduces the convection process, because of the diurnal restratification of the oceanic upper layer. It also reduces the surface parameters high-frequency variability, whereas it increases the EKE values in surface, due to the rapid response to the wind.     

Zonally asymmetric response of the Japan Sea to synoptic pressure forcing

We investigated the sea level response of the Japan Sea to changes in atmospheric pressure using barotropic shallow water models driven by idealized synoptic pressure forcing. The regional response lags behind the synoptic pressure forcing because the adjustment is slowly established by water exchange through narrow, shallow straits. The sea level response of the realistic Japan Sea to the idealized forcing varies with geographical location and shows zonally asymmetric variations in amplitude and phase. The simulated response is in good agreement with the observed response of sea level recorded at Japanese coastal tide gauges. The results of a simple one-dimensional model indicate that the zonally asymmetric pattern, with an eastward-propagating pressure system, is essentially caused by bottom friction in shallow straits. This asymmetry arises if the typical wavelength of the synoptic pressure system is slightly larger than the spatial scale of the Japan Sea.     

南沙暖水形成的动力和热动力过程的初步数值研究

利用一个简化的上混合层垂直积分模式,对南海南部“南沙暖水”形成的动力和热动力过程进行数值研究。结果表明：(1)在春季,南沙暖水的形成主要来自海面净热通量的贡献,而通过热平流、苏禄海或巽它陆架以南的暖水进入的贡献甚小;(2)在冬季,南沙群岛海区流场强度增大,热平流项的贡献大于或等于海面净热通量的贡献,海温的降低幅度也较其他深海区的要大。但由于该海区在此前的季节中初始温度场较高,因而使得该海区的海温仍保持较高的水平;(3)南沙暖水的形成和维持高温的机制是随着季节的变化而变化的。     

Characteristics of Sea Surface Circulation and Eddy Field in the South China Sea Revealed by Satellite Altimetric Data

Temporal and spatial variations of sea surface circulation in the South China Sea were revealed with use of altimetric data provided by TOPEX/POSEIDON from December 1992 to October 1997. The estimated distribution of sea surface dynamic heights from altimetric data coincide well with the results of observation by Soong et al. (1995) and Chu et al. (1998). The RMS variability of sea surface dynamic height, which is obtained after tidal correction based on Yanagi et al. (1997), is high in the central part of the South China Sea, the Gulf of Tongking, the Sunda Shelf and the Gulf of Thailand. The high RMS variability in the Gulf of Tongking, the Sunda Shelf and the Gulf of Thailand is due to set up and set down of sea water by the East Asian monsoon, which is northeasterly during winter and southwesterly during summer. Also, the high RMS variability in the central part of the South China Sea is due to the variations of basin-wide circulation. The circulations are dominant in the central part of the South China Sea during summer and winter, an anticyclonic circulation during summer and a cyclonic circulation during winter. It is suggested that these circulations are controlled by the East Asian monsoon. Hence, there is an interannual variability of the basin-wide circulation associated with the variation of the East Asian monsoon.     

东海黑潮上下游不同的涡动能季节变化特征及其产生机制

用一种新的泛函工具——多尺度子空间变换(multiscale window transform,MWT),得到如实的东海涡动能分布,发现东海黑潮上下游区域的涡动能有着完全不同的季节变化特征.根据功率谱分析,东海黑潮流系可正交地重构到背景流尺度子空间(大于64 d)与涡旋尺度子空间(小于64 d),并用MWT得出相应子空...