Spin-up and spin-down processes of the large cold water mass of the Kuroshio south of Japan

Time variation of the cold water mass of the Kuroshio south of Japan, which was formed in August 1975 and disappeared in August 1980, is studied. Its lifecycle includes several repetitions of spin-down and spin-up processes. The spin-down (or the spin-up) process is accompanied by warming (cooling) of the cold water mass and descending (ascending) motion of the inner water. Expansion of the cold water area is also associated with the spin-up period while shrinking occurs in the spin-down period. The rate of spin-down of the cold water mass is approximately equal to that of the Gulf Stream rings. The spin-up process is not observed in the Gulf Stream rings and the longer lifetime of the cold water mass off Japan, in comparison with the Gulf Stream rings, is due to the existence of the spin-up periods. The spin-up process tends to occur in late spring to summer, and it seems to be related to the seasonal variation in intensity of the Kuroshio.     

Numerical Simulation of the Gulf Stream and the Deep Circulation

The Gulf Stream system has been numerically simulated with relatively high resolution and realistic forcing. The surface fluxes of the simulation were obtained from archives of calculations from the Eta-29 km model which is an National Center for Environment Prediction (NCEP) operational atmospheric prediction model; synoptic fields are available every 3 hour. A comparison between experiments with and without surface fluxes shows that the effect of the surface wind stress and heat fluxes on the Gulf Stream path and separation is closely related to the intensification of deep circulations in the northern region. Additionally, the separation of the Gulf Stream and the downslope movement of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) are reproduced in the model results. The model DWBC crosses under the Gulf Stream southeast of Cape Hatteras and then feeds the deep cyclonic recirculation east of the Bahamas. The model successfully reproduces the cross-sectional vertical structures of the Gulf Stream, such as the asymmetry of the velocity profile, and this structure is sustained along the downstream axis. The distribution of Root Mean Square (RMS) elevation anomaly of the model shows that the eddy activity of the Gulf Stream is realistically reproduced by the model physics. The entrainment of the upper layer slope current into the Gulf Stream occurs near cross-over; the converging cross-stream flow is nearly barotropic. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structure,transport and potential vorticity of the Gulf Stream at 68°W: Revisiting older data sets with new techniques

The stream-coordinates mean structure of the Gulf Stream at 68°W is derived using new methods for both defining stream coordinates and interpreting bottom pressure and inverted echo sounder travel times collected during the extensive Synoptic Ocean Prediction experiment. These new analyses provide pictures of the vertical structure of Gulf Stream flows that are demonstrably dynamically consistent with the density field at all depths, in contrast to previous work that relies on simple vertical interpolations to fill gaps between sparse current meter measurements. This new view of the Gulf Stream suggests a slightly higher total mean transport, with the increases coming from both baroclinic and barotropic components, and slightly stronger recirculation cells, particularly on the southern side. The recirculation of the Gulf Stream appears to have a weak baroclinic component, perhaps 10% of the total. A significant advantage of the methodology is the ability to obtain sensible vertical and horizontal gradients of currents and density so that the vertical and cross-stream structures of the components of the mean potential vorticity can be clearly imaged. One new feature from this calculation is that the along-stream gradient of the cross-stream velocity, a term that is often ignored in potential vorticity analyses, is non-negligible (though small) and is asymmetric about the current axis. Both the derived structure and implied dynamics of the circulation can be significantly altered by small changes to the method of calculating daily stream coordinates, e.g., by carefully filtering out observations in rings or not. Arrays of pressure-equipped inverted echo sounders provide the opportunity (at reasonable cost) for properly defining the stream coordinates of energetic jets such as the Gulf Stream.     

Observations of Rossby waves near site D1

A theory of Rossby waves makes a number of predictions about motions below the thermocline at Site D (39°10'N, 70°W). An experiment was made to test these predictions. Kinetic energy spectra show most of the energy is associated with periods of a week to a few months. The Reynolds' stress is negative for these periods. There is high coherence and on phase shift between 1000 m and 2000 m depths. Most of the wave-number estimates point to the south-west quadrant, consistent with westward propagation and with momentum flux into the Gulf Stream and energy flux out of it. There is enough consistency between statistics based on successive 8-month records to conclude that statistics based on a single 8-month record near Site D are meaningful. In an 8-month array of twenty-six current meters, for periods of a week to a month, the divergence is small compared to the vorticity, and the motion is transverse. The energy increases toward the bottom. The observed wave-numbers and frequencies fit the theoretical dispersion relationship satisfactorily. The kinetic energy of the fluctuations is much larger near the Gulf Stream than farther upslope. The vorticity is in quadrature with the upslope velocity. I conclude there is strong evidence that topographic Rossby wave mechanics are dominant below the thermocline on the continental rise north of the Gulf Stream.     

Influence of the interaction between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean on the Gulf Stream

Numerical experiments with the circulation model of the North Atlantic based on the splitting algorithms in the σ-coordinate system with a spatial resolution allowing for reproducing synoptic eddies were performed in two versions: with the Arctic Ocean and without it (boundary along 78°N). They showed that the account for the water exchange with the Arctic is fundamentally important for reproducing jet dynamics at the western boundary of the Atlantic down to the subtropical zone. The influence of the conditions at the liquid boundary that separates the Atlantic and the Arctic extends not only over the subarctic area [29] but is also “transferred” by the Labrador Current and the Slope Water Current (SWC) to the area of the Gulf Stream proper. One cannot properly describe the detachment of the Gulf Stream from the coast without adequate reproducing of the Labrador Current and SWC. An hypothesis is posed that the location of the detachment region at 35°N is caused by strong vertical motions at the interface between the SWC and the Gulf Stream jet with horizontal velocities that are almost equal to those at the exit from the Florida Strait. A comparison of the model circulation with that retrieved from the hydrological data and the drift of neutral buoyancy floats [14, 22] showed both qualitative and quantitative coincidences of the features of the northward warm water transfer such as the streamline around the so-called northwestern “corner” (motion “along the topography”) and the jet-wise transport of these waters from Labrador to the northeast inside a kind of “pipeline,” which is limited in the upper baroclinic layer 1 km thick by mean velocity contour lines of about 10 cm/s. A comparison between the experimental [19] and model fields of the ocean level showed that, at the absence of direct representation of the water (mass) exchange between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, the decrease of the gradient velocities in the Gulf Stream may reach 30%.     

Continental slope sea level and flow variability induced by lateral movements of the Gulf Stream in the Middle Atlantic Bight

As described by [Csanady, G.T., Hamilton, P., 1988. Circulation of slope water. Continental Shelf Research 8, 565–624], the flow regime over the slope of the southern Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) includes a current reversal in which southwestward flow over the upper and middle slope becomes entrained in the northeastward current adjacent to the Gulf Stream. In this paper we use satellite-derived data to quantify how lateral motions of the Gulf Stream impact this current system. In our analysis, the Gulf Stream’s thermal front is delineated using a two-year time series of sea surface temperature derived from NOAA/AVHRR satellite data. Lateral motions of the Gulf Stream are represented in terms of temporal variations of the area, east of 73°W, between the Gulf Stream thermal front and the shelf edge. Variations of slope water flow within this area are represented by anomalies of geostrophic velocity as derived from the time series of the sea level anomaly determined from TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimeter data. A strong statistical relationship is found between Gulf Stream displacements and parabathic flow over the continental slope. It is such that the southwestward flow over the slope is accelerated when the Gulf Stream is relatively far from the shelf edge, and is decelerated (and perhaps even reversed) when the Gulf Stream is close to the shelf edge. This relationship between Gulf Stream displacements and parabathic flow is also observed in numerical simulations produced by the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Model. In qualitative terms, it is consistent with the notion that when the Gulf Stream is closer to the 200-m isobath, it is capable of entraining a larger fraction of shelf water masses. Alternatively, when the Gulf Stream is far from the shelf-break, more water is advected into the MAB slope region from the northeast. Analysis of the diabathic flow indicates that much of the cross-slope transport by which the southwestward flow entering the study region is transferred to the northeastward flow exiting the region occurs in a narrow band roughly centered at 36.75°N, order 150 km north of Cape Hatteras. This transport, and thus the cyclonic circulation of the southern MAB, strengthens when the Gulf Stream is relatively close to the shelf edge, and weakens when the Gulf Stream is far from the shelf edge.     

An offshore eddy in the California current system part III: Chemical structure

From January 9 to 17, 1981, detailed physical, chemical and biological measurements were made through the historical surface signature (Berstein, Breaker and Whritner, 1977; Burkov and Pavlova, 1980; Simpson, 1982) of a warm-core eddy in the California Current System. The data show a three-layer system: surface layer to 75 m, intermediate cold-core region to about 200 m, and the physically dominant subsurface warm-core eddy to about 1400 m. The chemical structure simultaneously possesses characteristics of both warm- and cold-core eddies. This structure results from a complex interplay among non-local eddy generation processes at the time the three-layer system was formed and a continuous set of interactions within the three-layer system, both inshore (cold) and offshore (warm) waters of the California Current and coastal and local biological processes (e.g. this California Current System eddy is $\text{not}$ an isolated structure like some Gulf Stream rings). The dominant biological/chemical process in the euphotic zone is phytoplankton photosynthesis; photosynthetic alteration of the chemical structure below 100 m is much reduced. The effects of heterotrophic activity on the deeper-lying chemical structure, however are not as significant as those of autotrophs on the chemical structure of the euphotic zone. Hence, below 100 m, the distribution and structure of chemical properties is controlled primarily by physical processes. The continuous set of interactions of the three-layer system with coastal and oceanic waters of the California Current make this offshore eddy in the California Current System fundamentally different chemically and biologically from cold-core Gulf Stream rings and rather similar to some of the warm-core eddies found in the East Australian Current.     

Hurricane effects on surface gulf stream currents

A 3-dimensional model methodology for predicting the upper ocean currents under the combined influence of Gulf Stream and hurricane is described. Predicted currents are highly dependent on the turbulence closure scheme and nonlinear interactions. New field data will be required to determine the appropriate formulation for turbulent momentum transfer. However, the model points out the importance of nonlinear terms in the equations of motions for preserving the jet-like structure of the Gulf Stream and for properly accounting for interaction between the Gulf Stream and a hurricane. A potentially worst case condition is obtained for the so-called resonant hurricane.     

Polarimetric analysis and modeling of multifrequency SAR signaturesfrom Gulf Stream fronts

Using airborne synthetic aperture radar data from the 1990 Gulf Stream Experiment, this paper investigates the polarization and wavelength dependence of radar signatures for narrow fronts with converging flows occurring within the Gulf Stream. The signal-to-background ratios of the cross-polarization backscatter return from a convergent front were found much higher than those of copolarization returns, when the flight path is crossing the front. However, a second convergent front, imaged at 45°, showed that the signal-to-background ratios are nearly equal for co- and cross-polarizations. A polarimetric procedure, which has been successfully used to measure terrain slopes and to generate elevation maps, is applied to the convergent front to explain the polarization and imaging geometry dependence of these radar responses. A theoretical modeling of radar modulation using an ocean wave model and a composite-Bragg scattering model, which incorporates the effect of breaking waves, was developed. Calculations with the model agree reasonably well with the radar measurements at various polarizations for three radar frequencies: P-band (68 cm in wavelength), L-band (24 cm), and C-band (5.7 cm)     

海冰动力学过程的数值模拟

讨论了海冰动力学性质并阐述决定海冰漂移的动量平衡,冰脊和水道形成及确定冰应力与形变、强度之间关系的海冰流变学.提出了模拟海冰动力学过程的数值模式,模式中冰厚分布由开阔水、平整冰和堆积冰3种要素表示.在这3要素的预报方程中引入形变函数,采用一种参数化方法模拟冰脊和水道.为了表示冰内相互作用,将海冰作为一种非线性粘性可压缩物质,采用粘-塑性本构关系.本文还概述和讨论了模式中所采用的数值方法,应用此模式模拟了渤海、波罗的海的波的尼亚湾和拉布拉多海的冰漂移.渤海冰漂移模拟结果明显地显示出潮周期变化,还模拟了渤海的冰脊和水道,进行了海冰流变学参数的敏感性试验.并将此冰模式与大气模式和边界层模式联接,给出渤海海冰预报结果.     

Resolution convergence and sensitivity studies with North Atlantic circulation models. Part I: The western boundary current system

The fidelity of numerical simulations of the general circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean in basin- to global-scale models have improved considerably in the last several years. This improvement appears to represent a regime shift in the dynamics of the simulated flow as the horizontal grid spacing decreases to around 10 km. Nevertheless, some significant biases in the simulated circulation and substantial uncertainties about the robustness of these results with respect to parameterization choices remain. A growing collection of simulations obtained with the POP primitive equation model allow us to investigate the convergence properties and sensitivity of high resolution numerical simulations of the North Atlantic, with particular attention given to Gulf Stream separation and the subsequent path of the North Atlantic Current into the Northwest Corner. Increases in resolution and reductions in dissipation both contribute to the improvements in the circulation seen in recent studies. We find that our highest resolution eddy-resolving simulations retain an appreciable sensitivity to the closure scheme. Our most realistic simulations of the Gulf Stream are not obtained at the lowest levels of dissipation, while the simulation of the North Atlantic Current continues to improve as dissipation is reduced to near the numerical stability limit. In consequence, there is a limited range of parameter space where both aspects of the simulated circulation can be brought into agreement with observations. This experience gained with the comparatively affordable regional North Atlantic model is now being used to configure the next generation of ocean climate models.     

The connection between Labrador Sea buoyancy loss, deep western boundary current strength, and Gulf Stream path in an ocean circulation model

The sensitivity of the North Atlantic gyre circulation to high latitude buoyancy forcing is explored in a global, non-eddy resolving ocean general circulation model. Increased buoyancy forcing strengthens the deep western boundary current, the northern recirculation gyre, and the North Atlantic Current, which leads to a more realistic Gulf Stream path. High latitude density fluxes and surface water mass transformation are strongly dependent on the choice of sea ice and salinity restoring boundary conditions. Coupling the ocean model to a prognostic sea ice model results in much greater buoyancy loss in the Labrador Sea compared to simulations in which the ocean is forced by prescribed sea ice boundary conditions. A comparison of bulk flux forced hindcast simulations which differ only in their sea ice and salinity restoring forcings reveals the effects of a mixed thermohaline boundary condition transport feedback whereby small, positive temperature and salinity anomalies in subpolar regions are amplified when the gyre spins up as a result of increased buoyancy loss and convection. The primary buoyancy flux effects of the sea ice which cause the simulations to diverge are ice melt, which is less physical in the diagnostic sea ice model, and insulation of the ocean, which is less physical with the prognostic sea ice model. Increased salinity restoring ensures a more realistic net winter buoyancy loss in the Labrador Sea, but it is found that improvements in the Gulf Stream simulation can only be achieved with the excessive buoyancy loss associated with weak salinity restoring.     

两个西边界流延伸体区域中尺度涡统计特征分析

黑潮和湾流是世界大洋中最典型的两支西边界流，黑潮延伸体（Kuroshio Extention，KE）和湾流延伸体（Gulf Stream Extention，GSE）区域中尺度涡活动十分活跃。本文综合利用卫星高度计资料和Argo浮标资料，对KE和GSE区域中尺度涡的表层特征及其对温盐影响进行了统计研究和对比分析。结果表明:黑潮和湾流主轴附近为涡旋频率的高值区，主轴南北两侧分别以气旋涡和反气旋涡数量占多，主轴附近的涡旋强度明显大于其他区域；两个区域的涡旋以西向移动为主，气旋涡和反气旋涡都具有向南（赤道）偏离的趋势；两个区域的涡旋数量都以夏、秋季较多，涡旋强度都在春、夏季较大，且GSE区域涡旋强度明显大于KE区域；气旋涡（反气旋涡）引起内部明显的温度负（正）异常，KE区域气旋涡（反气旋涡）内部呈"负-正"（"正-负"）上下层相反的盐度异常分布，GSE区域气旋涡（反气旋涡）在各层呈现较为一致的盐度负（正）异常；两个区域中尺度涡对温盐场的平均影响深度可达1 000×104 Pa以上。     

Circulation modelling

Summer upwelling on the continental shelf north of Cape Canaveral, Florida, has been previously observed to result from wind forcing. A two-layer, finite element model reproduces reasonably well the characteristics of the wind-driven upwelling in respect to location and magnitude. Model investigation also shows that upwelling results from offshore current forcing which is imposed through an along-shelf sea level slope. This sea level slope, which has been found to be of the order of −10⁻⁷, represents a mean Gulf Stream effect. The results suggest that the strongest upwelling events near Cape Canaveral occur when the wind and Gulf Stream forcings act together.     

大洋环流的诊断计算

采用二维的全球高分辨率（1／4°×1／4°）的自由表面诊断模型结合动力计算估算全球大洋环流，模拟结果与其他模拟结果非常相似。流函数的分布表明，全球大洋中的主要流系均得到体现，包括大洋环流的西向强化的现象（黑潮、湾流等）。黑潮主轴的流量约54Sv（1Sv=10^6m^3／s），非常接近实测值：各层水平流场分布情况显示，各大洋的一些基本流系都能得到很好的再现。如黑潮和南极绕极流可深达底层。湾流不能到达深层，大约在1000～2000m之间海流即已转向。     

琼州海峡东部水进入北部湾对广西沿海环流的影响

本文通过对琼州海峡东部水域温盐资料和沿岸海洋站同步观测资料的对比发现：夏季，广西涠洲岛盐度变化规律和琼州海峡东部、中部变化规律一致，广西北海略受影响，而远离琼州海峡的龙门和白龙尾两站，则更多反映夏季陆地水文规律。同时，采用琼州海峡多年海流资料和涠洲岛定点站及近期测流站的海流观测资料对比看出，琼州海峡冬夏季余流方向仍然是自东向西。结合数值模拟计算结果，同样得出琼州海峡东部水自东向西进入北部湾的事实。这些温盐分布特征和余流观测结果进一步证实：粤西沿岸流是琼州海峡水向西输运的主要来源，形成粤西沿岸流这种现象的根源在于珠江冲淡水的西向流，它们通过琼州海峡进入北部湾，加强了北部湾北部气旋式环流的形成。夏季，在强的西南风作用下，产生较强北部湾西岸北向沿岸流，促使低盐冲淡水向外海输运，然后在东部涠洲岛附近形成更大范围内气旋式环流。琼州海峡东部水进入北部湾对广西沿海环流影响的研究，直接向琼州海峡冬夏季水体输运方向的传统结论提出了新的挑战。     

On anticyclonic spin-off eddies in the Gulf Stream

The eddy formation determined as an anticyclonic spin-off eddy of the Gulf Stream is analysed from the CTD data of surveys made in the Gulf Stream region. The differences in its structure and conditions of formation from cyclonic eddies of this type observed previously are examined. Barotropic instability of the Gulf Stream's main jet is considered as a possible reason for such unstable disturbances existing at the south boundary of the Gulf Stream.Translated by M. M. Trufanov.     

Vertical distribution of the sound speed in the Gulf Stream system

Using archived historical data on the temperature/salinity distribution, this paper describes the structure of the mean seasonal and the actual field of the computed speed of sound in the Gulf Stream region. The formation of acoustic channels of large, medium, and small size is considered, depending on the vertical thermohaline structure of waters. The paper provides statistical characteristics of the sound speed field and acoustic channels of waters interacting in the Gulf Stream system. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Variability of hydrophysical characteristics in the Gulf Stream

We consider the interannual variability of the intensity of the Gulf Stream and interannual fluctuations of seawater parameters in the Gulf Stream and in the Labrador Current during intense climate warming. We show that this intensity has increased during this period. The scales of fluctuations and their contribution to variance in the initial time series was determined from wavelet analysis of the Gulf Stream north wall. We noted a considerable decrease in water density of the main branch of the Gulf Stream, caused by the increase in temperature due to global climate warming, and an absence of trends in water density of the main branch of the Labrador Current.     

Physical and biological modeling in the Gulf Stream region:: I. Data assimilation methodology

Physical and biological data are assimilated into a time-evolving, mesoscale-resolution three-dimensional (3-D) ocean model using optimal interpolation. Simulations are conducted in the Gulf Stream region during the BIOSYNOP/Anatomy of a Meander Experiment in September–October of 1988. Physical data assimilation only or biological data assimilation only resulted in misalignment of the physical and biological fronts, causing spurious cross-frontal fluxes of biological quantities. Assimilation of both physical and compatible biological fields was necessary for adequate equilibration of the simulated fields. The resulting combined 4-D fields substantially extend the value of the observations alone. A technique is presented for deriving the necessary, dynamically consistent 3-D physical and biological field estimates from data for initialization and assimilation into time-evolving model simulations.