New detection method for XBT depth error and relationship between the depth error and coefficients in the depth-time equation

New CTD-XBT (T-7 probe) comparison data are analyzed, which provide additional evidence of XBT depth error and support previous results (Hanawa and Yoritaka, 1987; Hanawa and Yoshikawa, 1991). The depth difference between the corrected and uncorrected data is about 26 m at 750 m. In the present study, new data processing procedures by which the depth errors are automatically detected, are developed and adopted. In the new method, first, temperature gradients (TG) of XBT and CTD profiles are calculated. Then, 20 m segment of the XBT-TG profile which should fit to the CTD-TG profile of 20 m segment to be referred to is searched in the XBT-TG profile. Actually, this is achieved by shifting the XBT-TG profile of 20 m segment so as to minimize the area surrounded by both TG profiles. The shifted depth of XBT-TG profile for CTD-TG profile can be regarded as the XBT depth error. This processing is repeated at intervals of 5 m from 10 m to 790 m of CTD-TG profile. The relationship between the scatter of the quadratic depth-time equation coefficients and the depth error is also discussed. It is shown that when the two coefficients have a certain relationship, the depth differences between the plural depth-time equations are small, even if the two coefficients of those equations have apparently very different values.This paper was presented and discussed in the Ad Hoc Meeting of the IGOSS Task Team on Quality Control for Automated System, held in Marion, Massachusetts,U.S.A. in June 3–6, 1991.     

On depth and temperature biases in bathythermograph data: Development of a new correction scheme based on analysis of a global ocean database

The World Ocean Database 2005 as of May 2009 is used to estimate temperature and sample depth biases of expendable (XBT) and mechanical (MBT) bathythermographs by comparing bathythermograph temperature profiles with more accurate bottle and conductivity/temperature/depth (CTD) data. It is shown that the application of depth corrections estimated earlier from side-by-side XBT/CTD inter-comparisons, without accounting for a pure thermal bias, leads to even larger disagreement with the CTD and bottle reference temperatures. Our calculations give evidence for a depth-variable XBT fall-rate correction with the manufacturer-derived depth being underestimated in the upper 200 m and overestimated below this depth. These results are in agreement with side-by-side inter-comparisons and direct fall-rate estimates. Correcting XBT sample depths by a multiplicative factor which is constant with depth does not allow an effective elimination of the total temperature bias throughout the whole water column. The analysis further suggests a dependence of the fall rate on the water temperature which was reported earlier in the literature. Comparison among different correction schemes implies a significant impact of systematic biases on the estimates of the global ocean heat content anomaly.     

Recorder-Dependent Temperature Error of Expendable Bathythermograph

The accuracy of temperature measurement by the expendable bathythermograph (XBT) is examined for five types of recorders by comparison with co-located CTD measurements and statistical analysis of temperature profiles including an isothermal layer. A positive temperature error increasing downward is occasionally detected for two types of Japanese recorder which have been commonly used among Japanese oceanographic institutions and marine observatories. This error resembles to that reported by Bailey et al. (1989) and Wright (1991) for a different type of recorders, although its cause is not clearly understood. The irregular occurrence of the error suggests that the problem is not solely due to the recorders but rather by some inconsistency of the whole measuring system including them, an XBT probe and sea water. The error is estimated to increase at a rate of O (0.1°C/100 m), and it could be close to 1°C at the deepest part of the profiles (760 m for Tsurumi T-7). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Deep CTD Casts in the Challenger Deep,Mariana Trench

On 1 December 1992, CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth profiler) casts were made at three stations in a north-south section of the Challenger Deep to examine temperature and salinity profiles. The station in the Challenger Deep was located at 11°22.78′ N and 142°34.95′ E, and the CTD cast was made down to 11197 db or 10877 m, 7 m above the bottom by reeling out titanium cable of 10980 m length. The southern station was located at 11° 14.19′ N and 142°34.79′ E, 16.1 km from the central station, where water depth is 9012 m. CTD was lowered to 7014 db or 6872 m. The northern station was located at 11°31.47′ N and 142° 35.30′ E, 15.9 km from the central station, and CTD was lowered to 8536 db or 8336 m, 10 m above the bottom. Below the thermocline, potential temperature decreased monotonously down to 7300–7500 db beyond a sill depth between 5500 m and 6000 m, or between 5597 db and 6112 db, of the trench. Potential temperature increased from 7500 db to the bottom at a constant rate of 0.9 m°C/1000 db. Salinity increased down to 6020–6320 db, and then stayed almost constant down to around 9000 db. From 9500 db to the bottom, salinity increased up to 34.703 psu at 11197 db. Potential density referred to 8000 db increased monotonously down to about 6200 db, and it was almost constant from 6500 db to 9500 db. Potential density increased from 9500 db in accordance with the salinity increase. Geostrophic flows were calculated from the CTD data at three stations. Below an adopted reference level of 3000 db, the flow was westward in the north of Challenger Deep and eastward in the south, which suggests a cyclonic circulation over the Challenger Deep. Sound speed in Challenger Deep was estimated from the CTD data, and a relation among readout depth of the sonic depth recorder, true depth, and pressure was examined.     

基于观测的南海越南沿岸次表层涡旋

In this study, subsurface eddies near the Vietnam coast of the South China Sea were observed with in situ observations, including Argo, CTD, XBT and some processed and quality controlled data. Based on temperature profiles from four Argo floats near the coast of Vietnam, a subsurface warm eddy was identified in spring and summer. The multi-year Argo and Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme(GTSPP) data were merged on a seasonal basis based on the data interpolating variational analysis(DIVA) method to reconstruct the three-dimensional temperature structure. There is a warm eddy in the central subsurface at 12.5°N, 111°E below300 m depth in spring, which does not exist in autumn and is weak in winter and summer. From CSIRO Atlas of Regional Seas(CARS) and Generalized Digital Environment Model(GDEM) reanalysis data, this subsurface warm eddy is also verified in spring.     

Reevaluation of historical ocean heat content variations with time-varying XBT and MBT depth bias corrections

As reported in former studies, temperature observations obtained by expendable bathythermographs (XBTs) and mechanical bathythermographs (MBTs) appear to have positive biases as much as they affect major climate signals. These biases have not been fully taken into account in previous ocean temperature analyses, which have been widely used to detect global warming signals in the oceans. This report proposes a methodology for directly eliminating the biases from the XBT and MBT observations. In the case of XBT observation, assuming that the positive temperature biases mainly originate from greater depths given by conventional XBT fall-rate equations than the truth, a depth bias equation is constructed by fitting depth differences between XBT data and more accurate oceanographic observations to a linear equation of elapsed time. Such depth bias equations are introduced separately for each year and for each probe type. Uncertainty in the gradient of the linear equation is evaluated using a non-parametric test. The typical depth bias is +10 m at 700 m depth on average, which is probably caused by various indeterminable sources of error in the XBT observations as well as a lack of representativeness in the fall-rate equations adopted so far. Depth biases in MBT are fitted to quadratic equations of depth in a similar manner to the XBT method. Correcting the historical XBT and MBT depth biases by these equations allows a historical ocean temperature analysis to be conducted. In comparison with the previous temperature analysis, large differences are found in the present analysis as follows: the duration of large ocean heat content in the 1970s shortens dramatically, and recent ocean cooling becomes insignificant. The result is also in better agreement with tide gauge observations. On leave from the Meteorological Research Institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency.     

Subtropical Mode Water south of Honshu,Japan in the spring of 1988 and 1989

The distribution and characteristics of Subtropical Mode Water (STMW) south of Honshu, the main island of Japan, were investigated using CTD, XBT, and dissolved oxygen data taken by the research vessels in the spring of 1988 and 1989. A comparatively low inventory of STMW was shown in spring 1988 during the large-meander period of the Kuroshio south of Honshu, while in spring 1989 during the non-large-meander period, the observation showed a considerable inventory of STMW which had outcropped east of 140°E in the preceding winter. These observations, together with published temperature maps, surface current charts, time series of vertical temperature profiles along 140°E, and wintertime Monsoon Index consistently support the climatology of the STMW circulation recently presented by the authors. That is, the change of the Kuroshio Countercurrent associated with the large meander of the Kuroshio most likely cuts off the westward/southwestward advection of STMW from its formation area east of 140°E.     

Inter-manufacturer Difference and Temperature Dependency of the Fall-Rate of T-5 Expendable Bathythermograph

The fall-rate of the T-5 expendable bathythermograph (XBT) produced by Tsurumi Seiki (TSK) Co., Ltd and that by Sippican Inc., are intercompared by a series of contemporaneous and colocated measurements with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profilers. It is confirmed that the fall-rates of the two manufacturers' T-5 differ by about 5 percent, despite the fact that they had been believed to be identical for many years. The cause of the difference is discussed on the basis of a detailed cross-examination of the two T-5 models. It is found for the first time that the two models are different in several respects. The manufacturer's fall-rate equation is only applicable to the Sippican T-5, for which Boyd and Linzell's (1993) equation seems to be slightly more accurate. Kizu et al.'s (2005) equation gives a clearly less biased depth than the manufacturers' equation for the TSK T-5. It is also found that the fall-rates of both T-5 models are dependent on water temperature, perhaps because of viscosity. The temperature-dependency of the fall-rate of the TSK T-5 is larger than that of the Sippican T-5.     

Satellite-derived SST validation based on in-situ data during summer in the East China Sea and western North Pacific

Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) is validated based on in-situ data from the East China Sea (ECS) and western North Pacific where most typhoons, which make landfall on the Korean peninsula, are formed and pass. While forecasting typhoons in terms of intensity and track, coupled ocean-typhoon models are significantly influenced by initial ocean condition. Potentially, satellite-derived SST is a very useful dataset to obtain initial ocean field because of its wide spatial coverage and high temporal resolution. In this study, satellite-derived SST from various sources such as Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and New Generation Sea Surface Temperature for Open Ocean (NGSST-O) datasets from merged SSTs were compared with in-situ observation data using an indirect method which is using near surface temperature for validation of satellite derived SST. In-situ observation data included shipboard measurements such as Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT), and Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD), and Argo buoy data. This study shows that in-situ data can be used for microwave derived SST validation because homogeneous features of seawater prevail at water depths of 2 m to 10 m under favorable wind conditions during the summer season in the East China Sea. As a result of validation, root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) are shown to be 0.55 °C between microwave SST and XBT/CTD data mostly under weak wind conditions, and 0.7 °C between XBT/CTD measurement and NGSST-O data. Microwave SST RMSE of 0.55 °C is a potentially valuable data source for general application. Change of SST before and after typhoon passing may imply strength of ocean mixing due to upwelling and turbulent mixing driven by the typhoon. Based on SST change, ocean mixing, driven by Typhoon Nari, was examined. Satellite-derived SST reveals a significant SST drop around the track immediately following the passing of Typhoon Nari in October, 2007.     

Meridional heat transport determined with expandable bathythermographs—Part II: South Atlantic transport

Fourteen temperature sections collected between July 2002 and May 2006 are analyzed to obtain estimates of the meridional heat transport variability of the South Atlantic Ocean. The methodology proposed in Part I is used to calculate the heat transport from temperature data obtained from high-density XBT profiles taken along transects from Cape Town, South Africa to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Salinity is estimated from Argo profiles and CTD casts for each XBT temperature observation using statistical relationships between temperature, latitude, longitude, and salinity computed along constant-depth surfaces. Full-depth temperature/salinity profiles are obtained by extending the profiles to the bottom of the ocean using deep climatological data. The meridional transport is then determined by using the standard geostrophic method, applying NCEP-derived Ekman transports, and requiring that salt flux through the Bering Straits be conserved. The results from the analysis indicate a mean meridional heat transport of 0.54 PW (PW=10¹⁵ W) with a standard deviation of 0.11 PW. The geostrophic component of the heat flux has a marked annual cycle following the variability of the Brazil Malvinas Confluence Front, and the geostrophic annual cycle is 180° out of phase with the annual cycle observed in the Ekman fluxes. As a result, the total heat flux shows significant interannual variability with only a small annual cycle. Uncertainties due to different wind products and locations of the sections are independent of the methodology used.     

联合WOA2018温盐模型及实测温盐资料重构全深度声速剖面(二):精度评估

利用西太平洋海域多个站位的XBT、XCTD及CTD实测温盐资料,对WOA2018温盐模型的可靠性进行了评估,开展了全深度声速剖面重构试验。结果表明,当水深分别为761～1 100 m、大于1 101 m和大于1 821 m时,实测资料计算的声速剖面与温盐模型推算的声速剖面互差在-2.0～2.0 m/s、-0.7～0.7 m/s和-0.7～0.45 m/s,而与实测温度和盐度模型推算的声速剖面互差总体上在-0.2～0.2 m/s。基于临界探测深度处温盐实测值对探测深度以外温盐模型施加约束和控制,以提高声速预测值精度有待进一步研究。     

“海翼号”水下滑翔机盐度数据的热滞后效应偏差订正方法探讨

水下滑翔机可以高效地观测海水的温度、盐度和压强等海洋参数,但由于热滞后效应,盐度数据,特别是在温度梯度较大的温跃层,会出现一定程度的偏差。本研究选取了3种目前常用的盐度热滞后订正方法,对带泵的“海翼号”水下滑翔机,于2019年8月在中北太平洋所观测的盐度数据因热滞后效应引起的偏差进行订正处理,与船载911型温盐深测量仪(Instrument for Measuring Conductivity Temperature and Depth,CTD)观测盐度进行对比,在比较了3种方法对滑翔机盐度订正前后下降和上升剖面偏差的减少程度、订正后剖面与船载CTD观测剖面的偏差大小和下降上升温盐曲线(T-S曲线)的一致程度后,得出了水下滑翔机盐度订正的最优方法,即在订正电导池中实际温度的前提下,采用计算机图形分割方法,最小化滑翔机机载CTD测得的下降和上升两个剖面T-S曲线围成面积所确定的目标函数,来确定合适的热滞后修正振幅和时间常数,从而修正下降和上升两个剖面之间盐度偏差。     

Satellite monitoring of the sea surface temperature using the NOAA satellite data

A method of obtaining the operative sea surface temperature (SST)t using satellite scanner observations in the spectral ranges 3.53–3.94 m and 10.3–11.3 m is realized. The method represents a combination of McClainet al.'s formula (1983) and expressions suggested by the authors which describe the universal angular structures of the radiation temperature fields. The RMS error of reconstructingt at scanning angles of 0–55^o is equal to 0.2–0.3°C for atmospheric states corresponding to the SST variation within the limit 6–28°C. An atlas of temperature maps on the grid 0.5×0.5^o with temporal averaging from 5 days to 1 month is compiled using the data obtained on board the RVAkademik Vernadsky in the Atlantic Ocean in 1987–1989.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Using satellite altimetry to correct mean temperature and salinity fields derived from Argo floats in the ocean regions around Australia

We present results from a suite of methods using in situ temperature and salinity data, and satellite altimetric observations to obtain an enhanced set of mean fields of temperature, salinity (down to 2000-m depth) and steric height (0/2000 m) for a time-specific period (1992–2007). Firstly, the improved global sampling resulting from the introduction of the Argo program, enables a representative determination of the large-scale mean oceanic structure. However, shortcomings in the coverage remain. High variability western boundary current eddy fields, continental slope and shelf boundaries may all be below their optimal sampling requirements. We describe a simple method to supplement and improve standard spatial interpolation schemes and apply them to the available data within the waters surrounding Australia (100°E–180°W; 50°S–10°N). This region includes a major current system, the East Australian Current (EAC), complex topography, unique boundary currents such as the Leeuwin Current, and large ENSO related interannual variability in the southwest Pacific. We use satellite altimetry sea level anomalies (SLA) to directly correct sampling errors in in situ derived mean surface steric height and subsurface temperature and salinity fields. The surface correction is projected through the water column (using an empirical model) to modify the mean subsurface temperature and salinity fields. The errors inherent in all these calculations are examined. The spatial distribution of the barotropic–baroclinic balance is obtained for the region and a ‘baroclinic factor’ to convert the altimetry SLA into an equivalent in situ height is determined. The mean fields in the EAC region are compared with independent estimates on repeated XBT sections, a mooring array and full-depth CTD transects.     

Preliminary results of in-situ XCTD/CTD comparison test

The current status of XCTD manufactured by the Tsurumi Seiki Co. is described based on XCTD/CTD comparison tests conducted in the Pacific and Indian Ocean in November 1996 and January 1997 respectively. The falling rates of used probes are generally consistent and differences between individual probes stay within a small range of +/−5 m through the full depth range (0–1000 m), although the rate is slightly different from the depth-time equation provided by the manufacturer. Temperature and salinity accuracy is estimated to be better than 0.05°C and 0.05 psu respectively. Comparison of vertical temperature/salinity sections of XCTD/CTD constructed separately along a line on which XCTD stations locate midway of CTD stations. The hydrographic structures obtained are generally consistent, and the difference of surface dynamic height (referred to 1000 db) is 0.03 dyn m in RMS.     

Comparison of AVHRR measurements of sea surface temperature with surface observations around New Zealand

Multi‐channel Advanced Very‐High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images of sea surface temperature (SST) in the New Zealand region have been archived since 1989. A comparison of these data with conductivity‐temperature‐depth (CTD) and expendable bathythermograph (XBT) data shows that the AVHRR temperatures are about 7% too high (when expressed in °C). Once the AVHRR temperatures have been corrected, they measure SST with an uncertainty of about 0.7°C.     

A Robust Rapid-Response Probe for Measuring Bottom-Hole Temperatures in Deep-Ocean Boreholes

A new probe has been constructed for making temperature measurements 1.1 m ahead of the bit in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) boreholes. Temperatures are recorded at positions 1 and 11 cm above the tip of the probe. The combination of the dual temperature records and accelerometer data provides valuable information about disturbances that may affect the quality of measurements. Long battery life, and memory access via an external communications port, allow service-free operation for the full duration of typical drilling legs. Temperature resolution varies over the 110 K measurement range, from nominally 1 mK from -5 to 20 °C, to about 10 mK at 105 °C. The small (8 mm) diameter of the probe tip allows rapid thermal equilibration after penetration. The shallow (2.5°), continuous taper of the lower part of the probe serves to reduce the tendency of the formation to be cracked when the tool is pushed into the formation. It is sufficiently robust, however, to survive penetration into highly consolidated sediment and occasional contact with igneous rock. The tool was used for a total of 44 bottom-hole temperature measurements between 38 and 573 meters below seafloor (mbsf) during Leg 168, as well as for several logging runs in open holes. We anticipate adding a port in the tip to permit measurement of formation fluid pressure, and to enhance the utility of the tool for logging temperature profiles in open holes.     

The Current Structure of the Tsushima Warm Current along the Japanese Coast

The branching of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) along the Japanese coast is studied based upon intensive ADCP and CTD measurements conducted off the Wakasa Bay in every early summer of 1995–1998, the analysis of the temperature distribution at 100 m depth and the tracks of the surface drifters (Ishii and Michida, 1996; Lee et al., 1997). The first branch of TWC (FBTWC) exists throughout the year. It starts from the eastern channel of the Tsushima Straits, flows along the isobath shallower than 200 m along the Japanese coast and flows out through the Tsugaru Strait. The current flowing through the western channel of the Tsushima Straits feeds the second branch of TWC (SBTWC) which develops from spring to fall. The development of SBTWC propagates from the Tsushima Straits to Noto Peninsula at a speed of about 7 cm sec⁻¹ following the continental shelf break with a strong baroclinicity. However, SBTWC cannot be always found around the shelf break because its path is influenced by the development of eddies. It is concluded that SBTWC is a topographically steered current; a current steered by the continental shelf break. Salient features at intermediate depth are the southwestward subsurface counter current (SWSCC) between 150 m and 300 m depths over the shelf region in 1995–1998 with the velocity exceeding about 5 cm sec⁻¹, although discrepancies of the velocity and its location are observed between the ADCP data and the geostrophic currents. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluation of the U.S. Navy’s Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System (MODAS) Using South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) Data

The Navy’s Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System (MODAS) is an oceanographic tool to create high-resolution temperature and salinity on three-dimensional grids, by assimilating a wide range of ocean observations into a starting field. The MODAS products are used to generate the sound speed for ocean acoustic modeling applications. Hydrographic data acquired from the South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) from April through June 1998 are used to verify the MODAS model. MODAS has the capability to provide reasonably good temperature and salinity nowcast fields. The errors have a Gaussian-type distribution with mean temperature nearly zero and mean salinity of −0.2 ppt. The standard deviations of temperature and salinity errors are 0.98°C and 0.22 ppt, respectively. The skill score of the temperature nowcast is positive, except at depth between 1750 and 2250 m. The skill score of the salinity nowcast is less than that of the temperature nowcast, especially at depth between 300 and 400, where the skill score is negative. Thermocline and halocline identified from the MODAS temperature and salinity fields are weaker than those based on SCSMEX data. The maximum discrepancy between the two is in the thermocline and halocline. The thermocline depth estimated from the MODAS temperature field is 10–40 m shallower than that from the SCSMEX data. The vertical temperature gradient across the thermocline computed from the MODAS field is around 0.14°C/m, weaker than that calculated from the SCSMEX data (0.19°–0.27 °C/m). The thermocline thickness computed from the MODAS field has less temporal variation than that calculated from the SCSMEX data (40–100 m). The halocline depth estimated from the MODAS salinity field is always deeper than that from the SCSMEX data. Its thickness computed from the MODAS field varies slowly around 30 m, which is generally thinner than that calculated from the SCSMEX data (28–46 m).     

联合WOA2018温盐模型及实测温盐资料重构全深度声速剖面(四):声速剖面应用

在深远海海域开展多波束水深测量时,受海上苛刻作业条件等多种影响,获取全深度声速剖面往往比较困难。首先联合WOA2018温盐模型和多个站位CTD、XCTD实测温盐剖面资料开展了全深度声速剖面重构,进而使用三组来源不同的全深度声速剖面开展了多波束测深声速改正对比分析。从试验结果看,这几组声速剖面对多波束测深精度的影响基本一致。特别是当假定CTD站位采用XCTD设备并由此推算深度大于1099m的温盐及声速剖面时,多波束测深的声速改正结果也能满足海底地形成果的质量要求。