Predictability of Interannual Variability in the Kuroshio Transport South of Japan Based on Wind Stress Data over the North Pacific

It is expected that a roughly two-year forecast of the Kuroshio transport variation can be made from a past record of wind stress data over the ocean, since it takes nearly ten years for the first-mode baroclinic Rossby wave to traverse the entire basin in the midlatitude North Pacific (∼30°N). We therefore investigated the predictability using an ocean general circulation model driven by the wind stress data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis. Referring to a hindcast experiment as the control run, we carried out fifteen forecast experiments, the initial conditions of which are taken from the hindcast experiment at intervals of two years during the period from the end of 1969 to the end of 1997. Each of the forecast experiments is driven only by wind stress in the year preceding each experiment. The forecasted Kuroshio transport anomaly south of Japan agrees better with the hindcasted one during the first two years of the forecast in most cases. In some cases, however, significant disagreements occur, most of which are likely due to larger unpredictable variations caused by wind stress anomalies near Japan. At the end of forecast year 2, the anomaly correlation coefficient is about 0.7, and rms of the forecast error is smaller than rms of the hindcasted anomaly. These results indicate that the prediction of the interannual variability in the Kuroshio transport could be made two years in advance at a statistically significant level. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Roles of Biogeochemical Processes in the Oceanic Carbon Cycle Described with a Simple Coupled Physical-Biogeochemical Model

To evaluate the contribution of biogeochemical processes to the oceanic carbon cycle and to calculate the ratio of calcium carbonate to organic carbon downward export, we have incorporated biological and alkalinity pumps in the yoked high-latitude exchange/interior diffusion-advection (YOLDA) model. The biogeochemical processes are represented by four parameters. The values of the parameters are tuned so that the model can reproduce the observed phosphate and alkalinity distributions in each oceanic region. The sensitivity of the model to the biogeochemical parameters shows that biological production rates in the euphotic zone and decomposition depths of particulate matters significantly influence horizontal and vertical distributions of biogeochemical substances. The modeled vertical fluxes of particulate organic phosphorus and calcium carbonate are converted to vertical carbon fluxes by the biological pump and the alkalinity pump, respectively. The downward carbon flux from the surface layer to the deep layer in the entire region is estimated to be 3.36 PgC/yr, which consists of 2.93 PgC/yr from the biological pump and 0.43 PgC/yr from the alkalinity pump, which is consistent with previous studies. The modeled rain ratio is higher with depth and higher in the Pacific and Indian Oceans than in the Atlantic Ocean. The global rain ratio at the surface layer is calculated to be 0.14 to 0.15. This value lies between the lower and higher ends of the previous estimates, which range widely from 0.05 to 0.25. This study indicates that the rain ratio is unlikely to be higher than 0.15, at least in the surface waters.     

Ecological and physiological features of the mesopelagic mysid,Meterythrops microphthalma,in the Japan Sea

The abundance and vertical distribution pattern of a mysidMeterythrops microphthalma were investigated in the Japan Sea. Results from vertical hauls from 602–982 m depth to the surface around Yamato Rise in April 1987 indicated that the dominance (by biomass) ofM. microphthalma was third to fifth of major zooplankton taxa. Vertical distribution investigated at a single station in Toyama Bay in June, September and December 1986 showed that the most part of population of this mysid inhabited consistently below 250 m depth. No marked diurnal vertical migration was evident. Data on body composition and oxygen consumption rate ofM. microphthalma are presented. Water content of the body was 75.6–83.8% of wet weight, and ash was 11.4–20.4% of dry weight. Carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen were 37.9–47.5%, 6.2–7.4% and 9.4–10.1%, respectively, of dry weight. Oxygen consumption rates were 2.2–11.0µl O₂ individual^–1 hr^–1 at 0.5°C, and were directly proportional to body mass. From the comparison with the published data on epipelagic and bathypelagic mysids it is revealed that both body nitrogen composition and oxygen consumption rate expressed as adjusted metabolic rate [AMR₀₂,µl O₂ (mg body N)^–0.85 hr^–1] ofM. microphthalma are intermediate between high epipelagic and low bathypelagic levels, indicating typical mesopelagic features.     

Kuroshio extension variability explored through assimilation of TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data into a quasi-geostrophic model

Mesoscale features in the eastward extension of the Kuroshio were investigated using assimilation of TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) data into a three-layer quasi-geostrophic model. The T/P data exhibited an elongated state of the southern recirculation gyre in 1993–95 and 1997, between whose two periods the gyre had a contracted state in 1995–96. A few stationary eddies were located in the southern gyre during the contracted state. The baroclinic instability, which was indicated by the phase shift from the uppermost-to the lowest-layer anomalies toward the downstream side, was evident near the Kuroshio Extension (KE) path. Since the instability never appeared in the artificial model without bottom topography, the topographic barrier for the eastward flow in the lowest layer was a necessary condition for the instability. The instability synchronized with the transition in the western region of the KE axis from the elongated to the contracted states. This evolution was interpreted as if the baroclinic instability played some part in the KE states and was a trigger for the transition from the elongated to the contracted states.     

A three-dimensional ocean general circulation model for mesoscale eddies——Ⅱ Diagnostic analysis

A three-dimensional density field associated with mesoscaie unstable waves generated by the 3-D, primitive-equation model (Wang and Ikeda, 1996) is provided to the quasi-geostrophic pressure tendency and ω-equations, and to the (ageostrophic) Q-vector equation. Diagnostic analyses, analogous to the approaches in meteorology: ω-equation and Q-vector method, are for the first time developed to examine the mesoscaie dynamical processes and mechanisms of the unstable waves propagating in the mid-latitude ocean. The weaknesses and strengths of these two diagnostic approaches are evaluated and compared to the model results. The Q-vector method is then recommended to diagnose the vertical motion associated with the mesoscaie dynamics from a hydrographic CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) array, while the quasi-geostrophic equations produce some small-scale features (errors) in the diagnosed fields.     

Assimilated carbon budget for the hyperiid amphipodThemisto japonica (bovallius) from the Japan sea as influenced by temperature

Using a growth model based on moult number, the assimilated carbon budget was constructed forThemisto japonica growing from the specimens just released from the marsupium to mature adults at 1–15°C. As budget parameters, growth (G), metabolism (Me), moult (Mo), and reproduction (Re) were measured and assimilation (A) was estimated as the sum of these four parameters (A=G+Me +Mo +Re). The results of the lifetime budget indicated that among these parameters the greatest allocation ofA was toMe (70–83%). Lifetime expenditure of carbon forMe was the least at 7°C, andMe increased with either increase or decrease of the temperature from 7°C. A female grown to full adult size at 7°C invested 16.6 % forG, 70.2% forMe, 2.1% forMo, and 11.1% forRe of totalA. General features seen in the partition ofA toG, Me, Mo, andRe forT. japonica are similar to those of other planktonic crustaceans being reported. Considering the profound effect of temperature on the assimilated carbon budget, practical problems in defining the representative habitat temperature for diel vertical migrators likeT. japonica in the field are discussed.     

A growth model for a hyperiid amphipodThemisto japonica (bovallius) in the Japan Sea,based on its intermoult period and moult increment

Themisto japonica was reared at 1, 5, 8, and 12°C in the laboratory to estimate its intermoult period (IP) and increase in body length (BL) at each moulting (BL).IP was found to be a function of temperature andBL of the specimens, longerIPs being associated with lower temperature and larger specimens.BL was not affected by temperature but increased with growth of the specimens. Observations on consecutive moults indicated that one new segment was added to pleopod rami at each moulting.BLs obtained from the measurement of the segment number of pleopod rami andBL of wild specimens were slightly larger than values obtained from laboratory-raised specimens.IP data obtained from laboratory-reared specimens are combined withBL data from wild specimens to establish a growth model forT. japonica from its release from the marsupium (1.31 mmBL) to the maximum size (17 mmBL) as a function of temperature. This growth model predicts that a total of of 18 moultings is needed forT. japonica to reach the maximum size regardless of temperature, although the time needed to reach the maximum size is highly dependent on temperature. The life cycle, from the newly released larvae (1.31 mmBL) to the spent females (10–17 mmBL), was estimated as 333–593 days at 1°C, 195–347 days at 5°C, 118–210 days at 10°C and 82–146 days at 15°C; the last may be the upper temperature limit forT. japonica. Growth rates ofT. japonica expressed on the basis of body mass are comparable to the rates of euphausiids of equivalent size when the effect of temperature is accounted for. Feeding conditions ofT. japonica in the field are also discussed.     

Formation and shortening deformation of a back-arc rift basin revealed by deep seismic profiling, central Japan

The northern Fossa Magna (NFM) basin is a Miocene rift system produced in the final stages of the opening of the Sea of Japan. It divides the major structure of Japan into two regions, with north-trending geological structures to the NE of the basin and EW trending structures to the west of the basin. The Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line (ISTL) bounds the western part of the northern Fossa Magna and forms an active fault system that displays one of the largest slip rates (4–9 mm/year) in the Japanese islands. Deep seismic reflection and refraction/wide-angle reflection profiling were undertaken in 2002 across the northern part of ISTL in order to delineate structures in the crust, and the deep geometry of the active fault systems. The seismic images are interpreted based on the pattern of reflectors, the surface geology and velocities derived from refraction analysis. The 68-km-long seismic section suggests that the Miocene NFM basin was formed by an east dipping normal fault with a shallow flat segment to 6 km depth and a deeper ramp penetrating to 15 km depth. This low-angle normal fault originated as a comparatively shallow brittle/ductile detachment in a high thermal regime present in the Miocene. The NFM basin was filled by a thick (>6 km) accumulation of sediments. Shortening since the late Neogene is accommodated along NS to NE–SE trending thrust faults that previously accommodated extension and produce fault-related folds on their hanging wall. Based on our balanced geologic cross-section, the total amount of Miocene extension is ca. 42 km and the total amount of late Neogene to Quaternary shortening is ca. 23 km.