| Abstract: | Temperature, salinity and density structures were observed on Sept. 23 and 24, 1986 at one vertical section across the East China Sea shelf edge by an advanced type of towed vehicle with CTD sensors which was developed by the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center. The vehicle was towed at a speed of 2.5 m s−1 down to 150 m depth and at intervals of 170–500 m width. The observed profile was 50 km long on Sept. 23 and 70 km long on Sept. 24 along the cross-shelf section. An on-ship acoustic Doppler current profiler was simultaneously used to measure current velocities at depths of 20, 50 and 100 m.Interesting features were noticed. Firstly, there was a vertical displacement of pycnoclines at the lower edge of the surface mixed layer accompanied by vertical inversion of the salinity and temperature in the vicinity of the shelf edge. Pycnoclines were displaced upward by 12 m toward the outer edge on Sept. 23 and by 20 m on Sept. 24. On Sept. 23, the salinity inversion took place in a layer 20 m thick and 8 km wide, whereas the temperature inversion took place in a layer 8 m thick and 1.5 km wide. These vertical inversions were probably generated by vertical shear of tidal currents which was observed by the Doppler current profiler. These results throw light on understanding the vertical mixing process of stratified water on the continental shelf edge. Secondly, an intrusion of the shelf water into the Kuroshio water was observed along pycnoclines below the surface mixed layer 60 to 70 m deep in the Kuroshio region outer break. The measurement was successful in showing a horizontal mixing process of the shelf water and the Kuroshio water which could not be found out by standard CTD observations. |
