Hydrographic conditions in the Tsushima Strait revisited

Long-term averaged temperature and salinity distributions in the Tsushima Strait are investigated on the basis of a concurrent dataset of the eastern and western channels during 1971–2000. Both temperature and salinity show a clear seasonal variation with weak and strong stratifications in December–April and June–October, respectively. The largest standard deviations occur in summer around the thermocline for temperature and in the surface layer for salinity. This indicates large interannual variability in the development of a thermocline and low salinity water advection from the East China Sea. The water masses in both channels are distinctly different from each other; the water in the western channel is generally colder and fresher than that in the eastern channel throughout the year. Baroclinic transport based on the density distributions shows a seasonal variation with a single peak in August for the eastern channel and double peaks in April and August for the western channel. However, this cannot explain the seasonal variation in the total volume transport estimated from the sea level differences across the channels. The spatial distribution of baroclinic transport shows a year-round negative transport towards the East China Sea behind the Iki Island in the eastern part of the eastern channel. This negative transport reflects the baroclinic structure between the offshore Tsushima Current Water and cold coastal water. The corresponding southwestward currents are found in both Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and high frequency (HF) radars observations.     

Spatiotemporal characteristics of interannual temperature variations in the Tsushima Strait

Spatiotemporal characteristics of interannual temperature variations in the Tsushima Strait are investigated on the basis of historical hydrographic data applying the same procedures as Senjyu et al. (2006). Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis revealed that the most energetic mode of variation (the EOF first mode), which accounts for about 31.5% of the total variance, is the in-phase temperature change for the entire strait. The wintertime temperature variation described by the first mode is associated with the wintertime heat flux in the northern East China Sea, while they are poorly correlated in other seasons. The large standard deviation in the time coefficient of the first mode in August suggests a relationship with the horizontal heat advection in summer in the northern East China Sea. On the other hand, the EOF second mode, which explains about 12.6% of the total variance, is associated with the stratification and baroclinicity in the strait. The time coefficient of the EOF second mode negatively correlates with the baroclinic volume transport through the strait in summer. Comparison of temporal variations among the leading EOF modes for temperature and salinity shows no significant correlations. This indicates that the principal modes of variation in temperature and salinity vary independently within an interannual timescale.     

Seasonal variations of the surface currents in the Tsushima Strait

Seasonal variations of the surface currents in the Tsushima Strait were investigated by analyzing the monthly mean surface currents measured with HF radar. Several new features of the surface currents have been found. One notable feature is the large, complicated seasonal variation in the current structure in the eastern channel of the strait. For example, in the southeastern and northwestern regions of the channel, southwestward countercurrents are found in summer while southeastward acrossshore currents are found in autumn and winter. The wind-driven flow (Ekman flow) as well as surface geostrophic currents are responsible for these complicated variations of the surface currents. To quantify each variation of the flow and current, the wind-driven flow was calculated from the monthly wind (more precisely, the friction velocity) using the monthly speed factor and deflection angle estimated in our previous study, and the surface geostrophic currents were then estimated by subtracting the wind-driven flow from the measured surface currents. It was found that the acrossshore currents are the wind-driven flow, and that the surface geostrophic currents flow almost in the along-shore direction, indicating the validity of the decomposition of the surface velocity into the wind-driven flow and the geostrophic currents using the speed factor and deflection angle. A real-vector empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the surface geostrophic currents shows a pair of eddies in the lee of Tsushima and Iki Islands as the first mode, which indicates that the southwestward countercurrents in the eastern channel are formed primarily by the incoming Tsushima Warm Current.     

Detailed current structures in the Eastern Channel of the Tsushima Strait in summer

We discussed the detailed current structures in the Eastern Channel of the Tsushima Strait, using four sets of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data, which were taken by the quadrireciprocal method (Katoh, 1988), for removing tidal currents, in summers of 1987–1989. In the Eastern Channel, diurnally averaged currents balanced almost geostrophically. In the upper layer of the deepest part of the Eastern Channel, there existed a current core which corresponded to one branch of the Tsushima Current. The current direction in this core was between NE and ENE in all observations but the magnitude of velocity in 1987 differed largely from that in 1988. Another current core with lower velocities was found near the north coast of Kyushu. Near the bottom at the deepest part of the Eastern Channel, the velocity was more or less 0.3 kt (15 cm s^–1). Along the east coast of Tsushima and in waters northeast of it, countercurrents were observed. The continuity of these countercurrents was interpreted as follows: A part of the current flowing from the Western Channel of the Tsushima Strait into the Japan Sea turns clockwise in waters northeast of Tsushima, and flows southwestward along the east coast of Tsushima. The southwestward current along Tsushima was correlated with the northeastward current in the central part of the Eastern Channel. The transport through the Eastern Channel was between 0.59 and 1.30 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³s^–1). The baroclinic component, which was defined as the transport based on calculations of geostrophic current with assuming zero velocity near the bottom, was very small.     

Seasonal and secular variations of water temperature in the East Tsushima Strait

The Fukuoka Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station has been carrying out oceanographic observations on a fixed line in the East Tsushima Strait since 1913. Seasonal and secular changes in water temperature were investigated based on these data from 1919 to 1979. The deviations from the mean water temperature were large in summer, especially in the thermocline layer at 50 m. Abnormally high temperatures appear from spring to autumn whereas abnormally low temperature appears from autumn to spring. The secular variation of water temperature in the East Tsushima Strait shows a 6- or 8-year periodicity from 1919 to 1943 and a 6-year periodicity after 1948.     

Sea surface temperature distribution and its variability across the Tsushima Strait

The sea surface temperature distribution across the Tsushima Strait was monitored over a one-year period on board the ferry Kampu which runs between Shimonoseki, Japan and Pusan, Korea. A cold water region is always observed just near the Korean Coast, and a sharp temperature front is always present in the western channel. A temperature maximum or a warm core is usually found just on the southeast side of the front. The position of the warm core exhibits large short period fluctuations, but no significant seasonal variation is found. Sudden temperature increases followed by sudden temperature decreases are frequently observed in the temporal variation curves at fixed positions during the warming season from April to August. Such events are related to temperature maxima found sporadically in the temperature distribution in the eastern channel during this season, and seem to be caused by warm water intrusion into the Tsushima Strait from the East China Sea.     

Data Assimilation Modeling of the Barotropic Tides in the Korea/Tsushima Strait

During 1999–2000, 13 bottom mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) and 12 wave/tide gauges were deployed along two lines across the Korea/Tsushima Strait, providing long-term measurements of currents and bottom pressure. Tidally analyzed velocity and pressure data from the moorings are used in conjunction with other moored ADCPs, coastal tide gauge measurements, and altimeter measurements in a linear barotropic data assimilation model. The model fits the vertically averaged data to the linear shallow water equations in a least-squares sense by only adjusting the incoming gravity waves along the boundaries. Model predictions are made for the O₁, P₁, K₁, μ₂, N₂, M₂, S₂, and K₂ tides. An extensive analysis of the accuracy of the M₂ surface-height predictions suggests that for broad regions near the mooring lines and in the Jeju Strait the amplitude prediction errors are less than 0.5 cm. Elsewhere, the analysis suggests that errors range from 1 to 4 cm with the exception of small regions where the tides are not well determined by the dataset. The errors in the model predictions are primarily caused by bias error in the model’s physics, numerics, and/or parameterization as opposed to random errors in the observational data. In the model predictions, the highest ranges in sea level height occur for tidal constituents M₂, S₂, K₁, O₁, and N₂, with the highest magnitudes of tidal velocities occurring for M₂, K₁, S₂, and O₁. The tides exhibit a complex structure in which diurnal constituents have higher currents relative to their sea level height ranges than semi-diurnal constituents.     

Connectivity between the interannual salinity variation in the western channel of the Tsushima Strait and hydrographic conditions in the Cheju Strait

The connectivity between the interannual salinity variations in the Tsushima and Cheju Straits has been investigated on the basis of historical hydrographic data. Salinity in the Cheju Strait correlates positively with that in the western channel of the Tsushima Strait, but does not show a significant correlation with that in the eastern channel. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and singular value decomposition (SVD) analyses of temperature and salinity in the Cheju Strait revealed that salinity in the strait is associated with the cold bottom water in summer. Drastic freshening in the Cheju Strait occurs in a period when the Cheju Current intensifies. The results allow us to hypothesize that the mechanism of interannual salinity variations in the Cheju Strait and western channel of the Tsushima Strait is as follows. The intrusion of cold bottom water into the Cheju Strait in summer intensifies the Cheju Current by increasing the baroclinicity. Since colder bottom water develops a stronger eastward surface current, the larger volume of the Changjiang diluted water is drawn into the strait, which results in a lower salinity condition in the Cheju Strait. As the water in the Cheju Strait flows into the western channel of the Tsushima Strait, salinity in the western channel varies synchronously. This hypothesis is supported by SVD analysis of temperature in the Cheju Strait and salinity in the Tsushima Strait. The salinity condition in the East China Sea is suggested to be another important influence on salinity in the western channel of the Tsushima Strait.     

Seasonal variation of the current in the Tsushima Strait deduced from ADCP data of ship-of-opportunity

The ADCP data obtained in the Tsushima Strait in the period from February 1987 to November 1990 on board twelve patrol vessels and one research vessel belonging to Maritime Safety Agency was analyzed. Total amount of the data is 200,053, but after quality check, we used 158,401 data for the analysis of the current field and its variability in the strait. The seasonal variation of the currents had been believed to be large. However, no direct current observation throughout the season had been made, and the knowledge on the seasonal variation was derived indirectly from the data of the sea level difference across the strait and of the density field given by hydrographic observations. ADCP data indicates that the seasonal variation of the current field is considerably small in all sub-regions. In the relatively strong current region to the west of the Tsushima Island, the northeast current component has maximum value in the early winter season.     

对马海峡环流季节变化的模拟及分析

在利用改进的POM模式的基础上,嵌套西北太平洋区域模式HAMSOM结果,建立1个日本海对马海峡海域斜压准预报模式.通过与已有的观测和研究进行对比,得到较为可信的模拟结果.以温度场和盐度场为参考,系统分析讨论该海域的环流结构及其季节变化.对于温度锋和盐度锋的位置,以及对马暖流的流核等存在争议的问题给出了相应的解释.对马海峡作为日本海的上层水体主要输入区域,对马暖流携带的高温高盐水经过该区域时,在温盐等方面呈现出自南向北的递减变化趋势.对马暖流被对马岛分为东西两支,流核深度随季节变化,并且明显存在双核结构.     

Seasonal variation of the vertically averaged flow caused by the Jebar effect in the Tsushima Strait

The seasonal variation in the barotropic mode of motion caused by joint effect of the baroclinicity and bottom relief (Jebar effect) in the Tsushima Strait is investigated with the use of the diagnostic numerical model in this study. The Jebar effect in the Tsushima Strait is mainly caused by the intrusion of the Bottom Cold Water along the Korean coast in summer. This Jebar effect along the Korean coast locally supplies the negative vorticity in situ, and it forces the coastal current to be intensified. In summer, the volume transport of the Tsushima Warm Current entering the Tsushima Strait is biassed to the western part of the strait comparing with the flow pattern calculated in winter.     

Interannual salinity variations in the Tsushima Strait and its relation to the Changjiang discharge

Interannual salinity variations in the Tsushima Strait are investigated on the basis of historical hydrographic data. The EOF analysis revealed that the most dominant mode is the in-phase salinity variation between the eastern and western channels. The time coefficients of the EOF first mode in summer show a negative correlation with the Changjiang discharge, which indicates that salinity in the Tsushima Strait tends to decrease over summer, related to a large discharge of the Changjiang. The eigenvectors of the first mode are larger in the eastern channel than those in the western channel, though the low salinity water mainly flows through the western channel. This is because the low salinity water spreads into the eastern channel as well as the western channel over summers with a large discharge of the Changjiang. The out-of-phase salinity variation between the channels is extracted as the EOF second mode; this is the predominant variation in the western channel. The time coefficients of the second mode in summer show no significant correlations to the volume transports through the western channel and the transport differences between channels. A relationship between the EOF second mode and variations in the wind stress over the East China Sea is suggested.     

Last glacial sea-level changes and paleogeography of the Korea (Tsushima) Strait

The Korea (Tsushima) Strait is an important seaway through which the warm Tsushima Current flows into the East Sea (Japan Sea). A paleogeographic map constrained by a regional sea-level curve developed on the basis of a number of recent ¹⁴C radiocarbon dates suggests that the Korea Strait was not closed during the last glacial period. Rather, it was open as a channel-like seaway linking the western North Pacific and the East Sea. Some fraction of the paleo-Tsushima Current inflow presumably continued at that time through the Korea Strait. The activity of the paleo-Tsushima Current is evidenced by the distribution pattern of river-derived lowstand deposits, consisting of a beach/shoreface complex and lowstand deltaic wedges. Received: 16 April 1999 / Revision accepted: 25 February 2000     

Statistics of Wind and Waves off Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka, in the Eastern Tsushima Strait

The variability of the sea surface wind and wind waves in the coastal area of the Eastern Tsushima Strait was investigated based on the hourly data from 1990 to 1997 obtained at a station 2 km off Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka. The annual mean wind speed was 4.84 m s⁻¹, with strong northwesterly monsoon in winter and weak southwesterly wind in summer. Significant wave heights and wave periods showed similar sinusoidal seasonal cycles around their annual means of 0.608 m and 4.77 s, respectively. The seasonal variability relative to the annual mean is maximum for wave heights, medium for wind speeds, and minimum for wave periods. Significant wave heights off Tsuyazaki turned out to be bounded by a criterion, which is proportional to the square of the significant wave period corresponding to a constant steepness, irrespective of the season or the wind speed. For terms shorter than a month, the significant wave height and the wave period were found to have the same spectral form as the inshore wind velocity: white for frequencies less than 0.2 day⁻¹ and proportional to the frequency to the −5/3 power for higher frequencies, where the latter corresponds to the inertial subrange of turbulence. The spectral levels of wave heights and wave periods in that inertial range were also correlated with those of the inshore wind velocity, though the scatter was large. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Presence of high nitrate to phosphate ratio subsurface water in the Tsushima Strait during summer

To identify water with an excess nitrate concentration to phosphate ratio and its potential source, the nutrient concentrations in the Tsushima Strait (TSS) were investigated over ten cruises in August and September 2007–2014, excluding 2010. On the basis of the Redfield ratio, water with an excess nitrate concentration of >1 μM (positive ExNOx water) was identified below the surface mixed layer during four cruises in 2011–2013. Positive ExNOx water was present mainly in less-saline (<34) waters with a density of 22–25 σ _θ , and 25–75 m depth. However, in August 2012, positive ExNOx was detected in dense (25–25.5 σ _θ ) and deep (50–110 m depth) waters near the salinity maximum, although the salinity during this period was significantly lower than that in other years. The horizontal length of positive ExNOx water was >100 km across the TSS during two cruises in August 2012 and September 2013, respectively. According to multi-regression analysis conducted on the silicate concentration, temperature, and salinity, the silicate concentration was increased in the less-saline subsurface water. The required amount of original freshwater was 10^8–9 m³ day^?1 based on the excess nitrate concentration. This evidence indicates that the positive ExNOx water originated from large river waters such as the Changjiang. Thus, discharged water from the rivers of the East Asia is contributing to the increased N:P ratio in the Tsushima Warm Current, southern Japan Sea.     

Volume transport of the Tsushima Warm Current, west of Tsugaru Strait bifurcation area

Northern and southern latitudinal transects were conducted west of Tsugaru Strait to estimate the volume transport in this area. It was found that the Tsushima Warm Current is the northward volume transport across the southern transect and the Northward Current is the northward volume transport across the northern transect. The current in Tsugaru Strait,viz. the Tsugaru Warm Current, is the flow remaining when the Northward Current is subtracted from the Tsushima Warm Current. Both CTD transects covered from near-shore to west of the subarctic front, and observed depths were from the surface to the bottom or to 1000-1500 m depth. Our estimations indicate that large interannual variations of volume transport occur, relative to the seasonal ones, with interannual variations sometimes exceeding seasonal variations in the Tsushima Warm Current and the Northward Current. The Tsugaru Warm Current has near-steady transport. Fluctuations in the Tsushima Warm Current are thus transmitted to the Northward Current. Further, our results revealed seasonal variations in the flow: the baloclinic structure became deeper in April and the current axis tended to shift in a near-shore direction in October. Therefore, previous studies, which had shallow reference levels and lacked nearshore stations, may have underestimated the transport and excessive seasonal variations.     

Effect of the along-strait wind on the volume transport through the Tsushima/Korea Strait in September

Recent investigation suggests that volume transport through the Tsushima/Korea Strait often has double peaks during the summer to autumn period with decreasing transport in September. The satellite-observed wind changes from weak northwestward (across-strait) in summer to strong southwestward (along-strait) in early autumn (September) in the strait. Such a strong along-strait wind is related to tropical cyclones, which frequently pass through the East China Sea in September. The effect of the along-strait wind component on the transport variation is examined using a three-dimensional numerical model. The simulated volume transport through the Tsushima/Korea Strait shows realistic seasonal and intra-seasonal variations. According to sensitivity experiments on local winds, the transport variations in September are mainly generated by strong along-strait (southwestward) wind rather than weak across-strait wind. The strait transport responds to the along-strait wind (southeastward), which produces a sea level increase along the Korean coast, resulting in the geostrophic balance across the strait. The transport minimum through the Tsushima/Korea Strait in September can be determined by the combination of the across-strait geostrophic and along-strait ageostrophic balances. The Editor-in-Chief does not recommend the usage of the term “Japan/East Sea” in place of “Sea of Japan”.     

Short-term temperature and salinity variations in the Tsushima Strait in 2004: Behavior of the surface low-salinity water in the strait

Temporal variations in temperature and salinity observed in 2004 were investigated on a short time scale in the Tsushima Strait. The data were obtained by long-term in situ measurements at Mitsushima and Futaoi Island using an instrument equipped with a piston-type wiper to avoid biofouling. In addition, the temperature and salinity values of the surface layer obtained by a commercial ferryboat between Hakata and Busan were used to investigate their spatiotemporal variations. Temperature and salinity variations with a time scale of several days had a negative correlation in the summer. This evidence suggests that a warm and less saline water mass, which is considered to be mainly the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW), flowed intermittently through the Tsushima Strait in summer. In late July 2004, a large low-salinity water mass was detected in the Tsushima Strait. At that time, the freshwater transport through the Tsushima Strait transiently reached about 12 × 10⁴ m³s⁻¹, which is estimated from observed acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data along a ferryboat line and inferred salinity profiles. This estimated value is more than double the maximum of the climatological monthly mean of the Changjiang discharge. Furthermore, salinity and surface current data obtained by high frequency ocean radar (HF radar) indicate that water properties at Mitsushima may occasionally represent part of the water flowing through the western channel via a countercurrent, although Mitsushima is geographically located in the eastern channel.     

对马凹陷的地壳

属于日本海主要的形态构造单元有 3个深水凹陷 (日本、对马和大和 )和分隔它们的隆起(大和、朝鲜等 )。从 1 985年开始 ,海参崴太平洋海洋学研究所的地球物理学家БЯКарΠ、СНМедведев和ВГПрокудин在此海域采用带有海底地震站的反射波进行了研究。获得的大量信息可以确定 ,在对马和大和凹陷中 ,地壳的厚度大约为 1 4km ,而在日本凹陷的东部则为约 8 5km。专家们在有关这些地区海底地壳的性质上意见有分歧 ,一种认为是变厚的洋壳 ;另一种认为是拉长了的陆壳。在对马凹陷的西部和西南部进行了类似的地震研究工作。这…