Large-Scale Structure of Thermal Fronts in the East Part of the Tropical Atlantic and Their Seasonal Variability

On the basis of the climatic array of hydrological annual and monthly average data on temperature and the data of satellite observations of the surface temperature of the ocean, we refine the annual average structure of the temperature fronts and study their seasonal variability in the east part of the Tropical Atlantic in the meridional sections made along 30, 20, and 10°W, 0°, and 10°E. It is shown that the maximum intensity and seasonal variations are typical of the North Subequatorial and South Tropical Fronts varying with predominant annual period. We revealed a delay of 2–3 months in the attainment of the maximum intensity of the South Tropical and South Subequatorial Fronts in the west-east direction. Various mechanisms specifying the seasonal variability of the surface and subsurface North and South Subequatorial Fronts are discussed. There exists good agreement between the specific features of the seasonal variability of characteristics of the fronts established according to the hydrological and satellite data. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 46–59, March–April, 2005.     

Impact of the winter cooling on the variability of the thermohaline characteristics of the active layer in the Black Sea

The influence of the winter atmospheric forcing on the interannual variability of the Black Sea’s active layer’s thermohaline structure during 1982–2008 is investigated. The results are based on the combined analysis of the hydrological measurements from a ship, satellite measurements of the sea’s surface temperature (SST), and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for the surface air temperature (SAT). A high correlation between the variability of the winter mean SST/SAT and the thermohaline characteristics of the active layer during the following warm season was found. It is shown that the winter atmospheric forcing significantly affects the variability of the temperature, salinity, and density down to the 150–200 m depth, and this has to be considered in the analysis of the interannual and long-term variability of the Black Sea’s active layer.     

基于自动探测方法的南海北部涡致海表温度锋面的特征研究

南海北部具有丰富的温度锋面和中尺度涡,它们调节着局地的热量和能量平衡。本文利用卫星海洋高度异常和海表温度数据,并基于自动探测方法,探究了2007年至2017年南海北部中尺度涡边缘的海表温度锋面（涡致锋面）特征。反气旋/气旋边缘出现锋面的概率可达20%。气旋涡在各个方向上出现锋面的概率比较均匀,反气旋涡的东北部和西南部出现锋面的概率大于西北部和东南部。中尺度涡致锋面的数量有明显的季节变化,而涡动能未表现出明显的季节变化。中尺度涡致锋区的总涡动能是中尺度涡内动能的3倍,并且反气旋涡致锋面的总涡动能明显强于气旋涡致锋面的总涡动能。中尺度涡致锋面的数量和涡动能的年际变化与厄尔尼诺南方涛动指数没有明显的相关性。本研究也讨论了中尺度涡致锋面的可能机制,但是中尺度涡对海表温度锋的贡献需要进一步定量研究。     

Spatial and Temporal Scale Variations of Sea Surface Temperature in the East Sea Using NOAA/AVHRR Data

Sea surface temperature fields in the East Sea are composed of various spatial structures such as eddies, fronts, filaments, turbulent-like features and other mesoscale variations associated with the oceanic circulations of the East Sea. These complex SST structures have many spatial scales and evole with time. Semi-monthly averaged SST distributions based on extensive satellite observations of SSTs from 1990 through 1995 were constructed to examine the characteristics of their spatial and temporal scale variations by using statistical methods of multi-dimensional autocorrelation functions and spectral analysis. Two-dimensional autocorrelation functions in the central part of the East Sea revealed that most of the spatial SST structures are anisotropic in the shape of ellipsoids with minor axes of about 90–290 km and major axes of 100–400 km. Two dimensional spatial scale analysis demonstrated a consistent pattern of seasonal variation that the scales appear small in winter and spring, increase gradually to summer, and then decrease again until the spring of the next year. These structures also show great spatial inhomogeneity and rapid temporal change on time scales as short as a semi-month in some cases. The slopes in spectral energy density spectra of SSTs show characteristics quite similar to horizontal and geostrophic turbulence. Temporal spectra at each latitude are demonstrated by predominant peaks of one and two cycles per year in all regions of the East Sea, implying that SSTs present very strong annual and semi-annual variations. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Regional features of the seasonal variability of linear trends of the temperature fields in the Atlantic Ocean and their relation to the large-scale circulation of waters

By using the data array of satellite measurements of the sea-surface temperature (SST), it is shown that the distributions of linear trends of the SST for 17 years (1986–2002) are closely correlated with the specific features of large-scale circulation of waters. The extreme values of trends of the SST are observed in the zones of the Gulf Stream, East-Greenland, Labrador, and North-Atlantic Currents, North Equatorial Countercurrent, South Equatorial and Antarctic Circumpolar Currents. The differences between the distributions of trends of the SST for some months of the year are revealed. In the zones of currents transporting warm surface waters from the tropical areas, positive trends of the SST are observed for the most part of the year. On the contrary, negative trends are predominant in the zones of currents transporting cold upwelling waters. Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 32–42, July–August, 2008.     

南海表层水温场的时空特征与长期变化趋势

本文利用月平均表层水温（SST）、850hPa经向风和西太平洋副热带高压等资料分析了南海表层水温距平（SSTA）场的时空特征和长期变化趋势,并探讨了SST的年际和长期变化原因．结果表明,南海SSTA场分别存在着以全域同位相振荡和东南一西北向反位相振荡的两个主要模态．其中,前者是主要模态,以年际振荡为主,而后者则是次要模态,以季节振荡为主．进一步分析发现,南海中部的SST存在着显著的年际和年代际变化,并在1981年前后发生了一次由低到高的气候转变,而且南海中部SST的长期变化趋势非常明显,在1950—2006年间增温0．92℃．相关和合成分析表明,南海SST的年际和长期变化可能是由南海上空的经向风异常和西太平洋副热带高压的纬向变动引起的．     

Seasonal variability of the surface chlorophyll “a” in the Drake Passage

The seasonal variability of the surface chlorophyll “a” (Chl-s) was studied for five different hydrological areas in the Drake Passage. The data were collected both in the field (December 2001–March 2002, and November 2007) and by satellite observations. One maximum of Chl-s was registered for the area northward of the Antarctic Polar Front in November 2007. This maximum moves southwards to the Antarctic and Continental Antarctic regions in December and January, respectively. The major factors affecting the phytoplankton growth were analyzed, namely, the decrease of the mixed water layer’s depth due to jogging during the austral late spring and summer and seasonal water temperature increase. The comparison of the field and satellite data allows us to conclude that the standard OC4v4 algorithm usually underreports the Chl-s concentration when it exceed 0.2 mg m⁻³.     

Climatic satellite monitoring of the external heat balance of the oceans and Black Sea

The long-wave outgoing radiation, effective cloudiness equal to the product of the total cloud amount by their optical density, and the sea-surface temperature determined from the satellites are used to determine the annual course of the components of external heat balance on the sea surface whose climatic anomalies, parallel with the meridional heat and water transfer in the ocean-atmosphere system, specify the intraannual and interannual large-scale variations of weather in different regions of the Earth. The development of these studies is connected with the progress of satellite hydrophysics because the data obtained from the space become sufficiently exact, regular, and global. The increase in the existing data array on the external heat balance of the oceans from ∼15–20 to 100 yr and more would promote the solution of the problem of oscillations of Earth's climate. We present examples of coordinated numerical analysis of the heat balance of the upper (0–100 m ) layer of the Black Sea performed on the basis of the shipborne and satellite data. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 59–75, November–December, 2007.     

Estimation of the long-term variability of hydrophysical characteristics of the Black Sea based on the assimilation of the climatic hydrological fields L and altimetry data

To study the long-term variability of the thermohaline and dynamic characteristics of the Black Sea, we use three versions of climatic fields, namely, the fields reconstructed in the model according to the old (1903–1982) and new (1903–2003) hydrological climatic data arrays of temperature and salinity and according to the data of satellite altimetry. The analysis of the altimetry-based climatic fields confirms the distinctions (established earlier according to the old and new data arrays) in the seasonal variability of the integral characteristics of temperature and salinity and in the structures of hydrophysical fields in the sea. It is shown that, in the winter-spring season, the thermohaline fields reconstructed according to the new and altimetry data arrays are characterized by a small elevation of the halocline (pycnocline) and the upper boundary of the cold intermediate layer. In all seasons, the altimetry-based surface geostrophic currents contain numerous mesoscale eddies with different signs of rotation. Moreover, in all seasons, the Rim Current reconstructed according to the altimetry data is characterized by a narrower jet almost along the entire its length. This jet is especially intense near the coasts of West Anatolia. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 3–17, July–August, 2006.     

Surface velocity time series derived from satellite altimetry data in a section across the Kuroshio southwest of Kyushu

A time series of surface geostrophic velocity is developed using satellite altimetry data during 1992–2010 for a track across the Kuroshio southeast of Kyushu, Japan. The temporal mean geostrophic velocity is estimated by combining the along-track sea level anomaly and shipboard ADCP data. This approximately 6-km resolution dataset is successful in representing the Kuroshio cross-current structure and temporal variation of the Kuroshio current-axis position during 2000–2010. The authors use this dataset to examine the winter Kuroshio path destabilization phenomenon. Its seasonal features are characterized as follows: the velocity shear on the inshore side of the Kuroshio becomes stronger and the Kuroshio path state becomes unstable from the summer to winter. This evidence is consistent with the hypothetical mechanism governing the destabilization phenomenon discussed in a previous study. Furthermore, the interannual amplitude modulation of the seasonality is examined in relation to interannual variations in the winter northerly wind over the northern Okinawa Trough and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index. The destabilization phenomenon appears 15 times in the period 2000–2010. Ten cases are related to local wind effects, and 7 of these are also connected with the PDO index. This is probably because the winter northerly wind over the northern Okinawa Trough is regulated by the PDO signal in interannual time-scales. Only 4 cases are related to the PDO index, but their driving mechanism remains uncertain.     

Low-frequency variations of the characteristics of pycnocline in the North Atlantic and their correlation with the North-Atlantic oscillation

On the basis of processing of the oceanographic data accumulated for the water area of the North Atlantic in 1950–1999 (∼500,000 stations), we study seasonal and interannual variations of the principal characteristics of pycnocline within the range of σ_t = 25.5–27.5 conventional density units. It is shown that the interannual oscillations of these characteristics in the entire analyzed layer can be regarded as a superposition of fluctuations with periods from 2–3 to 10–12 yr. The typical ranges of these fluctuations for the depths of occurrence of isopycnic surfaces and the corresponding temperature and salinity are equal to 20–25 m, 1–1.5°C, and 0.25‰, respectively. The intensification of atmospheric circulation at middle latitudes is accompanied by the simultaneous deepening of the pycnocline and its heating in the central part of the North Subtropical Anticyclonic Gyre. At the same time, the process of weakening of the atmospheric circulation leads to the rise of the pycnocline and its cooling. The complete cycle of interaction of the North-Atlantic Oscillation with the anomalies of isopycnic characteristics (with regard for the period of their advection) is equal to ∼6–8 yr. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 29–48, March–April, 2007.     

Investigation into wave properties of the atlantic surface temperature spatial variability on interannual scales

The results of investigations into the spatial variability of the Atlantic Ocean surface temperature field on interannual scales are presented. The analysis is based on monthly mean satellite data of the AVHRR Pathfinder Data JPL NOAA/NASA over 1985–2001. Specific features of the structure of the sea surface temperature (SST) fields averaged over 17 years, as well as fields of the gradient and variance of the SST time series, are described for each node of the data grid. It is shown with the use of the rhythmodynamic approach that spatial heat waves exist in the interannual variability of the SST field in two directions: zonal and meridional.     

Sea level variations in the regional seas around Taiwan

The patterns and trends of sea level rise in the regional seas around Taiwan have been investigated through the analyses of long-term tide-gauge and satellite altimetry data. Series of tide-gauge data extending over 50 years reveal decadal and interannual variations and spatially-inhomogeneous patterns of generally rising sea level. The East Asia tide-gauge stations around Taiwan show an average trend of +2.4 mm/yr from 1961–2003, which is larger than the reported global rate of +1.8 mm/yr for the same period. These stations also show significantly larger sea level rise rates (+5.7 mm/yr) than global values (+3.1 mm/yr) during the period from 1993–2003. Consistent with the coastal tide-gauge records, satellite altimetry data show similar increasing rates (+5.3 mm/yr) around Taiwan during the same period. Comparisons with temperature anomalies in the upper ocean suggest that thermal expansion and heat advection in the upper layer contribute significantly to the long-term sea level variations in this area with correlations >0.9 for observations after 1992. Thermosteric sea level variations may also explain the interannual and decadal variations of the observed sea level rises around Taiwan. Our analysis also indicates that the altimetry data are only part of a long-term, larger-scale signal. Finally, we have found that a non-linear smoother, LOESS, is more suitable for extracting long-term trends in sea level than the traditional linear regression approach.     

Coral extension rates in the NW Indian Ocean I: reconstruction of 20th century SST variability and monsoon current strength

To date, only a few coral proxy studies have investigated coral growth as an indicator of climate variability. This study presents the first extension-rate record (Porites lutea) from the Maldives (NW Indian Ocean), inferred from skeletal δ¹⁸O chronology for the lagoon of Rasdhoo Atoll (4°N/73°W) in the central area of the Maldives, influenced by the Indian monsoon. The record spans 90 years over the period 1917–2007. The mean annual extension over this period was 9.9 mm/year, and an increase of annual extension rates until 1990 by 3 mm/year can be explained by a rise of 0.7°C in sea surface temperature (SST) in this region. After 1990, the extension rates do no continue increasing, possibly due to ecological stress caused by progressive ocean warming and acidification. The correlation between annual extension rates and SSTs is thus significant and strong in the lower part of the record until 1955 (r = +0.69, p < 0.0001), but weaker thereafter (r = +0.44, p < 0.001). The extension rates yield a distinct interannual variability of 3–4 years, caused by interannual SST fluctuations driven by the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation. A variability of 8–9 years is likely driven by SST variations endemic to the Indian Ocean. Spectral peaks between 18–19 years and 6–7 years cannot be explained by SST fluctuations, but by variations in the strength of the SW monsoon currents. It is suggested that during phases of stronger monsoon activity, the coral sacrificed coral extension in favor of a denser, more robust skeleton. The geomorphology of the atoll may strengthen the potential of this new coral archive to track climate variability.     

Investigation of the oceanic cloudiness according to the data of satellite observations in the spectral range 10.3–11.3 μm

The temperature of waters in the upper layer of the ocean and effective cloudiness (cloudiness with simultaneous indication of its amount and optical density) are important characteristics of the natural environments. They determine the greenhouse effects and the energy of the ocean and atmosphere, and regulate climate. The satellite data on these characteristics enable one to reconstruct all components of the radiation, heat, and water budgets in the ocean–atmosphere system and study their intra- and interannual variations. We describe the procedures of evaluation of the effective cloudiness according to the sea-surface temperature and the radiation temperature in the spectral range 10.3–11.3 μm. The development of these investigations is connected with the advances in satellite hydrophysics: the satellite data become more and more accurate, regular, and global.     

长江口海域表层水温的季节、年际变化

为研究长江口与黄东海SST变化的异同,根据长江口区引水船海洋站1959～2001年、大戢山海洋站1977～2000年月平均表层水温资料,安徽大通水文站1968～1999年月平均径流量资料,利用功率谱分析、Mann—Kendall突变检验及相关分析方法,分析长江口区表层水温的季节、年际变化特征。结果表明：长江口区表层水温最高值出现在8月份,最低值出现在2月份。长江口区表层水温的年际变化存在准2年和3～5年的显著振荡周期,东亚季风和长江径流对其变化有影响。长江口区表层水温突变出现在1989年。     

Temporal and spatial variabilities of Japan Sea surface temperature and atmospheric forcings

In this study, we used the National Centers for Environmental Prediction monthly sea surface temperature (SST) and surface air temperature (SAT) data during 1982–1994 and the National Center for Atmospheric Research surface wind stress curl data during 1982–1989 to investigate the Japan Sea SST temporal and spatial variabilities and their relations to atmospheric forcing. First, we found an asymmetry in the correlation coefficients between SST and wind stress curl, which implies that the SST variability at the scales of the order of one month is largely due to atmospheric forcing. Second, we performed three analyses on the data fields: annual mean, composite analysis to obtain the monthly anomaly relative to the annual mean, and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis on the residue data relative to the summation of the annual mean and the monthly anomaly. The first EOF mode of SST accounts for 59.9% of the variance and represents the Subpolar Front. The temporal variation of the first EOF mode implies that the deep Japan Sea could be cooler in cold seasons (November–April) of 1984–1987. Third, we computed cross-correlation coefficients among various principal components and found that the atmospheric warming/cooling is the key factor causing intra-seasonal and interannual SST variabilities.     

Analysis of satellite observations of the tropospheric NO<Subscript>2</Subscript> content over the Moscow region

The tropospheric NO₂ content over the Moscow region is analyzed on the basis of data of the satellite Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) in the period 2004–2009. The spatial distributions of NO₂ are presented, and some of their features are interpreted. The characteristics of the seasonal and weekly cycles of NO₂ are described, as are its interannual and long-term variations. The relationship between the variabilities of the NO₂ content and the aerological parameters is investigated on different time scales. The mutual influence of regional pollution and meteorological regimes is discussed. The seasonal and weekly NO₂ cycles over Moscow are compared with those over the largest worldwide agglomerations.     

Seasonal and interannual variability of the characteristics of Scotia-Sea front based on the satellite measurements of sea-surface temperature

We determine the characteristic features of the space structure of the Scotia-Sea Front and study the variations of its characteristics on the seasonal and interannual scales. It is shown that, in the climatic seasonal cycle, the Scotia-Sea Front is intensified in the warm period of the year when the temperature contrast between the cold waters formed as a result of thawing of ice and warmer waters transported by the South Branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current becomes more pronounced. The maximum seasonal variations of the intensity of this front are observed in the region of minimum intraannual displacements of the boundary of drift ice. The interannual variations of the characteristics of the front are observed in the form anomalous variations of its intensity and latitudinal displacements. A significant relationship is established between the interannual anomalies of the characteristics of the front and the areas of warm tropical waters in the Pacific Ocean caused by the events of El Niño.