Annual Variability of Sea Surface Height and Upper Layer Thickness in the Pacific Ocean

The annual variabilities of the sea surface height in the Pacific Ocean were investigated by analyzing the TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite data and by solving a reduced gravity model. We discuss how adequately the simple model can capture the variabilities of the sea surface height, and what the cause of the variabilities is. Three large amplitude peaks in the satellite data are found along the 12°N longitude line. Two elongated zones with a large amplitude are also found: one extends east-west along 6°N and the other extends northwestward from South America around 25°S. These features are adequately reproduced in the numerical simulation of the reduced gravity model. The propagation of the Rossby wave is analyzed by the use of the extended Eliassen-Palm flux to investigate the mechanism of these annual variabilities. The two east peaks around 12°N can be explained in terms of the interference between the local Ekman pumping and the free wave emitted near the western coast of North America, and the most western peak is affected by the Rossby wave formed by the local wind stress. The elongated zonal area around 6°N is mainly due to the local Ekman pumping. Another area around 25°S results from the convergence of the free Rossby wave emitted from the eastern boundary and the area with the strong wind stress curl off South America. A discrepancy between the satellite data and the model results suggests that the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean is relatively calm in the model but not in the satellite data. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comparison of Kuroshio surface velocities derived from satellite altimeter and drifting buoy data

Sea-surface geostrophic velocities for the Kuroshio region calculated from TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry data together within situ oceanographic data are compared with surface velocities derived from drifting buoy trajectories. The geostrophic velocities agree well with the observed velocities, suggesting that the Kuroshio surface layer is essentially in geostrophic balance, within measurement error. The comparison is improved a little when the centrifugal acceleration is taken into account. The observed velocities are divided into the temporal mean and fluctuation components, and the partitioning of velocities between these two components is examined. For the Kuroshio region, most of the fluctuation components of the velocities derived from drifting buoys are found to be positive. This result suggests that Eulerian mean velocities for the Kuroshio region estimated from drifting buoy data tend to be larger than actual means, due to the buoy’s tendency to sample preferentially in the high-velocity Kuroshio.     

Sea surface height anomaly and geostrophic circulation variations in the South China Sea from TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry

The sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) and geostrophic circulation in the South ChinaSea (SCS) are studied using TOPEX/POSE1DON (T/P) altimetry data. The SSHA, which is obtained after tidal correction based on the tidal results from T/P data, is predominated by seasonal alternating monsoons. The results reveal that the SSHA in the central part of the SCS is positive in spring and summer, but negative in autumn and winter. It is also found that the SSHA in the SCS can be approached with the sum of tidal constituents SA and SSA. The geostrophic circulations in the SCS are calculated according to sea surface dynamic topography, which is the sum of SSHA and mean sea surface height. It is suggested that the circulation in the upper layer of the SCS is generally cyclonic and notably western intensified during autumn and winter, while the western intensification is weak during spring and summer. It is also indicated that the Kuroshio intrudes into the northeastern SCS throuth the Luzon Strait in winter. But ther     

Detection of ocean waves using satellite altimetry: Application to equatorial Kelvin waves

A new method for wave motion detection from satellite altimetric measurements of sea surface height is presented. The essence of the approach is to construct a two‐dimensional traveling‐wave Fourier series representation of the amplitude field within a prespecified oceanic region. The method employs an iterative, nonlinear least‐squares technique based on the Marquardt‐Levenberg algorithm to solve for model parameters describing characteristic features of the evolving wave system. The Marquardt‐Levenberg Fourier series (MLFS) algorithm was applied to Kelvin waves active during the 1986–1987 El Nino event in the equatorial Pacific ocean using GEOSAT Exact Repeat Mission altimetry data. Characteristics of the wave system were found to be in essential agreement with earlier field measurements and the observations of Cheney and Miller (1987) obtained using time series developed from GEOSAT data. The advantage of the present detection scheme lies in its speed and ability to determine a wave system's dispersion relation over a finite range of wavenumbers, and hence the group velocity of that system.     

Plane wave fitting of the internal tidal sea-surface height signatures extracted from the TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data along satellite tracks

The sea-surface height (SSH) signatures of internal tides extracted from the TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) altimeter data along satellite tracks are fitted with superposition of several plane waves which have different wavenumber vectors. The key problem of plane wave fitting with iterative method is how to determine the initial value of wavenumber of each plane wave. The previous solving method is to analyze the internal tidal SSH signatures along each track with wavenumber spectrum. But it is found that the problem cannot be solved completely with the wavenumber spectrum analysis method only. The method based on the combination of wavenumber spectrum analysis method and the exhaustive method is proposed to determine the initial values of wavenumbers for iteration. Numerical results indicate that the proposed method is not only reasonable and feasible but also better than the previous method. The proposed method is an improvement of the previous one, which is beneficial to improving the precision of plane wave fitting of the T/P internal tidal SSH signatures and deepening the understanding of the internal tides in ocean.     

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.     

基于卫星海面高度资料的太平洋海区涡旋能谱分析

在空间均匀和各向同性的假定下,地转湍流理论认为涡旋动能随尺度分布遵循k–n定律(k为波数)。但实际海洋受边界、地形、层结等,具有明显的非均匀、各向异性特征。鉴于此,我们基于近30a卫星高度计资料,分别计算了热带、副热带、中高纬度等海洋涡旋强度不同区域的海面高度异常(SSHA)波数谱,进而利用线性回归拟合方法估算出中尺度波段上SSHA波数谱的斜率,并与地转湍流理论预测进行了对比。研究结果显示:SSHA波数谱从赤道到中高纬度逐渐变陡,其斜率由–4减到–5,基本符合赤道线性波动理论和准地转湍流理论的预测。SSHA波数谱斜率存在纬向与经向差异,例如在赤道地区,纬向谱比相应的经向谱陡;而在南极绕极流区域,经向谱斜率大于纬向谱斜率。SSHA波数谱斜率的各向异性表明海洋中尺度运动受β效应影响,具有明显的经向和纬向差异。以上结果表明,海洋中尺度运动介于准二维和三维之间,不能用一个全球普适的湍流理论模型来描述。     

Seasonal and interannual variations in the East Sakhalin current revealed by TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data

Seasonal and interannual variations in the East Sakhalin Current (ESC) are investigated using ten-year records of the sea level anomaly (SLA) observed by the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimeter. The T/P SLA clearly documents seasonal and interannual variations in the ESC along the east coast of Sakhalin Island, although sea ice masks the region from January to April. Estimates of surface current velocity anomaly derived from T/P SLA are in good agreement with drifting buoy observations. The ESC is strong in winter, with a typical current velocity of 30–40 cm s⁻¹ in December, and almost disappears in summer. Southward flow of the ESC is confined to the shelf and slope region and consists of two velocity cores. These features of the ESC are consistent with short-term observations reported in previous studies. Analysis of the ten-year records of T/P SLA confirms that the structure of the ESC is maintained each winter and the seasonal cycle is repeated every year, although the strength of the ESC shows large interannual variations. Seasonal and interannual variations in the ESC are discussed in relation to wind-driven circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk, using wind stress and wind stress curl fields derived from European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis data and a scatterometer-derived wind product. Seasonal and interannual variations of the anticyclonic eddy in the Kuril Basin are also revealed using T/P SLA.     

About applying linear structural method on ocean data: Adjustment of satellite wave data

Linear structural relations express the linear relationship between random variables when each of the variables under consideration is subjected to inherent variability and measurement error. The linear structural method is more general than the classical regression, which is often used incorrectly in calibration of altimeter data or validation of wave model results. In this work the linear structural method is elaborated and applied for the adjustment of TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) data by means of in situ measured wave data in the Aegean Sea. In addition, a comparison of the buoy and T/P data with the WAM wave model predictions is performed revealing an underestimation trend of the model.     

Tidal harmonic analysis of TOPEX/POSEIDON data in the Northwest Pacific by introducing difference-ratio relations

The difference-ratio relations are introduced to separate tidal constituents that are aliaseddue to the sampling interval and sampling span of the TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter. It is found that some tidal constituents such as K_1 and SSA, though aliased at along track points, are not aliased at crossover points Ixrausf the data at crossover points are double those at along track points. So the harmonic analysis method can be employed directly for the analysis of time series at crossover points. Then the difference-ratio relations from crossover points are introduced to analyze the time series at along track points. The TOPEX/POSEIDON data in the Northwest Pacific are analyzed with this method. The results from this method agree well with tidal constants from tidal gauges.     

引入差比关系法分析西北太平洋TOPEX/POSEIDON卫星高度计测高数据

TOPEX/POSEIDON(T/P)卫星高度计数据信息中存在周期成分混淆问题.对其中的一类混淆引入差比关系方法对混淆的分潮进行分离.卫星轨道交叉点资料包括升轨和降轨资料,资料量比沿轨点资料多1倍,经分析发现:在已有为期6a多的观测资料时间序列中,在沿轨处混淆的分潮如K₁和SSA在交叉点处不再混淆,可以直接分离.因此首先对交叉点资料进行调和分析.然后由交叉点的分析结果得到分潮间的差比关系,处理到相近的沿轨点处,从而得到沿轨点的调和常数.用引入差比关系方法,对西北太平洋海区6a多的T/P卫星高度计资料进行了潮汐分析,并与沿岸及岛屿验潮站资料进行了比较,所得结果较满意.     

基于核函数NPSSB模型的HY-2A卫星雷达高度计海况偏差研究

利用机器学习的方法,对14个周期HY-2A卫星高度计数据:风速、有效波高和海面高度差值进行训练,探究海况偏差和风速、有效波高之间的关系,创建海况偏差核函数非参数模型(NPSSB),并与参数模型中具有代表性的BM3、BM4模型进行对比。研究表明:(1)核函数NPSSB模型能够很好的反映SSB与U、SWH之间的关系,SSB与U呈二次函数关系,SSB与SWH呈反比例函数关系;(2)核函数NPSSB模型对SSB的模拟能力与训练数据集相关,数据量越多,模拟能力越好;(3)核函数NPSSB模型与BM3、BM4模型都存在0～-0.03 m的差值,随着风速和有效波高的增加,差值的绝对值越大。     

Dispersion relation of internal waves in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean

Based mainly on TOGA COARE data, that is, the CI''D data from R/V Xiangyanghong No.5 (Pu et al.,1993),the temperature and current data from the Woods Hole mooring and other deep current data, the layered numerical profiles of buoyancy frequency and mean current components are figured out.A numerical method calculating internal wave dispersion relation without background shear current, used by Fliegel and Hunkins (1975),is improved to be fit for the internal wave equation with mean currents and their second derivatives.The dispersion relations and wave functions of the long crested internal wave progressing in any direction can be calculated inveniently by using the improved method.A comparison between the calculated dispersion relation in the paper and the dispersion relation in GM spectral model of ocean internal waves (Garret and Munk, 1972) is performed.It shows that the mean currents are important to the dispersion relation of internal waves in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean and that the currents make the wave progressing co-directional with (against) the currents stretched (shrink).The influence of the mean currents on dispersion relation is much stronger than that of their second derivatives, but that on wave function is less than that of their second derivatives.The influences on wave functions result in the change of vertical wavenumber, that is, making the wave function stretch or shrink.There exists obvious turning depth but no significant critical layer absorption is found.     

TOPEX高度计数据反演北太平洋海浪周期

利用TOPEX高度计和NDBC浮标同步观测数据,对7种高度计海浪周期反演模型进行了系统的比较分析,从反演模式的精度、反演周期整体分布、周期-波高的联合分布等方面对反演模型做出了评价,并根据墨西哥湾和夏威夷海域反演结果对模型的区域适应性进行了验证,结合Hasselmann风浪充分成长关系分析了不同海浪成分下模型的反演效果。分析发现,Mackay等于2008年提出的算法(简称M08)相对于其他算法精度最高,且在不同海域和不同海浪成分下精度没有明显差异。利用M08算法反演了北太平洋海域的海浪平均周期分布,讨论其空间分布特征和季节变化特征如下:北太平洋海域的平均周期在墨西哥湾、西里伯斯海等沿岸地区较小,在西风带海域为较大,并存在明显的地形、纬度差异和季节性变化特征。     

基于漂流浮标的南大洋卫星高度计有效波高研究

随着技术的进步和数据处理方法的完善,经过修正的卫星高度计数据已获得普遍认可.但在南大洋缺少波浪现场数据,卫星高度计在极端恶劣气候条件下获得数据的准确度仍受到一定程度的质疑.中国于2020年第36次南极考察中,在南大洋布放了一套感应耦合漂流浮标,可提供可靠的南大洋现场波浪数据.本文利用该漂流浮标2020年1月27日至9月...     

热带大西洋表层环流及其月变化特征的分析

应用1993年4月至2001年3月的TOPEX/Poseidon卫星高度计遥感资料,分析了8 a平均热带大西洋(15°S～25°N,5°～50°W)表层环流结构的月变化特征.研究结果表明:热带大西洋表层环流中高纬度海区流速较小,赤道附近流速较大,表层环流系统大部分流系月变化不明显,部分流系月际波动较显著.具体来说,西南向的北赤道流下半年的纬向流速分量比上半年大.非洲沿岸流在5～11月流向为东北向,在其他月份主要为东南向.北赤道逆流可以分成两部分:25°W以东海区,北赤道逆流常年流向向东,到9月份前后流速达到最大值(约0.25 cm/s);25°W以西海区,7月至翌年1月流向向东,2～6月北赤道逆流减小,并有西向流产生.2°S～2°N,15°W以东海区的南赤道流在1～3月、9～10月流向向东,其他月份流向向西.南赤道流可认为是由南、北两支西向的海流构成,这两支海流的流轴分别位于6°S和1°N,在6～7月北支流速达到最大值0.6 m/s.南美洲纳塔耳东部西北向的北巴西海流流速月际变化不大,在5～6月份流速达到最大值0.3～0.4 m/s.相应的卫星风场遥感资料的分析表明热带大西洋表层环流结构的月变化特征与风场的分布及变化有较好的对应关系.用World Ocean Atlas 2001的月平均温盐数据反演出来的表层地转流场以及卫星跟踪ARGOS漂流浮标观测进行的对比验证表明,上述遥感分析的地转流场结果与水文数据以及海上观测结果一致.     

Reduction of geoid gradient error in ocean variability from satellite altimetry

Altimeter measurements of sea‐level variability have errors due to the altimeter not repeatedly sampling the same point on the ocean surface. The errors are proportional to the local slope of the mean sea surface. Accurate removal of geoid error is essential if altimeter data are to be used to study the relationship between geostrophic turbulence and bathymetry. The error can be reduced by using an accurate model of the mean surface. We use the multiyear TOPEX altimeter data set to develop a model for the mean sea surface along the TOPEX/POSEIDON ground track by estimating the coefficients of a local plane centered on every 2 km x 7 km bin sampled by the altimeter. We have evaluated the ability of this model. compared against two global mean sea‐surface models, to reduce the error associated with steep gradients. The two global models are the Center for Space Research 1995 model and the Ohio State University 1995 model. The three models show similar variability over the oceans, and none shows the large residual errors that can be seen in collinear analysis near some seamounts and trenches. The standard deviation of the variability using the plane model, however, is consistently smaller in low‐variability, high‐geoid‐gradient areas, indicating a slightly better performance than the two global models.     

Calibration of TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason Altimeter Data to Construct a Continuous Record of Mean Sea Level Change

Jason, the successor to the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) mission, has been designed to continue seamlessly the decade-long altimetric sea level record initiated by T/P. Intersatellite calibration has determined the relative bias to an accuracy of 1.6 mm rms. Tide gauge calibration of the T/P record during its original mission shows a drift of -0.1 ± 0.4 mm/year. The tide gauge calibration of 20 months of nominal Jason data indicates a drift of -5.7 ± 1.0 mm/year, which may be attributable to errors in the orbit ephemeris and the Jason Microwave Radiometer. The analysis of T/P and Jason altimeter data over the past decade has resulted in a determination of global mean sea level change of +2.8 ± 0.4 mm/year.     

利用TOPEX卫星高度计资料分析台湾岛周边海域巨浪和大风特征

卫星高度计实现了对全球性或区域性的海洋参量的实时监测,TOPEX卫星高度计提供了迄今为止时间序列最长、数据质量最高的全球海面风速和有效波高的同步观测资料。利用TOPEX卫星高度计资料,分析了有效波高4m以上的巨浪在台湾岛周边海域的时空分布特征,结果表明台湾岛周边海域巨浪的分布具有明显的季节特征。每年平均有效波高最大值大多数出现在夏季,春季是1a中有效波高最小的季节,而秋季和冬季是巨浪出现频率最高的季节。波高大于6m的巨浪大都出现在台湾岛东部及东北部海域,在南部海域出现较少。     

赤道大洋驻波异常及其年际变化的理论分析

本文采用赤道β平面近似下的线性化正压扰动方程组,引入约化重力加速度后,得到了赤道驻波异常的解析解,给出了此解的计算结果,并与实际热带太平洋和印度洋流场异常复EOF分析的模态做了比较,得到以下主要结论：赤道驻波异常的模态1,其流场异常在整个大洋为半波,呈一致的纬向流;流场异常在热带大洋中部最大,并向赤道南北两侧迅速衰减,其被限制在赤道两侧约2º的范围内。赤道驻波的模态2,其流场异常在整个大洋为1波,在大洋东、西部纬向流的流动方向相反,流场异常向赤道南北两侧衰减的程度同模态1。赤道驻波异常分别满足南北走向的东、西海岸边条件。决定赤道驻波异常在赤道两侧衰减程度的系数,其仅与约化重力加速度和上层海水标准深度之乘积的平方根值成反比;当该值取得相同时该衰减程度也相同。赤道驻波异常的振荡频率与模态序号及上述平方根值成正比,与热带大洋宽度成反比;模态序号越低,该宽度越大,则该频率越低,相应振荡周期也越长;模态1的振荡周期最长。当取各参数为典型值,并取模态序号为1,再分别取热带太平洋和印度洋的宽度时,对赤道驻波异常计算的结果表明,其与实际相应海洋上层流场异常复EOF分析中得到的第一模态空间分布和年际变化相一致;这意味着此复EOF分析第一模态的本质是赤道驻波异常,这也表明该驻波异常在实际大洋中确实存在,并推断该驻波异常是ENSO和印度洋偶极子的形成机制之一。