Meander of the Kuroshio front and current variability in the East China Sea

To investigate the fluctuation of the Kuroshio front, moored current meters were deployed near the shelf break and on the continental slope in the East China Sea, northwest of Okinawa Island, during a period from 25 June to 22 July 1984. Two mooring arrays were deployed on the slope of about 800 m water depth (under the Kuroshio), about 30 km apart along the path of the Kuroshio. Another two arrays were set near the shelf break of about 300 m water depth. The fluctuation of current on the slope is found to have a predominant period of 11–14 days and a were length of 300–350 km, propagating toward the downstream direction of the Kuroshio with a phase velocity of about 30 cm sec^?1. When the Kuroshio front approaches the shelf break and the crest of the meander covers the mooring site, the current direction moves toward the downstream direction of the Kuroshio and the water temperature increases. On the other hand, when the trough of the meander covers the mooring site, the current direction changes off-shoreward across the Kuroshio or in the upstream direction of the Kuroshio, and the water temperature decreases. Three-dimensional distributions of water temperature and salinity around the mooring site were observed with a CTD twice at 5.5 days intervals, which indicate the meanders of the front is about 180° out of phase. This coincides with a period of 11–14 days obtained with the moored current meters. Wave lengths of the dominant meander of the front in the satellite thermal images were about 350 km and 100–200 km, which also coincides with results obtained with the moored current meters.     

Intrusion of less saline shelf water into the Kuroshio subsurface layer in the East China Sea

The possible origin and cause of the less saline shelf water detected in the Kuroshio subsurface layer around the shelf edge of the East China Sea are investigated using observational results obtained in May 1998–2001 in conjunction with a dataset archived by Japan Oceanographic Data Center and a numerical model. The observations show that subsurface intrusions of less saline water are always detected in May in layers above 24.5σθ isopycnal surface, and that salinity inversions (i.e., areas in which the less saline water lies beneath the saline water) are detected around the trough of the Kuroshio frontal eddy (or wave). Analyses of the archived dataset reveal that the isopycnal surface of 24.5σθ is the deepest layer of the Kuroshio pycnocline outcropping to the sea surface on the shallow shelf in early spring. Outcropping isopycnals above 24.5σθ encounter a less saline water plume originating from the Changjiang, especially in the western East China Sea. Thereafter, the less saline water moves along isopycnal layers and reaches the Kuroshio front around the shelf edge. Numerical models demonstrate that, when the frontal wave captures the less saline water, the shelf water takes the form of a salinity inversion in the trough because isohalines in the frontal wave have a phase lag between the upper and lower layers in consequence of the baroclinic instability.     

On the origin of the Tsushima Warm Current Water

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东海东北部春季若干重要水文结构的分析

本文主要基于韩国海洋研究所在东海沿岸海洋过程试验中收集的ＣＴＤ资料，分析了１９９５年春季出现在东海东北部的一些重要水文结构。结果表明，一种锋涡状结构出现在黑潮向东转折点附近。它不仅使邻近海域的水文结构变得更复杂，而且诱发黑潮水与陆架水间活跃的交换。在陆架坡折处观测到若干孤立的陆架水块，可能是锋涡的卷挟作用所致；该海域存在４个水团，即黑潮水、对马暖流水、陆架水和混合水。对马暖流水分为上下两层：上层水为变性黑潮水，盐度比黑潮水约低０．１，底层对马暖流水仅位于冲绳海槽区，并有着与黑潮中层水相同的温、盐特性；一种双锋结构出现在邻近黑潮的陆架边缘附近。在内陆架形成的陆架锋，由北向南伸展时，愈来愈偏向陆架边缘。而黑潮锋沿九州以西深槽的陆架边缘向北伸展。在黑潮转折点附近，两锋几乎合并为一条锋。狭窄的锋带由黑潮水及其变性水和陆架水的混合水所占据。     

吕宋暖涡的三维观测特征及其数值模拟分析

基于2011年春季南海北部CTD观测数据,结合高度计资料和高分辨率ROMS(Regional Ocean Modeling System,ROMS)模式对1993-2003年的模拟结果,研究了吕宋暖涡(Luzon Warm Eddy)的空间结构和生成规律。结果表明:观测中吕宋岛西北海域存在一对冷暖涡旋,其中暖涡信号是一次典型的吕宋暖涡事件,水团中携带了部分的黑潮水;该吕宋暖涡对温盐、流场结构的影响能够达到中层以下,在垂向上呈现出西北向倾斜的特征,自表层至1000 m深度范围,倾斜距离超过70 km。受到5月来自黑潮区的高水位信号影响,吕宋暖涡生成于吕宋西北局地并逐渐发展增强,持续时间达30天以上,之后向西移动,同时其后缘常伴随生成一个冷涡。在10年的数值结果中,吕宋暖涡的生成、演变过程,及其三维结构的西北向倾斜特征均与观测较为一致,模式初步证明了吕宋暖涡的演变过程是一种季节性现象。     

The characteristic distribution of silica over the East China Sea shelf slope

The localized near-bottom water with silica content higher than that in the adjacent shelf water was observed to exist at the eastern margins of the East China Sea continental shelf. The core of the high silica water possessed the silica content corresponding to that in the Kuroshio at depths greater than on the shelf. The mixing analysis of water masses using temperature (T) and silica (Si) showed that the core water can be produced through the vertical mixing of intermediate water of the Kuroshio deeper than 100 m. This study provides us a conclusion that the intermediate water of the Kuroshio is strongly mixed on the shelf slope and then upwelled to form the ridge-like distribution of water masses with low temperature and high silica content at the shelf edge.     

Shallow-water sound transmission measurements on the New Jerseycontinental shelf

Calibrated acoustic measurements were made under calm sea state conditions on the New Jersey shelf near the AMCOR 6010 borehole, a surveyed area with known geophysical properties. The experiment was conducted in 73 m water with supporting measurements of salinity, temperature, and sound speed. Acoustic measurements were obtained with a vertical array of 24 hydrophones spaced equally at 2.5 m intervals; one of which was near the bottom. A source towed at 1/2 the water depth transmitted one of two sets of four tones spaced between 50 and 600 Hz for each run to ranges of 4 and 26 km. The data were processed with both a Hankel transform and a high resolution Doppler technique to yield horizontal wave-number spectrum at several depths. Results were obtained along both constant and gradually varying depth profiles. Similar modal interference patterns were observed at the lower frequencies. The constant depth-profile radial results were compared to calculations performed with several shallow water acoustic models using geoacoustic profiles derived from geophysical parameters and shear wave inversion methods     

东海北部陆架区温、盐度逆转现象的分析

东海陆架区的温、盐度逆转现象,有关研究已作了一些论述(苏育嵩等,1989;蓝淑芳等,1984; Nakao,1977),指出东海陆架区存在两个温、盐度逆转结构出现频率高的海区：一个位于江苏、浙江近海的狭长海区内;另一个位于东海北部济州岛西南海区,即东海北部底层冷水及其附近海域(蓝淑芳等,1993)。翁学传(1984)、曹欣中等(1982)利用常规调查资料,曾分别对第一高频区的中层冷水和温度逆转现象作了初步分析;丁宗信(1994，1995)利用常规调査资料和CTD资料,对黄海、东海春、夏、秋、冬四季温、盐度垂直分布类型及逆转现象的成因进行了研究。本文根据中国科学院海洋研究所1984年和1985年6月在东海北部陆架区进行的大面水文调査资料(该资料由“科学一号”调査船使用Mark-Ⅲ CTD 探测仪获取),以及国家海洋局1975-1980年在东海取得的标准断面BT观测资料,对东海北部陆架区,特别是上述第二高频区的温、盐度逆转现象和成因作进一步研究。 由于该海区的温、盐度逆转现象与水团的配置及交汇密切相关,所以首先讨论该海区的水团。     

东海PN断面夏季温盐及化学要素的分布特征

由东海PN断面夏季温鼻度及化学要素CTD资料分析表明，东海夏季的温跃层和盐跃层在次表层生成，其强度随着跃层自陆架坡折区至近岸和外海的上移逐渐减弱。陆架区近表层的温度和盐度呈垂直均匀分布，冲绳海槽次表层呈高温、高盐，近表层呈高温，近表层呈高温、低盐，底层呈低温、次高盐特征。溶解氧浓度自近岸到外海由低变高，表层至底层溶解氧浓度在陆架区由高变低，冲绳海槽区则先由低变高然后又由变低。总二氧化碳浓度自表层至底层和自陆架坡折区到近岸和外海由低变高。磷酸盐和硅酸盐浓度自近岸至外海由高变低，而自表层至底层由低变高。陆架区的近表层和陆架坡折区分别有一个高碱度区。温盐及化学要素的分布特征与夏季海区垂直环流的反气旋运动、长江冲淡水及黑潮水入侵和海面强热辐射有关。此外，化学要素分布还与夏季海区的温盐结构、表混合层与大气间二氧化碳气体交换及表混合层中碳和营养盐光合作用的利用有关。     

Role of Kuroshio frontal eddy in exchange between shelf water and Kuroshio water in East China Sea

Basic patterns of the reversal of the Kuroshio water toward the shelf, intrusion of the shelf mixed waterinto the Kuroshio and uplifting of the near-bottom nutrient-rich water into the upper layer by the pumping of the frontal eddy are analyzed on the basis of satellite infrared images and hydrologic, chemical and biological observations. Results show that the Kuroshio frontal eddies play a very important role in the exchange between the shelf water and the Kuroshio water. The estimation of the average volume transports for three frontal eddy events indicates that the shelf mixed water entrained by an eddy into Kuroshio is 0.44×10~6 m3/s and the reversal Kuroshio water onto the shelf region only 0.04×10~6 m3/s. Along the whole shelf edge, the volume transport of the shelf mixed water entrained by the eddies into the Kuroshio is 1.8×10~6 m3/s. The nutrient (NO3-N) flux pumped to the euphotic zone and input to the continental shelf through a column with 1 m wide is 974 μmol/(s·m) when there is frontal eddy and only 79 μmol/(s·m) in the case of no frontal eddy. Yearly nutrient (NO3-N) flux input to the shelf area caused by the frontal eddy is 1.7×10~5 t/a.     

Impact of Kuroshio on the dissolved oxygen in the East China Sea region

A marine survey was conducted from 18 May to 13 June 2014 in the East China Sea (ECS) and its adjacent Kuroshio Current to examine the spatial distribution and biogeochemical characteristics of dissolved oxygen (DO) in spring. Waters were sampled at 10?25 m intervals within 100 m depth, and at 25?500 m beyond 100 m. The depth, temperature, salinity, and density (sigma- t ) were measured in situ with a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor. DO concentrations were determined on board using traditional Winkler titration method. The results show that in the Kuroshio Current, DO content was the highest in the euphotic layer, then decreased sharply with depth to about 1 000 m, and increased with depth gradually thereafter. While in the ECS continental shelf area, DO content had high values in the coastal surface water and low values in the near-bottom water. In addition, a low-DO zone off the Changjiang (Yangtze) River estuary was found in spring 2014, and it was formed under the combined influence of many factors, including water stratification, high primary productivity in the euphotic layers, high accumulation/ sedimentation of organic matter below the euphotic layers, and mixing/transport of oceanic current waters on the shelf. Most notable among these is the Kuroshio intruded water, an oceanic current water which carried rich dissolved oxygen onto the continental shelf and alleviated the oxygen deficit phenomenon in the ECS, could impact the position, range, and intensity, thus the formation/destruction of the ECS Hypoxia Zone.     

Low frequency current variability on the shelf break northeast of Taiwan

A buoy-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler was deployed on the shelf break off the northeast coast of Taiwan to monitor current variations in the upper ocean. The acquired data show that the flow in the upper water column was initially southwest and then abruptly turned northwest. This abrupt change occurred in mid-October, starting from the surface layer and then gradually extending to the deeper layer. In contrast with this flow, the flow in the lower water column was southwest over the entire record, but its amplitude was reduced after the middle of October. The abrupt change of current from southwest to northwest is related to the intrusion of Kuroshio. Examination of two CTD casts showed the salinity of the upper ocean to have increased after the directional shift in mid-October, further indicating the Kuroshio intrusion. The sea level data at Keelung provided other evidence for the intrusion of Kuroshio. The sea level descended as the intrusion occurred and kept the low value until the end of the record. The northwest flow, which carried the water away from the northern coast of Taiwan, is responsible for this descent. Although the intrusion of Kuroshio was mainly confined to the upper ocean, it did have influence on the whole water column. Examination of the wind record at Pengchiayu showed that the time of Kuroshio intrusion was not coincident with the intensification of the northeasterly monsoon. The local wind and the current at 20 m were incoherent. Both the variation of Kuroshio current and the fluctuation of Kuroshio path may be responsible for the variation of the local current. Since the intrusion of Kuroshio has a weak relationship with local wind variation, it appears to be induced by non-local factors.     

内潮对吕宋海峡地转流动力计算的影响

利用2008年8~9月份吕宋海峡121°E断面上19.5°N~21°N之间4个连续站的CTD资料,讨论了内潮引起的温、盐剖面扰动对地转流诊断计算的影响,指出:在吕宋海峡,内潮引起的温、盐剖面扰动对地转流诊断计算的干扰不可忽略。因此,地转流诊断计算必须剔除温、盐剖面中的"内潮噪声"。另外,本文根据4个连续站时间平均后的温、盐剖面,通过动力计算法得到了吕宋海峡121°E断面上的地转流场,得出结论如下:吕宋海峡地转流速度较大部分多位于350 m以浅,流速最大值出现在表层;黑潮入侵南海主要发生于19.8°N~21°N的上层;在19.5°N~21°N之间,50~1 700 m深度范围内,海水体积通量呈现"上进下出"的垂向结构,350 m以浅为入流,流量约为2.6 Sv(1 Sv=1×106m3.s-1),350 m以深为出流,流量约为3.1 Sv。同期观测所得121°E断面上的盐度分布验证了本文所得地转流场的合理性。     

Characteristics of variations of water properties and density structure around the Kuroshio in the East China Sea

Quarterly data of CTD at the PN line in the East China Sea during 1988–94 were analyzed to examine the variations of water properties and density structure in relation to the Kuroshio. The Kuroshio flows over the continental slope at the PN line. Water properties in the surface layer less than 100 db change greatly and show a clear seasonal cycle, while those in the subsurface layer are much less variable. The small isobaric variations in the subsurface layer are almost due to the vertical movement of isopycnals, on which the water properties vary little. The subsurface variations of salinity, temperature and isopycnal depth are classified into four groups occurring in the four regions, divided vertically by the middle of the main pycnocline and horizontally by the offshore edge of the Kuroshio, named Groups 1 (upper Kuroshio), 2 (upper offshore region), 3 (lower Kuroshio), and 4 (lower offshore region). The difference in averaged isopycnal depth between Groups 1 and 2 (3 and 4) is highly correlated with the vertical shear of the Kuroshio velocity in the upper (lower) pycnocline. The isopycnal depth of Groups 1 and 3 has little annual cycle (with large intraseasonal variations in Group 3), while that of Groups 2 and 4 shows a clear seasonal variation with the minimum in fall. As a result, the Kuroshio velocity is smallest in fall almost every year, although the amplitude of seasonal variation and the season of maximum velocity are different from year to year. Interannual variations of isopycnal depth are characterized by a large amplitude of Group 2 and an opposite phase between Groups 3 and 4, so that the variations of difference in isopycnal depth between Groups 1 and 2 and Groups 3 and 4, i.e., the upper and lower shear of the Kuroshio velocity, are comparably significant.     

Vertical structure of the field of current velocities in the northwest part of the Black Sea based on the <Emphasis Type="Italic">LADCP</Emphasis> data for May 2004

The profiles of absolute current velocity obtained by using a lowered acoustic doppler current profiler (LADCP) are presented. In the course of the BSERP-3 expedition, the measurements were carried out in the regions of the Rim Current, anticyclonic eddy, and northwest shelf. In the core of the Rim Current, a unidirectional motion of waters is traced in layers below the main pycnocline down to depths greater than 500 m. Its characteristic velocity can be as high as 0.08 m/sec. It is shown that the direct action of the eddy is detected in the shelf region at distances larger than 20 km from the outer edge of the shelf in the zone bounded by an isobath of 100 m. The formation of multilayer vertical structures in the field of current velocities is revealed in the region of interaction of the anticyclonic eddy with irregularities of the bottom on the side of the shelf. A two-layer structure of currents with specific features in the layer of formed seasonal pycnocline is observed in the region of the shelf down to an isobath of 100 m. The profiles of the moduli of vertical shears of currents averaged over the casts ensemble are presented for the abyssal and shelf parts of the sea. It is shown that the shears induced by the geostrophic currents and wave processes in the region of the main pycnocline are comparable. Below the pycnocline, the shears are mainly determined by the wave processes. Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 25–37, November–December, 2008.     

南极普里兹湾暖水涌升陆架过程及在陆架上的时空分布特征分析

Hydrographic observations collected by conductivity-temperature-depth(CTD) and instrumented elephant seals on the Prydz Bay continental shelf during 2012 and 2013 are used to characterize the intrusion of modified circumpolar deep water.As a regular occurrence,modified circumpolar deep water(MCDW) intrudes onto the shelf mainly between 150–300 m layer of 73°–75°E and then turns southeast affected by the cyclonic gyre of the Prydz Bay.The southernmost point of the warm water signal is captured on the east front of Amery Ice Shelf during March 2012.In terms of vertical distribution,MCDW occupies the central layer of 200 m with about 100 m thickness in the austral summer,but when to winter transition,the layer of MCDW deepens with time on the central shelf.     

Three-Dimensional Velocity Field and Cross-Frontal Water Exchange in the Kuroshio Extension

A spread of warm water from the first crest of the Kuroshio Extension is periodically enhanced by northward warm water intrusions from the main current. The water type in the spread area was previously found to be the same as that in the Kuroshio front at depth. In looking for the possible mechanism responsible for the northward warm water intrusions, a dynamic analysis in the Kuroshio front was carried out by using CTD, ADCP, AVHRR and ARGOS buoy data, obtained in 1996 by the R.V. Hakuho Maru. Downstream, cross-stream and vertical velocities in the Kuroshio Extension were found by using a "stream coordinate system". The velocity field in the Kuroshio front at the first crest showed a double structure with two surface velocity maxima. In the inner part of the front, relatively high cross-stream (northward) and vertical (upward) velocities were found. Thus, this study suggests that while water particles flow downstream along the first stationary meander of the Kuroshio Extension, they also experience lateral and vertical movements which allow the deeper water from an upstream location to rise to the surface layer, and in certain locations to deflect northward. By assuming isopycnal movement and conservation of potential vorticity, it was found that in those locations where anticyclonic curvature of the meander increases, warm water is more likely to deflect northward. High ageostrophic components observed in the first 300 m of the water column are probably related to the relatively high cross-stream and vertical velocities in the inner part of the front.     

A dense bottom water plume in the western Barents Sea: downstream modification and interannual variability

The generation and downstream modification of a cold dense Arctic shelf water plume were studied with moored current meters, thermistor chains and conductivity/temperature sensors deployed from August 1993 to September 1994 south of the Storfjord in the Svalbard Archipelago. These observations are compared to similar time series from 1991/92. In 1993/94, bottom water with temperatures close to the freezing point drained continuously from Storfjord between March and September with a mean speed of 0.14 m s⁻¹. About 1.5 months after the plume front had left the Storfjord, it reached the shelf break, 150 km away. The plume had increased its width from 15 km to about 35 km, but its thickness of 50 m remained almost constant and it left the shelf edge at a similar speed. The increased volume transport and the change of temperature/salinity properties indicate an entrainment of 110% of ambient Atlantic water into the plume on its way from the production area to the shelf edge.The maximum salinity of the cold plume was 0.2 lower in 1993/94 than in 1991/92, whilst the temperature/salinity-range of the surrounding Atlantic water remained unchanged. Probably as a dynamic consequence, the speed of the plume was considerably lower in 1993/94. The lower salinity of the plume in 1993/94 is a result of both the 30% less ice formation in Storfjord, caused by lower heat flux and less open water, and a lower surface salinity at the beginning of ice formation. During 1993/94, the Storfjord plume was too light to sink below 700 m.     

东海PN断面水团分布的季节变化

利用PN断面的高分辨率CTD温度、盐度和密度资料,采用曲线族拟合的水团分析方法分析发现,PN断面处的水团有明显的陆架水和黑潮水的交汇特征,且随着季节的变化PN断面处的水团特征也发生明显的变化.夏季,黑潮水核心离陆架的距离最远且深度较深,陆架水与黑潮的混合水浮置于黑潮水本体之上且向深海拓展的最远,隶属度在PN断面上200 m的分布几乎呈水平状;秋季,黑潮水主体离陆架的距离最近,并将陆架混合水向陆架压迫,使得隶属度等值线由夏季的平直状态向陆地弯曲;冬季,黑潮水团的核心占据了深海区域的整个表层和次表层,且位置相对于秋季更向深海移动,黑潮水与陆架水的交汇处也由秋季的陆架移向陆坡;春季,是唯一可以清楚地看到陆架混合水隶属度分布的季节,此时陆架混合水充满整个陆架海域,而黑潮水的核心进一步远离陆架.海面风场和净热通量场通过改变混合层的深度影响PN断面处黑潮水和陆架水之间的混合,而海面降水对于PN断面上的水团分布特征没有显著影响.