Influence of the seasonal thermocline on the intrusion of Kuroshio across the continental shelf northeast of Taiwan

The hydrographic surveys in an area immediately northeast of Taiwan showed that the Kuroshio surface water intruded onto the shelf in the spring and there was a thick mixed layer and weak vertical stratification in the Kuroshio at the time. During the summer season, a strong thermocline was developed in the Kuroshio and the flow shifted offshore from Taiwan in front of the continental shelf break of the East China Sea. A numerical model is used to examine the effect of this seasonal thermocline on the flow pattern of the survey area. We find that the surface strength of the disturbance above the Su-Ao ridge is closely related to the occurrence of the on-shelf intrusion of Kuroshio. The presence of a seasonal thermocline in the Kuroshio can greatly diminish this disturbance in the surface level.     

Kelvin Waves Excited by Intraseasonal Wind Forcing

The Kelvin wave excited by an intraseasonal wind forcing with a 40-day period over the western Pacific Ocean was simulated using an ocean general circulation model, and was investigated by the use of spectral analysis. The amplitude of the temperature has two peaks north and south of the equator at the depth of the thermocline, and the amplitude of zonal velocity also has two peaks on the equator above and below the thermocline. The phase shows the upward propagation of the wave. It was queried why this wave, which appears to be transient rather than modelike, is formed quickly and always propagates with a phase velocity of about 3 m/s. The vertical one-dimensional forcing problem was studied, where the external forcing of up and down motions moving eastward is imposed at the surface. The growth time is estimated from the resonant solution. The first mode can resonate quickly, but the second cannot. The response in the infinitely deep ocean was also studied to focus on the transiency, where the reflection from the bottom is inhibited. The wave response to the forcing with a speed of about 3 m/s has a large amplitude, i.e. quasi-resonance occurs. In this case, the thermocline plays the role of a reflector, and the upper ocean between the sea surface and the thermocline behaves as a duct. Here, the small resonant cavity explains why the wave is formed so quickly, and the special value of the wave velocity is interpreted as a resonance condition in the duct. The wave corresponding to the second baroclinic mode could not be excited easily by the short-lived forcing at the surface, since this mode is mainly structured under the thermocline. It was found that the wave damps in consequence of leaking energy downward, and the damping rate depends on the period of the wave. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

黄海在有无潮作用下对“布拉万”不同响应的数值模拟研究

黄海是典型的强潮驱动的陆架浅海。为了研究黄海对台风的响应特点,本文利用区域海洋模式(Regional Ocean Modeling Systems,ROMS)分别模拟了在有潮和无潮作用下黄海对台风"布拉万"的响应过程。结果表明,不管潮存在与否,"布拉万"经过黄海后都引起了海表面降温和流速的近惯性振荡响应,这种响应主要分布于黄海中部较深区域,带通滤波提取的近惯性流速具有垂向第一模态特征。同时,研究发现强背景潮流能显著地影响黄海对"布拉万"的响应过程。主要结论如下:一方面,由于潮的存在,近岸垂向混合均匀的较暖水体与远岸较冷水体之间会形成潮混合温度锋面,"布拉万"过后,暖水发生了明显的离岸扩张,尽管路径右侧的混合层降温更显著,但是左侧即黄海西岸的暖水扩张更明显;另一方面,潮的存在减弱了布拉万产生的近惯性振荡响应,半日潮流在黄海仍然占据主导地位。在混合层中潮流的作用减弱了"布拉万"产生的近惯性能量,但也使其更易穿过跃层传入黄海内部。     

Effect of stratification on long period trapped waves on the shelf

The effect of stratification on very long-period waves trapped on a straight continental shelf of constant depth is examined for a two-layer model. There are 4 modes in this system. The characteristics of the mode with the largest phase velocity can be approximated by the barotropic mode. The mode corresponding to the barotropic shelf-wave mode is modified by the baroclinic motions significantly, and in the limit of very narrow shelf width, the mode characteristics are transformed from those of the barotropic shelf-wave to the baroclinic Kelvin wave if the long-shore wave length is larger than the internal deformation radius. In this case, the stratification has an apparent effect of increasing phase velocity of barotropic shelf-waves. The remaining two modes are dominated by baroclinic motions with significant contribution from barotropic motions: among which the one has a shelf-wave characteristics for small values of the shelf width and approaches the mode corresponding to the baroclinic Kelvin wave in shallower water for large shelf width and the other is a stationary mode. If the long-shore wave length is much shorter than the internal deformation radius, the motions in the upper and lower layers are decoupled: the surface and bottom modes analogous to those discussed byRhines (1970) appears.If the interface is deeper than the shelf depth, the stationary mode is absent and the characteristics of the third mode approaches those of the baroclinic double Kelvin wave mode as the shelf width increases.     

Propagation of wind and buoyancy forced density anomalies in the North Pacific: Dependence on ocean model resolution

The response of the thermocline to changes in atmospheric forcing are explored in two 50-year hindcast North Pacific model runs. The model runs only differ in their resolution and horizontal viscosity values. The thermocline response is explored through a modal decomposition. The first baroclinic mode response is qualitatively similar in both model runs, with a somewhat smaller response in the lower resolution model. This mode is primarily wind driven. The second baroclinic mode shows a larger response at midlatitudes in the low-resolution model than in the higher resolution model. This is consistent with the presence of very large-scale baroclinic instability in the return flow of the subtropical gyre at low-resolution, and represents a spurious response of the ocean model to large horizontal viscosity. This spurious mode of decadal variability in the thermocline is maintained even when there is variability in atmospheric forcing. This result suggests that care must be taken in interpretation of the realism of mid-latitude modes of variability centered in western boundary current extensions of coupled ocean–atmosphere models.     

An Amplification Mechanism of Intraseasonal Long Rossby Wave in Subtropical Ocean

The satellite altimeter data reveal that intraseasonal long Rossby wave is amplified in the western part of subtropical ocean. Based on a two and half layer ocean model we infer that the intraseasonal long Rossby wave may be amplified by the baroclinic instability. According to the baroclinic instability criterion derived from the two and half layer model, we calculate the baroclinic instability area of the Subtropical North Pacific Ocean based on Levitus98 data. The baroclinic instability area is well in accord with the amplification area of the intraseasonal long Rossby wave, and this also proves that the baroclinic instability is the main amplification mechanism of the intraseasonal long Rossby wave in the subtropical ocean. The consistency between the baroclinic instability area and potential vorticity (PV) pool is further proved in this paper, therefore, we have confidence that the intraseasonal long Rossby wave is amplified in the PV pool. Due to the relatively large ocean basin and weak ventilation, the PV pool is much larger in the North Pacific Ocean than in the North Atlantic Ocean, and this is the reason for the difference of wave amplification areas of these two Oceans.     

Research on the Propagation Acting of the Equatorial Planetary Waves on the Western Equatorial Pacific Warm Pool Heat

1 IntroductionIn the Equatorial Pacific, due to the difference between the atmospheric circulation and air-sea interaction, the near-surface seawater heat structure in the eastern and western Pacific presents two ℃obviously different characteristics: warm pool ( > 28 ) in the western equatorial Pacific and cold ℃tongue ( < 24 ) in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The water bodies of these two heat structures would give rise to change in spatial distribution under the action of the equato…     

Measurements of the Turbulent Energy Dissipation Rate around the Shelf Break in the East China Sea

Using the micro-structure profiler, TurboMAP, large values for the turbulent energy dissipation rate ε were found just above the bottom of the shelf and around the thermocline near the continental shelf break in the East China Sea. The values found above the bottom are produced by the bottom stress due to tidal currents, resulting in a distinct bottom mixed layer where the vertical eddy diffusivity Kz is also large. Distinct maxima in the values of ε detected around the thermocline are located at the depth of the fine-scale shear maxima detected with the moored ADCP. The vertical profiles of ε were compared with those of the current velocity, and it was found that the maxima in ε appear to correspond to those of the shear with fine scale. The magnitude of the observed ε coincided approximately with the ε calculated from the fine-scale shear and the buoyancy frequency according to the parameterization proposed by Gregg (1989), if the large-scale mean shear caused by the Kuroshio is subtracted. However, it is not clear whether the parameterization for the internal wave fields in the open ocean is applicable to the estimation of ε in the shelf break. Whereas the most predominant value of ε was found just above the bottom and around the thermocline, the maxima of ε could be found in the internal area. They could have been caused by the propagation of the vertically high wave number internal tides along the characteristic ray.     

海浪对海洋上层的动量与混合作用分析

分析了波浪影响海洋环流的3种机制，给出了波浪对海流的雷诺应力表示、搅拌混合系数表示以及对温盐扩散的搅拌混合系数表示；计算了东中国海区域的波浪动量作用、搅拌混合系数空间分布和时间演化，进而定量分析了波浪对表层海流的动量输送及对海洋上混合层与跃层形成的作用。     

Numerical simulations of the internal tide in a submarine canyon

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of the generation and propagation of the semidiurnal internal tide in a submarine canyon with dimensions similar to those of the Monterey Canyon are carried out using a primitive equation model. Forcing with just sea level at the offshore boundary in an initially horizontally homogeneous ocean with realistic vertical stratification, internal tides are generated at the canyon foot and rim, and along portions of the canyon floor. The results compare favorably with observations, both indicating enhancement of energy along the canyon floor propagating at an angle consistent with linear internal wave theory. Due to the earth's rotation, internal tide energy is distributed asymmetrically in the cross-canyon direction, favoring the southern side. The effect of canyon floor slope is explored, with the finding that small changes in the slope result in large changes in the amount and distribution of the internal tide energy. Canyons whose floors are subcritical with respect to the semidiurnal frequency along their entire length have very little baroclinic energy, whereas canyons that are near-critical along much of their length, such as the Monterey Canyon, develop strong internal tides that propagate shoreward. Canyons that are near-critical at their mouths but supercritical further inshore generate the most internal tidal energy overall, although little of it makes it onto the continental shelf shoreward of the canyon head. The effects of internal tides within the canyons can be seen outside the canyons as well. Water is transported from depth onto the adjacent continental shelf along the canyon rims. This tidal pumping can be responsible for alongshore internal tide propagation and tidal-period surface currents with relatively small horizontal scales of variability.     

Decadal variability in an OGCM Southern Ocean: Intrinsic modes,forced modes and metastable states

An ocean general circulation model (OGCM) is used to identify a Southern Ocean southeast Pacific intrinsic mode of low frequency variability. Using CORE data a comprehensive suite of experiments were carried out to elucidate excitation and amplification responses of this intrinsic mode to low frequency forcing (ENSO, SAM) and stochastic forcing due to high frequency winds. Subsurface anomalies were found to teleconnect the Pacific and Atlantic regions of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) thermocline. The Pacific region of the ACC is characterised by intrinsic baroclinic disturbances that respond to both SAM and ENSO, while the Atlantic sector of the ACC is sensitive to higher frequency winds that act to amplify thermocline anomalies propagating downstream from the Pacific. Non-stationary cluster analysis was used to identify the system’s dynamical regimes and characterise meta-stability, persistence and transitions between the respective states. This analysis reveals significant trends, indicating fundamental changes to the meta-stability of the ocean dynamics in response to changes in atmospheric forcing. Intrinsic variability in sea-ice concentration was found to be coupled to thermocline processes. Sea-ice variability localised in the Atlantic was most closely associated with high frequency weather forcing. The SAM was associated with a circumpolar sea-ice response whereas ENSO was found to be a major driver of sea-ice variability only in the Pacific. This simulation study identifies plausible mechanisms that determine the predictability of the Southern Ocean climate on multi-decadal timescales.     

Buoyancy shutdown process for the development of the baroclinic jet structure of the Soya Warm Current during summer

The Soya Warm Current (SWC), which is the coastal current along the northeastern part of Hokkaido, Japan, has a notable baroclinic jet structure during summer. This study addresses the formation mechanism of the baroclinic jet by analyzing a realistic numerical model and conducting its sensitivity experiment. The key process is the interaction between the seasonal thermocline and the bottom Ekman layer on the slope off the northeastern coast of Hokkaido; the bottom Ekman transport causes subduction of the warm seasonal thermocline water below the cold lower-layer water, so the bottom mixed layer develops with a remarkable cross-isobath density gradient. Consequently, the buoyancy transport vanishes as a result of the thermal wind balance in the mixed layer. The SWC area is divided into two regions during summer: upstream, the adjustment toward the buoyancy shutdown is in progress; downstream, the buoyancy shutdown occurs. The buoyancy shutdown theory assesses the bottom-mixed-layer thickness to be 50 m, consistent with observations and our numerical results. The seasonal thermocline from June to September is strong enough to establish the dominance of the buoyancy shutdown process over the frictional spindown.     

The effect of large-scale bottom irregularities on the dynamics of Rossby waves in the ocean

This paper discusses, in terms of the geometrical optics approximation, how large-scale bottom irregularities influence the propagation of Rossby waves in the ocean. To describe the major peculiarities of the phenomenon, a two-layer model is applied, with the depth of the upper layer being considerably smaller than that of the lower layer. However, even with the bottom topography being allowed for, the wave motion is described by two Rossby wave modes, namely, a barotropic mode and a baroclinic mode. It is demonstrated that barotropic mode transformation caused by large irregularities of the sea-floor may lead to wave interaction, resulting in their anomalous distribution. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

基于ROMS模型数值研究南海温跃层的季节变化

On the basis of the regional ocean modeling system （ROMS）, the seasonal variations of the thermocline in the South China Sea （SCS） were numerically investigated. The simulated hydrodynamics are in accordance with previous studies： the circulation pattern in the SCS is cyclonic in winter and anticyclonic in summer, and such a change is mostly driven by the monsoon winds. The errors between the modeled temperature profiles and the observations obtained by cruises are quite small in the upper layers of the ocean, indicating that the ocean status is reasonably simulated. On the basis of the shapes of the vertical temperature profiles, five thermocline types （shallow thermocline, deep thermocline, hybrid thermocline, double thermocline, and multiple thermocline） are defined herein. In winter, when the northeasterly monsoon prevails, most shallow shelf seas in the northwest of the SCS are well mixed, and there is no obvious thermocline. The deep region generally has a deep thermocline, and the hybrid or double thermocline often occurs in the areas near the cold eddy in the south of the SCS. In summer, when the southwesterly monsoon prevails, the shelf sea area with a shallow thermocline greatly expands. The distribution of different thermocline types shows a relationship with ocean bathymetry： from shallow to deep waters, the thermocline types generally change from shallow or hybrid to deep thermocline, and the double or multiple thermocline usually occurs in the steep regions. The seasonal variations of the three major thermocline characteristics （the upper bound depth, thickness, and intensity） are also discussed. Since the SCS is also an area where tropical cyclones frequently occur, the response of thermocline to a typhoon process in a short time scale is also analyzed.     

2006年冬季粤东沿岸下降流观测分析

根据珠江口及其附近海域2006年冬季(2006年12月至2007年1月)航次的CTD调查资料发现,由于表层水体冷却而产生的对流作用,以及东北季风、浪、流等强动力条件下,冬季陆架水体垂向混合均匀,但粤东近岸海域却存在显著的温跃层及逆盐跃层,其原因在于:东北季风的Ekman效应引起了陆架表层高温、高盐海水向岸输送,东北季风还驱动了西南向沿岸流,其底边界层的Ekman效应引起了沿岸底层低温、低盐海水离岸输送,这样就形成了陆架方向的次生环流,在沿岸海域则为下降流,并表现为沿岸海域的逆盐跃层及温跃层现象。在下降流显著的区域,溶解氧垂向分布均匀且浓度较高,这应归因于下降流将溶解氧浓度较高的表层水带入深层所致。     

Response of the western North Pacific subtropical ocean to the slow-moving super typhoon Nanmadol

Based on in-situ observation,satellite and reanalysis data,responses of the western North Pacific subtropical ocean(WNPSO)to the slow-moving category 5 super typhoon Nanmadol in 2011 are analyzed.The dynamical response is dominated by near-inertial currents and Ekman currents with maximum amplitude of 0.39m/s and 0.15m/s,respectively.The near-inertial currents concentrated around 100m below the sea surface and had an e-folding timescale of 4 days.The near-inertial energy propagated both upward and downward,and the vertical phase speed and wavelength were estimated to be 5m/h and 175m,respectively.The frequency of the near-inertial currents was blue-shifted near the surface and redshifted in ocean interior which may relate to wave propagation and/or background vorticity.The resultant surface cooling reaches-4.35℃ and happens when translation speed of Nanmadol is smaller than 3.0m/s.When Nanmadol reaches super typhoon intensity,the cooling is less than 3.0℃ suggesting that the typhoon translation speed plays important roles as well as typhoon intensity in surface cooling.Upwelling induced by the slow-moving typhoon wind leads to typhoon track confined cooling area and the right-hand bias of cooling is slight.The mixed layer cooling and thermocline warming are induced by wind-generated upwelling and vertical entrainment.Vertical entrainment also led to mixed layer salinity increase and thermocline salinity decrease,however,mixed layer salinity decrease occurs at certain stations as well.Our results suggest that typhoon translation speed is a vital factor responsible for the oceanic thermohaline and dynamical responses,and the small Mach number(slow typhoon translation speed)facilitate development of Ekman current and upwelling.     

Synoptic distributions of thermal surface mixed layer and thermocline in the southern yellow and East China Seas

Synoptic distributions of thermal surface mixed layer and thermocline were identified using four airborne expendable bathythermograph (AXBT) surveys (September 1992 and February, May, and September 1993) in the southern Yellow and East China Seas. Seasonality and a dominant driving mechanism of the surface mixed layer were examined. The dominant driving mechanisms differ between seasons and between on-shelf and off-shelf regimes. Currents, eddies, and migration of bottom cold waters (on the shelf) also affect the surface mixed layer. Thermocline thickness, temperature difference from thermocline top to bottom, and thermocline intensity in warm seasons were measured, and their synoptic features were also discussed.     

Simulation of the ocean surface mixed layer under the wave breaking

A one-dimensional mixed-layer model, including a Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure scheme, was implemented to investigate the dynamical and thermal structures of the ocean surface mixed layer in the northern South China Sea. The turbulent kinetic energy released through wave breaking was incorporated into the model as a source of energy at the ocean surface, and the influence of the breaking waves on the mixed layer was studied. The numerical simulations show that the simulated SST is overestimated in summer without the breaking waves. However, the cooler SST is simulated when the effect of the breaking waves is considered, the corresponding discrepancy with the observed data decreases up to 20% and the MLD calculated averagely deepens 3.8 m. Owing to the wave-enhanced turbulence mixing in the summertime, the stratification at the bottom of the mixed layer was modified and the temperature gradient spread throughout the whole thermocline compared with the concentrated distribution without wave breaking.     

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,...     

Effects of longshore shelf variations on barotropic continental shelf waves,slope currents and ocean modes

Effects of continental shelf bends, converging depth contours and changing depth profiles are discussed. Some analysis is carried out for previously unstudied cases. Separate oceanic interior and shelf flow problems are formulated for a sufficiently narrow shelf. The ocean interior ‘sees’ only an integrated shelf effect, typically increasing shelf-edge amplitudes, retarding longshore Kelvin-wave propagation and increasing natural mode periods by 0 (10%). On the local shelf, the flow matches to the ocean interior and is nondivergent. Effects on shelf waves and slope currents depend subtly on the nature of the longshore variations. Curvature and contour convergence do not per se imply scaterring or generation of shelf waves. Indeed, any depth h(ξ) where ▽² ξ(x,y) = 0 (a condition approximating longshelf uniformity in the topography's convexity) supports essentially the same shelf waves as do straight depth contours (DAVIS, 1983), and slope currents follow depth contours. Scattering results rather from breaks in analyticity of the depth profile. Hence calculations for small isolated features (necessarily highly convex or concave) may overestimate scattering, and superposition for realistic topography may lead to much self-cancellation among scattered waves. Otherwise, examples show a strong preference for scattering into adjacent mode numbers and into any shelf wave mode near to its maximum frequency. A shelf sector, where the maximum shelf wave frequency maxω is less than the frequency ω of an incident shelf wave, causes substantial scattering unless maxω and ω are very close. Adjustment of slope currents to changed conditions takes place through (and over the decay distance of) scattered shelf waves.