A pair of Langmuir cells in a laboratory tank (I) wind-only experiment

Three velocity components of subsurface flow, observed in a rectangular tank under the action of a constant wind speed, are measured systematically at mesh points distributed uniformly over a vertical cross-section of the tank. Measurements are carried out for two cases: 1) reference wind speedU _r =7.5 m/s and fetchF=10 m; and 2)U _r =10 m/s andF=25 m. A pair of Langmuir cells is observed for both cases; downwelling zones are found along both of the sidewalls and an upwelling zone in the centre of the tank. Near the water surface, the vertical momentum flux is dominated by the Reynolds stress resulting from small-scale turbulence, while over the entire cross-section except near the surface, the Reynolds stress due to the Langmuir cells dominates the vertical momentum flux. As the result of the occurrence of this Langmuir cells, the vertical momentum flux, which consists of both mean advection and small-scale turbulence, is markedly inhomogeneous in the spanwise direction; for example, the largest vertical flux of the order of the wind stress is observed in the downwelling zone near one sidewall, while at the centre of the tank, the vertical momentum flux occupies only 30% of the wind stress. This indicates that a pair of Langmuir cells plays more important role than small-scale turbulence in the mixing process in a greater part of the wind-wave tank.Address after April 1, 1992: Department of Civil Engineering, Hiroshima Institute of Technology, Miyake 2-1-1, Saeki-ku, Hiroshima 731-51, Japan.     

Coastal upwelling in the California current system

Coastal upwelling in the California Current system has been the subject of large scale studies off California and Baja California, and of small scale studies off Oregon. Recent studies of the winds along the entire coast from 25°N to 50°N indicate that there are significant along-shore variations in the strength of coastal upwelling, which are reflected in the observed temperature distribution. Active upwelling appears to be restricted to a narrow coastal band (about 10–25 km wide) along the entire coast, but the region influenced by coastal upwelling may be much wider. Intensive observations of the upwelling zone during summer off Oregon show the presence of a southward coastal jet at the surface, a mean vertical shear, a poleward undercurrent along the bottom, and persistently sloping isopycnals over the continental shelf; most of the upwelling there occurs during relatively short periods (several days long) of upwelling-favorable winds. During the upwelling season off Oregon, the offshore Ekman transport is carried by the surface Ekman layer, and the onshore return flow occurs through a quasi-geostrophic interior. It is not known whether the structure and dynamics observed off Oregon are typical of the upwelling zone along the entire coast, though some of the same features have been observed off Baja California. Current and future research will eventually show whether the Oregon results are also applicable in the region of persistently strong upwelling-favorable winds off northern California, and in the region of complex bathymetry off central and southern California.     

Local advective mechanism for interdecadal variability in circulations driven by constant surface heat fluxes in idealized basins

Idealized numerical experiments with a depth level coordinate ocean circulation model (GFDL MOM3) have been conducted to investigate the structure of interdecadal variability from thermally driven circulations. The model oceans are driven by steady surface heat fluxes in the absence of surface wind stresses. Interdecadal variability is observed, with characteristics similar to those reported in many previous studies. To explain the nature of the variability we propose a new mechanism based on two local horizontal advective processes. This overcomes the limitations in previous theories based on the interplay between global properties such as zonal and meridional temperature gradients and overturning. One of the two advective processes is a zonal flow anomaly induced by a temperature anomaly along the northern wall through geostrophy southward of the temperature anomaly. A cold (warm) anomaly along the northern wall produces a positive (negative) zonal flow anomaly that induces a warm (cold) temperature anomaly by enhancing (weakening) warm advection from the western boundary along the path of the zonal flow anomaly. The temperature and flow anomalies are transported toward the eastern boundary by the mean eastward zonal flow. When the positive (negative) zonal flow anomaly that accompanies the warm (cold) temperature anomaly encounters the eastern wall, a downwelling (upwelling) anomaly is produced. To dissipate the vorticity due to this downwelling (upwelling) anomaly, a northward (southward) flow anomaly, which is another advective process governing the variability, is generated within a frictional boundary layer next to the eastern wall. The northward (southward) flow anomaly circulates cyclonically along the perimeter of the basin while enhancing (reducing) warm advection. So does the warm (cold) temperature anomaly carried to the eastern wall by the mean zonal flow while pushing the cold (warm) anomaly that produced the positive (negative) zonal flow anomaly westward and initiating the other half cycle of the variability. During the anomalous downwelling or upwelling, the available potential energy stored in the anomalous density field is released to maintain the variability. Thus, neither barotropic nor baroclinic instability supplies energy for the variability. The anomalous vertical velocity is stronger along the northern boundary and the northern part of the eastern boundary. A shallow continental slope added along those boundaries prohibits the anomalous vertical motion and weakens variability very effectively, while one along the western boundary does not.     

浙江沿岸春季上升流的数值研究

采用三维斜压非线性数值模式ROMS(Regional Ocean Modeling System),在浙江沿岸特殊地形的基础上综合考虑风场、台湾暖流、潮流以及长江径流等可变因子,对春季浙江沿岸上升流进行了数值研究。研究结果表明,浙江沿岸春季存在上升流,且上升流以带状分布在浙江近岸海域,在渔山列岛附近(28.40°N,122.00°E)以及舟山群岛附近(30.70°N,122.60°~123.00°E)存在2个上升流中心。风、台湾暖流和潮动力是影响浙江沿岸春季上升流的重要因子,其中风和台湾暖流对浙江沿岸整条上升流带均有影响;潮动力仅对28.60°N 纬度线以北至舟山群岛附近的上升流以及2个上升流中心的强度存在影响;长江径流对2个上升流中心、舟山群岛及长江口附近的上升流有一定影响。通过对浙江沿岸海域流场的分析可以发现,舟山群岛附近底层各等深线上水体向岸运动的速度比周围海域的大,跨越底层各等深线向上涌升的趋势更明显,间接反映了舟山群岛附近的上升流强度相对较强。对于舟山群岛附近的上升流而言,30 m深度以浅的海域,科氏力、水平平流作用与垂直粘性力是上升流形成的主要动力, 30 m深度以深的海域,上升流形成的主要动力为科氏力与压强梯度力,此时水平平流作用和垂直粘性力对上升流的影响较弱。     

渤、黄海冬、夏季节风生流场年际变化时空模态与环流变异

根据1975—2017年冬、夏季节渤、黄海沿岸25个气象站风观测资料,采用二维非线性垂直平均风生流模式、旋转经验正交函数(REOF)等方法,研究了渤、黄海冬、夏季节平均风生流速度势与流函数场年际变化时空模态与环流变异.由于冬、夏季节渤、黄海风应力场强度年际变化显著线性减弱趋势,冬季渤、黄海平均速度势与流函数强度年际变化线性减弱速率大于夏季,黄海冬、夏季平均速度势与流函数强度年际变化线性减弱速率大于渤海.渤、黄海冬、夏季节平均风生流速度势与流函数场年际变化主要有两种时空模态,冬季渤海垂直环流显著线性减弱以及水平环流准平衡态年际变化是主要分量,冬季黄海垂直与水平环流准平衡态年际变化是主要分量.夏季渤海垂直环流显著线性减弱以及水平环流准平衡态年际变化是主要分量,夏季黄海大部分海域垂直环流显著线性减弱与局部垂直环流显著线性增强年际变化是主要分量,夏季黄海水平环流形态此消彼长显著线性增强及减弱年际变化是主要分量.冬季黄海暖流暖水向南黄海西侧以及向渤海中部输送过程是在3～4个环流之间传递形成,并非由单一环流输送形成.冬季渤海中部辐散下沉反气旋环流与黄海中部至渤海海峡的气旋环流、黄海东部辐散下沉反气旋环流是冬季黄海暖流强度与范围的控制环流,夏季渤海中部辐散下沉反气旋环流与黄海中部辐合上升气旋型环流是夏季渤、黄海冷水团强度与范围的控制环流,冬、夏季节渤、黄海控制环流年际变化形态的变换形成冬季黄海暖流与夏季渤、黄海冷水团暖年或冷年的年际变化.     

Three-dimensional numerical experiments on tidal exchange through a narrow strait in a homogeneous and a stratified sea

We have investigated the three-dimensional Lagrangian motion of water particles related with tidal exchange between two basins with a constant depth connected through a narrow strait and the effects of density stratification on the exchange processes by tracking a number of the labeled particles. Tide-induced transient eddies (TITEs), which are similar to those in two-dimensional basin, are generated behind the headlands. Upwelling appears around the center of the eddy and sinking around the boundary. When the basins are filled with homogeneous water, a pair of vortices are produced in the vertical cross section of the strait due to bottom stress, with upwellings along the side walls of the strait and sinking in the center of the strait. These circulations form the horizontally convergent field in the cross-strait direction in the upper layers while the horizontal divergence takes place in the bottom layer. These vertical water-motions produce the three-dimensional distribution of velocity shear and phase lag of the tidal current around the strait, and the Lagrangian drifts of water particles become large. As a result, water exchange through the strait is greatly enhanced: The water exchange rate reaches 94.1% which is much larger than that obtained in the vertically integrated two-dimensional model. When the basins are stratified, the stable stratification suppresses the vertical motion so that a pair of vertical vortices are confined in the lower layers. This leads to a decrease in the exchange rate, down to 88.6%. Our numerical results show that the three-dimensional structure of tidal currents should be taken into account in tidal exchange through a narrow strait.     

A Study of Eddy Viscosity Coefficient in Numerical Tidal Simulation

Based on the fluid motion equations, the physical meaning of eddy viscosity coefficient and the rationality of the Boussinesq hypothesis are discussed in this paper. The effect of the coefficient on numerical stability is analyzed briefly. A semi-enclosed rectangular sea area, with an orthogonal spur dike, is applied in a 2-D numerical model to study the effect of horizontal eddy viscosity coefficient (AH). The computed result shows that AH has little influence on the tidal level and averaged flow velocity, but has obvious influence on the intensity and the range of return flow around near the spur dike. Correspondingly, a wind-driven current pool and an annular current are applied in a 3-D numerical model respectively to study the effect of vertical eddy viscosity coefficient (Av). The computed result shows that the absolute value of Av is inversely proportional to that of horizontal velocity, and the vertical gradient value of Av determines the vertical distribution of horizontal velocity. The distrib     

Formation mechanism of the cold-water belt formed off the soya warm current

The cold-water belt (CWB) is frequently formed off the Soya Warm Current (SWC) during summer and autumn. The detailed distribution of the flow and temperature fields observed by the R/V Sinyo-maru in the summer of 2001 captured the structures of the SWC and the CWB. The temperature and density distributions showed that the vertical distribution of the CWB is associated with the upwelling formed off the SWC. Numerical experiments using a two-layer model with realistic bottom topography have been performed to understand the formation mechanism of CWB and the upwelling structure off the current. In the experiment, the sea level difference between the Japan Sea and the Okhotsk Sea, and baroclinic flow assuming the Tsushima Warm Current were given along the open boundary. The numerical model well reproduces the current system of the SWC and upwelling region off it. The upwelling region is formed at the Soya Strait first, and then it spreads on the offshore side along the SWC as a developing current system. Analysis of the model data indicated that the geostrophic balance mainly dominates in the current system, while convergence of the bottom Ekman transport due to the SWC forms the upwelling region as the secondary circulation. In addition, the advection effect due to the SWC is found to strengthen the upwelling.     

Study on the current structure of the thermohaline front in the southeastern entrance of the Yellow Sea during winter

A thermohaline front is located at the southeastern entrance of the Yellow Sea in winter, and it is generated by the intrusion of warm saline water into the Yellow Sea caused by a strong northerly wind. Recently, a westward transversal current traveling away from the west coast of Korea toward the open sea area along the front was reported. The westward transversal current is dominant in the surface layer during the temperature inversion period. The formation and structure of this current are examined using a numerical vertical ocean-slice model. When two different water masses meet, a front is formed and adjusted geostrophically. In this frontal zone, a horizontal pressure gradient flow by the vertically inclined isopycnal occurs under the thermal wind process in a baroclinic effect, and the cold fresh coastal water moves westward along the front in the upper layer. The barotropic effect across the front and the bottom friction effect strengthen the westward component of the velocity. The velocity of the bottom layer decreases remarkably in the increase of the bottom drag coefficient. This means that the bottom friction with the strong background tidal current causes a reduction in the current in the bottom layer.     

Physical and biological features across an upwelling front in the southern Benguela

The upwelling front of the Cape Columbine upwelling centre was intensively studied, physically and biologically, along a repeated transect during December 1984 following a quiescent phase in the upwelling cycle. Three distinct zones were evident, an inshore zone influenced by upwelling, an offshore warm oligotrophic zone and a transitional frontal zone separating the two. Salinity proved to be a useful indicator of recent water movements. There was evidence of intrusions and mixing of water types within the frontal zone, possibly accounting for the elevated phytoplankton biomass recorded there. Floral and faunal changes occurred between the frontal and offshore zones, corresponding to the thermal front. The predominant flow was alongshore, with strong equatorward jet currents, making the interpretation of cross-shelf gradients difficult in this dynamic area. Aspects of the distributions of organisms and their productivity across the upwelling front are described with respect to the hydrographic parameters and associated flow-field.     

黄海冷水团的环流结构

运用定性分析和数值模拟，对黄海冷水团的环流结构进行了探讨，结果表明黄海冷水团的垂向环流结构为双环结构：跃层以上区为中心上升，边缘下降的弱环流;跃层以下区为中心下降，边缘上升的强环流；在冷水团的中心区域，流动很弱，且无穿越温跃层的垂向流动。同时也对以往有关黄海冷水团垂向环流结构的工作进行了讨论。     

太湖夏季环流成因的数值研究

强潮河口盐水入侵对饮用水源地危害极大。基于平面二维水动力盐度模型, 对典型强潮河口—钱塘江的水动力及盐水入侵过程进行了数值模拟研究。结果表明枯水径流时盐度变化与潮位过程曲线类似, 潮差对盐度大小影响显著, 径流量的增加将逐渐减小其相似程度。当流量增加到一定程度后, 继续增加的一定径流量所产生的抑咸效果减弱, 水资源有效利用率降低, 此时允许水源地盐度超标并改从蓄淡避咸水库取水可有效节约水资源。盐度平面分布显示, 盐水入侵在强潮河口弯道处受涨潮流主流线影响明显, 靠近主流线一岸的盐度大于对岸, 单从盐水入侵角度考虑, 强潮河口弯道段的取水口应设置在远离涨潮流主流线一岸。钱塘江河口盐度数值模拟对于研究减轻盐水入侵对水源地危害的措施具有指导意义。     

The 4-D structure of upwelling and Pearl River plume in the northern South China Sea during summer 2008 revealed by a data assimilation model

We analyze four-dimensional structures of upwelling and Pearl River plume in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) during the summer of 2008 based on data assimilation. An Ensemble Kalman Smoother scheme is employed in the Princeton Ocean Model. It is found that the Pearl River plume axis extended eastward along with the surface current and swerved offshore twice near (116°E, 22.6°N) and (117.5°E, 22.8°N) before reaching the Taiwan Strait. The vertical transect of salinity along the plume axis indicates that the Pearl River freshwater could affect salinity distribution down to a depth of 10–20 m. Anomalously warm water is found in the upper layer, which could be attributed to the intensified stratification and suppressed vertical mixing caused by the freshwater of the plume capping the upwelling west of 116°E. The varying winds from upwelling favorable to downwelling favorable could induce a low-salinity water lens at the center of the model domain. Upwelling in the NSCS initially occurred at 114.5°E, to the east of the Pearl River Estuary, intensified eastward, and reached its maximum near Shantou (116.7°E, 23.2°N). Since current-induced upwelling appeared mainly in Shantou due to the widened shelf, it is found that even if the wind-induced upwelling was shut down in Shanwei by downwelling favorable wind on July 4, the upwelling still existed in Shantou. Moreover, because the direction of large-scale current was in favor of upwelling in the NSCS that cannot be reversed by varying local winds over a short time period, the upwelling shutdown time is longer for both wind-induced and current-induced upwelling in Shantou than for mainly wind-induced upwelling in Shanwei. The steeper slope in Shanwei also shortens the upwelling shutdown time there.     

Structure of the subsurface counter current beneath the Tsushima warm current simulated by an ocean general circulation model

The subsurface counter current beneath the Tsushima Warm Current is simulated using a three-dimensional circulation model. The model well reproduces the counter current beneath the Tsushima Warm Current on the shelf break. The counter current appears as nearshore parts of the subsurface clockwise circulations from spring to early winter. The clockwise circulations are separated by developed shelves such as the Oki Spur and the Noto Peninsula, thus the counter current is not a continuous flow along the Japanese coast in this model. The vertical structure of the counter current can be explained by a density structure with the thermal wind relationship. The permanent and seasonal pycnoclines form mutually opposite horizontal density gradients near the Japanese coast in summer. Such a density structure results in a speed maximum of the counter current away from the bottom. It is remarkable that the second baroclinic mode is dominant in nearshore parts of the subsurface clockwise circulations in summer, which are attributed to the density structure. Similar density structures are also found in some coastal regions of the world oceans where subsurface counter currents are expected.     

Three-dimensional circulation in the NW Africa coastal transition zone

High-resolution data collected southeast of the Canary Islands during late winter 2006 are analyzed to describe the hydrography and three-dimensional circulation in the coastal transition zone off NW Africa. The data are optimally interpolated over a regular grid, the geostrophic velocity field is calculated and the Q-vector formulation of the omega equation is used to compute the quasi-geostrophic (QG) mesoscale vertical velocity. The coastal transition zone is divided into upwelling, frontal and offshore regions with distinct physical and dynamic characteristics. The upwelling region is characterized by cold and weakly stratified waters flowing towards the equator, with a poleward undercurrent of approximately 0.05 m s⁻¹ over the continental slope. The frontal region exhibits a southwestward baroclinic jet associated with cross-shore raising isopycnals; the jet transport is close to 1 Sv, with maximum velocities of 0.18 m s⁻¹ at surface decreasing to 0.05 m s⁻¹ at 300 db. Vertical sections across the frontal region show the presence of deep eddies probably generated by the topographic blocking of the islands to the southward current, as well as much shallower eddies that likely have arisen as instabilities of the baroclinic upwelling jet. The QG mesoscale vertical velocity field is patchy, estimated to range from −18 to 12 m day⁻¹, with the largest absolute values corresponding to an anticyclonic eddy located south of Fuerteventura Island. These values are significantly larger than estimates for other vertical velocities: diapycnal vertical velocities associated with mixing in the frontal region (a few meters per day), and wind-induced vertical velocities (non-linear Ekman pumping arising from the interaction between the wind stress and the background vorticity, maximum values of a few meters per day; linear Ekman pumping due to the divergence of Ekman transport, a fraction of a meter per day; or the coastal constraint in the upwelling region, about 0.7 m day⁻¹). However, the patchiness in both the QG mesoscale vertical velocity and the non-linear Ekman pumping velocity cause their integrated vertical transports to be one order of magnitude smaller than either coastal Ekman transport (0.08 Sv), integrated linear Ekman pumping (−0.05 Sv) or diapycnal transfer (about 0.1–0.2 Sv). The pattern of the near-surface fluorescence field is a good indicator of these different contributions, with large homogeneous values in the coastal upwelling region and a patchy structure associated with the offshore mesoscale structures.     

A linear model for the structure of turbulence beneath surface water waves

The structure of turbulence in the ocean surface layer is investigated using a simplified semi-analytical model based on rapid-distortion theory. In this model, which is linear with respect to the turbulence, the flow comprises a mean Eulerian shear current, the Stokes drift of an irrotational surface wave, which accounts for the irreversible effect of the waves on the turbulence, and the turbulence itself, whose time evolution is calculated. By analysing the equations of motion used in the model, which are linearised versions of the Craik–Leibovich equations containing a ‘vortex force’, it is found that a flow including mean shear and a Stokes drift is formally equivalent to a flow including mean shear and rotation. In particular, Craik and Leibovich’s condition for the linear instability of the first kind of flow is equivalent to Bradshaw’s condition for the linear instability of the second. However, the present study goes beyond linear stability analyses by considering flow disturbances of finite amplitude, which allows calculating turbulence statistics and addressing cases where the linear stability is neutral. Results from the model show that the turbulence displays a structure with a continuous variation of the anisotropy and elongation, ranging from streaky structures, for distortion by shear only, to streamwise vortices resembling Langmuir circulations, for distortion by Stokes drift only. The TKE grows faster for distortion by a shear and a Stokes drift gradient with the same sign (a situation relevant to wind waves), but the turbulence is more isotropic in that case (which is linearly unstable to Langmuir circulations).     

2006年夏季珠江冲淡水驱动的上升流

根据珠江口及其附近海域2006年夏季（7-8月）航次水文调查资料,发现调查期间,除了西南季风驱动下的冲淡水东向扩散外,粤西珠江口外冲淡水主要呈西向扩散趋势,并且西向扩散的冲淡水下存在上升流。已有的模型研究中,西南季风下珠江口外没有出现上升流,说明西南季风不是珠江口外上升流产生的主导因素。观测的温盐分布、潜标流速时间序列与走航ADCP流态表明,上升流产生的原因是:（1）口门外冲淡水南向扩展驱动了垂向重力环流;（2）密度跃层以下东北向沿岸流的底边界层Ekman效应;（3）口门外冲淡水团之间的气旋型中尺度涡旋作用。     

利用卫星云图资料制作热带气旋预报路径的一种算法

根据台风生成后在云场中移动的环境条件,引入一个环境作用于台风中心的热力梯度力方向,用该热力梯度力方向与当前台风的移动方向相结合,研究台风移动过程的变化规律,寻找一种简易可行的台风路径预报方法．经过多年实践,本文揭示出台风中心未来沿着当前移动方向与环境作用于台风中心的热力方向合成移动的基本规律：当前台风中心移向与前方晴空区中轴线相交时,台风沿着当前移向前进到与阻挡轴线相交点相距4个纬距的位置时便发生偏转,逐渐与阻挡轴线走向趋于一致;若当前台风中心距相交点的距离小于或等于4个纬距时,则从当前位置发生偏转．文中利用以上规律研制出台风移向变化方程和移动轨迹方程．     

Numerical simulation of the effects of fish behavior on flow dynamics around net cage

The computational fluid dynamics study is performed to analyze the impact of the cultured fish on the flow field through net cage and the deformation of net cage. The shear stress turbulent k-omega model is applied to simulate the flow field through the net cage, and the large deformation nonlinear structure model is adopted to conduct the structural analysis of the flexible net cage. To validate the net-fluid interaction model of the net cage in current, a series of physical model tests are conducted, which indicate that the numerical model can accurately simulate the flow field around the net cage and the deformation of the net cage. A fish model is used to simulate the effect of fish behavior on the flow pattern around the net cage and the deformation of the net cage. In addition, the flow fields around the net cage in current are investigated considering different fish group structures, fish swimming speeds, fish distributions and fish stocking densities. The results indicate that the circular movement of fish in the still water leads to a low pressure zone at the center of net cage, which causes a strong vertical flow along the center line of the net cage. The drag force on the net cage is significantly decreased with the increasing fish stocking density, but the most severe deformation of net cage occurred in the case of medium fish stocking density.