Large Eddy Simulation of Open Ocean Deep Convection with Application to the Deep Water Formation in the East Sea (Japan Sea)

Various important features could be found on the open ocean deep convection and the subsequent deep water formation from large eddy simulation (LES), and the results were applied to the East Sea (Japan Sea). It was found that under a strong cold wind outburst with the heat flux of 1000 Wm⁻² for 5 days generates a deep convection which can penetrate to the depth 1500 m, but under the continuous cooling with the heat flux of 250 Wm⁻² the growth of a mixed layer is suppressed at 700 m. The effects of the spatial and temporal variations of the surface forcing were investigated with regard to the penetrative depth of convection, the generation of baroclinic eddies, the volume of the water mass formation, and the intensity of the rim current. The deep water formations in the intermediate and deep layer of the East Sea were explained in terms of the simulation results, and the intensity of the consequent circulation and the volume of water mass formation were compared with the observation data. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Long-Term Variations of Potential Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen of the Japan Sea Proper Water

Observed potential temperatures and concentrations of dissolved oxygen are analyzed to elucidate their variations during the period from 1958 to 1996 at Stn. P (37°43′ N, 134°43′ E) and from 1965 to 1996 at Stn. H (40°30′ N, 137°40′ E) in the Japan Sea. At Stn. P, increases of the potential temperature for the period are found below 800 m depth with the largest value of 0.16 ± 0.09°C per century at 800 m depth. At Stn. H, the potential temperature increased below 500 m depth. The increase rate has the largest value of 0.50 ± 0.18°C per century at 500 m depth and it is 0.30 ± 0.09°C per century at 800 m depth. The concentrations of dissolved oxygen increased around 800 m depth at Stn. P. At Stn. H, they increased above 800 m depth. On the other hand, they decreased below 1200 m depth at both stations. The layer of the dissolved oxygen minimum has deepened in these decades. These features appearing in the distributions of temperature and dissolved oxygen are successively simulated by a vertical one-dimensional advection-diffusion model including consumption of dissolved oxygen and termination of the deep water supply. These results suggest that the supply of the Japan Sea Proper Water into the deep layer, which is cold and rich in dissolved oxygen, has been decreasing for the last four decades. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

CFC Indicating Renewal of the Japan Sea Deep Water in Winter 2000–2001

The distributions of CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) in the water column was determined twice in 2000 and 2001 in the northwestern Japan Sea. In 2000 the CFC-11 concentration decreased almost exponentially with depth from 6 pmol/kg at a few hundred m deep to 0.3 pmol/kg or less at the bottom of about 3400 m depth at three stations (40–41°N, 132–133°E) about 300 km off Vladivostok. In 2001 the CFC-11 concentration increased sharply up to 2 pmol/kg in the bottom water, while it did not increase at a station (42.0°N, 136.5°E) about 450 km away to the northeast. This is due to the renewal of the bottom water which is replaced by the surface water flowing down along the continental slope, as suggested by Tsunogai et al. (1999), who proposed the continental shelf pump. Furthermore, an increase in the CFC-11 concentration was observed throughout the entire water column above 3000 m depth, although the proportion of the increase was about 20%, which was one order of magnitude smaller than that in the bottom water. The increase in inventory is almost four times larger than that in the bottom water below 3000 m depth which is equivalent to about 1/6 of the total inventory found in 2000. The increase also means that 3% of the deep water was replaced by the recent surface water, or, if the turnover occurs every year, that the turnover time of the deep water to be about 30 years. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

对马海峡水团组成对日本海温盐分布影响的季节及年际变化

基于WOD13(World Ocean Database 2013)的温盐观测资料,分析了对马海峡断面和日本海内一断面上温盐分布的季节变化特征,并利用水团组成混合比的方法探讨了对马海峡断面处的水团组成对日本海内断面上温盐分布的影响的季节和年际变化。研究表明:对马海峡断面上水团组成呈现显著的季节变化。冬季,整个水层被高盐水占据;夏季,对马海峡表层出现高温低盐水,底层为高盐水,次表层为表层低盐水和底层高盐水的混合水体;春秋为过渡季节。日本海断面上,秋季温盐分布最为复杂,表层为高温低盐水,次表层为高盐水,其下为低温高密水。两个断面季节变化对比可以看出,夏季对马海峡断面处的水团组成会影响秋季日本海断面上的温盐分布。夏季对马海峡表层和次表层水是秋季日本海断面表层50m以浅出现低盐水的主要原因;对马海峡深层高盐水主要影响秋季日本海断面50～150m水层,混合比可达0.82;其下为日本海固有水。夏季对马海峡处水团组成的年际变化也会影响秋季日本海断面上温盐分布的年际变化。长江流量较大的年份,夏季对马海峡表层和次表层低盐水的核心盐度值偏低,秋季其在日本海断面上的混合比就高于其他年份;对马海峡底层高盐水在日本海断面上混合比的年际变化则决定于其影响水层上的流场结构和温盐分布。     

Intermediate Waters in the East/Japan Sea

Properties of the intermediate layer in the East/Japan Sea are examined by using CREAMS data taken mainly in summer of 1995. Vertical profiles of potential temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen and relationships between these physical and chemical properties show that the dissolved oxygen concentration of 250 μmol/l, roughly corresponding to 0.6°C at the depth of about 400 db, makes a boundary between intermediate and deep waters. Water colder than 0.6°C has a very stable relationship between potential temperature and salinity while salinity of the water warmer than 0.6°C is lower in the western Japan Basin than that in the eastern Japan Basin. The low salinity water with high oxygen corresponds to the East Sea Intermediate Water (ESIW; <34.06 psu, >250 μmol/l and >1.0°C) which was previously identified by Kim and Chung (1984) and the high salinity water with high oxygen found in eastern Japan Basin is named as the High Salinity Intermediate Water (HSIW; >34.07 psu, >250 μmol/l and >0.6°C). Spatial distribution of salinity and acceleration potential on the surface of σ_ϑ = 27.2 kg/m³ shows that the ESIW prevailing in the western Japan Basin is transported eastward by a zonal flow along the polar front near 40°N and a cyclonic gyre in the eastern Japan Basin is closely related to the HSIW. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Late Quaternary Seasonal Sea-Ice History of the Northeastern Japan Sea

The Late Quaternary sea-ice history of the northeastern Japan Sea is discussed on the basis of the occurrence of dropstones and ice-rafted debris (IRD) in fine sediment cores. IRD was found in all strata except those from the Holocene and oxygen isotope stage 5.5. The largest expansion of sea ice was recognized at the last glacial maximum (LGM; oxygen isotope stage 2), when the southern margin of seasonal sea ice was probably located in the vicinity of the Matsumae Plateau. The margin might occasionally have expanded further southward to off the Oga Peninsula. Sea ice expanded southward from mid-stage 5 to the LGM in response to global cooling, but with much fluctuation. Sea ice remained during deglaciation until around 10 ka, but after 10 ka it retreated northward rapidly in response to global warming and changes in surface water conditions. Greater fluctuations in IRD were found in core GH95-1208 collected from off Rumoi, Hokkaido, Japan. More IRD was found in sediments from late stage 3, late stage 5, and early stage 6. The fluctuations were not concordant with global climate changes (based on the standard oxygen isotope curve), and may have been controlled by regional climate factors such as the strength of the winter monsoon, which is related in turn to high-latitude atmospheric circulation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Benthic Front and the Yamato Basin Bottom Water in the Japan Sea

Hydrographic observations have revealed detailed structure of the Bottom Water in the Japan Sea. The Yamato Basin Bottom Water (YBBW) exhibits higher temperatures and lower dissolved oxygen concentrations than those found in the Japan Basin Bottom Water (JBBW). Both Bottom Waters meet around the boundary region between the Yamato and the Japan Basins, forming a clear benthic front. The structure of the benthic front suggests an estuary-like water exchange between both Basins, with the inflow from the Japan Basin passing under the outflow from the Yamato Basin. It is inferred from the property distributions that the JBBW flowing into the Yamato Basin is entrained by the cyclonic circulation in the basin, and modified to become the YBBW. Vertical diffusion and thermal balance in the YBBW are examined using a box model. The results show that the effect of geothermal heating has about 70% of the magnitude of the vertical thermal diffusion and both terms cancel the advection term of the cold JBBW from the Japan Basin. The box model also estimates the turnover time and vertical diffusivity for the YBBW as 9.1 years and 3.4 × 10⁻³ m²s^{− 1}, respectively.     

Seasonal and inter-annual dynamics of mesoplankton in the northwestern Japan Sea

Based upon four decades of observations in the northwestern part of the Japan Sea, the seasonal and inter-annual variations of zooplankton abundance and species composition in the epipelagic layer are considered. Seasonal characteristics of the zooplankton community are described in detail for five domains that occur within this part of the Japan Sea. Inter-decadal variation was not significant, but inter-annual variation was considerable and generally opposite to water temperature changes in the upper layer. Exceptional years such as 1996 were noted when a maximum abundance of zooplankton in summer occurred along with a slowing of the seasonal pattern of succession.     

南海北部流切变环境中台风引起的近惯性振荡的比较研究

通过2008年和2009年布放在南海北部的声学多普勒流速剖面仪(ADCP)锚系潜标,本文观测到了三次由台风引起的近惯性振荡(NIO)事件,分别编号为2008a,2009a,2009b,并对其进行了比较研究.其中2008a在三次事件中强度最大,持续时间最长(15 d),而2009a和2009b仅分别持续了4 d和8 d.三次事件的垂直能量分布和位相传播有明显的区别.在频率偏移方面,2008a的峰值频率略低于局地科氏频率(红移),而2009a和2009b则体现出蓝移.不同的NIO事件的特征表现主要由台风扰动和背景流场环境共同决定,特别是背景流场通过平流和调制作用在其中起了重要的作用.本文的研究为不同背景流场中NIO的不同响应提供了观测的证据.通过分析数模提供的背景流场的涡度和有效科氏频率,2008a事件中较强的振幅和较长的持续时间是由于背景的剪切流场的波导效应造成,其改变了台风过后NIO的能量分布,将入射波能量集中于负涡度区域.而2009a和2009b事件中由于涡度不明显,因此没有类似效应.     

日本海环流研究综述

日本海作为东北亚地区最大的边缘海,是西北太平洋上的重要海区。由于特殊的地理位置和复杂的地形,使得日本海的环流结构呈现独有特征,如日本海内的亚极地锋现象,复杂多变的涡旋,北部形成的深水团等。概述了日本海环流状况,着重介绍了对马海峡、郁陵海盆环流情形和日本海特征水团;总结了目前仍存在的争议问题,如对马暖流源头、对马暖流空间结构等;指出了目前日本海尚待解决的科学问题,如对马暖流流量的长期变化及其原因、东韩暖流消失现象及其机制、日本海特征水的传播路径及其影响因素、日本海的某些变化产生原因及其与全球变化的响应等。     

关于南海暖水季节和年际变化的研究

阐述了研究南海暖水的意义 ,综述了关于南海暖水的现状 ,提出了关于南海暖水季节和年际变化方面应该研究的问题     

The Formation and Circulation of the Intermediate Water in the Japan Sea

In order to clarify the formation and circulation of the Japan/East Sea Intermediate Water (JESIW) and the Upper portion of the Japan Sea Proper Water (UJSPW), numerical experiments have been carried out using a 3-D ocean circulation model. The UJSPW is formed in the region southeast off Vladivostok between 41°N and 42°N west of 136°E. Taking the coastal orography near Vladivostok into account, the formation of the UJSPW results from the deep water convection in winter which is generated by the orchestration of fresh water supplied from the Amur River and saline water from the Tsushima Warm Current under very cold conditions. The UJSPW formed is advected by the current at depth near the bottom of the convection and penetrates into the layer below the JESIW. The origin of the JESIW is the low salinity coastal water along the Russian coast originated by the fresh water from the Amur River. The coastal low salinity water is advected by the current system in the northwestern Japan Sea and penetrates into the subsurface below the Tsushima Warm Current region forming a subsurface salinity minimum layer. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Decadal Current Variations in the Southwestern Japan/East Sea

Absolute geostrophic velocities were calculated along TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) groundtracks located in the Ulleung Basin of the southwestern Japan/East Sea (JES) from a combined analysis of nearly a decade of T/P data and two years of pressure-gauge-equipped inverted echo sounder (PIES) data obtained during the United States Office of Naval Research’s JES Program. Geostrophic velocities have been calculated daily for the Ulleung Basin from June 1999 to July 2001 from a three-dimensional mapping of temperature and salinity produced by PIES data interpreted via the Gravest Empirical Mode (GEM) technique combined with the Navy’s Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System (MODAS). These velocities were then used to convert T/P velocity anomalies to absolute velocities for the T/P time period of 1993 to 2002. Current intensities and variabilities associated with the East Korean Warm Current, Ulleung Warm Eddy, and Offshore Branch are examined. Spatial and temporal variations of the sea surface circulation are strong. Intensification of the currents generally occurred during the fall season. The flow pattern in individual years differed greatly from year to year and differed from climatology in important qualitative ways.     

Seasonal Variations in the Sea off Sanriku Coast, Japan

The temperature and salinity data obtained by the Iwate Fisheries Technology Center for the 25-year period from 1971 to 1995 were analyzed to clarify the seasonal variations in the sea off Sanriku, Japan. The variations of three typical waters found in this region, the Tsugaru Current water, the Oyashio water, and the Kuroshio water are discussed in terms, of a T-S scatter diagram referring to the water mass classification proposed by Hanawa and Mitsudera (1986). The mean temperature and salinity fields averaged for each month show clear seasonal variation. Distributions of the Tsugaru Current water and the Oyashio water can barely be distinguished in the fields deeper than 200 m since the Tsugaru Current has a shallow structure; however, the fields at 100 m depth indicate remarkable seasonal variation in the area of the Tsugaru Current. At 100 m depth, the temperature and salinity fronts between the Tsugaru Current water and the Oyashio water gradually disappear in January through April, appear again in May, then become clearest in September. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Seasonal Variations of Water Masses and Sea Level in the Southwestern Part of the Okhotsk Sea

A new grid data set for the southwestern part of the Okhotsk Sea was compiled by using all the available hydrographic data from the Japan Oceanographic Data Center, World Ocean Atlas 1994 and the other additional data sources with the resolution of about 10 km. We examine the seasonal variations of areas and volumes of Soya Warm Current Water (SWCW) and East Sakhalin Current Water (ESCW) and show that the exchanges of these water masses drastically occur in April and November. The peculiar variation of sea level in this region is also related with the water mass exchange. Sea level at the Hokkaido coast of the Okhotsk Sea reaches its minimum in April about two months later than in the case of ordinary mid-latitude ocean, and its maximum in December besides the summer peak. The winter peak of sea level in December is caused by the advent of fresh and cold ESCW which is accumulated at the subsurface layers (20–150 m) through the Ekman convergence by the prevailing northerly wind. Sea level minimum in April is caused by the release of the convergence and the recovery of dense SWCW that is saline and much colder than that in summer.     

Comparative simulation study of effects of eddy-topography interaction in the East/Japan Sea deep circulation

In this study the structure and seasonal variations of deep mean circulation in the East/Japan Sea (EJS) were numerically simulated using a mid-resolution ocean general circulation model with two diffe...     

日本海、鄂霍次克海和白令海的古海洋学研究进展

边缘海的存在使大陆和大洋之间的物质和能量交换变得相当复杂。在构造运动和海平面升降的控制下,边缘海和大洋之间时而连通时而隔绝,各种古气候变化信号都在一定程度上被放大。基于近期有关西北太平洋边缘海的古海洋学研究成果,简要概述了日本海、鄂霍次克海、白令海以及北太平洋地区自中新世以来的古气候和古海洋环境演化特征,并认为它们与全球其它地区一样也受控于因地球轨道参数变化引起的太阳辐射率的变化,大尺度的气候变化具有与地球轨道偏心率周期相对应的100ka周期,而41ka的小尺度周期则受地球自转轴斜率变化的控制。一些突发性的气候变化则是由气候不稳定性、海峡的关闭与开启和其它一些地球气候系统的非线性活动所驱动。但同时作为中高纬度边缘海,它们的古海平面、古海水温度、古洋流等古海洋环境因子的变化特征还受到冰盖扩张和退缩、构造运动、冰川性地壳均衡补偿、东亚季风等因素的影响,具有一定的区域特点。     

Circulation and Mixing of Water Masses of Tatar Strait and the Northwestern Boundary Region of the Japan Sea

The deep waters of the northern portions of the Japan Sea are examined. It is found that the flow regime south of the southern Tatar Strait region is generally cyclonic in the upper ocean, with only weak flows present below depths of a few hundred meters. The Japan Sea appears to be remarkably well-mixed below depths of a few hundred meters, both horizontally and vertically. Based on chlorofluorocarbon measurements, it is concluded that the deep waters of the Japan Sea have been only weakly ventilated in recent decades. Results from a simple box model suggest two possible scenarios for the ventilation of the Japan Sea since the 1930s. In the first scenario, deep ventilation of the Japan Sea was relatively weak, but constant, from the 1930s to the present, with a deep-water residence time of approximately 500 years. In the second scenario, ventilation was relatively vigorous through the mid-1960s, with a deep-water residence time of approximately 100 years; after the mid-1960s, the ventilation of the deep waters stopped. The model results are consistent with the idea that presently the ventilation of the deep water of the Japan Sea is weak or nonexistent. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

渤海南部沿岸水运移及渤黄海水体交换的季节变化

针对渤海及附近海区的曲折岸线变化以及水文资料时空分布不均匀性的特点,使用四维客观分析LOESS方法得到逐月气候态盐度场。结果表明:渤海南部沿岸水扩展和运移受季风影响显著。冬季沿岸水向渤海湾和莱州湾堆积,形成沿山东半岛龙口海岸东向爬行的水舌,该水舌在蓬莱水域向东扩展;夏季沿岸水向渤海中部冲溢,特别是在黄河口附近,其核心区厚度可达8 m,可扩展到119°30′E处,同时莱州湾内的沿岸水向湾内西部收缩。冬季渤海海峡呈现显著北进南出水交换态势;夏季渤海海峡定常流方式的水交换特征不明显。     

Annual and Seasonal Variations of the Sea Surface Heat Fluxes in the East Asian Marginal Seas

Based on the twice-daily marine atmospheric variables which were derived mostly from the weather maps for 18 years period from 1978 to 1995, the surface heat flux over the East Asian marginal seas was calculated at 0.5°×0.5° grid points twice a day. The annual mean distribution of the net heat flux shows that the maximum heat loss occurs in the central part of the Yellow Sea, along the Kuroshio axis and along the west coast of the northern Japanese islands. The area off Vladivostok turned out to be a heat-losing region, however, on the average, the amount of heat loss is minimum over the study area and the estuary of the Yangtze River also appears as a region of the minimum heat loss. The seasonal variations of heat flux show that the period of heat gain is longest in the Yellow Sea, and the maximum heat gain occurs in June. The maximum heat loss occurs in January over the study area, except the Yellow Sea where the heat loss is maximum in December. The annual mean value of the net heat flux in the East/Japan Sea is −108 W/m² which is about twice the value of Hirose et al. (1996) or about 30% higher than Kato and Asai (1983). For the Yellow Sea, it is about −89 W/m² and it becomes −75 W/m² in the East China Sea. This increase in values of the net heat flux comes mostly from the turbulent fluxes which are strongly dependent on the wind speed, which fluctuates largely during the winter season. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.