A spectral mixture model analysis of the Kuroshio variability and the water exchange between the Kuroshio and the East China Sea

For understanding more about the water exchange between the Kuroshio and the East China Sea,We studied the variability of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea(ECS) in the period of 1991 to 2008 using a three-dimensional circulation model,and calculated Kuroshio onshore volume transport in the ECS at the minimum of 0.48 Sv(1 Sv ;106 m3/s) in summer and the maximum of 1.69 Sv in winter.Based on the data of WOA05 and NCEP,The modeled result indicates that the Kuroshio transport east of Taiwan Island decreased since 2000.Lateral movements tended to be stronger at two ends of the Kuroshio in the ECS than that of the middle segment.In addition,we applied a spectral mixture model(SMM) to determine the exchange zone between the Kuroshio and the shelf water of the ECS.The result reveals a significantly negative correlation(coefficient of-0.78) between the area of exchange zone and the Kuroshio onshore transport at 200 m isobath in the ECS.This conclusion brings a new view for the water exchange between the Kuroshio and the East China Sea.Additional to annual and semi-annual signals,intra-seasonal signal of probably the Pacific origin may trigger the events of Kuroshio intrusion and exchange in the ECS.     

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 of f 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.     

Influence of the Kuroshio on hydrography and hydrometeorology in the East China Sea near-shore region

The aim of the study was 1)to determine the relation between the Kuroshio meander and the intensity of the subtropic high pressure over the Pacific Ocean, and then to obtain statistical validity for the observational conclusion that the occurrence time of the Kuroshio meander leads the time of strengthened C-circulation of Europe by one or more years; 2) to develop a method to predict the occurrence time of flood or drought periods in the Changjiang River Valley from the occurrence time of the Kuroshio meander, since there is a close relation between the occurrence time of the drought or flood periods in the Changjiang River Valley and the occurrence time of the strong or weak periods of C-circulation of Europe; and 3) to develop a logical explanation verifiable by remote sensing technique and other means that the warm species phytoplanktons collected recently in the Jiaozhou Bay of Shandong Peninsula in China were carried there by a new warm current branch of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea. This paper was presented at the Conference on Western Pacific Circulation Influence on the China Seas in Qingdao, 1987, and approved for publishing as a monograph.     

The effect of the East China Sea Kuroshio Front on the marine atmospheric boundary layer

Various satellite data, JRA-25 (Japan reanalysis of 25 years) reanalyzed data and WRF (Weather Research Forecast) model are used to investigate the in situ effect of the ESKF (East China Sea Kuroshio Front) on the MABL (marine atmospheric boundary layer). The intensity of the ESKF is most robust from January to April in its annual cycle. The local strong surface northerly/northeasterly winds are observed right over the ESKF in January and in April and the wind speeds decrease upward in the MABL. The thermal wind effect that is derived from the baroclinic MABL forced by the strong SST gradient contributes to the strong surface winds to a large degree. The convergence zone existing along the warm flank of the ESKF is stronger in April than in January corresponding to the steeper SST (sea surface temperature) gradient. The collocations of the cloud cover maximum and precipitation maximum are basically consistent with the convergence zone of the wind field. The clouds develop higher (lower) in the warm (cold) flank of the ESKF due to the less (more) stable stratification in the MABL. The lowest clouds are observed in April on the cold flank of the ESKF and over the Yellow Sea due to the existence of the pronounced temperature inversion. The numerical experiments with smoothed SST are consistent with the results from the ovservations.     

Statistical analysis of intensity variations in tropical cyclones in the East China Sea passing over the Kuroshio

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Intensity variations of the SE-NW-oriented tropical cyclones (TC) in the East China Sea (ECS) passing over the Kuroshio are studied using multi-year...     

A modelling study of inter-annual variation of Kuroshio intrusion on the shelf of East China Sea

Inter-annual variability of the Kuroshio water intrusion on the shelf of East China Sea (ECS) was simulated with a nested global and Northwest Pacific ocean circulation model. The model analysis reveals the influence of the variability of Kuroshio transport east of Taiwan on the intrusion to the northeast of Taiwan: high correlation (r = 0.92) with the on-shore volume flux in the lower layer (50–200 m); low correlation (r = 0.50) with the on-shore flux in the upper layer (0–50 m). Spatial distribution of correlations between volume fluxes and sea surface height suggests that inter-annual variability of the Kuroshio flux east of Taiwan and its subsurface water intruding to the shelf lag behind the sea surface height anomalies in the central Pacific at 162°E by about 14 months, and could be related to wind-forced variation in the interior North Pacific that propagates westward as Rossby waves. The intrusion of Kuroshio surface water is also influenced by local winds. The intruding Kuroshio subsurface water causes variations of temperature and salinity of bottom waters on the southern ECS shelf. The influence of the intruding Kuroshio subsurface water extends widely from the shelf slope northeast of Taiwan northward to the central ECS near the 60 m isobath, and northeastward to the region near the 90 m isobath.     

Kuroshio intrusion drives the Trichodesmium assemblage and shapes the phytoplankton community during spring in the East China Sea

To understand the influence of Kuroshio intrusion on the phytoplankton community,a field investigation was conducted in spring 2017 in the East China Sea(ECS),and 130 seawater samples were collected and analyzed.Trichodesmium comprised the highest cell abundance contributing about 66%of the total phytoplankton followed by diatoms(17%) and dinoflagellates(16%).The dominance of the Kuroshio Waters(KW) and the Taiwan Warm Currents(TWC) were higher than the Coastal Waters(CW).The vertical distribution of physicochemical parameters depicted the intrusion of KW at the bottom layer,but it failed to reach the surface as strong upwelling was not initiated.Therefore,the dissolved inorganic phosphate(DIP) concentrations and P/N ratios were the lowest in the CW and the upper water layers,which limited the diatom growth in this area.Besides,the dinoflagellates cell abundance was also lower except in the surface and CW,though they comprised the maximum richness of species among the phytoplankton community.However,the unique characteristics such as diazotrophy and gas vacuoles of Trichodesmium made the situation advantageous,and they comprised the maximum cell abundance in this area especially in KW and the TWC.Temperature,DIP and P/N ratios appeared to be the major environmental drivers for Trichodesmium proliferation in the ECS during the study period.     

A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KUROSHIO FRONTAL EDDY IN THE EAST CHINA SEA IN SPRING

The Kuroshi'o front eddy's surface and sectional isothermal distribution characteristics were analyzed on the basis of observation data obtained in April 13-16 of 1989 in the East China Sea. It was found from the similarity between these isothermal distributions with those in January and beginning of June for the years 1986-1990 that the Kuroshio front eddy often occurred from March to the beginning of June. The Kuroshio front eddy movement in the East China Sea in spring was along two routes: the Okinawa Trough route, and the continental shelf slope route. The two moving routes both in the surface layer and in the section are described, their causes are discussed, and differences are compared.     

Observations of Kuroshio intrusion into the South China Sea

To discuss the intrusion of the Kuroshio into the SCS, we examined the mixing between the North Pacific and South China Sea (SCS) waters based on in-situ CTD data collected in August and September 2008 and the moored ADCP data taken from mid September 2008 to early July 2009. The CTD survey included four meridional sections from 119°E to 122°E around the Luzon Strait, during which pressure, temperature, and salinity were measured. The CTD data show that the isopycnal surface tilted from the SCS to the North Pacific; and it was steeper in the lower layers than in the upper ones. Meanwhile, we found strong vertical mixing taken place in the areas near 121°E. The Kuroshio in high temperature and salinity intruded westward through Luzon Strait. The frequency of buoyancy was one order of magnitude greater than that of the common ones in the ocean, suggesting stronger stratification in the northeastern SCS. On the other hand, the long-term ADCP data show that before late October 2008, the direction of water flow in the SCS was eastward, and from November 2008 to late February 2009, it turned northwestward in the layers shallower than 150 m, while remained unchanged in deep layers from 200 to 450 m. From March to June 2009, the direction shifted with increasing depth from northward to southward, akin to the Ekman spiral. EOF analysis of the current time series revealed dominant empirical modes: the first mode corresponded to the mean current and showed that the Kuroshio intrusion occurred in the upper layers only from late December to early March. The temporal coefficient of the first and the second mode indicated clearly a dominant signal in a quasi-seasonal cycle.     

The formation of wind curl in the marine atmosphere boundary layer over the East China Sea Kuroshio in spring

Various data are used to investigate the characteristics of the surface wind field and rainfall on the East China Sea Kuroshio (ESK) in March and April, 2011. In March, the wind speed maximum shows over the ESK front (ESKF) in the 10 meter wind field, which agrees with the thermal wind effect. A wind curl center is generated on the warm flank of the ESKF. The winds are much weaker in April, so is the wind curl. A rainband exists over the ESKF in both the months. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used for further researches. The winds on the top of the marine atmosphere boundary layer (MABL) indicate that in March, a positive wind curl is generated in the whole MABL over the warm flank of the ESKF. The thermal wind effect forced by the strong SST gradient overlying the background wind leads to strong surface northeasterly winds on the ESKF, and a positive shearing vorticity is created over the warm flank of the ESKF to generate wind curl. In the smoothed sea surface temperature experiment, the presence of the ESKF is responsible for the strong northeast winds in the ESKF, and essential for the distribution of the rainfall centers in March, which confirms the mechanism above. The same simulation is made for April, 2011, and the responses from the MABL become weak. The low background wind speed weakens the effect of the thermal wind, thus no strong Ekman pumping is helpful for precipitation. There is no big difference in rainfall between the control run and the smooth SST run. Decomposition of the wind vector shows that local wind acceleration induced by the thermal wind effect along with the variations in wind direction is responsible for the pronounced wind curl/divergence over the ESKF.     

ANALYSIS OF Cu, Cd, Co AND Ni IN SURFACE WATER OF THE KUROSHIO AREA IN THE EAST CHINA SEA

Study of 1986 and 1987 heavy metal distribution in surface water of the Kuroshio area in the East China Sea showed regional and slight seasonal variations in distribution and concentration . Heavy metal levels in Taiwan Strait, the sea area north of Taiwan and the continental shelf are higher than those in the main axis of the Kuroshio . Dissolved Cu in summer and winter decreases with the increase of salinity , but dissolved Cd has no obvious change with salinity .     

Interannual variation of nutrients along a transect across the Kuroshio and shelf area in the East China Sea over 40 years

Long-term datasets of water temperature,salinity,dissolved oxygen,phosphate and nitrate from 1973 to 2013 were used to study interannual variations of these parameters along a transect(section PN)across the Kuroshio and shelf area in the East China Sea.Water temperature and salinity at depths of 0–200 m showed a low-high-low-high pattern over the 40-year period.Water temperature and salinity at 500 m were relatively high from 1985 to 1990 and decreased continuously thereafter.Salinity at 800 m was lowest around 1993 and increased thereafter.Nutrients were highest between 1980 and 1985.After 1985,nutrients at 500 m were increasing.The range of variation in nutrients was large before 1985 and the magnitude increased with greater depths.Apparent oxygen utilization at 500 m depth was decreasing before 1990 and started to increase after 1992.Significant changes after 1990 at 500 m depth may be due to the upward trend of the upper boundary of Kuroshio intermediate water.Interannual variation of water temperature,salinity,dissolved oxygen,phosphate and nitrate along section PN has a significant correlation with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation index.     

Swells of the East China Sea

Over the past few decades, an increasing number of marine activities have been conducted in the East China Sea, including the construction of various marine structures and the passage of large ships. Marine safety issues are paramount and are becoming more important with respect to the likely increase in size of ocean waves in relation to global climate change and associated typhoons. In addition, swells also can be very dangerous because they induce the resonance of floating structures, including ships. This study focuses on an investigation of swells in the East China Sea and uses hindcast data for waves over the past 5 years in a numerical model, WAVEWATCH III (WW3), together with historical climate data. The numerical calculation domain covers the entire North West Pacific. Next, swells are separated and analyzed using simulated wave fields, and both the characteristics and generation mechanisms of swells are investigated.     

A NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE TIDE-SURGE INTERACTION IN THE EAST CHINA SEA AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

Nearshore sea levels in the East China Sea(ECS) and the South China Sea(SCS) during tropical cyclones-Typhoon 8007(Joe, 1980) and Typhoon 7209(Betty 1972) were simulated. The tide-surge interactions in the two regions are remarkable and locally produced. The corresponding nonlinear effects were derived from the different nonlinear terms. The contribution of the quadratic friction term is the most important, the shallow term comes second the convective term is the least; the phases of the interactions generated by the various nonlinear terms are asynchronous. Both the quadratic friction and the convective term can stimulate and aggravate the surge structure with more peaks. The bottom friction features have crucial influences on tides and surges, and the interaction is sensitive to the changes of tide and surge.     

Seasonal Variability in the Kuroshio Extension Current System

Based on the GDEM hydrographic data with a resolution of 0.5°×0.5°, the current system (Kuroshio south of Japan and Kuroshio Extension east of Japan) is determined by using the P-Vector Method, and its seasonal variability is investigated. The Kuroshio Meander south of Japan, the two lee-wave meanders in the Kuroshio Extension and the bifurcation of the Kuroshio Extension are properly presented. The path of the Kuroshio Meander, the position of the second (east) meander in the Kuroshio Extension and the bifurcation of the Kuroshio Extension display evident seasonal variation.     

HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIOPLANKTON PRODUCTION IN THE EAST CHINA SEA

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＭｏｒｅｔｈａｎａｄｅｃａｄｅｈａｓｐａｓｓｅｄｓｉｎｃｅｂａｃｔｅｒｉａｗａｓｒｅｃｏｇｎｉｚｅｄａｓｑｕａｎｔｉｔａｔｉｖｅｌｙｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｃｏｎ ｓｕｍｅｒｓｏｆｏｒｇａｎｉｃｃａｒｂｏｎｉｎｍａｒｉｎｅｆｏｏｄｗｅｂｓａｎｄｍａｒｉｎｅｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｓ (Ｆｕｈｒｍａｎ ,1 992 ) .ＴｈｅｂａｓｉｃｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎｏｎｔｈｅｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｃｅｏｆｔｈｅｍｉｃｒｏｂｉａｌｆｏｏｄｗｅｂｗａｓｐｒｅｓｅｎｔｅｄｂｙＰｏｍｅｒｏｙ ( 1 974 ) ,ｗｈｏｐｉｅ…     

Major mid-late Holocene cooling in the East China Sea revealed by an alkenone sea surface temperature record

Although the mid-late Holocene cold and dry event about 4000 years ago(the 4 ka event) has been observed almost globally, it was most prominent in terrestrial climate proxies from the lower latitudes. Here we evaluate the oceanic response to this event in terms of a Holocene sea surface temperature(SST) record reconstructed using the K'37U index for Core B3 on the continental shelf of the East China Sea. The record reveals a large temperature drop of about 5℃ from the mid-Holocene(24.7℃ at 5.6 ka) to the 4 ka event(19.2℃ at 3.8 ka). This mid-late Holocene cooling period in Core B3 correlated with(i) decreases in the East Asia summer monsoon intensity and(ii) the transition period with increased El Nino/Southern Oscillation activities in the Equatorial Pacific. Our SST record provides oceanic evidence for a more global nature of the mid-late Holocene climate change, which was most likely caused by a southward migration of the Intertropical Converge Zone in response to the decreasing summer solar insolation in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the large SST drop around Core B3 indicates that the mid-late Holocene cooling was regionally amplified by the initiation/strengthening of eddy circulation/cold front which caused upwelling and resulted in additional SST decrease. Upwelling during the mid-late Holocene also enhanced with surface productivity in the East China Sea as reflected by higher alkenone content around Core B3.