Supply of Heat by Tsushima Warm Current in the East Sea (Japan Sea)

A significant surface net heat loss appears around the Kuroshio and the Tsushima Warm Current regions. The area where the surface heat loss occurs should require heat to be supplied by the current to maintain the long-term annual heat balance. Oceanic heat advection in these regions plays an important role in the heat budget. The spatial distribution of the heat supply by the Tsushima Warm Current near the surface was examined by calculating the horizontal heat supply in the surface layer of the East Sea (the Japan Sea) (ESJS), directly from historical sea surface temperature and current data. We have also found a simple estimation of the effective vertical scale of heat supply by the current to compensate net heat loss using the heat supplied by the current in the surface 10 m layer. The heat supplied by the current for the annual heat balance was large in the Korea/Tsushima Strait and along the Japanese Coast, and was small in the northwestern part of the ESJS. The amount of heat supplied by the current was large in the northwestern part and small in the south-eastern part of the ESJS. These features suggest that the heat supplied by the Tsushima Warm Current is restricted to near the surface around the northeastern part and extends to a deeper layer around the southeastern part of the ESJS. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

Variability of Sea Surface Circulation in the Japan Sea

Composite sea surface dynamic heights (CSSDH) are calculated from both sea surface dynamic heights that are derived from altimetric data of ERS-2 and mean sea surface that is calculated by a numerical model. The CSSDH are consistent with sea surface temperature obtained by satellite and observed water temperature. Assuming the geostrophic balance, sea surface current velocities are calculated. It is found that temporal and spatial variations of sea surface circulation are considerably strong. In order to examine the characteristics of temporal and spatial variation of current pattern, EOF analysis is carried out with use of the CSSDH for 3.5 years. The spatial and temporal variations of mode 1 indicate the strength or weakness of sea surface circulation over the entire Japan Sea associated with seasonal variation of volume transport through the Tsushima Strait. The spatial and temporal variations of mode 2 mostly indicate the temporal variation of the second branch of the Tsushima Warm Current and the East Korean Warm Current. It is suggested that this variation is possibly associated with the seasonal variation of volume transport through the west channel of the Tsushima Strait. Variations of mode 3 indicate the interannual variability in the Yamato Basin.     

Volume Transport through the Tsushima Straits Estimated from Sea Level Difference

The relations between the volume transport and the sea level difference across the Tsushima Straits have been investigated using current data provided by ADCP mounted on the ferry Camellia, plying between Hakata and Pusan. Empirical formulas to deduce the volume transports using the sea level differences across the eastern and western channels are proposed, considering the seasonal variation of the vertical current structure. The interannual variation of volume transport through the Tsushima Straits for 37 years from 1965 to 2001 is estimated using the empirical formulas. The total volume transport through the Tsushima Straits, averaged for 37 years, is 2.60 Sv and those of the eastern and western channels are 1.13 Sv and 1.47 Sv, respectively. The total volume transport through the Tsushima Straits tends to decrease with a roughly 15 year variation until 1992, then begins to increase.     

Volume transport of the Tsushima Warm Current, west of Tsugaru Strait bifurcation area

Northern and southern latitudinal transects were conducted west of Tsugaru Strait to estimate the volume transport in this area. It was found that the Tsushima Warm Current is the northward volume transport across the southern transect and the Northward Current is the northward volume transport across the northern transect. The current in Tsugaru Strait,viz. the Tsugaru Warm Current, is the flow remaining when the Northward Current is subtracted from the Tsushima Warm Current. Both CTD transects covered from near-shore to west of the subarctic front, and observed depths were from the surface to the bottom or to 1000-1500 m depth. Our estimations indicate that large interannual variations of volume transport occur, relative to the seasonal ones, with interannual variations sometimes exceeding seasonal variations in the Tsushima Warm Current and the Northward Current. The Tsugaru Warm Current has near-steady transport. Fluctuations in the Tsushima Warm Current are thus transmitted to the Northward Current. Further, our results revealed seasonal variations in the flow: the baloclinic structure became deeper in April and the current axis tended to shift in a near-shore direction in October. Therefore, previous studies, which had shallow reference levels and lacked nearshore stations, may have underestimated the transport and excessive seasonal variations.     

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。     

东海对马暖流水来源的数值模拟

本文通过二维数值模拟对1986年6月～1988年12月东海对马暖流水的来源问题进行了初步探讨,结果得出东海对马暖流水的来源基本上分为三种类型:(1)东海对马暖流水主要为东海黑潮水继续北上部分构成;(2)东海对马暖流水由东海黑潮水、东海陆架水以及东海北部黄海大陆沿岸水几部分混合而成;(3)东海对马暖流水几乎全部由东海北部的黄海大陆沿岸水构成。模拟与实测结果基本一致.     

Cooling-Induced Current in the Upper Ocean of the Japan Sea

The most plausible scenarios for seasonal to interannual variabilities and their possible causes are investigated for the Tsushima Current system passing through the Japan Sea. The study is based on the north and south two-box model across the polar front in an idealized upper ocean of the Japan Sea. The boxes are connected by lateral diffusive heat transport and cooled by atmospheric forcing at the annual mean state. The south box, i.e. the Tsushima Current region, only interacts with the outside warmer box in the East China Sea and has an eastward thermal-driven current originating in the outside box. The magnitude of this current depends on the strength of the thermal gradient between the north and south boxes; the inflow of warm waters can therefore be maintained by net heat loss through the sea-surface. I call such a thermal-driven inflow process a "Cooling-Induced Current" system in the present study. Under periodical heat forcing, the perturbation response of the model to water temperature fields and inflow transport were examined. It is shown that the lateral diffusion time across the polar front (over a period of 10 years) is crucial to the interannual modeled response. An analysis of the seasonal heat budget suggests that the heat transported into the Japan Sea from the East China Sea in summer is stored mainly within the Tsushima Current region and contributes to heat loss by the sea-surface cooling in winter.     

对马暖流“东海段”的流路与流速

本文全面地分析了此段海流的流路与流速结构，首次提出研究海域近底层的环流示意图。指出在夏季，韩国南岸和日本九州北岸均存在着一支南下的逆流，九州西岸出现两种或多种形式的流路。对马暖流在源地流速很弱，流向不稳定，流路时隐时显不明显，只有离开源地后才逐渐显示出一支海流轮廓；强流区在朝鲜海峡附近。该海流可明显地划分为三段。流速夏强冬弱，夏季流幅宽约８０ｋｍ。     

Recent advances in ocean-circulation research on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea shelves

Recent advances in ocean-circulation research on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea shelves are summarized. Observations using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) suggest that the connectivity of mean-volume-transports is incomplete between the Tsushima (2.6 Sverdrups; 1 Sv = 10⁶ m³/s) and Taiwan Straits (1.2 Sv). The remaining 1.4-Sv transport must be supplied by onshore Kuroshio intrusion across the East China Sea shelf break. The Yellow Sea Warm Current is not a persistent ocean current, but an episodic event forced by northerly winter monsoon winds. Nevertheless, the Cheju Warm Current is detected clearly regardless of season. In addition, the throughflow in the Taiwan Strait may be episodic in winter when northeasterly winds prevail. The throughflow strengthens (vanishes) under moderate (severe) northeasterly wind conditions. Using all published ADCP-derived estimates, the throughflow transport (V) in the Taiwan Strait is approximated as

夏季对马暖流“东海段”的温－盐特征及1987年和1989年夏季的盐度差异

本文分析该海域约７０个测站的温、盐资料，获得以下结果：（１）夏季在对马暖流的源区，于１０～７５ｍ水层内，其流路成一明显的分界线，左（西）侧温、盐度较低，右（东）侧温、盐度较高。（２）夏季对马暖流源区存在着三种海水：高温、高盐水，高温、低盐水和高温、次高盐水。（３）夏季朝鲜海峡地区，东水道的温、盐度高于西水道温、盐度。（４）１９８７年，东海黑潮区、长江口、杭州湾外及东海酉南部海域，夏季的表层盖度，皆比１９８９年同季、同一海域的盐度偏高；而对马暖流“东海段”却出现相反的低盐现象。其原因之一，１９８７年冲淡水势力极强，几乎盘踞了对马暖流源区的大部分海域，使源区盐度下降，并随对马暖流北上输送的缘故。其中：（１）和（４）两点认识系首次提出。     

Least-Squares Estimation of Bottom Topography Using Horizontal Velocity Measurements in the Tsushima/Korea Straits

Several bathymetric data sets are compared and assessed with constraints of an ocean current model and velocity observations. The root-mean-square (rms) differences among the data sets reach 20 m in the shallow Tsushima/Korea Straits. The numerical experiments to simulate the Tsushima Warm Current are performed using four different topography data sets. The JTOPO1 data (MIRC, 2003) give the smallest rms difference to long-term horizontal velocity observations. Several least-squares combinations of the topography data sets are then sought to minimize the rms difference between the observed and modeled barotropic velocities. Most of the data sets reveal a large bias of 30–60 m at the Western Channel compared to independent sounding depths     

On the origin of the Tsushima Warm Current Water

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Seasonal variation of horizontal material transport through the eastern channel of the Tsushima Straits

We conducted hydrographic observations ten times in the Tsushima Strait to reveal seasonal variations of horizontal material transports such as of heat, freshwater, chlorophyll a, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) through the eastern channel of the Tsushima Strait (ECTS). The volume, freshwater, and heat transport results are of nearly the same order as results reported in previous studies. The annual mean DIN and DIP transports of 3.59 kmol/s and 0.29 kmol/s are large relative to those of the Changjiang and the Taiwan Strait and are horizontally transported through the ECTS. Nutrient transports are high in July–August and October and low in April and November. Increased nutrient transports in July–August and October are due to the appearance of a cold saline water mass in the bottom layer of the ECTS. Changes in DIN transports in summer and autumn, which account for two-thirds of the total annual DIN transport, would have a large effect on the nitrogen budget and biological productivity in the Tsushima Warm Current region.     

Depositional environment in the southern Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Sea of Japan), during the last 48 000 years

The present study is based on the sedimentological data from a piston core KCES1 off the southern Ulleung Basin margin, the East Sea (Sea of Japan). The data include sediment color (L^*), X-ray radiographs, grain size distribution and AMS¹⁴C date. Four kinds of sediments (homogeneous, laminated, crudely laminated and hybrid sediments) are identified according to the characters of the sedimentary structures that were considered to reflect changes in bottom-water oxygenation. Alternations of dark laminated/crudely laminated sediments and light homogeneous sediments represent millennial-scale variations that are possibly associated with the high-resolution changes in the East Asian monsoon (EAM). The relative contributions of the East China Sea Coastal Water (ECSCW) and the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) were likely the main reasons for the repetition of the anoxic and oxic depositional conditions in the East Sea since the last 48 ka BP. During the interstadial, the strengthen summer EAM was attributed to the expansion of the ECSCW because of more humid climate in central Asia, and then more strongly low-salinity, nutrient-enriched water was introduced into the East Sea. The ventilation of deep water was restricted and therefore the dark laminated layer deposited under the anoxic bottom water condition. During the lowest stand of sea level in the last glacial maximum (LGM), the isolated East Sea dominated by stratiˉed water masses and the euxinic depositional environment formed. The homogenous sediments have been predominating since 17.5 ka BP indicating that the TWC has intruded into the East Sea gradually with the stepwise rise of sea level and the bottom water oxygen level was high. During the late Younger Dryas (YD) period, the last dark laminated layer deposited because the ventilation of bottom water was restricted by stronger summer EAM. The TWC strengthened and the bottom water became oxic again from 10.5 ka BP.     

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.     

Characteristics of water mass under the surface mixed layer in Tsushima Straits and the southwestern Japan Sea in autumn

Two different cold waters were found under the surface mixed layer in Tsushima Straits and the southwestern Japan Sea in autumn 2004. One is cold saline water with a low concentration of dissolved oxygen, and the other is cold less saline water with a high concentration of dissolved oxygen. The older saline water originates from the bottom of the East China Sea, strongly influenced by the Kuroshio water with high salinity. The bottom density in the eastern channel of the Tsushima Straits is coincident with that of the East China Sea in autumn, corresponding to the season when the cold saline water was frequently found in the Tsushima Straits. The newer less saline water originates from the front of Tsushima Warm Current between the Tsushima Warm Current water and the surface cold water in the Japan Sea. This water is formed by subduction above the isopycnal surface from the front of the Tsushima Warm Current.     

黄海暖流源区附近温盐结构及其季节变化

为探究不同季节下黄海暖流在源区的状态,利用韩国海洋数据中心(Korea Oceanographic Data Center)发布的水文数据,对黄海暖流源区附近温盐结构及其季节变化进行了分析。结果表明:年平均状态下对马暖流在济州岛东南存在向西向入侵的趋势,其入侵存在明显的季节变化:秋季最强,冬、春季开始减弱,夏季最弱。济州岛西侧,约在33°30′N、125°30′E处存在一支伸向西北的高盐舌,该高盐舌盐度同样具有明显的季节变化:冬季最强,春季开始减弱,夏季降至最低,秋季盐度开始缓慢回升。黄海区盐度的变化要滞后于对马暖流区盐度变化。冬季朝鲜沿岸水南下入侵程度最强,能到达34°N以南的位置。     

Seasonal Variation of the Cheju Warm Current in the Northern East China Sea

The Cheju Warm Current has been defined as a mean current that rounds Cheju-do clockwise, transporting warm and saline water to the western coastal area of Cheju-do and into the Cheju Strait in the northern East China Sea (Lie et al., 1998). Seasonal variation of the Cheju Warm Current and its relevant hydrographic structures were examined by analyzing CTD data and trajectories of satellite-tracked drifters. Analysis of a combined data set of CTD and drifters confirms the year-round existence of the Cheju Warm Current west of Cheju-do and in the Cheju Strait, with current speeds of 5 to 40 cm/s. Saline waters transported by the Cheju Warm Current are classified Cheju Warm Current water for water of salinity greater than 34.0 psu and modified Cheju Warm Current for water having salinity of 33.5–34.0 psu. In winter, Cheju Warm Current water appears in a relatively large area west of Cheju-do, bounded by a strong thermohaline front formed in a "" shape. In summer and autumn, the Cheju Warm Current water appears only in the lower layer, retreating to the western coastal area of Cheju-do in summer and to the eastern coastal area sometimes in autumn. The Cheju Warm Current is found to flow in the western channel of the Korea/Tsushima Strait after passing through the Cheju Strait, contributing significantly to the Tsushima Warm Current.     

Long-term changes in the fish community structure from the Tsushima warm current region of the Japan/East Sea with an emphasis on the impacts of fishing and climate regime shift over the last four decades

Japanese fisheries production in the Japan/East Sea between 1958 and 2003 increased to their peak (1.76 million tons) in the late 1980s and decreased abruptly with the collapse of Japanese sardine. Catch results for 58 fisheries and various environmental time-series data sets and community indices, including mean trophic level (MTL) and Simpson’s diversity index (DI), were used to investigate the impacts of fishing and climate changes on the structure of the fish community in the Tsushima warm current (TWC) region of the Japan/East Sea. The long-term trend in fisheries production was largely dependent on the Japanese sardine that, as a single species, contributed up to 60% of the total production in the Japanese waters of the Japan/East Sea during the late 1980s. Excluding Japanese sardine, production of the small pelagic species was higher during 1960s and 1990s but lower during 1970s and 1980s. This variation pattern generally corresponds with the trend in water temperature, warmer before early 1960s and after 1990s but colder during 1970s and 1980s. The warm-water, large predatory fishes and cold water demersal species show opposite responses to the water temperature in the TWC region, indicating the significant impact of oceanic conditions on fisheries production of the Japan/East Sea. Declines in demersal fishes and invertebrates during 1970s and 1980s suggested some impact of fishing. MTL and DI show a similar variation pattern: higher during 1960s and 1990s but lower during 1970s and 1980s. In particular, the sharp decline during the 1980s resulted from the abundant sardine catches, suggesting that dominant species have a large effect on the structure of the fish community in the Japan/East Sea. Principal component analysis for 58 time-series data sets of fisheries catches suggested that the fish community varied on inter-annual to inter-decadal scales; the abrupt changes that occurred in the mid-1970s and late 1980s seemed to correspond closely with the climatic regime shifts in the North Pacific. These results strongly suggest that the structure of the fish community in the Japan/East Sea was largely affected by climatic and oceanic regime shifts rather than by fishing. There is no evidence showing “fishing down food webs” in the Japan/East Sea. However, in addition to the impacts of abrupt shifts that occurred in the late 1980s, the large predatory and demersal fishes seem to be facing stronger fishing pressure with the collapse of the Japanese sardine.