Characteristics of Sea Surface Circulation and Eddy Field in the South China Sea Revealed by Satellite Altimetric Data

Temporal and spatial variations of sea surface circulation in the South China Sea were revealed with use of altimetric data provided by TOPEX/POSEIDON from December 1992 to October 1997. The estimated distribution of sea surface dynamic heights from altimetric data coincide well with the results of observation by Soong et al. (1995) and Chu et al. (1998). The RMS variability of sea surface dynamic height, which is obtained after tidal correction based on Yanagi et al. (1997), is high in the central part of the South China Sea, the Gulf of Tongking, the Sunda Shelf and the Gulf of Thailand. The high RMS variability in the Gulf of Tongking, the Sunda Shelf and the Gulf of Thailand is due to set up and set down of sea water by the East Asian monsoon, which is northeasterly during winter and southwesterly during summer. Also, the high RMS variability in the central part of the South China Sea is due to the variations of basin-wide circulation. The circulations are dominant in the central part of the South China Sea during summer and winter, an anticyclonic circulation during summer and a cyclonic circulation during winter. It is suggested that these circulations are controlled by the East Asian monsoon. Hence, there is an interannual variability of the basin-wide circulation associated with the variation of the East Asian monsoon.     

南海海啸在泰国湾海域的共振响应

马尼拉海沟具备引发地震海啸的条件,是南中国海主要的潜在海啸发生区。南中国海西南部泰国湾海域和纳土纳海域地形复杂、多独立的半封闭水域,海啸波极易在该区域形成水波共振,加剧其灾害影响。采用COMCOT海啸模型模拟了马尼拉海沟断裂带发生9.3级地震时引发海啸的长时间传播过程,并基于水波共振理论分析其在不同尺度下的共振特性。结果表明,海啸波在曼谷湾至邦加—勿里洞岛间引起了明显的纵向第一、二模态(3 360.0 min、1 440.0 min)水波共振,在泰国湾至邦加—勿里洞岛之间引起了明显的纵向第二、三、四模态(775.4 min、560.0 min、373.3 min)共振,而在泰国湾至印度尼西亚沿岸引起了明显的纵向第二、三、五、七模态(1 008.0 min、630.0 min、373.3 min、252.0 min)水波共振。此外,海啸波不仅在泰国湾引起了明显的纵向第一、三、四模态(560. 0 min、252. 0 min、179. 4 min)共振,还在其横向出现了明显的第一、二、三模态(480.0 min、252.0 min、179.4 min)共振。     

Spatial and temporal distribution patterns of suspended particulate matter and particulate organic carbon in the Saronikos Gulf (eastern Mediterranean, Greece)

In 1998–1999, beam attenuation coefficient (bac) profiles, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations were assessed during five cruises in the Saronikos Gulf, eastern Mediterranean, Greece. SPM and POC concentrations (0.05–1.84 mg l⁻¹ and 10.2–468.6 μg l⁻¹, respectively) exhibited strong spatial and temporal variations, related to the different environmental characteristics of various sectors of the gulf, including wind regime and biological productivity. The Elefsis and Keratsini bays, as well as the area around Psyttaleia Island, showed the highest POC concentrations. The vertical distribution of POC at stations in the western basin, as well as in the inner and outer Saronikos Gulf is characterised by higher POC concentrations in surface waters, associated with higher biological activity. The wastewater treatment plant effluents discharged south of the Psyttaleia Island are a major source of organic particles which directly influence the intermediate water layers, at least during the stratification period. Assessments of relationships between bac and SPM or POC concentrations revealed a relatively strong correlation between bac and POC. An equation converting bac readings to POC concentration was established which can be applied to historical and/or future bac measurements, independently of season. POC concentrations estimated from calibrated continuous transmissometer readings were used to estimate the standing stock of POC in the Saronikos Gulf, which varied between 6,110×10⁶ and 13,450×10⁶ g C during the period June 1998 to February 1999.     

Simulation of the Circulation and Space Structure of Thermohaline Fields in the Sevastopol Bay with Regard for the Actual External Data (Winter, 1997)

We discuss the results of the numerical experiment aimed at the simulation of the behavior of currents and transformations of the temperature and salt modes in the Sevastopol Bay in January–February 1997. In the numerical analysis, we use actual data on the velocity and direction of the wind, sea surface temperature, and the discharge of River Chernaya. It is shown that the circulation and structure of hydrological fields are mainly connected with the direction of the wind, its intensity, and variability in the course of time. Since the analyzed water area is shallow, the currents inside the bay undergo rapid transformations (less than for an hour after changes in the wind). At the same time, the transformations of the thermohaline fields are slower. Due to the inflow of fresh waters of River Chernaya and salt waters from the open sea through the strait, the structure of thermohaline fields formed in the bay is nonuniform (both in the vertical and horizontal directions). The distribution of salinity plays the main role in the formation of the vertical stratification, which is natural for the winter season. Due to the process of freshening of water, a quite high vertical salinity gradient is formed in the upper layer of the sea. As a result, the process of cooling does not lead to the appearance of convection and inversions of temperature are formed in the case where warmer waters are located in the bottom layers. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 60–76, March–April, 2005.     

A numerical calculation of the wind-driven circulation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

The steady state surface circulation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence due to wind field forcing was calculated taking the topography into account using numerical techniques for each month of two ten year periods, 1940–49 and 1951–60. This model did not take into consideration the ice layer on the water surface and hence is not valid for the winter months. Most of the observed circulation features except the Gaspe current were reproduced satisfactorily.     

Hydrographic Structure and Transport of Intermediate Water in the Kuroshio Region off the Boso Peninsula, Japan

Hydrographic structure and transport of intermediate water were observed in the Kuroshio region south of Japan, focusing on the 26.6–27.5σ_θ density in six cruises from May 1998 through September 2001. In the section off the Boso Peninsula where the Kuroshio exfoliates eastward, the intermediate water was clearly clustered into three groups meridionally composed of the coastal water, the Kuroshio water and the offshore water. Compared with the Kuroshio water characterized by warm, salty water transported by the Kuroshio, the coastal and offshore waters significantly degenerated due to mixing with cold, fresh waters originated from the subarctic region: the former was affected by alongshore spread of the coastal Oyashio and the latter by direct intrusion of the new North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) into the southern side of the Kuroshio current axis. Particularly the offshore water showed higher apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) in layers deeper than 26.9σ_θ while it showed lower AOU in layers shallower than 26.9σ_θ, which indicated that colder, fresher and higher AOU water was distributed on the southeastern side of the Kuroshio in deeper layers. In May 1998, the Oyashio-Kuroshio mixing ratio was estimated to be typically 2:8 for the offshore water on the assumption of isopycnal mixing. Moreover, northeastward volume transport of the Kuroshio water was obtained from geostrophic velocity fields adjusted to lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) data to yield 6.1 Sv at 26.6–26.9σ_θ and 11.8 Sv at 26.9–27.5 σ_θ. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transformation of the ocean level under a moving area of disturbances of atmospheric pressure

Within the framework of the linear model of long waves, we study the transformations of the ocean surface under the conditions of uniform motion of a zone of disturbances of atmospheric pressure. The analysis is based on the evaluation of a two-dimensional integral appearing in the exact expression for the shape of the free surface of the ocean. It is shown that Earth’s rotation, the increase in the horizontal scale of the atmospheric anomaly, and the decrease in the depth of the basin make the displacements of the sea level smaller than those predicted by the law of inverted barometer. The motion of the baric anomalies leads to the opposite effect. In the open ocean, the displacements of its surface under a moving front are more pronounced than in the case of a moving circular anomaly of atmospheric pressure. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 3–14, March–April, 2007.     

Intrusion of less saline shelf water into the Kuroshio subsurface layer in the East China Sea

The possible origin and cause of the less saline shelf water detected in the Kuroshio subsurface layer around the shelf edge of the East China Sea are investigated using observational results obtained in May 1998–2001 in conjunction with a dataset archived by Japan Oceanographic Data Center and a numerical model. The observations show that subsurface intrusions of less saline water are always detected in May in layers above 24.5σθ isopycnal surface, and that salinity inversions (i.e., areas in which the less saline water lies beneath the saline water) are detected around the trough of the Kuroshio frontal eddy (or wave). Analyses of the archived dataset reveal that the isopycnal surface of 24.5σθ is the deepest layer of the Kuroshio pycnocline outcropping to the sea surface on the shallow shelf in early spring. Outcropping isopycnals above 24.5σθ encounter a less saline water plume originating from the Changjiang, especially in the western East China Sea. Thereafter, the less saline water moves along isopycnal layers and reaches the Kuroshio front around the shelf edge. Numerical models demonstrate that, when the frontal wave captures the less saline water, the shelf water takes the form of a salinity inversion in the trough because isohalines in the frontal wave have a phase lag between the upper and lower layers in consequence of the baroclinic instability.     

Mechanism of Nutrient Supply to Warm-Core Ring off Sanriku, Japan

The mechanism by which nutrient is supplied to a warm-core ring (WCR) was investigated in order to understand the greater productivity of WCR than that of the Kuroshio, where the WCR originattes. A single WCR was observed in January and May, 1997. The thermostad (a layer of isothermal and isohaline water) of the WCR had different properties from January to May, the differences: Δwater temperature: −0.698°C, Δsalinity: −0.048, Δsigma θ: +0.072, Δnitrite+nitrate-N: +1.83 μM, Δphosphate: +0.011 μM and Δsilicate: +3.2 μM. We examined three possible mechanisms for nutrient supply to WCR in winter, namely: 1) inflow of the Oyashio surface water into WCR; 2) isopycnal mixing with Oyashio water; 3) entrainment of the water below the WCR into the WCR. The results were as follows: 1) When the decrease of salinity was due to the inflow of the Oyashio surface water, the increase of nutrients (nitrite+nitrate-N, phosphate-P and silicate-Si) was estimated to be only 17–27% of the observed increase. 2) When the decrease of salinity was due to isopycnal mixing, the increase of nutrients was estimated to be 30–42% of the observed increase. 3) When the decrease of salinity in the WCR in May was due to entrainment of the water below the WCR in winter by convection, the mixing depth was calculated be 620 m according to the salt budget. The increase of nutrients in this case was calculated to be 82–95% of the observed increase. The main mechanism of nutrient supply to WCR was concluded to be due to the entrainment of the water below the WCR by winter mixing. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hydrological structure of waters of the persian gulf according to the data of observations in 1992

We describe the hydrological structure of waters of the Persian Gulf and its seasonal variability according to the data of CTD surveys carried out in February–June 1992 in the course of the cruises of the NOAA R/VMt. Mitchell aimed at the analysis of the consequences of the ecological catastrophe caused by the spread of oil spots formed as a result of war operations in the Persian Gulf in 1991. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Characteristics of summer and winter circulations and their variability in the source area of the Tsushima Warm Current

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Time-series observation of dissolved inorganic carbon and nutrients in the northwestern North Pacific

Time-series measurements of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrient concentrations were conducted in the northwestern North Pacific from October 2002 to August 2004. Assuming that data obtained in different years represented time-series seasonal data for a single year, vertical distributions of DIC and nutrients showed large seasonal variabilities in the surface layer (∼100 m). Seasonal variabilities in normalized DIC (nDIC) and nitrate concentrations at the sea surface were estimated to be 81–113 μmol kg⁻¹ and 12.7–15.7 μmol kg⁻¹, respectively, in the Western Subarctic Gyre. The variability in nutrients between May and July was generally at least double that in other seasons. In the Western Subarctic Gyre, estimations based on statistical analyses revealed that seasonal new production was 39–61 gC m⁻² and tended to be higher in the southwestern regions or coastal regions. The seasonal new productions in the northwestern North Pacific were two or more times higher than in the North Pacific subtropical gyre and the northeastern North Pacific. It is likely that this difference is due to spatial variations in the concentrations of trace metals and the species of phytoplankton present. In addition, from estimations of surface pCO₂ it was verified that the Western Subarctic Gyre is a source of atmospheric CO₂ between February and May and a sink for CO₂ between July and October.     

Turbulent structure of the subsurface layer of the sea according to the data of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sigma-1</Emphasis> measuring complex

We present the results of experimental investigations of the characteristics of turbulence in the layer of wave-induced mixing. The data on the fluctuations of velocity, temperature, and conductivity are obtained with the help of a Sigma-1 measuring complex. The computed values of the dissipation rate of turbulent energy are compared with different models proposed for the subsurface layer. It is shown that the available models fail to guarantee satisfactory agreement of the numerical results with the experimental data for the layer of active wave action and, in particular, in the presence of swell. This leads us to the conclusion concerning the necessity of parametrization and assimilation of more complete data on the state of the sea surface, the structure of currents, and the surface layer of the atmosphere in the models. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 15–28, March–April, 2007.     

北黄海长山群岛海域环境观状评价

本文根据１９８９年７月至１９９０年５月北黄海长山群岛海区四个航次（春、夏、秋、冬）水质及底质１４０００余个数据的分析测试结果，探讨了测区水质、底质各要素分布特征，并对其环境质量现状作了初步评价。结果表明，调查区环境质量良好．南部海域环境优于北部。     

Outbreak of warm water from the Kuroshio South of Japan

During the concentrated observation (April–May 1988) conducted as a part of the Ocean Mixed Layer Experiment (OMLET) in the sea area south of Japan, a conspicuous outbreak of warm water occurred from the large-meander region of the Kuroshio toward the southwest in the direction of the former Ocean Weather Station “T”. A series of NOAA-AVHRR infrared images clearly showed the process of this event. A surface buoy-mooring system deployed in this experiment recorded the arrival of this outbreak of water, in terms of the rise of sea-surface temperature (SST) of 1.5°C and the flow of warm water of 1.5kt toward the northwest at “T”. We studied this phenomenon by combining time series of infrared SST images with the oceanographic data obtained by two research vessels. The warm water was about 100 m deep in the section at 137°E along the edge of the Off-Shikoku Warm Water. It was estimated that about twenty outbreaks of this kind in a year can compensate a large heat loss to the atmosphere above this ocean region.     

Clockwise phase propagation of semi-diurnal tides in the Gulf of Thailand

The phase of semi-diurnal tides (M₂ and S₂) propagates clockwise in the central part of the Gulf of Thailand, although that of the diurnal tides (K₁, O₁ and P₁) is counterclock-wise. The mechanism of clockwise phase propagation of semi-diurnal tides at the Gulf of Thailand in the northern hemisphere is examined using a simple numerical model. The natural oscillation period of the whole Gulf of Thailand is near the semi-diurnal period and the direction of its phase propagation is clockwise, mainly due to the propagation direction of the large amplitude part of the incoming semi-diurnal tidal wave from the South China Sea. A simplified basin model with bottom slope and Coriolis force well reproduces the co-tidal and co-range charts of M₂ tide in the Gulf of Thailand.     

Reciprocal sound transmission measurement of mean current and temperature variations in the central part (Aki-nada) of the Seto Inland Sea,Japan

A 30 km-range reciprocal sound transmission experiment was carried out on the line connecting Honshu and Shikoku (the first and fourth biggest main Japanese islands, respectively) in the central part (Aki-nada) of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, during March–May 2010 to measure the mean current and temperature variations over the sea. The range-averaged current along the sound transmission line was estimated to have a mean and standard deviation of (3.8–4.4) ± (1.7–1.8) cm/s after converting the travel time difference data into currents, including a fortnightly tidal variation in the range of ±30 cm/s. The positive mean current implies slow water movement from the west to east through Aki-nada. The range-averaged speed of sound was estimated by converting from the mean travel time or one-way travel time into the speed of sound, and further converted into temperature for fixed values of salinity and depth, according to the standard speed of sound formula. Besides the precise measurement (to an accuracy of 0.01°C) of semidiurnal and diurnal tidal variations and seasonal warming, the temperature data showed periodic variations with periods of 7.0 and 21.1 days that had never been observed in Aki-nada before. This study suggests that reciprocal sound transmission is a powerful technique for the long-term accurate measurement of mean current and temperature variations in coastal and inland seas.     

南沙群岛海域混合层深度季节变化特征

基于南沙群岛海域综合科学考察11个航次的实测资料,研究了南沙群岛海域的混合层深度季节变化特征。研究结果表明,南沙群岛海域混合层深度存在明显的季节变化,并且与季风和海表热通量的变化密切相关。春季,风速较小且风向不稳定,海面得到的净热通量全年最大,上层水体层结稳定,混合层深度较小;夏季,南海西南季风盛行,上层为反气旋式环流,海面得到的净热通量减少,混合层呈加深的趋势;秋季,海面净热通量继续减少,混合层深度达到最大值;冬季,东北季风驱动下形成的上层气旋式环流引起深层冷水的上升,限制了混合层的加深。     

中国海和泰国湾海域海平面的经向涛动

卫星高度计遥感海面高度距平资料(1992-2012年)的分析结果证实中国海(渤、黄、东海及南海)和泰国湾作为一个半封闭的狭长水域,其海平面存在显著的南北经向涛动。涛动呈现明显的季节性,冬季南高北低,夏季北高南低,以渤海和泰国湾的海平面高差作为涛动的测度,其多年平均波动幅度达63cm,较差超过80cm。时间序列分析显示,在季节尺度上这一涛动几乎完全受东亚季风的支配,表明东亚季风的局地强迫是造成季节涛动的主要原因。进一步的分析发现,除季节波动之外研究海域海平面的经向涛动还存在明显的年际变化。不过,与季节尺度的波动有所不同,经向涛动的年际变化不仅是东亚季风区局地作用的结果,而且与太平洋海盆尺度的大气强迫有关,其作用与季风在同一数量级。涛动的年际变化大致滞后各气候因子两个月。采用多输入线性模型做偏相关分析筛选的结果显示,除东亚季风指数之外,研究海域的海平面涛动指数主要与太平洋的南方涛动指数(SOI)和西太平洋遥相关指数(WP)相关。这表明外部强迫既来自热带,也来自中纬度。南方涛动所导致的赤道海域海平面的东西向年际涛动,以及中纬度西风急流年际波动对西北太平洋海平面的作用,都有可能导致研究海域海平面经向涛动的年际变化,其机制有待进一步探讨。     

Habitat suitability index of Chub mackerel (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Scomber japonicus</Emphasis>) from July to September in the East China Sea

The habitat quality of Chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the East China Sea has been a subject of concern in the last 10 years due to large fluctuations in annual catches of this stock. For example, the Chinese light-purse seine fishery recorded 84000 tons in 1999 compared to 17000 tons in 2006. The fluctuations have been attributed to variability in habitat quality. The habitat suitability Index (HSI) has been widely used to describe fish habitat quality and in fishing ground forecasting. In this paper we use catch data and satellite derived environmental variables to determine habitat suitability indices for Chub mackerel during July to September in the East China Sea. More than 90% of the total catch was found to come from the areas with sea surface temperature of 28.0°–29.4°C, sea surface salinity of 33.6–34.2 psu, chlorophyll-a concentration of 0.15–0.50 mg/m³ and sea surface height anomaly of −0.1–1.1 m. Of the four conventional models of HSI, the Arithmetic Mean Model (AMM) was found to be most suitable according to Akaike Information Criterion analysis. Based on the estimation of AMM in 2004, the monthly HSIs in the waters of 123°–125°E and 27°30′–28°00′ N were more than 0.6 during July to September, which coincides with the catch distribution in the same time period. This implies that AMM can yield a reliable prediction of the Chub mackerel’s habitat in the East China Sea.