Nitrogen and phosphorus distributions across the thermohaline front in Kii Channel in winter

We have studied nitrogen and phosphorus distributions across the thermohaline front in Kii Channel in winter by using engine-cooling sea water of a ferry boat. On Dec. 1986 and Jan. 1987, differences of PO₄–P and DIN across the front are recognized. Especially in the latter case, differences of nutrients concentrations across the front are very obvious. But differences of nutrients across the front on Feb. 1986, Feb. and Mar. 1987 are not obvious. Inspite of winter,Akashiwo had happened in Osaka Bay, nutrients mostly have already been utilized by phytoplankton in inner part of Osaka Bay. Consequently, differences of nutrients concentrations across the front are nearly zero.     

Seasonal Variability of Thermohaline Front in the Central South China Sea

An upper layer thermohaline front across the South China Sea (SCS) basin from the South Vietnamese coast (around 15°N) to Luzon Island (around 19°N) has been identified using the Navy's open domain Generalized Digital Environmental Model (GDEM) monthly mean temperature and salinity data on a 0.5° × 0.5° grid. This front does not occur at the surface in summer. The strength of this front is around 1°C/100 km at the surface and 1.4°C/100 km at the subsurface (50 m deep). A cross-basin current, inverted using the P-vector method, is associating with the front. Meandering and eddies have been identified along this current. Seasonal and vertical variabilities of the thermohaline structure across this front are reported in this paper. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Application of interleaving models for the description of intrusive layering at the fronts of deep polar water in the Eurasian Basin (Arctic)

Interleaving models of pure thermohaline and baroclinic frontal zones are applied to describe intrusions at the fronts found in the upper part of the Deep Polar Water (DPW) when the stratification was absolutely stable. It is assumed that differential mixing is the main mechanism of the intrusion formation. Important parameters of the interleaving such as the growth rate, vertical scale, and slope of the most unstable modes relative to the horizontal plane are calculated. It was found that the interleaving model for a pure thermohaline front satisfactory describes the important intrusion parameters observed at the frontal zone. In the case of a baroclinic front, satisfactory agreement over all the interleaving parameters is observed between the model calculations and observations provided that the vertical momentum diffusivity significantly exceeds the corresponding coefficient of mass diffusivity. Under specific (reasonable) constraints of the vertical momentum diffusivity, the most unstable mode has a vertical scale approximately two-three times smaller than the vertical scale of the observed intrusions. A thorough discussion of the results is presented.     

Feeding Strategy of Japanese Sand Lance Larvae in Relation to Ciliated Protozoa in the Vicinity of a Thermohaline Front

Larval feeding and survival strategies are described on a Japanese sand lance, Ammodytes personatus Girard, collected in the vicinity of a thermohaline front in the Ise Bay, in comparison with those of other predominant larvae, Hexagrammos spp. and Sebastiscus marmoratus (Cuvier). First-feeding A. personatus larvae (3.1–3.9 mm NL) fed primarily on tintinnid ciliates, subsequently switching to copepod nauplii (4.0–7.9 mm NL larvae) and post-naupliar copepods (8.0–11.3 mm NL larvae). First-feeding Hexagrammos spp. larvae (6.5–6.9 mm NL) fed primarily on post-naupliar copepods, and first-feeding S. marmoratus larvae (<4.0 mm NL), mostly on copepod nauplii. The different food preferences of these species at first-feeding were related to their different mouth widths (0.15–0.19, 0.52–0.56 and 0.32–0.40 mm, respectively) and/or body size (3.1–3.9, 6.5–6.9 and 3.2–3.9 mm NL, respectively). Ciliate-feeding by first-feeding A. personatus larvae was strongly related to the convergence of the larvae and their prey near the thermohaline front, densities of both being greater on the inshore side of the frontal zone. In conclusion, the aggregation of ciliates near the thermohaline front may have improved feeding conditions and survival of first-feeding A. personatus larvae.     

On the variation of thermohaline characteristics of lenses of Mediterranean water at a distance from the source

Seven intrathermocline lenses (ITLs) of Mediterranean origin have been found during three cruises of the R/VArnold Veimer in the eastern north Atlantic Ocean. As ITL moved off its source, relative conservativity of some thermohaline characteristics such as the density range occupied by the lenses, theT, S indices, the core's vertical structure, and the form of the thermohaline front were observed. In the region of mixing, the intensity of the finestructure intrusion stratification increases with the age of lenses when they propagate to the colder freshened background waters. The systems of the step-like structures below the ITL core are formed at a considerable distance between the lenses and the source.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

A numerical experiment on the calculation of the tropical Atlantic circulation in 1982–1983, with the real wind considered

This paper discusses the results obtained through numerical modelling of the annual course of circulation and thermohaline field evolution in the tropical Atlantic under the impact of real wind forcing (from March 1982 to March 1983) and compares them with the calculation of seasonal variability induced by the climatic wind. Changes in the pattern of the equatorial currents and related temperature fields induced by the specific peculiarities in the wind field are analysed.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

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.     

黄海物理海洋学的主要特征

本文概述了黄海物理海洋学主要特征,其中包括温、盐结构,环流和潮汐、潮流。在第二部分中重点说明黄海某些突出的海洋现象。诸如:黄海冷水团及环流,黄海暖流,海洋锋及底层流,最后一部分讨论海区的营养盐输送机制。     

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.     

基于神经网络的全球三维温盐场重构技术研究

文章利用果蝇优化广义回归神经网络算法FOAGRNN (fruit fly optimization algorithm, FOA; generalized regression neural network, GRNN)对SODA (simple ocean data assimilation)再分析数据进行训练, 构建海表温度、盐度、海面高度与次表层温盐场之间的投影关系模型, 并在全球范围使用SODA和卫星遥感数据评估了模型的应用性能。首先, 利用独立的2016年SODA海表数据作为模型输入进行理想重构试验, 结果显示全球重构温、盐平均均方根误差(MRMSE)分别为0.36℃和0.08‰, 与世界海洋图集WOA13资料相比减小约50%和60%。然后, 利用卫星观测的海表信息作为模型输入进行实际应用试验, 并与Argo观测剖面进行比较评估。试验结果表明, 重构模型能有效表征海水温、盐特征, 其中重构温、盐MRMSE分别为0.79℃和0.16‰, 相比WOA气候态减小27%和11%。误差的垂向分布显示, 重构温度RMSE从海表向下迅速增大, 至100m达到峰值1.35℃, 而后又迅速回落,至250m处为0.81℃, 跃层往下不断减小; 重构盐度RMSE基本随深度增大而减小, 误差峰值位于25m附近, 约为0.25‰。此外, Argo浮标跟踪分析和区域水团统计结果也表明模型能够较好地刻画海洋三维温盐场的内部结构特征。     

Wintertime temperature-salinity characteristics in the southeastern Hwanghae (Yellow Sea)

Wintertime temperature-salinity properties of the southeastern Hwanghae (Yellow Sea) were analysed, based on long-term hydrographic data gathered between 1961 and 1980. A strong thermohaline front is formed in the area west of Cheju-do (along 33?40′N in the region bounded by 124? E and 126?20′E) during winter and extends to the bottom. This surface-to-bottom front, running from west to east, divides water properties into two types: one type of low temperature and low salinity to the north of the front and another one of high temperature and high salinity to the south of the front. The existence of the front suggests that there is no northward flow in the study area, a finding which runs counter to the conventional belief that there is the Hwanghae Warm Current carrying waters of high temperature and salinity to the north. T-S diagrams show that in winter the Hwanghae Warm Current Water and the Hwanghae Cold Water are the representative water masses in the study area.     

The sea-surface microlayer of puget sound: Part I. Toxic effects on fish eggs and larvae

The sea surface is an important habitat for the developmental stages (eggs and larvae) of many fish and invertebrates; it is also a concentration point for anthropogenic contaminants entering the sea. Studies were conducted to determine the extent to which the sea surface of Puget Sound was toxic to the early life history stages of fish. Three urban bays with suspected contamination, a rural reference bay, and a Central Sound site were compared. Surface-dwelling eggs and organisms (zooneuston) were collected with a surface-skimming neuston net and their densities enumerated. Sand sole (Psettichthys melanostictus) embryos were exposed in the field and laboratory to the sea-surface microlayer. To develop a useful year-round approach to monitoring sea-surface toxicity, larval development of anchovies, kelp bass, and sea urchins was also evaluated as an indication of sea-surface microlayer toxicity.During the spawning season (February and March), urban boys in Puget Sound had lower concentrations of sand sole eggs and neustonic organisms on the sea surface than did the rural bayor Central Sound reference sites. Compared to the reference sites, laboratory exposure to surface microlayer samples collected from urban bay sites generally resulted in more chromsomal aberrations in developing sole embryos, reduced hatching success of sole larvae, and reduced growth in trout cell cultures. In situ hatching success of sole eggs was reduced by half or more in urban bays compared to reference sites.Toxicity was associated with visible surface slicks and, in urban bays, increased with increasing surface pressure (dynes cm⁻¹). Results to be reported separately (Part II) indicate that toxicity is strongly correlated with the presence of high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals in the sea-surface microlayer. The toxicity of SMIC samples was similar when evaluated by sole, anchovy, kelp bass, or sea urchin tests. A sea-surface monitoring program could use sea urchin embryos to evaluate site-specific sea-surface toxicity throughout the year.     

Seasonal and mesoscale variation in the surface temperature and salinity at the coastal and shelf region off Shikoku,Japan

A three-year-long time series of water temperature and salinity observed on a ferryboat in the shelf region off Shikoku Japan was analyzed, focusing on the phenomena with a time scale of more than one month. We found two remarkable fronts in the seasonal variations. One is the well-known Kii Channel Front. This front remains as a haline front in summer while a thermohaline front in winter. The other, which is formed near Cape Ashizuri-misaki, is newly found. Density gradient across the front in winter is in the opposite direction to that in summer. Next, focusing on phenomena with a shorter time scale, we found the simultaneous variation in water temperature over the observational region, the time scale of which is about three months. It has a good coherence with the variation in air temperature observed at the coast, which implies that this variation has something to do with a phenomenon including the atmospheric system. Warm water intrusion from the Kuroshio is also correlated with this variation. Short-period variations such as the eastward progression of warm water mass tend to be active when the simultaneous variation in water temperature is in the warming phase, i.e., water temperature is increasing.     

The study of ocean circulation dynamics with numerical models

Summarized is the author's study of the ocean circulation dynamics with numerical models, for which he was honored by the Okada Prize (1979). Cited topics are formation of the western boundary current and its variation associated with imposed wind stress, some effects of a marine ridge on the boundary current, coastal upwelling circulation and coastal thermohaline front formation. Recent modelling efforts in Japan, specifically on numerical study of ocean circulation dynamics are also reviewed.     

Climatological Estimation of Environmental Uncertainty Over the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelf and Slope

Historical hydrographic data are used to determine the spatial and seasonal patterns of uncertainty in thermohaline and sound-speed fields in a well-sampled region, the continental shelf and slope in the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB). Several different historical databases are combined to produce two-dimensional (2-D) plan view and cross-shelf fields of temperature, salinity, and sound speed in two separate regions, the New England shelf and the shelf off Delaware and Maryland. In addition, spatial maps of the sound-speed fields reveal that the maximum variance of the sound speed occurs at the edge of the continental shelf, in the vicinity of the shelfbreak front. The standard deviation of the sound speed was largest during the spring and summer, with magnitudes as large as 14 m/s in a narrow band coinciding with the mean position of the shelfbreak front. During spring the peak in variance was located near the surface outcrop of the front, but during summer the maximum variance was centered at a depth of 30 m, immediately beneath the seasonal thermocline. Comparisons with both synoptic measurements from the Shelfbreak PRIMER experiment as well as moored time series from the Nantucket Shoals Flux Experiment confirm that the shelfbreak front is a "hotspot" of uncertainty (maximum variance), and that the vertical structure of the peak variance is dependent on the presence or absence of the seasonal thermocline     

Distribution of whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri, Desmarest 1823) larvae in the Río de la Plata estuarine front

Whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) larvae obtained and hydrographic data collected in the Rio de la Plata estuary (35°S–56°W) between 1987 and 2000 were used to explore the early life stages spatial and temporal distribution patterns and their relation to oceanographic features. The spatial distribution, restricted to a band in the inner part of the estuary, coincided with the bottom salinity front and the maximum turbidity zone (MTZ, turbidity front). Larvae were present during the warmest months (October through May) within a range of 14–24.5 °C temperature and 0.9–33 salinity. A vertically stratified sampling performed in the region where the largest abundance was found (December 2005 and March 2006) was used to test the hypothesis that larvae retention occurs in the bottom salinity front.The vertically stratified sampling showed larvae throughout the water column with high predominance in the river–estuary transition zone. A positive correlation between abundance and the bottom salinity horizontal gradient was found. The size analysis showed that the largest individuals (>10 mm SL), probably undergoing the settlement process, inhabited near the bottom and that the smallest (<10 mm SL) were present in the whole water column. Length distribution along the front showed no trend.Results support the estuarine retention hypothesis of previous studies on whitemouth croaker gravid females, eggs distribution and outcomes from a numerical simulation model. Retention in the salinity front/MTZ would allow larvae to benefit from food accumulation in the region, the high turbidity level provide shelter against predators and retention in the estuary secure closeness to the main nursery ground.     

Seasonality of foraminiferal flux in sediment traps at Chatham Rise,SW Pacific: implications for paleotemperature estimates

Analysis of sediment traps located either side of the Subtropical Front east of New Zealand reveals a strong association between water masses and foraminiferal assemblages. The composition and timing of foraminiferal productivity is distinct between waters north and south of the front, and these differences are also reflected in the assemblages of nearby core-tops. The sediment trap data indicate highly seasonal flux patterns in this region, so sedimentary records may represent flux during a particular season, rather than throughout the annual cycle. This pronounced seasonality has implications for our estimates of the annual temperature range based on faunal assemblages. This study shows that despite strong flux seasonality the annual sea-surface temperature (SST) range is reliably estimated from the sediment trap foraminiferal assemblages by the modern analog technique. The successful estimation of the annual SST range also indicates that the annual flux obtained from these sediment traps is representative of the longer term flux preserved in surface sediments. Core-top assemblages from this region can therefore be directly related to modern sea-surface conditions, providing an analogue for interpreting past environmental change from fossil assemblages.     

On the dynamics and effects of double-diffusively driven intrusions

Some of the characteristics of intrusive finestructure observed in oceanic fronts suggest that salt fingering is active in the intrusions. An extension of Stern's 1967 study of the stability of a thermohaline front to intrusive finestructure driven by salt fingers is presented to investigate this hypothesis. Intrusions are found to grow due to the salt finger induced density fluxes even in the presence of small scale momentum dissipation. The presence of this dissipation defines a fastest growing mode for the disturbance which has physical characteristics not unlike those observed in oceanic fronts. The model results do not agree well with the laboratory studies of intrusions. For many fronts, the model requires initial perturbations in the front which can support salt fingers. Linear internal waves are investigated to determine if they can provide the initial perturbation. It is shown that, away from the equator, the interaction between internal waves and intrusions is weak because of a mismatch of time scales. Finally, growing intrusions are shown to flux heat, salt and density across fronts. The senses of these fluxes are to run down the lateral gradients of many oceanic fronts.     

Analysis of thermohaline and current distribution characteristics of Zhejiang and Fujian waters in summer

This paper analyzed the distribution of thermohaline and circulation characteristics of Zhejiang and Fujian waters, based on the cross-sectional thermohaline data and on current data (up to 30 d duration) at fixed-point moorings, collected in the summer of 2006. We also performed low-pass filtering and spectrum analysis on the mooring submersible buoy data. Based on that analysis, we discussed the characteristics of low frequency currents and time-variations in these waters. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) There is a low salinity pinnate area near the Hangzhou Bay in summer, and outside the low salinity area, an obvious salinity front is present from surface to bottom near 123°E. There is also a temperature front below the surface at a corresponding position. (2) Bottom water of the Taiwan Warm Current comes from the subsurface of Kuroshio. (3) The direction of low frequency current at fixed anchor stations is N-NE or S, which mainly depends on the interaction of control currents in this waters. (4) Significant spectral peaks at all mooring stations are typically semidiurnal and diurnal tides. Semidiurnal tidal waves are the main ones in these waters, and have more energy closer to the shore. (5) Significant energy spectral peaks of middle period (3 to 8 d) of currents are responses to weather frequency. (6) Significant energy spectral peaks of long periods at the surface or bottom are probably responses to seasonal wind or bottom friction, while, the long period peaks of other depths can reflect cyclical changes of interactions between currents. We conclude that the pulsation period of the Taiwan Warm Current in these waters is 10-17 d.     

Formation of thermohaline front by cooling of the sea surface and inflow of the fresh water

A numerical study of characteristics of the front formed by cooling of the sea surface and inflow of the fresh water is made within a vertical two-dimensional plane without the rotation of the earth. The convective adjustment technique is employed to parameterize the small scale convective overturning process.A sharply edged shelf causing the marked difference of the heat capacity of the water columns between over the shelf (50 m depth) and in the deeper region (150 m depth), is responsible for the formation of a thermal front over the shelf edge and two cell circulations of the same sense with each other adjoining at the frontal region.Inflow of the fresh water at the upper region of the coast (which is equivalently replaced by the outflow of the salt from the same region) adds a circulation of the opposite sense to the above ones, which transports the water of low salinity and low temperature offshore and forms a sharp front both of temperature and salinity with the offshore water of high salinity and high temperature. This thermohaline front or Oceanic front has a remarkable character that the horizontal density gradient is minimal at the front due to the counteracting contributions of temperature and salinity to density. Response of this front to the sudden ceases of the surface cooling and the fresh water supply, is also studied in order to understand its transient behaviors.