A review of the shelf-slope circulation along Australia’s southern shelves: Cape Leeuwin to Portland

A review is presented of the ocean circulation along Australia’s southern shelves and slope. Uniquely, the long, zonal shelf is subject to an equatorward Sverdrup transport that gives rise to the Flinders Current - a small sister to the world’s major Western Boundary Currents. The Flinders Current is strongest near the 600 m isobath where the current speeds can reach 20 cm/s and the bottom boundary layer is upwelling favourable. It is larger in the west but likely intermittent in both space and time due to possibly opposing winds, thermohaline circulation and mesoscale eddies. The Flinders Current may be important to deep upwelling within the ubiquitous canyons of the region.During winter, the Leeuwin Current and local winds act to drive eastward currents that average up to 20-30 cm/s. The currents associated with the intense coastal-trapped wave-field (6-12 day band) are of order 25-30 cm/s and can peak at 80-90 cm/s. Wintertime winds and cooling also lead to downwelling to depths of 200 m or more and the formation of dense coastal water within the Great Australian Bight and the South Australian Sea. Within the Great Australian Bight, the thermohaline circulation associated with this dense water is unknown, but may enhance the eastward shelf-edge, South Australian Current. The dense salty water formed within Spencer Gulf is known to cascade as a gravity current to depths of 200 m off Kangaroo Island. This dense water outflow and meanders in the shelf circulation also fix the locations of a sequence of quasi-permanent mesoscale eddies between the Eyre Peninsula and Portland.During summer, the average coastal winds reverse and surface heating leads to the formation of warm water in the western Great Australian Bight and the South Australian Sea. No significant exchange of shelf water and gulf water appears to occur due to the presence of a dense, nutrient-rich (sub-surface) pool that is upwelled off Kangaroo Island. The winds lead to weak average coastal currents (<10 cm/s) that flow to the north-west. In the Great Australian Bight, the wind stress curl can lead to an anticyclonic circulation gyre that can result in shelf-break downwelling in the western Great Australian Bight and the formation of the eastward, South Australian Current. In the east, upwelling favourable winds and coastal-trapped waves can lead to deep upwelling events off Kangaroo Island and the Bonney Coast that occur over 3-10 days and some 2-4 times a season. The alongshore currents here can be large (∼40 cm/s) and the vertical scales of upwelling are of order 150 m (off Kangaroo Island) and 250 m (off the Bonney Coast).Increasing evidence suggests that El Nino events (4-7 year period) can have a major impact on the winter and summer circulation. These events propagate from the Pacific Ocean and around the shelf-slope wave-guide of West Australia and into the Great Australian Bight. During winter El Nino events, the average shelf currents may be largely shut-down. During summer, the thermocline may be raised by up to 150 m. The nature and role of tides and surface waves is also discussed along with uncertainties in the general circulation and future research.     

宫古海峡通道海流的高分辨率数值模拟

运用美国麻省理工大学MITgcm模式、模式嵌套技术和高分辨率网格(水平方向为1°/48×1°/48,垂向为22层),模拟了宫古海峡通道中的海流流动状况。流场不同分辨率的模拟结果表明,海底地形对宫古海峡通道中的海流流动影响显著;宫古海峡通道中的海流流动结构具有如下特征:垂向流动可分为3层,每层均存在流速核心;400 m以浅的上层海流从太平洋流入到东海,平均流速约为10 cm/s,流速核心位于160 m附近;400~1 000 m的中层海流从东海流出到太平洋,平均流速约为2 cm/s,流速核心位于650 m附近;1 000 m以下的深层海流从太平洋流入到东海,平均流速约为1 cm/s,流速核心位于1 200 m附近。宫古海峡通道中的海流流动具有较强的季节变化特征,秋末冬初流动较强,夏季流动较弱。     

吕宋岛西侧中、深层环流的诊断分析

利用P矢量方法和第3版本的美国海军全球数字环境模式(GDEM)气候态月平均温、盐数据诊断分析了南海吕宋岛西侧中层与深层环流结构。结果显示在南海吕宋岛西侧中层存在一个反气旋涡,与前人在此处深层发现的气旋涡相反,且2个涡旋均与低盐中心位置相对应。诊断结果还表明中层反气旋涡从上到下流速逐渐减弱,深层气旋涡则随深度逐渐加强,在两涡旋之间的过渡层流速非常弱。中层反气旋涡的平均流速大小和低盐中心的平均盐度存在明显的季节变化,5—7月最强,这可能是中层环流在一定程度上受上层环流影响的表现。     

伶仃洋低频水流与水沙纵向输运

在分析实测燃料（1978－1979）的基础上，运用物质纵向输移模式讨论了伶仃洋河口湾余流的垂向结构，同时，对同步资料进行低通滤波处理，得到垂向低频水流分布。结果表明，两种分析方法对伶仃洋河口环流与水沙输移的解释基本一致，东、西、两槽均存在明显的垂向环流，平均流、斯托克斯漂移效应，以及垂向净环流是净输沙的主要贡献项。     

南海等密度面环流季节变化的数值模拟研究

In this study, we develop a variable-grid global ocean general circulation model(OGCM) with a fine grid(1/6)°covering the area from 20°S–50°N and from 99°–150°E, and use the model to investigate the isopycnal surface circulation in the South China Sea(SCS). The simulated results show four layer structures in vertical: the surface and subsurface circulation of the SCS are characterized by the monsoon driven circulation, with basin-scaled cyclonic gyre in winter and anti-cyclonic gyre in summer. The intermediate layer circulation is opposite to the upper layer, showing anti-cyclonic gyre in winter but cyclonic gyre in summer. The circulation in the deep layer is much weaker in spring and summer, with the maximum velocity speed below 0.6 cm/s. In fall and winter, the SCS deep layer circulation shows strong east boundary current along the west coast of Philippine with the velocity speed at 1.5 m/s, which flows southward in fall and northward in winter. The results have also revealed a fourlayer vertical structure of water exchange through the Luzon Strait. The dynamics of the intermediate and deep circulation are attributed to the monsoon driving and the Luzon Strait transport forcing.     

南海北部陆架陆坡区海流观测研究

针对2006-2009年期间,南海北部陆架陆坡区3个站ADCP海流连续观测资料,采用功率谱分析、潮流调和分析方法,重点分析了陆架陆坡区100 m,200 m和1 200 m水深海域海流的垂向结构,探讨了环流的季节变化和空间分布特征,特别讨论了南海暖流和北陆坡流的时空变化特征。结果表明,陆架陆坡区潮流类型属于不规则日潮,深水站点中层表现为正规全日潮类型,垂向为"三层结构",甚至更加复杂。O₁,K₁,M₂,S₂等分潮总体上为顺时针旋转,在深水站点,基本表现为西北－东南走向的往复流形态。从能量角度看,表层和底层海流中,潮流所占份额较大,分别占30%~40%和40%~50%,中层较小,约为20%。对东沙群岛西南陆架陆坡区环流,观测计算结果证实了西向强流的存在,且垂向结构具有显著的季节变化,在200 m水深处没有明显的南海暖流,只是10~30 m以上层次存在逆风海流。海南岛以东海域连续15个月表层环流的结果表明,冬季明显受到南海暖流的影响,存在东北向的逆风海流,夏秋季的环流表现为西南向,流速较强,夏季也存在逆风情况,造成上述情形的原因可能是该地南海暖流的流轴具有季节性变化——冬季偏南,夏季偏北。     

The Circulation in the Upper and Intermediate Layers of the South China Sea

The circulation in the basin of the South China Sea is reproduced using a four-layer numerical model. Current fields in the second (upper) and third (intermediate) layers are emphasized. Three eddies coexist in the upper layer in summer. The circulation pattern in this layer is similar to that in the first (surface) layer. In winter, a cyclonic circulation occupies the entire basin of the South China Sea in the upper layer as in the surface layer. On the other hand, the circulation pattern in the intermediate layer is fairly different from that in upper two layers especially in winter. A double-gyre pattern appears in the intermediate layer during winter. The pattern is caused by the propagation of the baroclinic Rossby wave of the second mode. This wave is excited at onset of the winter monsoon wind. Such circulation pattern well explains the observed salinity distribution in the intermediate layer. Although the double-gyre pattern in the intermediate layer is revealed even in summer in this model, it is restricted in the western part of the basin. Besides, its current speed is small compared to that in winter.     

印尼海龙目海峡上层环流季节变化及影响机制

本文基于2002—2016年OFAM(Ocean Forecast Australian Model)模式数据,通过谱分析与相关分析等方法,研究了龙目海域上层环流结构的季节变化特征及主要的影响因素。分析结果表明,龙目海峡(Lombok Strait)平均流量占印尼贯穿流(Indonesian throughflow, ITF)总出口流量的15%,呈现出南半球冬强夏弱的特点,具有半年和一年的周期特征;龙目海域上层环流结构具有明显的季节特征,受到卡里马塔海峡贯穿流(Karimatastraitthroughflow,KSTF)和望加锡海峡贯穿流(Makassarstrait throughflow,MSTF)的周期性影响,一年可以分为四个阶段,存在结构性差异。KSTF(MSTF)为上层龙目海峡带来高温低盐(低温高盐)水团。进一步分析发现局地风场、大气季节内振荡(Madden-Julian Oscillation, MJO)以及海底地形是龙目海域上层环流结构季节变化的主要影响因素。     

The circulation, water masses and sea-ice of Baffin Bay

The oceanographic, meteorological and sea-ice conditions in Baffin Bay are studied using historical hydrographic, satellite and meteorological data, and a set of current meter data from a mooring program of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. Baffin Bay is partially covered by sea-ice all year except August and September. The interannual variation of the ice extent is shown to be correlated with winter air temperature. Available hydrographic data were used to study the water masses and the horizontal and vertical distribution of temperature/salinity. Three water masses can be identified – Arctic Water in the upper 100–300 m of all regions except the southeast, West Greenland Intermediate Water at 300–800 m in most of the interior of Baffin Bay, and Deep Baffin Bay Water in all regions below 1200 m. The temperature and salinity in Baffin Bay have limited seasonal variability except in the upper 300 m of eastern Davis Strait, northern Baffin Bay and the mouth of Lancaster Sound. Summer data have a temperature minimum at 100 m, which suggests winter convection does not penetrate deeper than this depth. Current meter data and results of a circulation model indicate that the mean circulation is cyclonic. The seasonal variation of the currents is complex. Overall, summer and fall tend to have stronger currents than winter and spring at all depths. Among the different regions, the largest seasonal variation occurs at the mouth of Lancaster Sound and the Baffin Island slope. Model generated velocity fields show a basic agreement with the observed currents, and indicate strong topographic control in the vicinity of Davis Strait and on the Greenland shelves. The model also produces a southward counter current on the Greenland slope, which may explain the observed high horizontal shears over the Greenland slope. Estimates of the volume and fresh water transports through Lancaster, Jones and Smith Sounds are reviewed. Transports through Davis Strait are computed from the current meter data. The balance of freshwater budget and sensitivity of the thermohaline circulation to freshwater transport are discussed.     

Air-Sea Interaction, Coastal Circulation and Primary Production in the Eastern Arabian Sea: A Review

Air-sea interaction, coastal circulation and primary production exhibit an annual cycle in the eastern Arabian Sea (AS). During June to September, strong southwesterly winds (4∼9 m s⁻¹) promote sea surface cooling through surface heat loss and vertical mixing in the central AS and force the West India Coastal Current equatorward. Positive wind stress curl induced by the Findlater jet facilitates Ekman pumping in the northern AS, and equatorward-directed alongshore wind stress induces upwelling which lowers sea surface temperature by about 2.5°C (compared to the offshore value) along the southwestern shelf of India and enhances phytoplankton concentration by more than 70% as compared to that in the central AS. During winter monsoon, from November to March, dry and weak northeasterly winds (2–6 m s⁻¹) from the Indo-China continent enhance convective cooling of the upper ocean and deepen the mixed layer by more than 80 m, thereby increasing the vertical flux of nutrients in the photic layer which promotes wintertime phytoplankton blooms in the northern AS. The primary production rate integrated for photic layer and surface chlorophyll-a estimated from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, both averaged for the entire western India shelf, increases from winter to summer monsoon from 24 to 70 g C m⁻²month and from 9 to 24 mg m⁻², respectively. Remotely-forced coastal Kelvin waves from the Bay of Bengal propagate into the coastal AS, which modulate circulation pattern along the western India shelf; these Kelvin waves in turn radiate Rossby waves which reverse the circulation in the Lakshadweep Sea semiannually. This review leads us to the conclusion that seasonal monsoon forcing and remotely forced waves modulate the circulation and primary production in the eastern AS. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The throughflow within Ombai Strait

A current meter mooring was deployed for one year in December 1995 in Ombai Strait, one of the deep connections between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Depending on the horizontal extrapolation, the mean transport was estimated to be between 4 and 6 Sv towards the Savu Sea. Succession of intense events of one or two months duration nearly hides the expected annual variability with maximum in August–September. Although the mean currents in the upper 200 m were five times higher than that below, the deep and wide strait section leads to a significant deep transport. Analysis of the hydrological characteristics of the concerned water masses corroborates the circulation given by the current measurements. The east-north-east current in December in the upper layer is thought to be related to the arrival of a Kelvin wave originating in the equatorial Indian Ocean and trapped along the coasts of the Sunda Islands before entering the Savu Sea between Sumba and Flores Islands.     

台湾东北海域夏季冷穹及上升流的数值模拟

夏季,黑潮在台湾东北向东海陆架的入侵表现为黑潮次表层水的强烈涌升,并在陆架上形成明显的冷穹。本研究利用ROMS(Regional Ocean Modeling System)模式,模拟了夏季黑潮入侵所形成的冷穹及上升流的三维结构,并讨论了上升流形成的动力机制。结果表明,冷穹中心在50 m以上的深度位于25.5°N,122.5°E附近,最大降温5 ℃以上;在50 m以下的深度,冷穹的中心位于台湾岛北缘。表层黑潮在台湾北缘不存在明显入侵,在陆坡东向转向附近则以气旋式环流入侵至陆架以上。此外,上升流主要位于陆坡坡度最大的区域,且黑潮次表层水的涌升存在两个较为明显的路径,分别位于台湾岛以北的100 m与200 m等深线之间以及东向转向的陆坡区域。在上层,平流作用是上升流产生的主要机制;而在近底层,平流作用与底摩擦都对上升流有贡献。     

The mechanism of the banded structure of drifting macroalgae in the Yellow Sea

At the end of May 2008, a massive bloom of macroalgae occurred in the western Yellow Sea off China and lasted for nearly two months, and annual blooms have occurred since then on. During bloom period, the surfacedrifting macroalgae have showed an interesting pattern dominated by a banded structure, and the distance between neighboring bands ranged from hundreds of meters to about 6 km with a peak at 1–1.5 km, which is an order of higher than the scale of Langmuir circulation of 50–100 m. In order to explain this new phenomenon,ocean current data obtained from a Doppler current profiler off Qingdao was used to implement stability analysis.By numerically solving the resulting differential Orr-Sommerfeld equation, the secondary circulation induced from the instability of the Emkan current was found to fit well with the observed spatial scale of the surfacedrifting macroalgae's banded structure. As the wind driven Emkan current exist universally in the global ocean, it is reasonable to conclude that the banded structure with kilometers distance between adjoining bands is ubiquitous. We found a new circulation in the upper ocean which is important for exchange of energy, materials and gas between the upper ocean and subsurface layer.     

Interaction between Cape hake spawning and the circulation in the northern Benguela upwelling ecosystem

Cape hake in Namibian waters are demersal and mesopelagic spawners, spawning peaking offshore between 100 and 400 m deep, depending on local environmental conditions. The cross-shelf circulation, low-oxygen layers and mesoscale gyres are three important environmental factors influencing hake spawning behaviour and subsequent transport of the spawning products. Normally, hake spawn offshore near the bottom at depths of 150–400 m. However, during one cruise, spawning was concentrated below several subsurface mesoscale gyres, resulting in reduced dispersion of the eggs and larvae. When the low-oxygen layer above the bottom is pronounced, hake spawning has been observed close to the top of the layer at oxygen concentrations as low as 0.2–0.3 m? ?^?1. The relatively small size of the eggs and their high specific gravity make them ascend quite slowly from the spawning depths, 10–40 m per day. Consequently, hake eggs spawned deeper than 200 m hatch before they reach the upper mixed layer. The newly hatched larvae are relatively undeveloped, without functional eyes or mouth, and display little swimming activity during their first hours, but laboratory observations have revealed subsequent periods of downward swimming activity. Based on current field observations, on buoyancy measurements of eggs and larvae and on observed larval behaviour, it is concluded that hake eggs and larvae are transported onshore by features of the upwelling subsurface circulation that compensate for offshore movement of surface water. This may be the basic mechanism concentrating early juvenile hake nearshore. Spawning activity near the low-oxygen layer might be a behavioural adaptation to minimize egg predation, because few other species are expected to survive such low concentrations of oxygen.     

基于潜标观测的吕宋海峡以东深海海流的低频变异

本文利用在菲律宾海布放的一套锚系潜标获取的长时间海流和水温观测数据,分析了吕宋海峡以东的深海海洋环境特征,着重阐释了该海域海流的全水深垂向结构及其低频变化特征。研究表明,表层(100～160 m)平均流向为西偏北,流速约为12.5 cm/s;中层(810 m)的平均流为西向,流速为2.6 cm/s;深层(1 550 m和2 560 m)的平均流速在1 cm/s以内,近底(4 040 m)的流向为较稳定的西南向,流速为2.3 cm/s。上层海流的动能比中层和深层大1～2个量级,总动能、平均动能、涡动动能均在表层最大,中层次之、深层最小,各层次涡动能均大于平均动能。中上层海流的低频变化具有极高的相似性,全年为81～85 d的周期振荡;近底层海流则不同,变化周期约为51 d。     

河口环流和盐水入侵I--模式及控制数值试验

本文应用ECOM模式,设计1个控制试验,研究理想河口环流和盐水入侵的动力过程.数值计算结果表明,盐水入侵产生盐度锋面,在锋面处底层存在着向陆的密度流,为保持断面上质量连续,上层的流速趋于增大;近口门附近底层流有偏南分量,表明有横向环流存在.在口门外因斜压和底形的作用,产生明显的上升流.盐水入侵在空间上具有不对称性,高盐水位于北岸的下层.在拦门沙上游出现上下2个相反方向的横向环流,而在口门处只出现1个顺时针方向的横向环流.从动力机制上分析了盐水入侵的空间不对称性和横向环流的产生.     

东中国海拉格朗日环流数值模拟Ⅱ.环流模拟

依据自适应数值模型,模拟了东中国海冬、夏季三维斜压Lagrange环流。模拟发现：台湾暖流的上层水来自台湾海峡入流和台湾东北黑潮的表层水;50m以下的深底层水主要由台湾东北黑潮的次表层水入侵陆架生成。冬季对马暖流外海一侧主要由黑潮水构成,而其近陆一侧由台湾暖流和陆架混合水构成,西朝鲜沿岸流在济州海峡汇入对马暖流;夏季它还包含转向后的长江冲淡水。冬季黄海暖流并非对马暖流的直接分支,黄海暖流水是对马暖流水和陆架水混合而成,这与传统观点相悖,而与中韩黄海水循环动力学合作调查结果一致。黄海暖流东西两侧分别为2支向南流动的滑岸流。夏季黄海环流构成基本封闭的逆时针环流。冬季渤海环流主要有一逆时针大环流,但辽东湾的环流是顺时针向的。渤海环流冬强夏弱,水流在渤海海峡北进南出。     

Effects of bottom topography and density stratification on the formation of western boundary currents

A wind-driven, general circulation for a two-layer ocean with continental shelf-slope along the western boundary is studied numerically. Special attention is focused on the formation process of the western boundary current in the subtropical gyre. The western boundary current develops in the upper layer along the western boundary on the shelf-slope with a bottom trapped poleward flow in the lower layer. The poleward undercurrent is concentrated approximately along the contour lines of the potential vorticity,f/D, wheref is the Coriolis parameter andD the depth of the ocean. The separation of upper- and lower-layer flows on the shelf-slope represents a typical transient response. As the response approaches a steady state, the poleward undercurrent decreases in amplitude, and the motion tends to be confined to the upper layer. The flow pattern becomes similar to that found in a flat bottom ocean. A steady-state response is expected to be isostatic (no motion in the lower layer), even on the shelf-slope, as conservation of potential vorticity would suggest.The remarkable increase in transport of the western boundary current produced by the formation of an anticyclonic vortex on the shelf-slope extending throughout the hemisphere (Holland, 1973) does not occur in the wind-driven general circulation.     

New Development of Eastern Mediterranean Circulation based on Hydrological Observations and Current Measurements

Abstract. A number of recent studies based on hydrographic observations and modelling simulations have dealt with the major climatic shift that occurred in the deep circulation of the Eastern Mediterranean. This work presents hydrographic observations and current measurements conducted from 1997 to 1999, which reveal strong modifications in the dynamics of the upper, intermediate and deep layers, as well as an evolution of the thermohaline characteristics of the deep Aegean outflow since 1995. The reversal of the circulation in the upper layer of the north/central Ionian is worthy of note. The observations indicate a reduction of Atlantic Water in the northern Ionian with an increase on the eastern side of the basin. In the intermediate layer, the dispersal path of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) is altered. Highly saline (>39.0) and well-oxygenated intermediate waters were found near the Western Cretan Arc Straits. They flow out from the Aegean, thus interrupting the traditional path of the LIW, and spread prevalently northwards into the Adriatic Sea. In the deep layer, dense waters, exiting from the Adriatic (σ_ø−29.18 kg · m⁻³), flow against the western continental margin in the Ionian Sea at a depth of between 1000–1500 m. Dense waters of Aegean origin (> 29.20 kg · m⁻³), discharged into the central region of the Eastern Mediterranean during the early stages of the transient, propagate prevalently to the east in the Levantine basin and to the west in the northern Ionian Sea. Near-bottom current measurements conducted in the Ionian Sea reveal unforeseen aspects of deep dynamics, suggesting a new configuration of the internal thermohaline conveyor belt of the Eastern Mediterranean.     

济州岛南部海区的双跃层现象

本文分析了济州岛南部区域温度双跃层现象的类型及其成因。特别阐明了双跃层的波状现象,指出:强流锋区的侧向效应,黑潮次—中层混合水的爬升,黄海冷水团边缘密度环流引起的侧向流动,以及上、下层流速、流向不一致引起的剪切作用,是导致双跃层波状现象的主要原因。发现上、下跃层之间存在着“跃层间环流”,这是一个有趣的海洋学现象,它将导致双扩散的发生和有利于双跃层的维持。