Quantitative evaluation of turbulent mixing in the Central Equatorial Pacific

Turbulent mixing in the central equatorial Pacific has been quantitatively evaluated by analyzing data from microstructure measurements and conductivity temperature depth profiler (CTD) observations in a meridionally and vertically large region. The result that strong turbulent mixing with dissipation rate ε (>O(10^?7) W kg^?1), continuing from sea-surface mixed layer to low Richardson number region below, in the area within 1° of the equator, shows that turbulent mixing has a close relationship to shear instability. ε > O(10^?7) W kg^?1 and turbulent diffusivity K _ρ  > O(10^?3) m² s^?1 were obtained from near-surface to 85 db at stations even southwardly beyond 3°S, where it is already far from the southern boundary (~2°S) of the Equatorial Undercurrent. Turbulence-induced heat flux and salinity flux were calculated, and both had their maxima in the equatorial upwelling region, though the former was downward and the latter was upward. Accordingly, vertical velocity in the upwelling region was estimated to be similar to the results derived by other methods. These fluxes and the vertical velocity suggest the critical importance of turbulent mixing in maintaining the well-mixed upper layer. Secondly, in the intermediate region (>500 db), turbulent eddies were investigated by applying Thorpe’s method to the CTD data. A large number of overturns were detected, with spatial-averaged K _ρ (700–1,000 db) being 3.3 × 10^?6 m² s^?1, and the corresponding K _ρ-max reaching to O(10^?4) m² s^?1 in the north (3°–13°N). The results suggest that, in the intermediate region, considerable turbulent mixing occurs and moderates the properties of the water masses.     

Mixing process on the northeast coast of Hokkaido in summer

Direct measurements using a free-falling micro-profiler were conducted on the northeast coast of Hokkaido in the summer of 2007 to clarify the mixing process in the Soya Warm Current (SWC) region in terms of microstructure. The distribution of the Turner angle (Tu) showed that these regions have a high potential for double diffusive convection, but direct measurements of the turbulent dissipation rate (ε) and dissipation of temperature variance ( $ \chi_{T} $ ) did not necessarily correspond to each other in the SWC region, especially in the offshore front of SWC and farther offshore. The mixing efficiency indicated that, even though the Turner angle (Tu) indicated a high potential for double diffusive convection, turbulent mixing was the main contributor to the mixing process in this region, and double-diffusive convection only contributed partially and sparsely, especially in the boundary off SWC water. The bottom mixed layer (BML) is known to thicken off the SWC. The vertical diffusivity coefficient was enhanced near the bottom (10^?4–10^?3 m² s^?1) off the SWC, and these results support that turbulence near the bottom off the SWC contributed to the thickening of the BML.     

A modified method for estimating vertical profiles of turbulent dissipation rate using density inversions in the Kuril Straits

To address the lack of directly measured turbulence data in the Kuril Straits, an existing method was modified to indirectly estimate continuous vertical profiles of turbulent energy dissipation rate ε by using density inversions. A linear relationship was confirmed between directly measured ε and indirectly estimated ε from the existing method, where most of the detected density inversions were discarded as noise. The existing method thus yielded large gaps in the vertical profiles, and the gaps were much greater than the observed mean autocorrelation vertical length scale of about 10 m. To reduce these gaps and produce reasonable estimates for vertical ε profiles, the quality tests were carefully re-examined with directly measured ε data, and one of the quality tests (the water mass test) was excluded because the test rejects real density inversions even with large ε. With this modification, and interpolation and smoothing of the indirectly estimated ε with the mean correlation length scale, continuous vertical ε profiles were obtained. These profiles have an error factor of 3.3 corresponding to one standard deviation of the ratio between directly observed and estimated data, and 95 % of the data were within a factor of 10.5, with the overall correlation coefficient between smoothed directly measured ε and estimated ε equal to 0.80. This method could be useful for areas where 10^?9 < ε < 10^?6.5 W/kg, and where vertical distances between adjacent density inversions are mostly less than the mean autocorrelation scale.     

Spatial distribution of turbulent diapycnal mixing along the Mindanao current inferred from rapid-sampling Argo floats

The Mindanao Current (MC) bridges the North Pacific low-latitude western boundary current system region and the Indonesian Seas by supplying the North Pacific waters to the Indonesian Throughflow. Although the previous study speculated that the diapycnal mixing along the MC might be strong on the basis of the water mass analysis of the gridded climatologic dataset, the real spatial distribution of diapycnal mixing along the MC has remained to be clarified. We tackle this question here by applying a finescale parameterization to temperature and salinity profiles obtained using two rapid-sampling profiling Argo floats that drifted along the MC. The western boundary (WB) region close to the Mindanao Islands and the Sangihe Strait are the two mixing hotspots along the MC, with energy dissipation rate ε and diapycnal diffusivity K_ρ enhanced up to?~?10^–6 W kg^?1 and?~?10^–3 m² s^?1, respectively. Except for the above two mixing hotspots, the turbulent mixing along the MC is mostly weak, with ε and K_ρ to be 10^–11–10^–9 W kg^?1 and 10^–6–10^–5 m² s^?1, respectively. Strong mixing in the Sangihe Strait can be basically attributed to the existence of internal tides, whereas strong mixing in the WB region suggests the existence of internal lee waves. We also find that water mass transformation along the MC mainly occurs in the Sangihe Strait where the water masses are subjected to strong turbulent mixing during a long residence time.

     

Ventilation time and anthropogenic CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> in the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean based on carbon tetrachloride measurements

The Arctic Ocean is connected to the Pacific by the Bering Sea and the Bering Strait. During the 4th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition, measurements of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) were used to estimate ventilation time-scales and anthropogenic CO₂ (C_ant) concentrations in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea based on the transit time distribution method. The profile distribution showed that there was a high-CCl₄ tongue entering through the Canada Basin in the intermediate layer (27.6?<?σ_θ?<?28), at latitudes between 78 and 85°N, which may be related to the inflow of Atlantic water. Between stations B09 and B10, upwelling appeared to occur near the continental slope in the Bering Sea. The ventilation time scales (mean ages) for deep and bottom water in the Arctic Ocean (~?230–380 years) were shorter than in the Bering Sea (~?430–970 years). Higher mean ages show that ventilation processes are weaker in the intermediate water of the Bering Sea than in the Arctic Ocean. The mean C_ant column inventory in the upper 4000 m was higher (60–82 mol m^?2) in the Arctic Ocean compared to the Bering Sea (35–48 mol m^?2).     

南极西北威德尔海上层海洋湍流混合研究

Turbulent mixing in the upper ocean(30-200 m) of the northwestern Weddell Sea is investigated based on profiles of temperature,salinity and microstructure data obtained during February 2014.Vertical thermohaline structures are distinct due to geographic features and sea ice distribution,resulting in that turbulent dissipation rates(ε) and turbulent diffusivity(K) are vertically and spatially non-uniform.On the shelf north of Antarctic Peninsula and Philip Ridge,with a relatively homogeneous vertical structure of temperature and salinity through the entire water column in the upper 200 m,both ε and K show significantly enhanced values in the order of O(10~(-7))-O(10~(-6)) W/kg and O(10~(-3))-O(10~(-2)) m~2/s respectively,about two or three orders of magnitude higher than those in the open ocean.Mixing intensities tend to be mild due to strong stratification in the Powell Basin and South Orkney Plateau,where s decreases with depth from O(10~(-8)) to O(10~(-9)) W/kg,while K changes vertically in an inverse direction relative to s from O(10~(-6)) to O(10~(-5)) m~2/s.In the marginal ice zone,K is vertically stable with the order of10~(-4) m~2/s although both intense dissipation and strong stratification occur at depth of 50-100 m below a cold freshened mixed layer.Though previous studies indentify wind work and tides as the primary energy sources for turbulent mixing in coastal regions,our results indicate weak relationship between K and wind stress or tidal kinetic energy.Instead,intensified mixing occurs with large bottom roughness,demonstrating that only when internal waves generated by wind and tide impinge on steep topography can the energy dissipate to support mixing.In addition,geostrophic current flowing out of the Weddell Sea through the gap west of Philip Passage is another energy source contributing to the local intense mixing.     

Evaluation of spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the central Pacific

A long-term mean turbulent mixing in the depth range of 200–1000 m produced by breaking of internal waves across the middle and low latitudes (40°S–40°N) of the Pacific between 160°W and 140°W is examined by applying fine-scale parameterization depending on strain variance to 8-year (2005–2012) Argo float data. Results show that elevated turbulent dissipation rate (ε) is related to significant topographic regions, along the equator, and on the northern side of 20°N spanning to 24°N throughout the depth range. Two patterns of latitudinal variations of ε and the corresponding diffusivity (K_ρ) for different depth ranges are confirmed: One is for 200–450 m with significant larger ε and K_ρ, and the maximum values are obtained between 4°N and 6°N, where eddy kinetic energy also reaches its maximum; The other is for 350–1000 m with smaller ε and K_ρ, and the maximum values are obtained near the equator, and between 18°S and 12°S in the southern hemisphere, 20°N and 22°N in the northern hemisphere. Most elevated turbulent dissipation in the depth range of 350–1000 m relates to rough bottom roughness (correlation coefficient?=?0.63), excluding the equatorial area. In the temporal mean field, energy flux from surface wind stress to inertial motions is not significant enough to account for the relatively intensified turbulent mixing in the upper layer.     

The thermohaline structure and evolution of the deep waters in the Canada Basin,Arctic Ocean

Below the sill depth (at about 2400 m) of the Alpha-Mendeleyev ridge complex, the waters of the Canada Basin (CB) of the Arctic Ocean are isolated, with a ¹⁴C isolation age of about 500 yr. The potential temperature θ decreases with depth to a minimum θ_m≈−0.524°C near 2400 m, increases with depth through an approximately 300 m thick transition layer to θ_h≈−0.514°C, and then remains uniform from about 2700 m to the bottom at 3200–4000 m. The salinity increases monotonically with depth through the deep θ_m and transition layer from about 34.952 to about 34.956 and then remains uniform in the bottom layer. A striking staircase structure, suggestive of double-diffusive convection, is observed within the transition layer. The staircase structure is observed for about 1000 km across the basin and has been persistent for more than a decade. It is characterized by 2–3 mixed layers (10–60 m thick) separated by 2–16 m thick interfaces. Standard formulae, based on temperature and salinity jumps, suggest a double-diffusive heat flux through the staircase of about 40 mW m⁻², consistent with the measured geothermal heat flux of 40–60 mW m⁻². This is to be expected for a scenario with no deep-water renewal at present as we also show that changes in the bottom layer are too small to account for more than a small fraction of the geothermal heat flux. On the other hand, the observed interfaces between mixed layers in the staircase are too thick to support the required double-diffusive heat flux, either by molecular conduction or by turbulent mixing, as there is no evidence of sufficiently vigorous overturns within the interfaces. It therefore seems, that while the staircase structure may be maintained by a very weak heat flux, most of the geothermal heat flux is escaping through regions of the basin near lateral boundaries, where the staircase structure is not observed. The vertical eddy diffusivity required in these near-boundary regions is O(10⁻³) m² s⁻¹. This implies Thorpe scales of order 10 m. We observe what may be Thorpe scales of this magnitude in boundary-region potential temperature profiles, but cannot tell if they are compensated by salinity. The weak stratification of the transition layer means that the large vertical mixing rate implies a local dissipation rate of only O(10⁻¹⁰) W kg⁻¹, which is not ruled out by plausible energy budgets. In addition, we discuss an alternative scenario of slow, continuous renewal of the CB deep water. In this scenario, we find that some of the geothermal heat flux is required to heat the new water and vertical fluxes through the transition layer are reduced.     

Meridional energy flux in the Arctic from data of the radiosonde archive IGRA

The meridional energy transport into high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere is an important climate-forming factor in the Arctic. This work presents the results of calculating the meridional energy flux across 70° N based on the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA) data from the radio sounding of the atmosphere. The long-term mean energy flux over the period 1992–2007 in the layer from the Earth’s surface to 30 hPa is 70.6 W m^?2. The fraction of the sensible heat flux is 23.2 W m^?2, i.e., 33% of the total energy flux; the fraction of the latent heat flux is 28.0 W m^?2 (40% of the total energy flux); the fraction of the potential energy is 20.0 W m^?2 (27%); and the fraction of the kinetic energy is 0.53 W m^?2, i.e., less than 1% of the total energy flux. The vertical structure of the flux shows that the main energy transport into the Arctic takes place in the middle troposphere-lower stratosphere layer, whereas the energy is transported mainly out of the Arctic in the lower troposphere, which agrees well with the schematic notion about the polar circulation cell. The spatial structure of the flux shows that the key regions with a positive (directed into the Arctic) energy flux are located in the vicinity of 160° E (the northwestern part of Eurasia, Pacific sector) and 50° W (Greenland sector). The regions with a negative (directed out of the Arctic) energy flux are located near 120° W (Canadian Arctic Archipelago) and from 20° E to 90° E (Atlantic sector). In the period from 1992 to 2007, the meridional energy transport into the Arctic weakened by ?0.26 W m^?2 yr^?1. The changes were mutually correlated; namely, positive and negative energy fluxes weakened in amplitude, almost without changing their locations.     

Cold deep water in the South China Sea

Two deep channels that cut through the Luzon Strait facilitate deep (>2000 m) water exchange between the western Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. Our observations rule out the northern channel as a major exchange conduit. Rather, the southern channel funnels deep water from the western Pacific to the South China Sea at the rate of 1.06 ± 0.44 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹). The residence time estimated from the observed inflow from the southern channel, about 30 to 71 years, is comparable to previous estimates. The observation-based estimate of upwelling velocity at 2000 m depth is (1.10 ± 0.33) × 10⁻⁶ ms⁻¹, which is of the same order as Ekman pumping plus upwelling induced by the geostrophic current. Historical hydrographic observations suggest that the deep inflow is primarily a mixture of the Circumpolar Deep Water and Pacific Subarctic Intermediate Water. The cold inflow through the southern channel offsets about 40% of the net surface heat gain over the South China Sea. Balancing vertical advection with vertical diffusion, the estimated mean vertical eddy diffusivity of heat is about 1.21 × 10⁻³ m²s⁻¹. The cold water inflow from the southern channel maintains the shallow thermocline, which in turn could breed internal wave activities in the South China Sea.     

Discharge and surface plume measurements during manganese nodule mining tests in the north equatorial pacific

Rates, concentrations, and composition of mining discharge and the size and structure of the ensuing surface plumes were examined during North Pacific tests of scaled manganese nodule mining systems. Discharge was composed principally of bottom water and pelagic silts and clays, although nodule fragments with diameters less than 1 mm were also discharged at widely varying rates. Average flow rates of the discharge varied from 95 to 160 litres/s, with the solid fraction varying from 550 to approximately 2000g/s. The plume, as determined by particulate concentrations in excess of ambient oceanic conditions, extended approximately 5 km from the mining ship and had a width of about 1 km. Fe and Mn signatures allowed detection of the plume nearly 35 km from the source. The plume provided evidence of settling more rapidly than expected of silt and clay-size particles: a mean settling velocity of 6 × 10^?2 cm/s for the particulates in the plume and a mixed layer vertical turbulent eddy diffusivity of 1 × 10^?2m²/s have been inferred from the data. Field and laboratory data together suggest that the rapid settling was due to flocculation of the discharge particulates.     

2014年大西洋水在楚科奇边陲区域的上边界混合

This study presents an analysis of the CTD data and the turbulent microstructure data collected in 2014, the turbulent mixing environment above the Atlantic Water(AW) around the Chukchi Borderland region is studied.Surface wind becomes more efficient in driving the upper ocean movement along with the rapid decline of sea ice,thus results in a more restless interior of the Arctic Ocean. The turbulent dissipation rate is in the range of4.60×10~(–10)~(–3.31×10~(–9) W/kg with a mean value of 1.33×10~(–9) W/kg, while the diapycnal diffusivity is in the range of1.45×10~(–6)–1.46×10~(–5)m~2/s with a mean value of 4.84×10~(–6) m~2/s in 200–300 m(above the AW). After investigating on the traditional factors(i.e., wind, topography and tides) that may contribute to the turbulent dissipation rate, the results show that the tidal kinetic energy plays a dominating role in the vertical mixing above the AW. Besides, the swing of the Beaufort Gyre(BG) has an impact on the vertical shear of the geostrophic current and may contribute to the regional difference of turbulent mixing. The parameterized method for the double-diffusive convection flux above the AW is validated by the direct turbulent microstructure results.     

An estimate of the vertical diffusivity of the deep water

A simple advection-diffusion model is applied to the deep water of the North Pacific Ocean. The physical mixing parameter, i.e., the ratio of vertical advection velocity (W) to vertical eddy diffusivity (D), is obtained from the vertical distribution of a conservative property such as salinity. The rate of decomposition of organic matter is estimated from the oxygen consumption rate which is obtained from dissolved oxygen content. The calcium carbonate flux in the deep water is obtained from alkalinity. Using these values and the vertical distribution of a radioisotope,¹⁴C or²²⁶Ra, the vertical eddy diffusivity and the upwelling velocity are found to be 1.2 cm²/sec and 1.4 ×10^–5 cm/sec, respectively, at the Geosecs 1969 station. The oxygen consumption rate at 3 km depth of the station is found to be 1.4×10^–3ml/l/yr.     

Development of a thin diatom layer observed in a stratified embayment in Japan

The temporal evolution of a thin phytoplankton layer was observed by field measurements using a research vessel and mooring instruments in the Yatsushiro Sea, a semi-enclosed narrow embayment in Japan, in early August 2013. The subsurface chlorophyll maximum developed into a thin layer within 2 days just below the pycnocline at around 10-m depth, where turbulent mixing (the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy) was weak (low). The layer persisted for 1.5 to 2 days and declined after irradiance drastically decreased at the sea surface. At the peak period, the layer thickness, which is defined as the full-width at half-maximum of the peak in chlorophyll a concentration, ranged from 0.6 to 1.4 m, and the maximum concentration reached 42.3 mg m^?3. The horizontal extent of the layer was approximately 10 km along the longitudinal axis of the bay. The phytoplankton population characterized by the layer was dominated by a chain-forming centric diatom, Chaetoceros spp. The formation mechanisms of the thin diatom layer were investigated using the observed data and a vertical one-dimensional model that includes physical and biological processes. The results suggest that the development of the thin layer was caused by in situ growth and aggregation due to nutrient-dependent sinking of the species under weak turbulence. The study highlights that continuous multidisciplinary observations and understanding species-specific physiological responses to environmental variations are necessary to elucidate drastically fluctuating phytoplankton dynamics in a coastal water.     

Light utilization efficiency of phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre of the North Pacific during summer

We investigated the water-column light utilization efficiency (Ψ) of phytoplankton photosynthesis in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG) of the North Pacific during summer 2008. The Ψ values (0.64–1.86 g C [g Chl a]^?1 [mol photon]^?1 m²) obtained were observed to increase significantly with decreasing daily photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) and were generally higher than those of previous studies, not only from the subarctic Pacific but also from the world’s oceans. To examine the effect of iron availability on Ψ in the WSG, Ψ values were estimated from the data of two in situ iron fertilization experiments: the Subarctic Pacific Iron Experiment for Ecosystem Dynamics Study I (SEEDS-I) and II (SEEDS-II). We found that iron availability did not affect Ψ values. Overall, this study revealed that Ψ values changed remarkably in the WSG during the summer, and that higher values were found at the stations where moderate PAR levels (ca. 10–30 mol photons m^?2 day^?1) were observed and where autotrophic flagellates predominated in the phytoplankton assemblages.     

Influence of surface forcing on near-surface and mixing layer turbulence in the tropical Indian Ocean

An autonomous upwardly-moving microstructure profiler was used to collect measurements of the rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy (ε) in the tropical Indian Ocean during a single diurnal cycle, from about 50 m depth to the sea surface. This dataset is one of only a few to resolve upper ocean ε over a diurnal cycle from below the active mixing layer up to the air–sea interface. Wind speed was weak with an average value of ~5 m s⁻¹ and the wave field was swell-dominated. Within the wind and wave affected surface layer (WWSL), ε values were on the order of 10⁻⁷–10⁻⁶ W kg⁻¹ at a depth of 0.75 m and when averaged, were almost a factor of two above classical law of the wall theory, possibly indicative of an additional source of energy from the wave field. Below this depth, ε values were closer to wall layer scaling, suggesting that the work of the Reynolds stress on the wind-induced vertical shear was the major source of turbulence within this layer. No evidence of persistent elevated near-surface ε characteristic of wave-breaking conditions was found. Profiles collected during night-time displayed relatively constant ε values at depths between the WWSL and the base of the mixing layer, characteristic of mixing by convective overturning. Within the remnant layer, depth-averaged values of ε started decaying exponentially with an e-folding time of 47 min, about 30 min after the reversal of the total surface net heat flux from oceanic loss to gain.     

Biological organic carbon export estimated from the annual carbon budget observed in the surface waters of the western subarctic and subtropical North Pacific Ocean from 2004 to 2013

The annual flux of biologically produced organic carbon from surface waters is equivalent to annual net community production (NCP) at a steady state and equals the export of particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC and DOC, respectively) to the ocean interior. NCP was estimated from carbon budgets of salinity-normalized dissolved inorganic carbon (nDIC) inventories at two time-series stations in the western subarctic (K2) and subtropical (S1) North Pacific Ocean. By using quasi-monthly biogeochemical observations from 2004 to 2013, monthly mean nDIC inventories were integrated from the surface to the annual maximum mixed layer depth and corrected for changes due to net air–sea CO₂ exchange, net CaCO₃ production, vertical diffusion from the upper thermocline, and horizontal advection. The annual organic carbon flux at K2 (1.49 ± 0.42 mol m^?2 year^?1) was lower than S1 (2.81 ± 0.53 mol m^?2 year^?1) (p < 0.001 based on t test). These fluxes consist of three components: vertically exported POC fluxes (K2: 1.43 mol m^?2 year^?1; S1: 2.49 mol m^?2 year^?1), vertical diffusive DOC fluxes (K2: 0.03 mol m^?2 year^?1; S1: 0.25 mol m^?2 year^?1), and suspended POC fluxes (K2: 0.03 mol m^?2 year^?1; S1: 0.07 mol m^?2 year^?1). The estimated POC export flux at K2 was comparable to the sum of the POC flux observed with drifting sediment traps and active carbon flux exported by migrating zooplankton. The export fluxes at both stations were higher than those reported at other time-series sites (ALOHA, the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study, and Ocean Station Papa).     

A 2—D section of 228Ra and 226Ra in the Northeast Pacific

Seawater samples collected in the northeast Pacific from 112° 50′W to 126° 36′W along a latitudinal band (21–25° N) have been analysed for ²²⁸RA and ²²⁶Ra. Both nuclides exhibit their characteristic distributions. In the surface water, the exponential-like decrease of ²²⁸ Ra away from Baja California can be interpreted by horizontal water mixing with eddy diffusion coefficients (K_x) of 1 × 10⁶ cm² s⁻¹ and 5 × 10⁷ cm² S⁻¹ for scale lengths of 200 km and 1000 km, respectively. In the bottom waters, the decrease of ²²⁸Ra away from bottom sediments can be modeled by vertical eddy diffusivities (K_z) of 15–30 cm² s⁻¹ except at one station (24° 16.9′ N, 115° 8.9′ W) where a value of 120 cm² s⁻¹ is obtained. The ²²⁸Ra-derived diffusivities were used to compute the mass balance of ²²⁶Ra using a two-box model. The model results show a mean mixing coefficient of 3.8 cm² s⁻¹ for the thermocline and a mean upwelling velocity of 7.7 m y⁻¹ in the study area, both are about two or three times higher than those generally quoted for the Pacific.     

Formation and transport of intermediate water masses in a model of the Pacific Ocean

A basin-wide ocean general circulation model of the Pacific Ocean was used to investigate how the interior restoration in the Okhotsk Sea and the isopycnal diffusion affect the circulation and intermediate water masses. Four numerical experiments were conducted, including a run with the same isopycnal and thickness diffusivity of 1.0×103 m2/s, a run employing the interior restoration of temperature and salinity in the Okhotsk Sea with a time scale of 3 months, a run that is the same as the first run except for the enhanced isopycnal mixing, and a final run with the combination of the restoration in the Okhotsk Sea and large isopycnal diffusivity. Simulated results show that the intermediate water masses reproduced in the first run are relatively weak. An increase in isopycnal diffusivity can improve the simulation of both Antarctic and North Pacific intermediate waters, mainly increasing the transport in the interior ocean, but inhibiting the outflow from the Okhotsk Sea. The interior restoration generates the reverse current from the observation in the Okhotsk Sea, whereas the simulation of the temperature and salinity is improved in the high latitude region of the Northern Hemisphere because of the reasonable source of the North Pacific Intermediate Water. A comparison of vertical profiles of temperature and salinity along 50°N between the simulation and observations demonstrates that the vertical mixing in the source region of intermediate water masses is very important.     

Seasonal variation of water temperature in the Seto Inland Sea

The seasonal variation of water temperature in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan is examined using data analysis and numerical experiments and is shown to be controlled by heat exchange through the sea surface and horizontal heat dispersion from the Pacific Ocean. The average water temperature goes down from the Pacific Ocean to the center of the Seto Inland Sea indicating that 4.0 to 6.0×10¹⁵ cal day^?1 (1.6 to 2.5×10¹⁶ joule day^?1) of heat is transported from the Pacific Ocean to the Seto Inland Sea and is lost through the sea surface. The amplitude of seasonal variation of water temperature is large at the center of the Seto Inland Sea and the maximum water temperature is reached first at Bisan Straits and last at Iyo-Nada.