Comparing modeled streamfunction,heat and freshwater content in the Arctic Ocean

Within the framework of the Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Project results from several coupled sea ice–ocean models are compared in order to investigate vertically integrated properties of the Arctic Ocean. Annual means and seasonal ranges of streamfunction, freshwater and heat content are shown. For streamfunction the entire water column is integrated. For heat and freshwater content integration is over the upper 1000 m. The study represents a step toward identifying differences among model approaches and will serve as a base for upcoming studies where all models will be executed with common forcing. In this first stage only readily available outputs are compared, while forcing as well as numerical parameterizations differ.The intercomparison shows streamfunctions differing in pattern and by several Sverdrups in magnitude. Differences occur as well for the seasonal range, where streamfunction is subject to large variability.Annual mean heat content, referenced to 0 °C, in the Canada Basin varies from −3.5 to +1.8 GJ m⁻² among the models, representing both colder and warmer solutions compared to the climatology. Seasonal range is highest in regions with seasonal or no ice cover.Corresponding freshwater content, referenced to 34.8 ppt, shows differences most obviously in the Beaufort Sea and Canada Basin where maximum values vary between 6 and 24 m for the individual models. Maxima in the seasonal range are related to river inflow.In the current stage of the project, applied windstress contributes significantly to the differences. However differences due to model resolutions and model parameterizations can already be detected.     

Lagrangian fronts in the ocean

We introduce the concept of Lagrangian fronts (LFs) in the ocean and describe their importance for analyzing water mixing and transport and the specific features and differences from hydrological fronts. A method of calculating LFs in a given velocity field is proposed. Based on altimeter velocity fields from AVISO data in the northwestern Pacific, we calculate the Lagrangian synoptic maps and identify LFs of different spatial and temporal scales. Using statistical analysis of saury catches in different years according to the Goskomrybolovstvo (State Fisheries Committee of the Russian Federation), we show that LFs can serve as good indicators of places that are favorable for fishing.     

台湾海峡南部的海洋锋

通过近期水文观测,结合卫星遥感和历史水文资料,对台湾海峡南部海域的海洋锋现象进行了整体分析。结果表明,由于多种水系在此交汇,台湾海峡南部冬、夏季匀有明显锋面发育。受季风气候影响,锋面发育有显著的季节差异。夏季影响本海区的水系主要有韩江冲淡水、上升流、南海水、和黑潮水等。它们的交汇形成了韩江冲淡水羽状锋、台湾浅滩上升流锋、黑潮锋、以及陆架／陆坡锋等的三维锋结构。韩江冲淡水和上升汉对夏季海崃南部浅海峰     

Trace metal fronts in Scottish coastal waters

Dissolved cadmium and copper concentrations have been determined in 76 surface water samples in coastal and ocean waters around Scotland by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). A trace metal/salinity ‘front’ is observed to the west, north and north-east of Scotland separating high salinity ocean water (>35 × 10⁻³) with low concentrations of dissolved Cd and Cu from lower salinity (<35 × 10⁻³) coastal water containing higher concentrations of Cd and Cu. Mean Cd concentrations in ocean and coastal waters are 7 ng dm⁻³ (0·06 n ) and 11 ng dm⁻³ (0·10 n ) respectively; for Cu the respective levels are 60 ng dm⁻³ (0·95 n ) and 170 ng dm⁻³ (2·68 n ). The observed distribution is attributed principally to freshwater runoff and the advection of contaminated Irish Sea water into the study area.     

A note on solitary waves along potential vorticity fronts on anf-plane

The effects of short waves on the propagration of velocity discontinuity along the interface of two uniform potential vorticity, zones on anf-plane is examined. It is shown, using a multiple scale analysis, that the dispersion introduced by the short waves can balance the nonlinear steepening effects predicted by the semigeostrophic theory. The time evolution of a shear disturbance along the front is governed by a Korteweg-de Vries equation. Numerical solutions of the solitary waves along the front are presented.     

Annual cycle of stratification and tidal fronts in the Bohai Sea: A model study

In general, competition between buoyancy mechanisms and mixing dynamics largely determines the water column structure in a shelf sea. A three dimensional baroclinic ocean model forced by surface heat fluxes and the 2.5 order Mellor-Yamada turbulence scheme is used to simulate the annual cycle of the temperature in the Bohai Sea. The difference between the sea surface temperature (SST) and sea bottom temperature (SBT) is used to examine the evolution of its vertical stratification. It is found that the water column is well-mixed from October to March and that the seasonal thermocline appears in April, peaks in July and then weakens afterwards, closely following the heat budget. In addition, the Loder parameter based on the topography and tidal current amplitude is also computed in order to examine tidal fronts in the BS, which are evident in summer months when the wind stirring mechanism is weak.     

On the stability of fronts near shelfbreak

Using a two-dimensional semi-geostrophic model. the stability of fronts near shelf break (shelfbreak font, western boundary current front) and its mechanism are studied. We find that the stability of the front is related to the frontal structure. In general, the increase of the lower layer depth lowers the unstable growth rate (a1). (1) The shelfbreak front is baroclinically unstable and ai increases with the increase of the bottom slope, different from the conclusion of Flagg and Beardsley (1978). (2) A western boundary current front with uniform vorticity in the upper layer is barotropically unstable, due to the strong horizontal shear of the mean current. The unstable growth rate of this front for a realistic topography is only one seventh of that of the flat bottom case. (3) For a western boundary current front with hyperbolic tangent structure, we find its wave propagation speed to be about 0. 5 m/s, in agreement with the observed values. The front is baroclinically unstable. (4)The unstable growth     

象山港盐度锋面及其动力成因

基于盐度观测资料,证实了象山港夏季存在双潮锋的锋面系统,而在冬季该锋面现象消失。本文借助潮锋理论分析了该盐度锋面系统形成的动力机制,并进一步讨论了象山港径流量变化对锋面形成和消退的控制作用。结果表明,丰水期浮力输入是象山港锋面形成的最主要因素。     

Algorithm of automated recognition of oceanic temperature fronts

The recognition of fronts when describing the ocean’s circulation has been long appreciated. The advent of satellite oceanography led to developing methods for automated front detection using satellite composite SST data. In this work, we present an algorithm for front detection based on gradients-isotherms analysis. The algorithm detects a front as a sequence of isotherms having some special characteristics. This approach makes it possible to detect individual fronts (for instance, a slope water edge or the northern edge of the Gulf Stream) directly without preliminary detection of all the fronts in the system. The algorithm combines simplicity of implementation and high computational efficiency with good accuracy and high reliability.     

南黄海西北部夏季潮锋的观测和分析

根据2001-2004年逐年6月多学科综合调查资料和同期NASA的MODIS/Terra卫星遥感SST资料,对南黄海西北部夏季潮锋的不连续分布现象做了分析;并通过三维潮流数值模式计算Simpson-Hunter参数(以下简称S-H参数)分布,对不连续分布的形成机制做了讨论.层化季节南黄海西北部的苏北浅滩-海州湾外侧和山东半岛东部的成山头-石岛外海存在显著潮锋现象,而在两海域之间、青岛以东的山东半岛南部121°~122°E的近岸海域无显著潮锋持续存在;较高分辨率的潮流数值模拟的结果表明潮锋的不连续性分布主要是由潮混合和地形的共同作用而形成.潮锋不连续处海域潮混合较弱,层化现象更为显著.南黄海西北部底层锋形态较为显著,位于通过潮流模式计算的Simpson-Hunter参数1.8~2.4之间,与2.2等值线分布较为一致;表层锋则在海州湾外侧和石岛沿岸海域较为明显.潮锋不连续的分布特征对该海域的生态环境造成一定的影响,叶绿素a、中华哲水蚤、鳀鱼卵子等的数量分布都在潮锋显著的苏北浅滩-海州湾外侧和成山头-石岛外海海域形成较为密集的分布.     

Spring phytoplankton bloom in the fronts of the East China Sea

Frontal areas between warm and saline waters of the Kuroshio currents and colder and diluted waters of the East China Sea (ECS) influenced by the Changjiang River were identified from the satellite thermal imagery and hydrological data obtained from the Coastal Ocean Process Experiment (COPEX) cruise during the period between March 1^st and 10^th, 1997. High chlorophyll concentrations appeared in the fronts of the East China Seas with the highest chlorophyll-a concentration in the southwestern area of Jeju Island (~2.9 mg/m³) and the eastern area of the Changjiang River Mouth (~2.8 mg/m³). Vertical structures of temperature, salinity and density were similar, showing the fronts between ECS and Kuroshio waters. The water column was well mixed in the shelf waters and was stratified around the fronts. It is inferred that the optimal condition for light utilization and nutrients induced both from the coastal and deep waters enhances the high phytoplankton productivity in the fronts of the ECS. In addition, the high chlorophyll-a in the fronts seems to have been associated with the water column stability as well.     

Objective analysis of the structure of three-dimensional atmospheric fronts

A computational method for diagnosing three-dimensional atmospheric fronts from temperature, wind, and geopotential fields on a three-dimensional regular grid is proposed. The criterion, which serves for the diagnosis of atmospheric fronts, is discussed. The weights of the input information about the mentioned fields are optimized based on the maximal difference between the correlation functions for (a) pairs of particles separated by the front and (b) pairs from one synoptic mass. These weights were different for different baric levels. The correlation functions and the optimization of weights were estimated on the basis of the archive of fields of the NCEP objective analysis on the half-degree latitude-longitude grid and data from aerological observations. The results of numerical experiments on the construction of atmospheric fronts are presented. Applying the described method to fields predicted for a term of up to 36 h showed that errors in the prognostic models introduce a relatively weak distortion into the geometry of atmospheric fronts.     

Generation of baroclinic wave signatures by moving atmospheric fronts

The paper addresses the plane linear problem on generation of an internal wave in a continuously stratified ocean by a moving atmospheric front. The front exhibits air pressure perturbations, as well as the field of tangential wind stress. In the frame of a model for the planetary atmospheric boundary layer, a relationship between the air pressure and wind fields has been derived, generalizing Ackerbloom's formulae for the case of a moving atmospheric anomaly. Using the Fourier transform, a relation has been obtained for the wave's signature in the wake of a moving atmospheric perturbation, and the respective analysis has been performed. Numerical estimates of the internal wave amplitudes have been acquired for the mean density stratification in the Kuril-Kamchatka region. Comparative analysis of the effectiveness of wave signature generation by the moving areas of surface pressures and tangential wind stresses has been carried out. It has been demonstrated that the latter field determines the effectiveness of baroclinic wave signature generation. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Classification of “siome”, streaks and fronts

Siome, which was firstly defined by Uda (1938); is a line of convergence on the sea surface. There are many kinds of siome in the sea. I propose in this paper that siome should be classified into streak and front. Streak is defined as the convergence within the same water mass and front the convergence between two different water masses. Streaks and fronts are classified into more details on the basis of their mechanisms of generation. The proposed classification will be useful for understanding the dynamics of siome and should help to promote interdisciplinary studies around siome regions.