Upwelling front and two-cell circulation

A two-cell circulation associated with a front observed in coastal upwelling regions is studied numerically in a three-dimensional level model. An ocean with a flat bottom is forced by the wind stress with a longshore variation. Upwelling is induced in the region next to the coast. In association with the upwelling, the pycnocline slopes up toward the coast and intersects the sea surface forming a front. After that, downwelling is induced just inshore-side of the front and upwelling offshore-side. The transverse circulation in the present model seems to reproduce the observed two-cell circulation. It is found that the generation of the two-cell circulation is due to deviations of the longshore flow from the thermal-wind relation (geostrophy). The deviations are caused by the onshore-offshore movements of the front. Although no vorticity input through the wind stress is assumed, several barotropic vortices are induced by the effect of the inclination of the pycnocline and grow as long as the winds continue to blow. The observed poleward undercurrent may be interpreted as a combination of motions of the internal mode associated with the front and a barotropic flow associated with a cyclonic vortex.     

Kinematics of the upwelling front off southern Africa

Mesoscale circulation features have been shown to play an important role in the cross-frontal mixing of upwelling cells, their frontal morphology and in their interaction with oceanic water masses. With three years of detailed thermal infra-red satellite information on the South-East Atlantic upwelling system available, it proved possible to present a preliminary study of four prevalent frontal features intrinsic to the short-term behaviour of upwelling in this area. Upwelling filaments are shown to extend between 50 and 600 km seawards of the main front and are found, as are upwelling plumes, predominantly off the recognized major upwelling cells. Frontal eddies have a range of diameters and are found distributed over the full area of upwelling and on both sides of the main upwelling front. Warm filaments of Agulhas Current origin are advected preferentially along the western border of the Agulhas Bank and follow closely the front of the southernmost upwelling cells, where they may play a catalytic role in the creation of frontal turbulence.     

横穿黑潮锋断面的流场结构

基于一组简化了的运动方程组，在充分考虑底Ekman层作用的情况下，提出一种横穿锋面的断面上流场结构的计算方法。应用该方法对东海横穿黑潮锋的不同断面上的流场（1989－1990年资料）进行计算。结果表明，黑潮锋左侧（向岸侧）存在较强的上升流，而锋区右侧（离岸侧）表现为海水的下降运动。垂直流速为（1－20）×10－3cm／s的量级，而横穿锋面方向的水平流速为1－3cm／s，其中以夏、秋季跃层附近最强。在陆架坡折处，上升流转向陆架。同时，还分析了正压场和斜压场对这种流场的不同贡献，认为在黑潮区，正压场起主要作用;而在内陆架区，斜压场则变得重要。将计算的流场与硝酸盐的分布比较表明，两者有较好的对应关系。     

Palynological characterization of gassy sediments in the inner part of Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). New chronological and environmental data

Palynological characterization of the pollen assemblages from core ZV-01 offers a reliable age record of shallow ‘gas seal’ and ‘gas reservoir’ sediments from the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). Gassy sediments show a direct correspondence with the palynological assemblage zones (LPAZ) 2, 3 and 4, which range in age from 950 to 1510 a.d. for the interval 81–176 cm where gas is found. The facies acting as a seal would correspond to the sedimentation in the ria starting from 1510 a.d. These assemblages also provide significant data which make it possible to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental changes recorded in the sedimentary infill of the Ría de Vigo. The gassy horizon corresponds to the phase when riparian and mesophilous forest were better represented. This coincides with a relative high abundance of Lingulodinium machaerophorum, which indicates that the waters of the ria had been less renewed by oceanic waters and had a plentiful supply of continental nutrients. At that time, anoxic conditions resulted from restricted vertical circulation of seawater and/or high biological productivity. The dinocyst assemblages overlying and underlying the gassy horizon in core ZV-01 are clearly different from those concomitant with the accumulation of the gassy sediments. This suggests that oceanographic conditions in the Ría de Vigo may have changed several times during the time interval covered by our record. The weaker relationship between L. machaerophorum/Spiniferites spp., and simultaneous significant increases in Impagidinium spp. and Bitectatodinium tepikiense may indicate a greater intrusion of colder, more oceanic waters into the Ría de Vigo, which may have provoked intensification in upwelling during two periods, ca. 700–850 a.d. and ca. 1500–1750 a.d.     

A numerical study on the tidal residual flow

Characteristics of the tidal residual flow, the steady current induced in the tidal current system, are studied by a numerical method. The model basin has the same topography as that studied byYanagi (1976) and byOonishi (1977) where only the horizontal motion of the residual flow is concerned. In this study, the effect of the vertical motion is investigated as it is associated with the tidal residual flow. To this end, the bottom friction omitted in the previous study (Oonishi, 1977) is included and a two-leveled model is adopted.The first two experiments exclude the earth's rotation and the buoyancy effect on the flow. The results are as follows. The horizontal flow pattern is essentially the same as that obtained in the previous Oonishi study. The bottom friction results in the reduction of the velocity of the residual flow especially in the bottom level. An important result is that vertical velocity is as strong as the horizontal velocity multiplied by the scale ratio and that it remains even in the time-average. Upwelling appears at the center of the residual circulation. This upwelling explains Yanagi's observation in the hydraulic model that the sediment is swept by the flow and accumulates horizontally in the area at the bottom below the center of the residual circulation. The distribution of a tracer, which is simultaneously calculated in these cases, indicates the important role of vertical motion in the material dispersion in the model.The last experiment includes the earth's rotation and the buoyancy effect presuming a more actual sea. It shows another effect of the vertical motion. The Coriolis term, which operates only under the condition that a horizontal divergence of the flow is present, skews the horizontal residual flow pattern.     

Characteristics of a front formed by cooling of the sea surface and inflow of the fresh water

Two numerical studies (Endoh, 1977;Harashima et al., 1978) have been proposed on a front formed by a coupling effect of cooling of the sea surface and inflow of the fresh water in a vertical two-dimensional plane without the rotation of the earth. It is, however, not easy to interpret their numerical results. A simple interpretation will be proposed by an analytical study in this paper.It is found that local convection due to the density inversion, which is expressed by the convective adjustment of the vertical diffusion coefficient in the actual numerical calculations, plays an important role on the front formation.The characteristics of the front is also clarified in the case of steady state. Namely, simple functional dependences are obtained of the position and the width of the front, the horizontal and the vertical velocities and the distribution of the buoyancy and the salinity in the neighborhood of the front on the horizontal coordinate, the cooling rate, the eddy coefficients of diffusion and viscosity, the water depth and the vertically averaged horizontal fluxes of buoyancy and salinity.     

Spatial and temporal seasonal trends in coastal upwelling off Northwest Africa, 1981–2012

Seasonal coastal upwelling was analyzed along the NW African coastline (11–35°N) from 1981 to 2012. Upwelling magnitudes are calculated by wind speed indices, sea-surface temperature indices and inferred from meteorological station, sea-surface height and vertical water column transport data. A permanent annual upwelling regime is documented across 21–35°N and a seasonal regime across 12–19°N, in accordance with the climatology of previous studies. Upwelling regions were split into three zones: (1) the Mauritania–Senegalese upwelling zone (12–19°N), (2) the strong permanent annual upwelling zone (21–26°N) and (3) the weak permanent upwelling zone (26–35°N). We find compelling evidence in our various indices for the Bakun upwelling intensification hypothesis due to a significant coastal summer wind speed increase, resulting in an increase in upwelling-favorable wind speeds north of 20°N and an increase in downwelling-favorable winds south of 20°N. The North Atlantic Oscillation plays a leading role in modifying interannual variability during the other seasons (autumn–spring), with its influence dominating in winter. The East Atlantic pattern shows a strong correlation with upwelling during spring, while El Niño Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation teleconnections were not found. A disagreement between observationally-based wind speed products and reanalysis-derived data is explored. A modification to the Bakun upwelling intensification hypothesis for NW Africa is presented, which accounts for the latitudinal divide in summer wind regimes.     

Modelling of upwelling and downwelling in the ocean

Numerical experiments on the reconstruction of upwelling and downwelling at the eastern boundary of the ocean were carried out in the framework of a multilayer model of the ocean involving the upper mixed layer (UML). The peculiarities of these phenomena when they are formed and attenuated owing to the strong intensification and abatement of the longshore wind have been studied. It is shown that cold waters are always involved from the thermocline to the UML during upwelling. In downwelling, this occurs as a rule. However, during upwelling the abatement of the wind may result in subduction —the inflow of warm waters from the UML to the thermocline.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Seasonal variability of the water circulation in the southern ocean and heat, salt, and mass exchange in the Antarctic region and adjacent oceans

The hydrographic fields in the Arctic region are calculated with a three-dimensional nonlinear model of the general circulation in the World Ocean using climatic databases on temperature, salinity, and wind stress. The calculation results show that the seasonal variability of the fields is negligible. The salinity distribution almost does not change from season to season, and slight temperature differences are found only in the upper layer. In the winter period, a moderate intensification of the currents is observed. The formation of an intermediate low-salinity layer is revealed at the Subantarctic front, where the intensive turbulence and transverse circulation in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current near the front result in the sinking of the surface low-salinity waters down to intermediate depths. The low-salinity water propagates in the oceans at intermediate depths northward from the front by advection. The integral values of the seasonal transport of mass, heat, and salt in various sections are presented in tables, and the distributions of appropriate characteristics in these sections are shown in figures. According to the calculations, the highest seasonal variations of heat, salt, and mass exchange in the Antarctic region and adjacent oceans are found in the Atlantic sector.     

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.     

浅水区锋面的流场结构

用一垂向二维的诊断模式,研究了浅水区锋面的流场结构。参照James模式并结合杭州湾具体情形来确定垂向涡动粘性系数,得到了与实测结果相一致的浅水区(杭州湾)锋面的流场结构。研究表明,在探讨浅水区锋面流场时必须选取合理的模式;而深水锋面流场结构对所采用的模式依赖性不大;锋面的流场结构不仅与锋面的强度有关,而且与锋面的结构有关。     

Effect of bottom slope in northeastern North Pacific on deep-water upwelling and overturning circulation

Hydrographic data show that the meridional deep current at 47°N is weak and southward in northeastern North Pacific; the strong northward current expected for an upwelling in a flat-bottom ocean is absent. This may imply that the eastward-rising bottom slope in the Northeast Pacific Basin contributes to the overturning circulation. After analysis of observational data, we examine the bottom-slope effect using models in which deep water enters the lower deep layer, upwells to the upper deep layer, and exits laterally. The analytical model is based on geostrophic hydrostatic balance, Sverdrup relation, and vertical advection–diffusion balance of density, and incorporates a small bottom slope and an eastward-increasing upwelling. Due to the sloping bottom, current in the lower deep layer intensifies bottomward, and the intensification is weaker for larger vertical eddy diffusivity (K _V), weaker stratification, and smaller eastward increase in upwelling. Varying the value of K _V changes the vertical structure and direction of the current; the current is more barotropic and flows further eastward as K _V increases. The eastward current is reproduced with the numerical model that incorporates the realistic bottom-slope gradient and includes boundary currents. The interior current flows eastward primarily, runs up the bottom slope, and produces an upwelling. The eastward current has a realistic volume transport that is similar to the net inflow, unlike the large northward current for a flat bottom. The upwelling water in the upper deep layer flows southward and then westward in the southern region, although it may partly upwell further into the intermediate layer.     

Influence of bottom topography on an upwelling current: Generation of long trapped filaments

We investigate the influence of bottom topography on the formation and trapping of long upwelling filaments using a 2-layer shallow water model on the f-plane. A wind forced along-shore current, associated with coastal upwelling along a vertical wall, encounters a promontory of finite width and length, perpendicular to the coast.In the lower layer, topographic eddies form, which are shown to drive the formation of a filament on the front. Indeed, as the upwelling current and front develop along the coast, the along shore flow crosses the promontory, re-arranging the potential vorticity structure and generating intense vortical structures: water columns with high potential vorticity initially localized upon the promontory are advected into the deep ocean, forming cyclonic eddies, while water columns from the deep ocean with low potential vorticity climb on the topography forming a trapped anticyclonic circulation. These topographic eddies interact with the upper layer upwelling front and form an elongated, trapped and narrow filament.Sensitivity tests are then carried out and it is shown that:

• •baroclinic instability of the front does not play a major role on the formation of long trapped filaments;
• •increasing the duration of the wind forcing increases the upwelling current and limits the offshore growth of the filament;
• •modifying the promontory characteristics (width, length, height and slopes) has strong impact on the filament evolution, sometimes leading to a multipolarisation of the potential vorticity anomaly structure which results in much more complicated patterns in the upper layer (numerous shorter and less coherent filaments). This shows that only specific promontory shapes can lead to the formation of well defined filaments;
• •adding bottom friction introduces a slight generation of potential vorticity in the bottom layer over the promontory, but does not significantly alter significantly the formation of the filament along the outcropped front in the present configuration;
• •modifying the stratification characteristics, in particular the density jump between the layers, has only a weak influence on the dynamics of topographic eddies and on filament formation;
• •the influence of capes is also modest in our simulations, showing that topography plays the major role in the formation of long and trapped upwelling filaments.

     

北黄海冷水团环流结构探讨──潮混合锋对环流结构的影响

简述北黄海冷水团环流结构研究现状，指出已有研究成果中的主要问题，然后用一个诊断模型给出了冷水团环流结构，得到冷水团环向主要存在于海洋上层接近冷水团边界处，径向运动也主要存在于断面两端，上层为离岸流，下层为向岸流；冷水团中心的上升流极为微弱，且仅存在于海洋上层，温跃层下的冷水团中心区域的流动极为微弱，几乎为“死水”一般，上述环流结构对冷水团中心部分的温、盐度长期保持不变及跃层底部溶解氧最大值的形成和     

Poleward shift of the coastal upwelling region off the California coast

Yoshida (1967) pointed out that the coastal upwelling region may not coincide with the intense longshore wind region and shift poleward. In order to clarify this poleward shift from the existing data, the monthly mean distributions of the offshore Ekman transport and the coastal upwelling intensity are estimated along the California coast from U. S. Daily Weather Maps and from the CCOFI data in 1949, respectively. The results show that the center of the coastal upwelling region is generally shifted to the north from the position of the maximum offshore Ekman transport. The detailed discussions are given for the case of August 1949 when the shift is seen most clearly.     

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.     

Double-celled circulation in coastal upwelling

Simple numerical experiments on two-dimensional coastal upwelling are made with emphasis on the role of non-geostrophic solenoidal field of density in the formation of double-celled circulation and multi-celled density front. Geometry of shelf and slope is not taken into account. Existence of poleward undercurrent presumably caused by the longshore variation of the large scale pressure field is also suppressed for the sake of simplicity.The results are, (1) double-celled circulation revealed in the present experiment is closely related with the internal frictional layer, where the horizontal density gradient balances with the vertical gradient of the longshore velocity and the vertical diffusion of the vorticity. (2) density front formed by the emergence of the pycnocline to the sea surface is successively advected offshoreward by the Ekman transport. (3) the pycnocline intersecting the sea surface forms the density front which is nearly vertical on account of the small scale convection. The surface currents converge at the front and construct an anti-clockwise circulation (viewed from the lee side). (4) small coefficient of eddy viscosity and strong wind stress lead the Ekman transport unstable and form a multi-celled structure in the frontal region.     

黄海冷水团的环流结构

运用定性分析和数值模拟，对黄海冷水团的环流结构进行了探讨，结果表明黄海冷水团的垂向环流结构为双环结构：跃层以上区为中心上升，边缘下降的弱环流;跃层以下区为中心下降，边缘上升的强环流；在冷水团的中心区域，流动很弱，且无穿越温跃层的垂向流动。同时也对以往有关黄海冷水团垂向环流结构的工作进行了讨论。     

The coccolithophore summer–autumn assemblage in the upwelling waters of Portugal: Patterns of mesoscale distribution (1985–2005)

A study of the mesoscale distribution of phytoplankton communities observed along the Portuguese upwelling coast in 1985–1986 made it possible to identify an assemblage composed by the coccolithophores Helicosphaera carteri, Syracosphaera pulchra and Coronosphaera mediterranea. The assemblage was consistently present in the coast in the following years (1991, 1992, 1994, 2003 and 2005) and from 1992 onwards, Rhabdosphaera clavigera was recognised as being part of it, although in low concentrations During late summer, this group of species showed higher affinities with upwelling waters of subtropical origin (ENACWst) on the SW coast. At the end of the upwelling season, in autumn, the assemblage was advected to the NW shelf due to the intensification of the poleward surface circulation or meridional seasonal changes of environmental conditions. The species maximum abundances were not coincident in space: H. carteri developed at the central part of the western coast while blooms of S. pulchra and C. mediterranea generally occurred further south, such as at the upwelling centre of cape S. Vicente. Syracosphaera pulchra blooms were characterised by lower concentrations of C. mediterranea and vice-versa. The above patterns were recurrent along the years but the relative abundance of each species appeared related to the interannual variability of physical conditions as the upwelling.