A note on internal wavetrains and the associated undulation of the sea surface observed upstream of seamounts

An internal wavetrain, generated by a tidal current in superposition with the Tsushima Warm Current, has been observed by use of an acoustic echo-sounder upstream of the Shichiri-Ga-Sone Seamounts in the East Tsushima Strait of the Japan Sea. The sea surface above the internal wavetrain was simultaneously observed and was found to be undulated at the wavelength of the internal wave.     

Short-term variabilities of upper ocean current in the warm pool region during TOGA/COARE IOP

Oceanic current data in the warm pool region of the western equatorial Pacific measured by upward-looking moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers at two equatorial sites (147°E and 154°E) and two off-equatorial sites (2°N and 2°S, 156°E) during TOGA/COARE Intensive Observing Period (IOP) from November 1992 to February 1993 are used to examine short-term variabilities in the upper layer above 160–240 m. In time series of the zonal and meridional currents in many layers, spectral peaks are found at periods around 2 days and 4 days in addition to high energies in a period range longer than 10 days. The signal with the period of about 2 days has significantly high energies at all sites, and its magnitude is higher for the meridional current than for the zonal one. This signal is especially active in the first half of IOP from November to December in 1992. In this period, the quasi-2-day signal in the current field is coherent between northern (2°N) and southern (2°S) stations, but it has no evident relationship with that in the surface wind field around the stations. The quasi-4-day signal with the period of about 4 days has highest energies in layers above 160 m at the southern station, and is coherent between northern and southern stations. Besides, the signal at the station of 2°S has a significantly high coherence with that in the wind at the southern station, suggesting that it is a local phenomenon.     

Chemical forms of minor metallic elements in the ocean

In order to clarify the chemical forms of minor metallic elements occurring in the ocean, a new method of separation of organic compounds of metals in sea water by using XAD-2 resin was contrived. By applying the new method of determination, it is found that, (1) More than 80 % of V, Fe, Cd and Cu dissolved in sea water are present in organic forms regardless of the depth; (2) A most part of Co and Pb are present in organic forms near the surface, but they change into inorganic forms in the deep layer up to 50 to 60%; (3) Of the total amounts of dissolved Al, Ni, Zn, Ag, Mo, and U, less than 30 % are present in organic forms in sea water anywhere in the ocean; (4) Up to 45% of Se is in organic forms.     

Tides and short-term variabilities in the Kuroshio west of Yonakuni-jima

INTRODUCFIONTheKuroshioeastofTaiwanIslandflowsnorthwardandenterstheEastChinaalgathroughapaSSagebetweenTaiwanIslandandlriomote-shima.TOstudyfurthertheKuroshiothereandestimateitstransPOrt,itisnecessarytoobservetheKuroshioCurrentdirectly.Therehavebeen*ThisstudywassupportedbytheNationalNaturalaudienceFoundationofChinaundercontractNo.49476278.severaldirectobservationsoftheKuroshionearTaiwanIsland.Forexample,thedirectcurrentmeasurementat(24'24'N1123'35'E)byinabaetal.(1981)showedtheapp…     

Annual variation of the southern boundary current in the Banda Sea

ADCP measurements in the southern Banda Sea, obtained with the bulk carrier “MS First Jupiter” from 1997 until 2000, have been analysed. The observations reveal the presence of an eastward flowing southern boundary current, bringing water from the Indonesian throughflow towards the connections with the Indian Ocean in Ombai Strait and the Timor Sea. The mean transport in the upper 300 m is estimated to be about 5 Sv, over 50% of the outflow towards the Indian Ocean in this layer through the eastern passages near Timor. The velocity in the boundary current shows a clear annual variation, more or less in phase with the annually varying inflow through Makassar Strait and the outflow near Timor. The phase of the annual variation cannot be explained by the monsoonal variation of the local winds. Therefore this annual variation of the throughflow is probably generated by large-scale forcing. A considerable reduction of the strength of the boundary current was observed in 1998, following the 1997–1998 El Niño with a delay of about half a year. On shorter time scales, Kelvin waves, entering the Banda Sea from the Indian Ocean, cause flow reversals of the boundary current.     

The uranium content and the activity ratio234U/238U in marine organisms and sea water in the western North Pacific

The uranium content and activity ratio A²³⁴U/A²³⁸U were determined in open ocean water, marine plankton, marine algae and sea water in the environment in which plankton and algae live. The average uranium content of 3.34±0.28×10⁻⁶ g/l and the average activity ratio of 1.13±0.04 were obtained in open ocean water. The uranium contents in plankton and algae were respectively from 1.7 to 7.8×10⁻⁷ g/g and 0.4 to 23.5×10⁻⁷ g/g on dry basis with the respective concentration factors of 48 to 260 and 10 to 733. The activity ratio in plankton and algae ranged from 1.07 to 1.18 which coincided well with those in the environmental sea water.     

Radiocarbon dates of elevated shorelines,Indonesia and Malaysia. Part 1

Four new radiocarbon dates of elevated strandlines in tectonically active areas of eastern Indonesia and East Malaysia indicate average rates of uplift that range between 4.5 and 9 mm annually during the past 24,000 yr. These values are at least three times higher than former estimates from eastern Indonesia. Another radiocarbon date from the south arm of Sulawesi—also tectonically mobile—indicates a rate of uplift of 1.4–2.5 mm per year which corresponds with earlier determinations. This particular case, however, suggests that the sample was probably located close to a north-south axis about which southern Sulawesi was tilted during the Quaternary.     

A Continuous Mapping of Tidal Current Structures in the Kanmon Strait

Tidal current structures at the Hayatomono-Seto of the Kanmon Strait are mapped continuously during March 17 to 20, 2003, including a spring tide, by the eight coastal acoustic tomography (CAT) systems distributed on both the sides of the strait. Detailed structures of strong tidal currents and their associated vortices are well reconstructed by the inverse analysis of travel-time difference data obtained from the reciprocal sound transmission between the paired CAT systems located at both sides of the strait mainly. The results are well compared to the shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data at the correlation rate of 0.84/0.82 and the RMS difference of 0.47/0.48 ms⁻¹ for the east-west/north-south current after the selection of good data. During the observation period, the maximum hourly mean volume transport for the upper 7 m layer across the strait reached 13,314 m³ s⁻¹ for the eastward and 5,547 m³ s⁻¹ for the westward. The daily mean transport is directed to the eastward and estimated 1,470 m³ s⁻¹ and 2,140 m³ s⁻¹ for March 18 and 19, respectively, when a spring tide occurs.     

The circulation in the southern Huanghai Sea and northern East China Sea in June 1999

On the basis of hydrographic data and current measurement (the mooring system, vessel-mounted ADCP and toward ADCP) data obtained in June 1999, the circulations in the southern Huang-hai Sea (HS) and northern East China Sea (ECS) are computed by using the modified inverse method. The Kuroshio flows northeastward through eastern part of the investigated region and has the main core at Section PN, a northward flow at the easternmost part of Section PN, a weaker anti-cyclonic eddy between these two northward flows, and a weak cyclonic eddy at the western part of Section PN. The above current structure is one type of the current structures at Section PN in ECS. The net northward volume transport (VT) of the Kuroshio and the offshore branch of Taiwan Warm Current (TWCOB) through Section PN is about 26.2×106m3/s in June 1999. The VT of the inshore branch of Taiwan Warm Current (TWCIB) through the investigated region is about 0.4×106m3/s. The Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) has much effect on the currents over the     

Distribution and characteristics of suspended particulate matter in a heavily eutrophic estuary, Tokyo Bay, Japan

Bulk suspended particulate matter (SPM), chlorophyll a (Chl a), ignition loss, particulate organic carbon (POC), organic nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus (PIP), and organic phosphorus were investigated in the heavily eutrophic Arakawa River estuary, Japan. Chl a was high (approximately 35 microg l(-1)) in summer and low (approximately 6.7 microg l(-1)) in winter and autumn. POC from living phytoplankton accounted for approximately 34% and approximately 70% of total POC during low- and high-biomass seasons, respectively. During the low-biomass season, detrital POC distribution was conservative, and less reactive, land-derived materials mainly composed particulate organic materials (POM), but complex mixing of land-derived POM and autochthonous planktonic detritus caused nonconservative detrital POC behavior during the high-biomass season. PIP concentration in SPM decreased with increasing salinity, likely by desorption of soluble orthophosphate (ortho-P). The ortho-P released from SPM, 56% of the ortho-P input from the Arakawa River to the bay, was a significant potential source of biologically available phosphorus causing eutrophication of coastal environments.