Warm water intrusion from the Kuroshio into the coastal areas south of Japan

Sea surface temperature (SST) has been measured in the south of Japan using a thermometer set up in the ferry boat to investigate the characteristics of the warm water intrudes into the coastal areas from the Kuroshio. Time series analysis was applied to the SST data with satellite images and hydrographic observation data from April 1987 to September 1989. The results indicate that the warm Kuroshio water intruded into the coastal areas on the Enshu-nada and the Kumano-nada Seas intermittently with periods of about 50 and 20 days associated with the fluctuation of the Kuroshio path and the Kuroshio frontal disturbance respectively. The intrusion with a 50-day period was dominant when the Kuroshio took a stationary small meander path (B- and C-types). The warm water spread to the west at 20 cm s^–1, and was estimated to have a depth of 150 m at least and supply enough heat to make up the loss due to the evaporation in the coastal area. During the straight path of the Kuroshio, it was detected that the warm water intruded into coastal areas only with a 20-day period. The warm water that intrudes with a period of 20 days spreads to the west at 25 cm s^–1 in a small scale.     

Direct Current Measurements off Sanriku, East of Japan

One year records of four current meters moored at two sites off Sanriku (39°26′ N, 142°45′ E and 143°E) have been analyzed. Mean currents flowed southward to southwestward with velocity 2.5–7.8 cm s⁻¹. The geostrophic velocity appeared to be surface-intensified, and the flows at 500 m depth have a relationship with the 100 m depth temperature distribution, suggesting the influence of the upper layer flows. At a depth of 1500 m and 2500 m, southward to southwestward flows are thought to be a part of the current flowing southward on the western flank of the Japan Trench. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Lecture by a Okada Prize Winner Physical studies on the near-shore oceanography

I feel greatly honored to have recieved the Okada Prize of the Oceanographical Society of Japan this time. I would like to express many thanks to my teachers, and to members of our society, for their kindness provided to me up to the present.Here I have presented some of my studies which are mostly still under way. First I have presented my idea about the study on the near-shore oceanographic processes. Secondly, I have discussed about the significance and the similitude of the hydraulic model experiment, including the model experiment on the tidal mixing. Thirdly, my study on the near-shore oceanographic processes mainly by use of the hydraulic model experiment have been told. They are the effect of boundary geometries on the tidal currents and tidal mixing, the formation processes of the tidal residual circulations, the role of the air-sea boundary processes on the water-mass formation in semi-closed bays and the effect of boundary geometries on the intrusion of salt-wedge.     

Nitrogen isotope ratios of nitrate as a clue to the origin of nitrogen on the Pacific coast of Japan

To clarify the sources and transformation of NO₃⁻ on the Pacific coast of Japan, observations over the continental shelf were conducted during the summer in 2005 and 2006 when the Kuroshio flowed close to and away from the coastal area, respectively. Below the halocline, there are two prominent salinity peaks that originated in two different waters. In the subsurface layer, the salinity maximum (S_max) was indicative of the Kuroshio Water (KW), while the salinity minimum (S_min) in the middle layer at ∼400 m depth was indicative of the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW). δ¹⁵N_NO3 ranged from 4.1‰ to 5.1‰ with a mean of 4.8±0.4‰ in the deeper water around S_min. Below 50 m depth over the shelf break, δ¹⁵N_NO3 values (3.1±0.8‰ in 2005 and 4.6±0.3‰ in 2006) clearly increased as contribution of NPIW increased in 2006. On the contrary, subsurface δ¹⁵N of NO₃⁻ values (−1.1±0.1‰) remained unchanged in both years, although the contribution of the KW to the subsurface water changed significantly. This suggests that the source of NO₃⁻ has little effect on the δ¹⁵N of NO₃⁻ in this layer. The negative δ¹⁵N values also coincided with the base of the chlorophyll maximum layer suggesting that these isotopic signals must be evidence of active nitrification in the upper layer.     

Low-frequency variations of the Eastern Subtropical Front in the North Pacific in an eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model: roles of central mode water in the formation and maintenance

Temporal variations (1960–2005) of the Eastern Subtropical Front (ESTF) in the North Pacific are investigated using historical-run output data of the eddy-resolving Meteorological Research Institute Community Ocean Model, forced by atmospheric reanalysis dataset. Simulated ESTF is distributed in a region of zonal band of 24°N–30°N east of the International Date Line, and is located at the southern boundary of the central mode water (CMW) north of the front. The ESTF intensity clearly shows an interdecadal variation with a timescale of about 20?years. This variation is associated with that in the potential vorticity of CMW, which originates in the CMW formation region farther north about 3?years earlier due to changes in the surface wind forcing.     

Relationship between the path of the Kuroshio in the south of Japan and the path of the Kuroshio Extension in the east

A relationship between paths of the Kuroshio and Kuroshio Extension (KE) is investigated, using the satellite-derived altimetry dataset of 1993–2008. When the Kuroshio takes the nearshore nonlarge meander path or typical large meander path and resultantly goes through the deeper channel (about 2500 m) of the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge, the KE path adopts a relatively stable state with the two quasi-stationary meanders. On the other hand, when the Kuroshio takes the offshore nonlarge meander path and then passes over the shallower part of the Ridge (about 1000 m), the KE path tends to be convoluted, i.e., an unstable state.     

A new method of snowmelt sampling for water stable isotopes

We modified a passive capillary sampler (PCS) to collect snowmelt water for isotopic analysis. Past applications of PCSs have been to sample soil water, but the novel aspect of this study was the placement of the PCSs at the ground‐snowpack interface to collect snowmelt. We deployed arrays of PCSs at 11 sites in ten partner countries on five continents representing a range of climate and snow cover worldwide. The PCS reliably collected snowmelt at all sites and caused negligible evaporative fractionation effects in the samples. PCS is low‐cost, easy to install, and collects a representative integrated snowmelt sample throughout the melt season or at the melt event scale. Unlike snow cores, the PCS collects the water that would actually infiltrate the soil; thus, its isotopic composition is appropriate to use for tracing snowmelt water through the hydrologic cycle. The purpose of this Briefing is to show the potential advantages of PCSs and recommend guidelines for constructing and installing them based on our preliminary results from two snowmelt seasons. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrogen flicker and associated high-energy radiation

The accretion of matter onto stars formed by carbon-oxygen cores triggers hydrogen flicker. The development of hydrogen flicker and the shock generation associated therewith are discussed. If the matter thus ejected is halted by a dense gas surrounding a star, a corona of high temperature is formed. This may take place in dense planetary nebulae and is regarded as an origin of starlike X-ray sources. More violent hydrogen flicker takes place at white dwarfs and may be an origin of novae. Nuclear-reaction products ejected are positron sources and they may provide MeV positrons as strong as 10^–3 cm^–2 sec^–1 sr^–1. Nuclides produced by hydrogen flicker and a part of the carbon-oxygen core ejected may contribute to galactic cosmic rays; their chemical composition is like that observed in cosmic rays.