Interannual and Decadal Sea-Level Variations along the Japanese Coast

Interannual (an annual to a decadal) and decadal sea-level variations along the Japanese coast have been investigated on the basis of monthly mean sea level during the period from 1951 to 1995. For the interannual variation, the Japanese coast is divided into six regions according to a regional similarity of sea level by using the cluster analysis, which is close to Tsumura's (1963) classification. The first mode of the Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) of the Interannual variation is the simultaneous rising and falling of the sea level along the Japanese coast. The first mode shows the largest variation in winter and has a negative correlation with the wintertime monsoon index; this suggests that the first mode is associated with a steric height change depending on the wintertime cooling intensity. The EOF second mode represents the Kuroshio large meander because strong negative eigenvectors are seen on the southeast coast of Japan and the time coefficient shows a high correlation with the Kushimoto-Uragami sea-level difference. For the decadal sea-level variation, the EOF first mode is a bi-decadal variation exhibiting simultaneous rising and falling of the sea level for the entire Japanese coast. The time coefficient of the first mode shows the first minimum in 1965, reaches a maximum in 1975, and decreases to the second minimum in 1984. The decrease from the mid-1970s and the increase from the mid-1980s to early 1990s correspond to the climatic regime shifts occurring in the same periods.     

Spatiotemporal characteristics of interannual temperature variations in the Tsushima Strait

Spatiotemporal characteristics of interannual temperature variations in the Tsushima Strait are investigated on the basis of historical hydrographic data applying the same procedures as Senjyu et al. (2006). Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis revealed that the most energetic mode of variation (the EOF first mode), which accounts for about 31.5% of the total variance, is the in-phase temperature change for the entire strait. The wintertime temperature variation described by the first mode is associated with the wintertime heat flux in the northern East China Sea, while they are poorly correlated in other seasons. The large standard deviation in the time coefficient of the first mode in August suggests a relationship with the horizontal heat advection in summer in the northern East China Sea. On the other hand, the EOF second mode, which explains about 12.6% of the total variance, is associated with the stratification and baroclinicity in the strait. The time coefficient of the EOF second mode negatively correlates with the baroclinic volume transport through the strait in summer. Comparison of temporal variations among the leading EOF modes for temperature and salinity shows no significant correlations. This indicates that the principal modes of variation in temperature and salinity vary independently within an interannual timescale.     

Spatial and temporal distribution of Fe, Ni, Cu and Pb along 140°E in the Southern Ocean during austral summer 2001/02

The distribution of dissolved (D) and acid-dissolvable (AD) Fe, Ni, Cu and Pb in the upper water column (0–300 m depth) was determined in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean (140°E meridian) during three cruises conducted between November 2001 and March 2002. For Ni and Cu, there was no significant difference in concentration between dissolved and acid-dissolvable species. DNi and DCu showed significant (P = 0.01) positive correlations with silicate, phosphate and nitrate, reflecting their strong nutrient-type behaviour. For Fe and Pb, the acid-dissolvable concentration mostly exceeded the dissolved concentration, reflecting the importance of labile particulate species for these elements. DPb decreased between January and February in the Polar Frontal Zone and in Antarctic continental shelf water. ADPb maxima occurred in the Antarctic Zone, resulting in a maximum AD/D ratio of 7. The mean DFe concentration in the surface mixed layer was 0.3 nM in the sub-Antarctic zone, 0.4 nM in the Polar Frontal Zone, 0.5 nM in the Antarctic Zone and increased southward beyond the Antarctic Divergence and towards the continent. DFe did not show a clear temporal change in its horizontal distribution, which was in contrast to the other nutrients and trace metals. ADFe substantially increased in Antarctic continental shelf water where the AD/D ratio reached 11. The following conclusions can be drawn from these data. (1) Ni and Cu exist exclusively as dissolved species and their distributions are mainly controlled by their biogeochemical cycling, similar to those of the major nutrients. (2) Pb is dominated by particulate species. The distribution of DPb is temporally and spatially variable due to a sporadic source and strong scavenging. (3) DFe is rather a minor fraction of total Fe in Antarctic continental shelf water where shelf sediments and Antarctic sea-ice appear to be strong sources for Fe. There is substantial temporal variation in the supply of Fe to the upper water column. DFe in the mixed layer of the open Southern Ocean is maintained at low concentrations throughout summer due to uptake by phytoplankton and scavenging.     

Volume transport from the Japan Basin to the Yamato Basin in the abyssal Japan Sea inferred from direct current observations

The transport of Japan Basin Bottom Water (JBBW) into the Yamato Basin in the Japan Sea is an important boundary condition for the modification of the abyssal water mass in the Yamato Basin. To estimate the volume transport of JBBW, two year-long observations (October 2011–October 2012 and May 2014–May 2015) were carried out using current meters moored in the deep channel connecting the Japan Basin with the Yamato Basin. The mean transport toward the Yamato Basin from the Japan Basin was estimated to be 7.37 × 10⁴ and 5.15 × 10⁴ m³ s^?1, consistent with previous estimates from box model analysis and lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler observations. The time series of JBBW transport showed significant variability. A cause of the variability was bottom-intensified flow fluctuations in the 3- to 15-day period band, which suggests bottom-trapped topographic Rossby waves in the deep channel. In addition, during August–October 2014, notable variation of JBBW transport accompanied significant decreases of potential temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration. Detailed examination of the episodic variations of flows, potential temperature, and dissolved oxygen concentration, together with consideration of sea surface height variations, suggested that rapid northward meandering of the surface subarctic front was another cause of the significant variation in JBBW transport.     

Distribution and stoichiometry of Al,Mn, Fe,Co, Ni,Cu, Zn,Cd, and Pb in seawater around the Juan de Fuca Ridge

A central theme of the ongoing GEOTRACES program is to improve the understanding of processes occurring at ocean interfaces with continents, sediments, and ocean crust. In this context, we studied the distributions of Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb around the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR) in total dissolvable (td), dissolved (d), and labile particulate (lp) fractions, which represent a fraction in unfiltered samples, filtered samples through an AcroPak capsule filter, and the difference between td and d, respectively. Al and Fe were dominated by lp-species, while Ni, Zn, and Cd were dominated by d-species with undetectable amounts of lp-species. Major findings in this study are as follows: (1) The continental margin (CM) provided large sources of Al, Mn, Fe, and Co from the surface to ~2000 m in depth. The supply from CM caused high surface concentrations of dMn and dCo, a subsurface (100–300 m depth) maximum of dCo, and intermediate (500–2000 m depth) maxima of lpAl and lpFe. The supply of dFe from CM was ~10 times that from the high-temperature hydrothermal activity at station BD21, which is located at ~3 km from the Middle Valley venting site and ~ 200 km from Vancouver Island. (2) DPb was maximum at the top layer of North Pacific Intermediate Water, probably owing to isopycnal transport of anthropogenic Pb via advection of subducted surface waters. Although dCo and dPb had different sources in the upper water, they showed a strong linearity below 300 m (r ² = 0.95, n = 38), indicating concurrent scavenging. (3) A high-temperature hydrothermal plume occurred at a depth of 2300 m at BD21, accounting for maxima of dAl, dMn, dFe, lpCu, and lpPb and a minimum of dCu. (4) Strong bottom maxima of lpAl, lpMn, lpFe, lpCo, and lpPb occurred above the abyssal plain at the western foot of the JdFR, indicating resuspension of sediments. However, bottom maxima of d-species were apparent only for dAl and dCu.     

Gram Stain Index (GSI) of Bacterial and Archaeal Cells in the Natural Microbial Communities of Slightly and Extremely Saline Environments

The use of GSI (Gram Stain Index) was studied for natural microbial cells in slightly and extremely saline environments. The GSI spectra of archaeal cells in an extremely saline environment showed unique profiles, different from those of Bacteria. These profiles can be applied for structural analysis of the microbial communities in aquatic environments.     

Hydrographic conditions in the Tsushima Strait revisited

Long-term averaged temperature and salinity distributions in the Tsushima Strait are investigated on the basis of a concurrent dataset of the eastern and western channels during 1971–2000. Both temperature and salinity show a clear seasonal variation with weak and strong stratifications in December–April and June–October, respectively. The largest standard deviations occur in summer around the thermocline for temperature and in the surface layer for salinity. This indicates large interannual variability in the development of a thermocline and low salinity water advection from the East China Sea. The water masses in both channels are distinctly different from each other; the water in the western channel is generally colder and fresher than that in the eastern channel throughout the year. Baroclinic transport based on the density distributions shows a seasonal variation with a single peak in August for the eastern channel and double peaks in April and August for the western channel. However, this cannot explain the seasonal variation in the total volume transport estimated from the sea level differences across the channels. The spatial distribution of baroclinic transport shows a year-round negative transport towards the East China Sea behind the Iki Island in the eastern part of the eastern channel. This negative transport reflects the baroclinic structure between the offshore Tsushima Current Water and cold coastal water. The corresponding southwestward currents are found in both Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and high frequency (HF) radars observations.