Estimating the Kuroshio Axis South of Japan Using Combination of Satellite Altimetry and Drifting Buoys

By tracking the locally strongest part of the sea-surface velocity field, which was obtained by integrating data of satellite altimeters and surface drifting buoys, we extracted the Kuroshio axis south of Japan every 10 days from October 1992 to December 2000. The obtained axes clearly express the effect of the bottom topography; three modes were observed when the Kuroshio ran over the Izu Ridge. The axis was very stable to the south of ‘Tosa-bae,’ off the Kii Channel. Mean current speed at the Kuroshio axis gradually increased from 0.65 m/s south of Kyushu to 1.45 m/s off Enshu-nada. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Monitoring Measurements from the Jason-1 Microwave Radiometer and Independent Validation with GPS

The Jason-1 Microwave Radiometer (JMR) provides measurements of the wet troposphere content to correct the altimetric range measurement for the associated path delay. Various techniques are used to monitor the JMR wet troposphere path delays, with measurements of zenith troposphere content from terrestrial GPS sites used as an independent verification technique. Results indicate that an unexpected offset of approximately +4.1 ± 1.2 mm (drier) emerged in the JMR measurements of wet path delay between cycles 28-32 of the Jason-1 mission, and that the measurements may be drifting at a rate of approximately -0.5 mm/year. These anomalies are shown to be caused by a -0.7 K offset in 23.8 GHz brightness temperatures between cycles 28-32, and a 0.16 ± 0.04 and -0.45 ± 0.08 K/year drift in the 18.7 and 34.0 GHz brightness temperatures, respectively. Intercomparison of the 3-Hz JMR brightness temperature measurements show that they have been drifting with respect to each other, and that a dependence on yaw-steering regime is present in these measurements. An offset of 0.5 m/s between cycles 28-32 and a drift of approximately 0.5 m/s/year in the JMR wind speed measurements is also associated with these anomalies in the 1-Hz brightness temperatures. These errors in JMR wind speeds presently have a negligible impact on the retrieved JMR path delays.     

Monitoring the TOPEX and Jason-1 Microwave Radiometers with GPS and VLBI Wet Zenith Path Delays

Monitoring of altimeter microwave radiometer measurements is necessary in order to identify radiometer drifts or offsets that if uncorrected will introduce systematic errors into ocean height measurements. To examine TOPEX Microwave Radiometer (TMR) and Jason-1 Microwave Radiometer (JMR) behavior, we have used coincident wet zenith delay estimates from Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and Global Positioning System (GPS) geodetic sites near altimeter ground tracks. We derived a TMR path delay drift rate of -1.1 ± 0.1 mm/yr using GPS data for the period from 1993.0-1999.0 and -1.2 ± 0.5 mm/yr using VLBI data. Thereafter, the drift appears to have leveled off. Already after 2.3 years (82 cycles) of the Jason-1 mission, it is clear that there have been significant systematic errors in the JMR path delay measurements. From comparison with GPS wet delays, there is an offset of -5.2 ± 0.6 mm at about cycle 30 and a more abrupt offset of -11.5 ± 0.8 mm at cycle 69. If we look at the behavior of the JMR coldest brightness temperatures, we see that the offsets near cycle 30 and cycle 69 are mainly caused by corresponding offsets in the 23.8 GHz channel of -0.49 ± 0.12 K and -1.18 ± 0.13 K, although there is a small 34.0 GHz offset at cycle 69 of 0.75 ± 0.22 K. Drifts in the 18.0 and 34.0 GHz channels produce a small path delay drift of 0.3 ± 0.5 mm/yr.     

Influence of the Kuroshio Fluctuations on Sea Level Variations along the South Coast of Japan

The correlation between the Kuroshio and coastal sea level south of Japan has been examined using the altimetry and tide gauge data during the period 1992–2000. The sea level varies uniformly in a region bounded by the coast and the mean Kuroshio axis, which stretches for several hundred kilometers along the coast. These variations are related with the Kuroshio velocity, as coastal sea level decreases (or increases) when the Kuroshio is faster (or slower). To the east of the Kii Peninsula, where sea level variations are different from these to the west, movement of the Kuroshio axis additionally affects coastal sea level variations.     

Examination of the merged sea surface temperature using wavelet analysis

In the previous study, merged sea surface temperature (SST) dataset called “New Generation SST” has been produced from several infrared and microwave satellite SSTs through an objective mapping. Here we examine the merged SST by comparison with moored buoy SST at 1 m depth, which is treated as true sea surface temperature. Comparison between wavelet spectra of merged and buoy SSTs shows that the former have larger amplitudes than those of the latter, which is partly explained as an aliasing effect due to TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) aboard Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) sampling on merged products. Coherency between wavelet-decomposed merged and buoy SSTs has high values in autumn and low ones in winter to spring. In winter, phase differences between them are positive, meaning that wavelet components of merged SST lag those of buoy SST. Reasons for delay and low coherency are: (1) seasonal components of merged SSTs are strongly affected by a lack of infrared SSTs due to clouds in winter, and (2) small-scale oceanic features, undetectable by coarse-resolution microwave SSTs, are blurred by the merging process. Improvements of merging methodology are discussed with regard to present study results.     

Drifter Observations of Anticyclonic Eddies near Bussol' Strait, the Kuril Islands

Hydrographic surveys and satellite imaging reveal that mesoscale anticyclonic (AC) eddies are common features of the area south of Bussol' Strait, the deepest of the Kuril straits connecting the western North Pacific and Sea of Okhotsk. To examine the velocity structure of these eddies, we deployed groups of 15-m drogued satellite-tracked surface drifters over the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench in the fall of 1990 and late summer of 1993. Drifters in both groups entered large AC eddies centered over the axis of the trench seaward of Bussol' Strait and subsequently underwent a slow northeastward translation. One drifter (Drifter 1315) deployed near the center of the “Bussol' eddy” in 1990, remained in the eddy for roughly 45 days and made five loops at successively greater distances from the eddy center. Large-amplitude (80–100 cm/s) storm-generated inertial oscillations were observed during the first two loops. The vorticity field associated with the eddy resulted in a Doppler “red-shift” of inertial frequency motions such that the “effective” inertial period of 21 hours was roughly 4 hours greater than the nominal inertial period for the drifter latitude (45°N). In 1993, a second drifter (Drifter 15371) was retained in the Bussol' eddy for about 40 days. This eddy had characteristics similar to those of the 1990 eddy but was devoid of significant high-frequency motions until the drifter's final half loop. The observed spatial scales, persistence, and slow poleward translation of the eddies suggests that they play an important role in the dynamics of the East Kamchatka and Oyashio current systems. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

太平洋波高成份研究

利用Topex／Poseidon卫星高度计1992年10月到1998年12月连续75个月，230个重复周期的有效波高资料对南北太平洋的波高成份进行了分析，结果显示所有的月份，频数密度峰值对应的波高成份因子为1．4，以赤道太平洋海域最高为1．6，南北太平洋海域为1．2左右。7、8、9、10月份太平洋涌浪成份占频数密度累积率的比例大于95％，其余各月占90%左右，表明太平洋海域波高成份以涌浪为主。     

南海东北海域海面高度的多尺度变异

利用8a的TOPEX/Poseidon高度计资料,采用小波分析方法,研究南海东北部海域海面高度的多尺度变异.研究得出,南海东北部海域的海面高度变化主要受3个不同时间尺度因素的影响,其中最强的是季节变化(V_a)的影响,其周期范围为0.60～1.20a,它主要与海面高度的年循环相联系;其次是周期在0.17～0.45a(即2～5个月)的变化(V₂₅)的影响,它主要与中尺度时间周期引起的海面高度变化相联系.较小的一个因素是周期在1 50～5 00a的年际变化(V_i)的影响,它主要与El Niño事件引起的海面高度变化相联系.分析表明对8a平均而言,海面高度变化所引起的能量偏差V₂₅的高值区主要分布在吕宋海峡以西海域,在1995,1996和1999年出现最大值;偏差V_a的高值区分布在吕宋岛西北海域,在1995年出现最大值;年际偏差V_i的高值区位于台湾的西南海域,在1997～1998年El Niño事件期间达到最大.     

Trajectory of Mesoscale Eddies in the Kuroshio Recirculation Region

Trajectories of mesoscale eddies in the Kuroshio recirculation region were investigated by using sea surface height (SSH) anomaly observed by the TOPEX/POSEIDON and ERS altimeters. Cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies have been traced on maps of the filtered SSH anomaly fields composed from the altimeter observations every ten days. Both the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies propagate westward in the Kuroshio recirculation region from a region south of the Kuroshio Extension. The propagation speed of these eddies has been estimated as about 7 cm s⁻¹, which is much faster than the phase speed theoretically estimated for the baroclinic first-mode Rossby wave in the study area. It was also found that in the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge region, most of eddies pass through the gap between the Hachijojima Island and Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, and some of the eddies decay around the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge. It seems that the trajectory of the eddies is crucially affected by the bottom topography. In the region south of Shikoku and east of Kyushu, some of the eddies coalesce with the Kuroshio. It is also suggested that this coalescence may trigger the path variation of the Kuroshio in the sea south of Japan. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

新型船载气象卫星接收系统

新型船载气象卫星接收系统为南极考察船的航海气象保障和在南大洋冰区中航行导航专门研制.该系统能够适应高温、高湿和低温超饱和的气候环境,在12级以上大风和船在破冰时剧烈摇摆和振动以及有雷达等强磁场信号干扰的情况下,具有自我保护能力.有极轨高分辨和静止低分辨卫星的双套接收和图像处理系统.该系统的关键创新之处:(1)采用了有源陀螺仪稳定平台.利用惯性测量和三轴伺服机构控制天线和隔离船摇.解决极轨卫星低仰角和过顶轨道高仰角跟踪丢线的矛盾,解决了船在运动状态下,不断改变位置、方向以及摇摆的状态下,准确地跟踪和捕捉到卫星,接收到清晰的卫星云图.(2)图像处理系统用了最新的BORLAND-DELPHI语言编程,采用两行元素的轨道模式计算动态定位套网格系统.利用电子地图网格数据,用迭代法画出地形海岸线.计算出每一像元素的位置;能够在图上显示任意一点的经纬度,标出任意目标物.解决了在海洋中航行找不到参照物时的困惑.能够监测云和温度、林火、海洋及陆地的异常变化.能够输出24位真彩色的高清晰度的卫星云图.该系统整体结构技术先进,体积小,重量轻,适应恶劣气候和海洋环境,图像处理系统功能齐全、分辨率高,操作方便.既适用于各种船只,也适用于陆地.