A single point mooring spar buoy for measuring ocean waves

We made and set a spar buoy in September 1975 at Tsuyazaki for the purpose of developing the buoy system to acquire the oceanographical data. Motions of the buoy were also measured in terms of three components of acceleration, roll, and pitch. The buoy was removed from the site in May 1978.A method of eliminating influence of the buoy motion on the measured wave data was invented and examined by using the field data. It was found that the influence of the buoy motion on the wave data was so small that the amount of correcting the motion was negligible. In addition wave data obtained at the buoy were compared with those obtained at the fixed type platform, which was built in 1974 to get the reference data of wind, waves and currents. The agreement was found to be good. The performance of the buoy was as good as intended. Thus, it was shown that the buoy so far developed could be used as the platform for oceanographic research such as measuring wind and waves with higher precision.     

Space-continuous measurements on ocean current and chemicalproperties with the intelligent towed vehicle “Flying Fish”

A research project to develop observation systems for heat, momentum, and material circulation in the ocean and atmosphere was carried out from 1992 to 1997. A pitch, roll, and depth controllable towed vehicle called “Flying Fish” was developed which houses an acoustic Doppler current profiler, CO₂ analyzer, and sensors for measuring temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and chlorophyll. The length of the vehicle is 3.84 m, the breadth is 2.26 m, the height is 1.4 m, the weight in air is 1400 kg, and the weight in water is roughly 0 kg. Flying Fish enables us to obtain space-continuous data of physical and chemical properties efficiently in the upper mixed layer of the ocean, From 1994 to 1997, the vehicle was used for observations in the northern, southern, and central parts of the Japan Sea in a collaborative study by Japan, Korea, and Russia. Examples of data obtained are shown in this paper and the results of current velocities are compared with those taken by other observation systems     

Moored instrument observations in the Kuroshio south of Kyushu

In each of the (fiscal) years 1979–1982, multilayer current measurements by means of moored instruments were carried out in the Kuroshio off Tanegashima Island, south of Kyushu, with particular interest in the baroclinic layer (0–1,000 m) of the intense current. Most of the moored instruments were in position for more than 30 days, the maximum duration being 145 days. This paper describes some noticeable features of the mean and fluctuation fields in the surface Kuroshio as inferred from the the new data sets.Vertical profiles of horizontal velocities show that the eastward current of the Kuroshio in the region is confined to the upper 600 m on average and below this level the mean current is directed to the southwest along the local isobaths. This is believed to be the first observation of the level of no motion in this region. It is argued that the indicated level of no motion would lead to much smaller values for the Kuroshio transport than previous values referred to the 1,000 m level — for example, earlier estimates by Nitani (1972).The fluctuation field in the upper intense current appears to be dominated by an organized motion with a time scale of about 30 days. This can be seen clearly in the time variations of water temperature and local volume transport, but less clearly in the velocity records. The horizontal transfer components of momentum and heat are calculated and it is suggested that the transverse momentum transfer, UV tends to be negative (offshore) in the region of anticyclonic shear of the upper Kuroshio; no evidence for a negative eddy viscosity effect is found.     

Wave forces acting on a vertical circular cylinder with a constant forward velocity

Wave forces acting on submerged circular cylinders moving forward with a constant velocity in regular waves are investigated experimentally. Hydrodynamic forces acting on the cylinder forced to surge in a steady are also measured and hydrodynamic coefficients were obtained. Wave force coefficients obtained from wave force measurements are compared with the hydrodynamic coefficients from surging tests, and the similarity and difference between them are discussed. Experiments show that these coefficients are quite different from those of the cylinder without a forward velocity.     

A structure of the Kuroshio and its related upwelling on the East China Sea shelf slope

The ADCP on an advanced towed fish with controllable main and tail wings, called DRAKE measured a detailed sectional structure of the Kuroshio flowing to the NE along the East China Sea shelf slope west of Okinawa. At the observation period, a countercurrent directed to the SW formed in near-bottom water on the shelf slope. The horizontal flow perpendicular to the stream axis of the Kuroshio constructed a convergence zone around the boundary between the Kuroshio and the countercurrent. An intensive upwelling with the maximum velocity of 2.8 cm s^–1 was found to distribute on the shelf slope around the convergence zone. A dynamic cause of this intensive upwelling is discussed carefully.     

Wave forces acting on a submerged horizontal circular cylinder in oblique waves and on a vertical cylinder in deep waves

This paper presents a method of estimating wave forces acting on a submerged horizontal circular cylinder fixed in oblique waves.The experiments show that drag and inertia coefficients in beam sea are available for calculating the wave forces in oblique waves.Wave forces exerted on a vertical circular cylinder in deep waves are also investigated.The experimental results show that wave forces acting on the vertical cylinder coincide approximately with hydrodynamic forces acting on a submerged circular cylinder in an oscillating fluid.     

The Current Structure of the Tsushima Warm Current along the Japanese Coast

The branching of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) along the Japanese coast is studied based upon intensive ADCP and CTD measurements conducted off the Wakasa Bay in every early summer of 1995–1998, the analysis of the temperature distribution at 100 m depth and the tracks of the surface drifters (Ishii and Michida, 1996; Lee et al., 1997). The first branch of TWC (FBTWC) exists throughout the year. It starts from the eastern channel of the Tsushima Straits, flows along the isobath shallower than 200 m along the Japanese coast and flows out through the Tsugaru Strait. The current flowing through the western channel of the Tsushima Straits feeds the second branch of TWC (SBTWC) which develops from spring to fall. The development of SBTWC propagates from the Tsushima Straits to Noto Peninsula at a speed of about 7 cm sec⁻¹ following the continental shelf break with a strong baroclinicity. However, SBTWC cannot be always found around the shelf break because its path is influenced by the development of eddies. It is concluded that SBTWC is a topographically steered current; a current steered by the continental shelf break. Salient features at intermediate depth are the southwestward subsurface counter current (SWSCC) between 150 m and 300 m depths over the shelf region in 1995–1998 with the velocity exceeding about 5 cm sec⁻¹, although discrepancies of the velocity and its location are observed between the ADCP data and the geostrophic currents. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Experimental study of hydrodynamic forces and wave forces exerted on a truss structure

The drag and added mass coefficients of a truss leg of an ocean platform are obtained by using the forced-oscillation technique in a still water. Higher order forces and lift forces are also measured.The drag and inertia coefficients of the truss leg model are obtained by measuring the wave forces acting on it in regular deep waves. The moment lever of the wave force is compared with theoretical results.     

Towed ADCP fish with Depth and Roll controllable wings and its application to the Kuroshio observation

An intelligent ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) fish, called DRAKE (Depth and Roll Adjustable Kite for Energy flux measurements) was developed with the controllable wings which can adjust the submerging depth of the fish and stabilize its roll motion. The Kuroshio west of Okinawa was measured in a roundtrip course on the same traverse line by the ADCP fish. The forward survey obtained the maximum submerging depth of 208 m at a fish operation speed of 2.9 ms^–1. The maximum fish speed of 5.4 ms^–1 was achieved at a submerging depth of 48 m in the return survey. The data in the overlapped area of data acquisition between depths 212 and 276 m were used to examine the accuracy of velocity measurement for the towed ADCP system. The summation of both survey data made it possible to estimate a sectional velocity structure and transport of the upper 600 m corresponding roughly to the whole section of the Kuroshio in this region.