The northward intruding eddy along the East coast of Korea

The current structures and their seasonal variations in the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) region, which plays a significant role in the northward transport of warm and saline waters, were described by combining the sea surface temperature (SST) data of consecutive satellite inferred (IR) images and hydrographic data. The SST patterns in winter-spring clearly showed that the small meander of thermal front originating from the Tsushima/Korea Strait formed close to the Korean coast and grew an isolated warm eddy with horizontal dimension of order 100 km. Such warm eddy began to intrude slowly northward from spring to summer. At that time, interactions with neighboring synoptic warm eddy [Ks] around the Ulleung Basin were found to have strongly influence the movement of the intruding eddy and its structural change. In autumn, after the northward movement stopped at the north of eddy [Ks], the relative stable northward current along the Korean coast were formed. The evidence from observational results does not support a persistent branching of the EKWC from the Tsushima/Korea Strait, but a seasonal episodic supply of warm and saline waters due to the northward intruding eddy process described above.     

Seasonal variations of water system distribution and flow patterns in the southern sea area of Hokkaido,Japan

Hydrographic data and composite current velocity data (ADCP and GEK) were used to examine the seasonal variations of upper-ocean flow in the southern sea area of Hokkaido, which includes the “off-Doto” and “Hidaka Bay” areas separated by Cape Erimo. During the heating season (April–September), the outflow of the Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) from the Tsugaru Strait first extends north-eastward, and then one branch of TWC turns to the west along the shelf slope after it approaches the Hidaka Shelf. The main flow of TWC evolves continuously, extending eastward as far as the area off Cape Erimo. In the late cooling season (January–March), part of the Oyashio enters Hidaka Bay along the shallower part of the shelf slope through the area off Cape Erimo, replacing almost all of the TWC water, and hence the TWC devolves. It is suggested that the bottom-controlled barotropic flow of the Oyashio, which may be caused by the small density difference between the Oyashio and the TWC waters and the southward migration of main front of TWC, permits the Oyashio water to intrude along the Hidaka shelf slope.     

Generation mechanism of higher mode nondispersive shelf waves by wind forcing

The higher mode predominance in the current velocity fields associated with wind-induced shelf waves in the nondispersive regime is studied with a special attention to the effect of the geographical boundary, e.g. wide strait or wide bank areas. The effect of such large topographic change is represented by wind forcing with a finite dimension near the geographical boundary. The time development processes of the wind-induced shelf waves is examined in the context of an initial-value problem, where a spatially finite wind stress is applied att=0. Various modes of shelf waves excited at the boundary start propagating simultaneously and develop monotonically within the forcing region. After the passage of such wave, the energy of wind is used to maintain the attained equilibrium condition, i.e. the steady shelf circulation. The current evolution of the lower mode is restricted to the earlier stage because of the large propagation speed. In contrast, the higher mode waves can travel slowly within the forcing region so that the kinetic energy is supplied from wind stress for a long time before the equilibrium condition is established. Consequently, the observation at the fixed point near the geographical boundary would show that the higher mode waves gradually dominate as time goes on, i.e. for the long-term forcing.     

Numerical forecasting of the time interval between successive M8 earthquakes along the Nankai Trough,southwest Japan,using ocean bottom cable network data

One possible approach to estimating the time interval between large-scale Tōnankai (Tōkai) and Nankai earthquakes on the Japan arc is sequential assimilation of crustal deformation data. We conducted numerical modeling of sequential assimilation using surface deformation calculated from earthquake generation cycle simulations along the Nankai Trough. To account for observation noise, we used measured ocean bottom pressure gauge data, excluding tidal modulation, from a station on the ocean bottom cable network Dense Oceanfloor Network System for Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Kumano basin. We used sequential importance sampling as our data assimilation method. We found that as the amount of data increased, the estimated time interval between the Tōnankai and Nankai earthquakes approached the “true” observed interval. In addition, the noise in the pressure gauge data was sufficiently small that simulated crustal deformation patterns could be distinguished for different time intervals.     

Seasonal variation in Tsushima Warm Current paths over the shelf off the San’in coast,Japan

Using long-term sea surface temperature (SST) and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data, we examined variations in the current axis of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) off the San’in coast of Japan, near the entrance to the Japan Sea. There were large horizontal temperature gradients along the shelf edge in the southwestern Japan Sea from October to May, suggesting that the second branch of the TWC appears not only in spring and autumn but also in winter. From the ADCP data analysis, we found that currents with speeds of approximately 20 cm s^?1 and greater appeared around the shelf edge off San’in coast in all seasons. The SST and ADCP data analyses suggested that the second branch of the TWC exists around the shelf edge off the San’in coast throughout the year. This finding differed from those of previous studies. A relatively strong current (speed greater than 15 cm s^?1) appeared on the shore side in all seasons, except at line W in winter. This current might be the first branch of the TWC. The first branch seemed to occur around in 100 m isobaths, but shifted northward and southward because the bottom topography around lines W and M was relatively flat and the shelf was broad. The first branch was very obscure, and it was difficult to define the two branches of the TWC off the San’in coast from the seasonally averaged vectors. However, snapshots of current distribution derived from the ADCP data clearly showed these branches. Hence, both the first and second branches might occur throughout the year off the San’in coast.     

Hydrogeochemistry and groundwater salinization in an ephemeral coastal flood plain: Cap Bon,Tunisia

Abstract

The Wadi Al Ayn plain is a coastal system on the eastern coast of Cap Bon in northeastern Tunisia. The area is known for its intensive agriculture, which is based mainly on groundwater exploitation. The aim of this study is to identify the sources of groundwater salinization in the Wadi Al Ayn aquifer system and deduce the processes that drive the mineralization. Surface water and groundwater samples were taken and analysed for major ions and stable isotopes. The geochemical data were used to characterize and classify the water samples based on a variety of ion plots and diagrams. Stable isotopes are useful tools to help us understand recharge processes and to differentiate between salinity origins. The oilfield brines infiltrated from the sandy bed of Wadi Al Ayn comprise the main source of groundwater salinization in the central part of the plain, while seawater intrusion is mainly responsible for the increased salinity in the groundwater of the coastal part of the plain (at Daroufa).

Citation Chekirbane, A., Tsujimura, M., Kawachi, A., Isoda, H., Tarhouni, J., and Benalaya, A., 2013. Hydrogeochemistry and groundwater salinization in an ephemeral coastal flood plain: Cap Bon, Tunisia. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (5), 1097–1110.     

Warm eddy movements in the eastern Japan Sea

Warm eddy movements and their areal extent in the eastern Japan Sea were described by presenting space-time diagrams for the warm eddy locations and magnitudes. The analyzed data were compiled from Japan Maritime Safety Agency thermal maps at 200 m depth from 1985 to 1992. Two to four warm eddies always existed in the eastern Japan Sea and exhibited both internnual and annual signals. We found that warm eddies were generated in spring around Oki Spur at least three times during the analyzed period of eight years, moved eastward, and interacted with neighboring warm eddies, which were involved in coalescences or separations. The warm eddy distributions off Noto Peninsula have clear seasonal preference. Warm eddies moved eastward from Noto Peninsula in winter-spring to North Japan in the next winter, with mean translation speeds of 0.5–2 cm s^–1. Warm eddies reaching North Japan typically decayed during a few month after splitting into two or three mesoscale warm eddies.     

Benthic Front and the Yamato Basin Bottom Water in the Japan Sea

Hydrographic observations have revealed detailed structure of the Bottom Water in the Japan Sea. The Yamato Basin Bottom Water (YBBW) exhibits higher temperatures and lower dissolved oxygen concentrations than those found in the Japan Basin Bottom Water (JBBW). Both Bottom Waters meet around the boundary region between the Yamato and the Japan Basins, forming a clear benthic front. The structure of the benthic front suggests an estuary-like water exchange between both Basins, with the inflow from the Japan Basin passing under the outflow from the Yamato Basin. It is inferred from the property distributions that the JBBW flowing into the Yamato Basin is entrained by the cyclonic circulation in the basin, and modified to become the YBBW. Vertical diffusion and thermal balance in the YBBW are examined using a box model. The results show that the effect of geothermal heating has about 70% of the magnitude of the vertical thermal diffusion and both terms cancel the advection term of the cold JBBW from the Japan Basin. The box model also estimates the turnover time and vertical diffusivity for the YBBW as 9.1 years and 3.4 × 10⁻³ m²s^{− 1}, respectively.     

Surface Heat Balance and Spatially Distributed Ablation Modelling at Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

To investigate the characteristics of ablation at Koryto Glacier, a mountain glacier under maritime climate in Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, we made field observations from August to early September 2000. At a site near the equilibrium line, the 31‐day average net radiation, sensible heat flux, and latent heat flux were 43, 59 and 31 W^?2, respectively. We developed a new distributed ablation model, which only needs measurements of air temperature and global radiation at one site. Hourly ablation rates at this site obtained by the energy balance method are related to measured air temperature and global radiation by linear multiple regression. A different set of multiple regression coefficients is fitted for snow and ice surfaces. Better estimates of ablation rate can be obtained by this approach than by other temperature index models. These equations are then applied to each grid cell of a digital elevation model to estimate spatially distributed hourly melt. Air temperature is extrapolated using a constant temperature lapse rate and global radiation is distributed considering topographic effects. The model enables us to calculate the hourly spatial distribution of ablation rates within the glacier area and could well provide a realistic simulation of ablation over the whole glacier.     

High precision slip distribution of the 1944 Tonankai earthquake inferred from tsunami waveforms: Possible slip on a splay fault

Inversion of tsunami waveforms is a well-established technique for estimating the slip distributions of subduction zone earthquakes, with some of the most detailed results having been obtained for earthquakes in the Nankai Trough, SW Japan. The present study, although it uses a method and tsunami waveform data set almost identical to previous study, aims to improve on previous work by using a more precise specification of initial conditions for the calculation of tsunami Green's functions. Specifically, we incorporated four improvements in the present study: (1) we used a realistic plate model based only on seismic survey results, and assumed it to be the fault plane of the 1944 Tonankai earthquake; (2) the smallest subfaults consistent with the long wavelength approximation were used in the tsunami inversion analysis; (3) we included the effect of horizontal displacement of the ocean bottom on tsunami generation; and (4) we performed a checkerboard resolution test. As obtained in previous studies, a zone of high slip (> 2.0 m) was resolved off the Shima Peninsula. However, the more precise calculation of tsunami Green's functions has revealed additional detail that was not evident in previous studies, which we demonstrate is resolvable and correlates with the position of known faults in the accretionary prism. While there was little or no slip near the trench axis in the eastern part of the rupture zone, there was up to 1.5 m of slip resolved within 30 km of the trough axis in the western part, along the coast of the Kii Peninsula. This troughward slip zone coincides with the position of a large splay fault mapped in multichannel reflection surveys. Furthermore, it is also clear that the upper edge of the Enshu fault off Shima and Atsumi peninsulas is consistent with the up-dip limit of slip in the eastern part of our model. We tested the possibility that slip occurred on the former splay fault instead of on the plate interface during the 1944 Tonankai earthquake, and find that slip on this splay fault is also consistent with the data, although we cannot distinguish whether slip was dominant on the splay fault or on the plate interface. We further suggest that the position of the Enshu fault may be determined by the subduction of topographic highs, and that such faults may have an important influence on the up-dip rupture limit of the 1944 Tonankai and, potentially, other subduction zone earthquakes.