Affiliation: | (1) Department of Earth System Science and Technology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Science, Kyushu University, Kasuga-kouen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan;(2) Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Kasuga-kouen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan;(3) Present address: National Fisheries University, 2-7-1 Nagata-Honmachi, Shimonoseki 759-6595, Japan |
Abstract: | The relations between the volume transport and the sea level difference across the Tsushima Straits have been investigated using current data provided by ADCP mounted on the ferry Camellia, plying between Hakata and Pusan. Empirical formulas to deduce the volume transports using the sea level differences across the eastern and western channels are proposed, considering the seasonal variation of the vertical current structure. The interannual variation of volume transport through the Tsushima Straits for 37 years from 1965 to 2001 is estimated using the empirical formulas. The total volume transport through the Tsushima Straits, averaged for 37 years, is 2.60 Sv and those of the eastern and western channels are 1.13 Sv and 1.47 Sv, respectively. The total volume transport through the Tsushima Straits tends to decrease with a roughly 15 year variation until 1992, then begins to increase. |