2013 Vol. 32, No. 1
Display Method:
2013, 32(1): 1-11.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0262-z
Abstract:
A method of quantifying the penetration of the Kuroshio into the Luzon Strait is improved with simulated salinity. The new method is applied in an area bounded by 0.6 correlation coefficient contour to the point of 20°N, 118°E which is determined by EOF analysis. The results suggest that the method is suitable for indicating Kuroshio's intrusion into the South China Sea quantitatively. As an indicator, the Kuroshio penetrating the Luzon index (KLI) reveals obvious annual cycle and weak bi-modality. For annual periods, indexes on the surface and subsurface which point the same events have totally opposite signs due to the winter burst of surface westward current. On long-term period, the surface and subsurface indexes have consistent signs. A subsurface index on 150 m avoiding high frequency signals from the surface can be used for indicating long-term Kuroshio intrusion variation. An anti-phase pattern in wavelet coherence map between KLI and Japan large meander index shows that the Luzon Strait is a "smoother" reducing the variability of the Kuroshio transport changes on long-term periods.
A method of quantifying the penetration of the Kuroshio into the Luzon Strait is improved with simulated salinity. The new method is applied in an area bounded by 0.6 correlation coefficient contour to the point of 20°N, 118°E which is determined by EOF analysis. The results suggest that the method is suitable for indicating Kuroshio's intrusion into the South China Sea quantitatively. As an indicator, the Kuroshio penetrating the Luzon index (KLI) reveals obvious annual cycle and weak bi-modality. For annual periods, indexes on the surface and subsurface which point the same events have totally opposite signs due to the winter burst of surface westward current. On long-term period, the surface and subsurface indexes have consistent signs. A subsurface index on 150 m avoiding high frequency signals from the surface can be used for indicating long-term Kuroshio intrusion variation. An anti-phase pattern in wavelet coherence map between KLI and Japan large meander index shows that the Luzon Strait is a "smoother" reducing the variability of the Kuroshio transport changes on long-term periods.
2013, 32(1): 12-23.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0263-y
Abstract:
Subinertial fluctuation of a strong northward deep current, which is referred to the Dokdo Abyssal Current (DAC) by Chang et al. (2009), is investigated from current records for about 16.5 and 8.0 months in the Ulleung Interplain Gap of the East/Japan Sea. The current below 300 m is bottom-intensified and has nearly depth-independent flow. Near bottom, the spectral peaks of the current were found near 10, 20, and 60 d. The DAC variability near 10 d and 20 d is reasonably consistent with the linear theory of topographic Rossby waves (TRWs) in the following aspects:(1) The motion is columnar and bottom-intensified; (2) the theoretical cutoff frequency is similar to the observation; (3) The observation-based angles of the wavenumber vector are in good agreement with the theoretical ones. The wavelengths of the TRWs with periods of near 10 d and 20 d near Dokdo are significantly shorter than those with similar timescales in the open oceans (100-250 km). It is primarily due to the weak stratification below 300 m in the East Sea. The deep current fluctuations with periods of near 10 d and 20 d were accompanied by warm events in the upper layer resulting from eddying processes and/or meandering of the Tsushima Warm Current.
Subinertial fluctuation of a strong northward deep current, which is referred to the Dokdo Abyssal Current (DAC) by Chang et al. (2009), is investigated from current records for about 16.5 and 8.0 months in the Ulleung Interplain Gap of the East/Japan Sea. The current below 300 m is bottom-intensified and has nearly depth-independent flow. Near bottom, the spectral peaks of the current were found near 10, 20, and 60 d. The DAC variability near 10 d and 20 d is reasonably consistent with the linear theory of topographic Rossby waves (TRWs) in the following aspects:(1) The motion is columnar and bottom-intensified; (2) the theoretical cutoff frequency is similar to the observation; (3) The observation-based angles of the wavenumber vector are in good agreement with the theoretical ones. The wavelengths of the TRWs with periods of near 10 d and 20 d near Dokdo are significantly shorter than those with similar timescales in the open oceans (100-250 km). It is primarily due to the weak stratification below 300 m in the East Sea. The deep current fluctuations with periods of near 10 d and 20 d were accompanied by warm events in the upper layer resulting from eddying processes and/or meandering of the Tsushima Warm Current.
2013, 32(1): 24-31.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0264-x
Abstract:
From the eastern Indonesian cruise from November 14 to 23, 2007, CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth profiler)/ADCP (acoustic Doppler current profiler)casting and seawater sampling were done at 25 stations around Waigeo Island near New Guinea Island. It was found overall westward intrusion of the south Pacific waters into the Seram Sea and southward spreading of the north and south Pacific waters into the Seram Sea. There is westward residual flow along the channel between Waigeo and New Guinea within upper 200 m with the maximum speed up to 50 cm/s, and much weaker eastward flow in the lower layer (< 10 cm/s) due to blocking by the shallow sill at the west of the Dampier Strait. The abrupt change of bottom topography induces active horizontal and vertical mixing which results in a three-layered current system with a major through-flow of -0.99 Sv (Sv=106 m3/s) into the Seram Sea; the transports in the upper and the lower layers are -1.14 Sv and -0.24 Sv (westward), respectively, and in the middle there is a return flow with the transport of +0.39 Sv (eastward).
From the eastern Indonesian cruise from November 14 to 23, 2007, CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth profiler)/ADCP (acoustic Doppler current profiler)casting and seawater sampling were done at 25 stations around Waigeo Island near New Guinea Island. It was found overall westward intrusion of the south Pacific waters into the Seram Sea and southward spreading of the north and south Pacific waters into the Seram Sea. There is westward residual flow along the channel between Waigeo and New Guinea within upper 200 m with the maximum speed up to 50 cm/s, and much weaker eastward flow in the lower layer (< 10 cm/s) due to blocking by the shallow sill at the west of the Dampier Strait. The abrupt change of bottom topography induces active horizontal and vertical mixing which results in a three-layered current system with a major through-flow of -0.99 Sv (Sv=106 m3/s) into the Seram Sea; the transports in the upper and the lower layers are -1.14 Sv and -0.24 Sv (westward), respectively, and in the middle there is a return flow with the transport of +0.39 Sv (eastward).
2013, 32(1): 32-47.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0265-9
Abstract:
This study revealed a high positive correlation between rainfall in Korea during September and the trade wind (TW)/Arctic Oscillation (AO) index in May that combines two climate factors, low-level TWs and the AO. This correlation was identified on the basis of the difference in the 850 hPa streamline analysis between the positive and negative phases selected using the combined TW/AO index. In May, the spatial pattern of the anomalous pressure systems is similar to that in the positive AO phase. These anomalous pressure systems continue in June to August (JJA) and September, but the overall spatial distribution shifts a little to the south. Particularly in September, a huge anomalous anticyclone centered over the southeast seas of Japan strengthens in most of the western north Pacific region and supplies a large volume of warm and humid air to the region near Korea. This characteristic is confirmed by the facts that during the positive TW/AO phase, the subtropical western north Pacific high (SWNPH) is more developed to the north and that the continuous positioning of the upper troposphere jet over Korea from May to September strengthens the anomalous upward flow, bringing warm and humid air to all layers. These factors contribute to increasing September rainfall in Korea during the positive TW/AO phase. Because the SWNPH develops more to the north in the positive phase, tropical cyclones tend to make landfall in Korea frequently, which also plays a positive role in increasing September rainfall in Korea.The above features are also reflected by the differences in average rainfall between the six years that had the highest May Niño 3.4 indices (El Niño phase) and the six years that had the lowest May Niño 3.4 indices (La Niña phase).
This study revealed a high positive correlation between rainfall in Korea during September and the trade wind (TW)/Arctic Oscillation (AO) index in May that combines two climate factors, low-level TWs and the AO. This correlation was identified on the basis of the difference in the 850 hPa streamline analysis between the positive and negative phases selected using the combined TW/AO index. In May, the spatial pattern of the anomalous pressure systems is similar to that in the positive AO phase. These anomalous pressure systems continue in June to August (JJA) and September, but the overall spatial distribution shifts a little to the south. Particularly in September, a huge anomalous anticyclone centered over the southeast seas of Japan strengthens in most of the western north Pacific region and supplies a large volume of warm and humid air to the region near Korea. This characteristic is confirmed by the facts that during the positive TW/AO phase, the subtropical western north Pacific high (SWNPH) is more developed to the north and that the continuous positioning of the upper troposphere jet over Korea from May to September strengthens the anomalous upward flow, bringing warm and humid air to all layers. These factors contribute to increasing September rainfall in Korea during the positive TW/AO phase. Because the SWNPH develops more to the north in the positive phase, tropical cyclones tend to make landfall in Korea frequently, which also plays a positive role in increasing September rainfall in Korea.The above features are also reflected by the differences in average rainfall between the six years that had the highest May Niño 3.4 indices (El Niño phase) and the six years that had the lowest May Niño 3.4 indices (La Niña phase).
2013, 32(1): 48-58.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0266-8
Abstract:
To understand the response of marine ecosystem to environmental factors, the oceanographic (physical and biochemical) data are analyzed to examine the spatio-temporal distributions of chlorophyll a (Chl a) associated with surface temperature, winds and height anomaly for long periods (1997-2008) in the western South China Sea (SCS). The results indicate that seasonal and spatial distributions of Chl a are primarily influenced by monsoon winds and hydrography. A preliminary Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of remotely sensed data is used to assess basic characteristics of the response process of Chl a to physical changes, which reveals interannual variability of anomalous low Chl a values corresponding to strong El Niño (1997-1998), high values corresponding to strong La Niña (1999-2000), low Chl a corresponding to moderate El Niño (2001-2003), upward Chl a after warm event in 2005 off the east coast of Vietnam. The variability of Chl a in nearshore and the Mekong River Estuary (MER) waters also suggests its response to these warm or cold processes. Considering the evidence for covariabilities between Chl a and sea surface temperature, winds, height anomaly (upwelling or downwelling), cold waters input and strong winds mixing may play important roles in the spatial and temporal variability of high Chl a. Such research activities could be very important to gain a mechanistic understanding of ecosystem responses to the climate change in the SCS.
To understand the response of marine ecosystem to environmental factors, the oceanographic (physical and biochemical) data are analyzed to examine the spatio-temporal distributions of chlorophyll a (Chl a) associated with surface temperature, winds and height anomaly for long periods (1997-2008) in the western South China Sea (SCS). The results indicate that seasonal and spatial distributions of Chl a are primarily influenced by monsoon winds and hydrography. A preliminary Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of remotely sensed data is used to assess basic characteristics of the response process of Chl a to physical changes, which reveals interannual variability of anomalous low Chl a values corresponding to strong El Niño (1997-1998), high values corresponding to strong La Niña (1999-2000), low Chl a corresponding to moderate El Niño (2001-2003), upward Chl a after warm event in 2005 off the east coast of Vietnam. The variability of Chl a in nearshore and the Mekong River Estuary (MER) waters also suggests its response to these warm or cold processes. Considering the evidence for covariabilities between Chl a and sea surface temperature, winds, height anomaly (upwelling or downwelling), cold waters input and strong winds mixing may play important roles in the spatial and temporal variability of high Chl a. Such research activities could be very important to gain a mechanistic understanding of ecosystem responses to the climate change in the SCS.
2013, 32(1): 59-67.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0267-7
Abstract:
An analysis of the radar backscattering from the ocean surface covered by oil spill is presented using a microwave scattering model and Monte-Carlo simulation. In the analysis, a one-dimensional rough sea surface is numerically generated with an ocean waveheight spectrum for a given wind velocity. A two-layered medium is then generated by adding a thin oil layer on the simulated rough sea surface. The electric fields backscattered from the sea surface with two-layered medium are computed with the method of moments (MoM), and the backscattering coefficients are statistically obtained with N independent samples for each oil-spilled surface using the Monte-Carlo technique for various conditions of surface roughness, oil-layer thickness, frequency, polarization and incidence angle. The numerical simulation results are compared with theoretical models for clean sea surfaces and SAR images of an oil-spilled sea surface caused by the Hebei (Hebei province, China) Spirit oil tanker in 2007. Further, conditions for better oil spill extraction are sought by the numerical simulation on the effects of wind speed and oil-layer thickness at different incidence angles on the backscattering coefficients.
An analysis of the radar backscattering from the ocean surface covered by oil spill is presented using a microwave scattering model and Monte-Carlo simulation. In the analysis, a one-dimensional rough sea surface is numerically generated with an ocean waveheight spectrum for a given wind velocity. A two-layered medium is then generated by adding a thin oil layer on the simulated rough sea surface. The electric fields backscattered from the sea surface with two-layered medium are computed with the method of moments (MoM), and the backscattering coefficients are statistically obtained with N independent samples for each oil-spilled surface using the Monte-Carlo technique for various conditions of surface roughness, oil-layer thickness, frequency, polarization and incidence angle. The numerical simulation results are compared with theoretical models for clean sea surfaces and SAR images of an oil-spilled sea surface caused by the Hebei (Hebei province, China) Spirit oil tanker in 2007. Further, conditions for better oil spill extraction are sought by the numerical simulation on the effects of wind speed and oil-layer thickness at different incidence angles on the backscattering coefficients.
2013, 32(1): 68-78.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0268-6
Abstract:
A new three-dimensional semi-implicit finite-volume ocean model has been developed for simulating the coastal ocean circulation, which is based on the staggered C-unstructured non-orthogonal grid in the horizontal direction and z-level grid in the vertical direction. The three-dimensional model is discretized by the semi-implicit finite-volume method, in that the free-surface and the vertical diffusion are semi-implicit, thereby removing stability limitations associated with the surface gravity wave and vertical diffusion terms. The remaining terms in the momentum equations are discretized explicitly by an integral method. The partial cell method is used for resolving topography, which enables the model to better represent irregular topography. The model has been tested against analytical cases for wind and tidal oscillation circulation, and is applied to simulating the tidal flow in the Bohai Sea. The results are in good agreement both with the analytical solutions and measurement results.
A new three-dimensional semi-implicit finite-volume ocean model has been developed for simulating the coastal ocean circulation, which is based on the staggered C-unstructured non-orthogonal grid in the horizontal direction and z-level grid in the vertical direction. The three-dimensional model is discretized by the semi-implicit finite-volume method, in that the free-surface and the vertical diffusion are semi-implicit, thereby removing stability limitations associated with the surface gravity wave and vertical diffusion terms. The remaining terms in the momentum equations are discretized explicitly by an integral method. The partial cell method is used for resolving topography, which enables the model to better represent irregular topography. The model has been tested against analytical cases for wind and tidal oscillation circulation, and is applied to simulating the tidal flow in the Bohai Sea. The results are in good agreement both with the analytical solutions and measurement results.
2013, 32(1): 79-88.
doi: 10.1007/s13131-013-0269-5
Abstract:
River plumes are the regions where the most intense river-sea-land interaction occurs, and they are characterized by complex material transport and biogeochemical processes. However, due to their highly dynamic nature, global river plume areas have not yet been determined for use in synthetic studies of global oceanography. Based on global climatological monthly averaged salinity data from the NOAA World Ocean Atlas 2009 (WOA09), and monthly averaged salinity contour maps of the East and South China Seas from the Chinese Marine Atlas, we extract the monthly plume areas of major global rivers using a geographic information system (GIS) technique. Only areas with salinities that are three salinity units lower than the average salinity in each ocean are counted. This conservative estimate shows that the minimum and maximum monthly values of the total plume area of the world's 19 largest rivers are 1.72×106 km2 in May and 5.38×106 km2 in August. The annual mean area of these river plumes (3.72×106 km2) takes up approximately 14.2% of the total continental shelves area worldwide (26.15×106 km2). This paper also presents river plume areas for different oceans and latitude zones, and analyzes seasonal variations of the plume areas and their relationships with river discharge. These statistics describing the major global river plume areas can now provide the basic data for the various flux calculations in the marginal seas, and therefore will be of useful for many oceanographic studies.
River plumes are the regions where the most intense river-sea-land interaction occurs, and they are characterized by complex material transport and biogeochemical processes. However, due to their highly dynamic nature, global river plume areas have not yet been determined for use in synthetic studies of global oceanography. Based on global climatological monthly averaged salinity data from the NOAA World Ocean Atlas 2009 (WOA09), and monthly averaged salinity contour maps of the East and South China Seas from the Chinese Marine Atlas, we extract the monthly plume areas of major global rivers using a geographic information system (GIS) technique. Only areas with salinities that are three salinity units lower than the average salinity in each ocean are counted. This conservative estimate shows that the minimum and maximum monthly values of the total plume area of the world's 19 largest rivers are 1.72×106 km2 in May and 5.38×106 km2 in August. The annual mean area of these river plumes (3.72×106 km2) takes up approximately 14.2% of the total continental shelves area worldwide (26.15×106 km2). This paper also presents river plume areas for different oceans and latitude zones, and analyzes seasonal variations of the plume areas and their relationships with river discharge. These statistics describing the major global river plume areas can now provide the basic data for the various flux calculations in the marginal seas, and therefore will be of useful for many oceanographic studies.
