• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.11-29
• /
• 2009

Variability of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Japan/East Sea (JES) was studied using complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) analysis. Two daily data sets were analyzed: (1) New Generation 0.05o-gridded SST from Tohoku University, Japan (July 2002-July 2006), and (2) 0.25o-gridded SST from the Japan Meteorological Agency (October 1993-November 2006). Linkages with wind stress curl were revealed using 6-h 1o-gridded surface zonal and meridional winds from ancillary data of the Sea- WiFS Project, a special National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) product (1998-2005). SST anomalies (SSTA) were obtained by removing the seasonal signal, estimated as the leading mode of the CEOF decomposition of the original SST. Leading CEOF modes of residual SSTA obtained from both data sets were consistent with each other and were characterized by annual, semiannual, and quasi-biennial time scales estimated with 95% statistical significance. The Semiannual Mode lagged 2 months behind the increased occurrence of the anticyclonic (AC) wind stress curl over the JES. Links to dynamic processes were investigated by numerical simulations using an oceanic model. The suggested dynamic forcings of SSTA are the inflow of subtropical water into the JES through the Korea Strait, divergence in the surface layer induced by Ekman suction, meridional shifts of the Subarctic Front in the western JES, AC eddy formation, and wind-driven strengthening/weakening of large-scale currents. Events of west-east SSTA movement were identified in July-September. The SSTA moved from the northeastern JES towards the continental coast along the path of the westward branch of the Tsushima Current at a speed consistent with the advective scale.

• Ocean Science Journal
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.89-102
• /
• 2007

The surface circulation of northern South China Sea (hereafter SCS) for the period 1987-2005 was studied using the data of more than 500 satellite-tracked drifters and wind data from QuikSCAT. The mean flow directions in the northern SCS except the Luzon Strait (here after LS) during the periods October_March was southwestward, and $April{\sim}September$ northeastward. A strong northwestward intrusion of the Kuroshio through the LS appears during the $October{\sim}March$ period of northeasterly wind, but the intrusion became weak between April and September. When the strong intrusion occurred, the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the LS was $388cm^2/s^2$ which was almost 2 times higher than that during the weak-intrusion season. The volume transport of the Kuroshio in the east of the Philippines shows an inverse relationship to that of the LS. There is a six-month phase shift between the two seasonal phenomena. The volume transport in the east of the Philippines shows its peak sis-month earlier faster than that of the LS. The strong Kuroshio intrusion is found to be also related to the seasonal variation of the wind stress curl generated by the north easterly wind. The negative wind stress curl in the northern part of LS induces an anticyclonic flow, while the positive wind stress curl in the southern part of LS induces a cyclonic flow. The northwestward Kuroshio intrusion in the northern part of LS happened with larger negative wind stress curl, while the westward intrusion along $20.5^{\circ}N$ in the center of the LS occurred with weaker negative wind stress curl.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.79-93
• /
• 2015

Three-dimensional structures of large ocean rings in the Gulf Stream region are investigated using the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Numerically simulated flow structures around four selected cyclonic and anticyclonic rings are compared with two different horizontal resolutions: $1/12^{\circ}$ and $1/48^{\circ}$. The vertical distributions of Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCSs) are analyzed using Finite Size Lyapunov Exponent (FSLE) and Okubo-Weiss parameters (OW). Curtain-shaped FSLE ridges are found in all four rings with extensions of surface ridges throughout the water columns, indicating that horizontal stirring is dominant over vertical motions. Near the high-resolution rings, many small-scale flow structures with size O(1~10) km are observed while these features are rarely found near the low-resolution rings. These small-scale structures affect the flow pattern around the rings as flow particles move more randomly in the high-resolution models. The dispersion rates are also affected by these small-scale structures as the relative horizontal dispersion coefficients are larger for the high-resolution models. The absolute vertical dispersion rates are, however, lower for the high-resolution models, because the particles tend to move along inclined eddy orbits when the resolution is low and this increases the magnitude of absolute vertical dispersion. Since relative vertical dispersion can reduce this effect from the orbital trajectories of particles, it gives a more reasonable magnitude range than absolute dispersion, and so is recommended in estimating vertical dispersion rates.

• 한국해양학회지
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.152-163
• /
• 1994

The characteristics and fluctuations of structures and spatial distributions of warm eddies (anticyclonic eddies) in the southwestern part of the East Sea (the Japan Sea) are discussed based on the data gathered y the Fisheries Research and Development Agency, Korea from 1967 to 1968. The warm eddies existed very often in the southwest of the Ullung Island. The warm eddies are elliptical in shape and the mean size is about 130 km in diameter. Bimonthly distributions of warm eddies, the largest value of observed frequency and diameter in August and the least in June, indicate that the generation of the warm eddy is related with the development of the East Korean Warm Current. The warm eddies move west, north or southward with 0.80∼2.50 cm/sec or stay over a few months at the same place southwest of the Ullung Island. Movement of warm eddies may be influenced by the neighboring currents, the Rossby wave and the topography. The relationship between the position of warm eddies and the bottom topography suggests that the development and the movement of warm eddies are controlled by the Ullung Basin. The warm eddies should be divided into two groups. One group is the shallow warm eddy with strong baroclinic characteristics and the other is the deep one with strong Barotropic characteristics. The shallow group seems to be closely related with positive values (in summer) of the sea level difference between Pusan and Mozi (the Tsushima Current), while the deep group has no relation with that.