• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.267-281
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• 2019

Energetic mesoscale eddies in the East Sea (ES) associated with strong mesoscale variability impacting circulation and environments were statistically characterized by analyzing satellite altimeter data collected during 1993-2017 and in-situ data obtained from four cruises conducted between 2015 and 2017. A total of 1,008 mesoscale eddies were detected, tracked, and identified and then classified into 27 groups characterized by mean lifetime (L, day), amplitude (H, m), radius (R, km), intensity per unit area (EI, $cm^2/s^2/km^2$), ellipticity (e), eddy kinetic energy (EKE, TJ), available potential energy (APE, TJ), and direction of movement. The center, boundary, and amplitude of mesoscale eddies identified from satellite altimeter data were compared to those from the in-situ observational data for the four cases, yielding uncertainties in the center position of 2-10 km, boundary position of 10-20 km, and amplitude of 0.6-5.9 cm. The mean L, H, R, EI, e, EKE, and APE of the ES mesoscale eddies during the total period are $95{\pm}104$ days, $3.5{\pm}1.5cm$, $39{\pm}6km$, $0.023{\pm}0.017cm^2/s^2/km^2$, $0.72{\pm}0.07$, $23{\pm}21TJ$, and $588{\pm}250TJ$, respectively. The ES mesoscale eddies tend to move following the mean surface current rather than propagating westward. The southern groups (south of the subpolar front) have a longer L, larger H, R, and higher EKE, APE; and stronger EI than those of the northern groups and tend to move a longer distance following surface currents. There are exceptions to the average characteristics, such as the quasi-stationary groups (the Wonsan Warm, Wonsan Cold, Western Japan Basin Warm, and Northern Subpolar Frontal Cold Eddy groups) and short-lived groups with a relatively larger H, higher EKE, and APE and stronger EI (the Yamato Coastal Warm, Central Yamato Warm, and Eastern Japan Basin Coastal Warm eddy groups). Small eddies in the northern ES hardly resolved using the satellite altimetry data only, were not identified here and discussed with potential over-estimations of the mean L, H, R, EI, EKE, and APE. This study suggests that the ES mesoscale eddies 1) include newly identified groups such as the Hokkaido and the Yamato Rise Warm Eddies in addition to relatively well-known groups (e.g., the Ulleung Warm and the Dok Cold Eddies); 2) have a shorter L; smaller H, R, and lower EKE; and stronger EI and higher APE than those of the global ocean, and move following surface currents rather than propagating westward; and 3) show large spatial inhomogeneity among groups.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.282-297
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• 2019

Detection of mesoscale oceanic eddies using satellite data can utilize various ocean parameters such as sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a pigment concentration in phytoplankton, and sea level altimetry measurements. Observation methods vary for each satellite dataset, as it is obtained using different temporal and spatial resolution, and optimized data processing. Different detection results can be derived for the same oceanic eddies; therefore, fundamental research on eddy detection using satellite data is required. In this study, we used ocean color satellite data, sea level altimetry data, and infrared SST data to detect mesoscale eddies in the East Sea and compared results from different detection methods. The sea surface current field derived from the consecutive ocean color chlorophyll-a concentration images using the maximum cross correlation coefficient and the geostrophic current field obtained from the sea level altimetry data were used to detect the mesoscale eddies in the East Sea. In order to compare the eddy detection from satellite data, the results were divided into three cases as follows: 1) the eddy was detected in both the ocean color and altimeter images simultaneously; 2) the eddy was detected from ocean color and SST images, but no eddy was detected in the altimeter data; 3) the eddy was not detected in ocean color image, while the altimeter data detected the eddy. Through these three cases, we described the difficulties with satellite altimetry data and the limitations of ocean color and infrared SST data for eddy detection. It was also emphasized that study on eddy detection and related research required an in-depth understanding of the mesoscale oceanic phenomenon and the principles of satellite observation.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.969-972
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• 2006

The long-range High-Frequency (HF) ocean radar system has observed surface velocity field in the upstream of the Kuroshio north of Ishigaki Island and east of Taiwan since 2001. Applying a new method to extract geostrophic velocity component from the HF surface velocity data with the aid of satellite-born wind data, time series of daily surface geostrophic velocity field has been determined. Despite limited width of the study area of the HF radar, analysis of the sea surface height anomaly determined from the satellite altimetry data in a wider area can provide estimated dates of arrival of mesoscale eddies in the study area of the HF radar. Variations of the Kuroshio position and strength are studied in detail for these cases of interaction with mesoscale eddy, although number of occurrence of direct interaction with the Kuroshio in the study area is not statistically enough. For example, when an anticyclonic eddy approaches to the Kuroshio, the Kuroshio axis is found tend to move northward, keeping away from the approaching eddy from the east.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.88-91
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• 1999

Temperature data observed by NERDA and the satellite infrared imagery off the east coast of Korea from 1994 to 1998 for 5 years were analyzed to study the distribution, temporal change, and structure of mesoscale eddies appearing almost permanently off the east coast of Korea. Typically, the eddy distribution can be characterized by two cases; two-eddy case and three-eddy case. In 1995 and 1996, there were only two eddies, one northeast of Sokcho and the other around the Ulleung Island. In 1994, 1997 and 1998, three eddies were located off Wonsan, Sokcho and Youngduk. For two-eddy case, the Ulleung Eddy surrounded the Ulleung Island, whereas this eddy is located south of the island in three-eddy case.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.133-136
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• 2006

The mesoscale eddy field in the North Pacific Ocean, simulated by a high resolution eddy-resolving OGCM ($1/12^{\circ}C$ horizontal resolution), was analyzed, and compared with satellite altimetry data of TOPEX/Poseidon. High levels of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) appear near the Kurosho, North Equatorial Current (NEC), and Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) in the western part of the subropical gyre. In particlure, it was found that the EKE level of the STCC has a well-defined annual cycle, but no distinct annual cycle of the EKE exists in any other zonal current of the North Pacific Ocean.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.5 no.2_3_4
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• pp.115-126
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• 2002

A mesoscale meteorological model is applied to simulate turbulent airflow and eddy shedding over the Isle of Arran, SW Scotland, UK. Under conditions of NW flow, the mountain ridge of Kintyre, located upwind of Arran, induces gravity waves that also affect the airflow over the island. The possibility to nest domains allows description of the airflow over Arran with a very high resolution grid, while also including the effects of the surrounding mainland of Scotland, in particular of the mountain ridge of Kintyre. Initialised with a stably stratified NW flow, the mesoscale model simulates quasi-stationary gravity waves over the island induced by Kintyre. Embedded in the larger scale wave trains there is continuous development of small-scale transient eddies, created at the Arran hill tops, that move downstream through the stationary wave field. Although the transient eddies are more frequently simulated on the northern island where the terrain is more pronounced, they are also produced over Tighvein, a hill of 458 m on the southern island where measurements of surface pressure and 2 m meteorological variables have been recorded at intermittent intervals between 1996 and 2000. Comparison between early observations and simulations so far show qualitatively good agreement. Overall the computations demonstrate that turbulent flow can be modelled with a horizontal resolution of 70 m, and describe turbulent eddy structure on wavelength of only a few hundred metres.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.298-308
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• 1994

Ocean circulation in the Northeast Pacific Ocean is simulated using a high-resolution primitive equation numerical model with realistic bottom topography. The goal is to explain better the details of observed interannual variability of the circulation in the Gulf of Alaska. Our numerical model suggests that there is no seasonal shift in the Alaska gyre and that the interannual variability. reported earlier, is most likely the result of embedded mesoscale eddies in the dynamic topography. Such eddies have been observed in hydrographic. satellite-tracked drifters and altimeter data from the Gulf of Alaska.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.141-160
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• 2001

The challenge of predicting the Japanese coastal ocean motivated Frontier Observational Research System for Global Change (FORSGC) and the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC) to start a multiyear observational programme in the upstream Kuroshio in November 2000. This field effort, the Kuroshio Observation Program (KOP), should enable us to determine the barotropic and baroclinic components of the western boundary current system, thus, to better understand interactions of the currents with mesoscale eddies, the Kuroshio instabilities, and path bimodality. We, then, will be able to improve modeling predictability of the mesoscale, seasonal, and inter-annual processes in the midstream Kuroshio near the Japanese main islands by using this knowledge. The KOP is focused on an enhanced regional coverage of the sea surface height variability and the baroclinic structure of the mainstream Kuroshio in the East China Sea, the Ryukyu Current east of the Ryukyu's, and the Kuroshio recirculation. An attractive approach of the KOP is a development of a new data acquisition system via acoustic telemetry of the observational data. The monitoring system will provide observations for assimilation into extensive numerical models of the ocean circulation, targeting the real-time monitoring of the Japanese coastal waters.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 2016

The interannual variability of the water masses was analyzed from the CTD data measured in the tropical northwestern Pacific from 2006 to 2014. There are two typical water masses NPTW and NPIW that reveal the interannual variability in the survey area, in addition to two other water masses; the surface water mass TSW with a large seasonal variability and the deep water mass AACDW with a constant temperature-salinity characteristic at the depths deeper than 2,000 meters. In 2012 and 2014 NPTW was the most widely extended horizontally and thicker than 100 meters vertically, which was found over the entire survey area. However, NPTW was reduced and became much narrower in 2009 than in the other years. NPIW seemed to expand southwards from the north of $21^{\circ}N$ to $15^{\circ}N$ in 2008 and in 2012, which showed the salinity minimum in 2013 (< 34.15 psu). The sea surface height estimated by Absolute Dynamic Topography (ADT) approximately along $135^{\circ}E$ section showed the high peaks (> $1.45dyn{\cdot}m$) between $16^{\circ}N$ and $18^{\circ}N$ during the periods between 2007 and 2009 and between 2012 and 2013; the former peak lasted wider and longer in latitude and time (about three times) than the latter. The vertical section of the geostrophic currents in the upper 1,000 meters shows that there was a mesoscale pattern of repeated eastward and westward flows a few times in some years (2010 and 2014), which seemed to disappear in some other years (2008 and 2012); the former was closely related to the mesoscale eddies and the latter implied the pattern with the permanent currents. The persistent eastward flow between $17^{\circ}N$ and $19^{\circ}N$ seems to be related to the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC).

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.186-194
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• 2000

In this study, the oceanic responses to given atmospheric boundary conditions are investigated using a mesoscale ocean circulation model. The numerical experiments are divided into two parts: One is, so called, spin-up experiment and the other is reproduction experiment. The spin-up experiment simulates climatic state of ocean by integrating the ocean model with upper boundary conditions of the monthly mean atmospheric climate data. In the reproduction experiment, for the reproduction of major oceanic changes around Korean Peninsula during the period of 1980-1998 (19 years), the model has been integrated under the boundary condition of the 19year monthly mean atmosphere data. The spined-up state of ocean generated from the spin-up experiment is assigned to the initial boundary condition of the reproduction experiment. In the spin-up experiment, the model properly simulates the major features of circulation structure around Korean Peninsula; such as separation of East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), formation of the polar front, cold water band associated with the small scale eddies in the East Sea, the formation of front along west coast, and the seasonal variation of circulation pattern caused by changing upwind current in the West Sea. In the reproduction experiment, the model has shown the interannual sea surface temperature variations and a warming trend of about 0.5$^{\circ}$C during the period around Korean Peninsula, as in the case of the observation. Therefore, it is concluded that the model is capable of simulating not only the mean states but also the variabilities of ocean under the given atmosphere boundary conditions.