• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• 제30권2호
• /
• pp.193-205
• /
• 2008

A model of the current and seasonal volume transport in the East China Sea was used to investigate the origin of the Tsushima Warm Current (TSWC). The modeled volume transport field suggested that the current field west of Kyushu ($30^{\circ}-32^{\circ}N$) was divided into two regions, R1 and R2, according to the bottom depth. R1 consisted of the Taiwan Warm Current (TWWC) region and the mixed Kuroshio-TWWC (MKT) water region, while R2 was the modified Kuroshio water (MKW) region west of Kyushu. The MKW branched from the Kuroshio and flowed into the Korea/Tsushima Straits through the Cheju-Kyushu Strait, contributing 41% of the annual mean volume transport of the TSWC. The TWWC and MKT water flowed into the Korea/Tsushima Straits through the Cheju-Kyushu and Cheju Straits, contributing 32% and 27% of the volume transport, respectively. The maximum volume transport of the MKW was 53% of the total volume transport of the TSWC in November, while the maximum volume transport of the water in the R1 region through the Cheju-Kyushu Strait was 41% in July. Hence, there were two peaks per year of volume transport in the TSWC.