• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.105-112
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• 1999

Density and temeprature fronts are common features of the ocean. However, frontal dynamics are not quasi-geostrophic because the isopycnal deflections associated with fronts are large compared with the scale height of the hydrostatic geopotential. The frontal geostrophic model, developed by Cushman-Roisin et al.(1992) is generally used fro describing the dynamics of surface-density ocean fronts, whereas the two-layer frontal geostrophic model is used for fronts on a sloping continental shelf. This paper investigates the baroclinic nonlinear stability of surface-density ocean fronts and fronts on a sloping continental shelf using the two-layer frontal geostrophic model mentioned above. Nonlinear stability criteria for the two kinds of fronts are obtained using Arnol'd's (1965; 1969) variational principle and a prior estimate method. This is the first time a nonlinear stability criterion for surface ocean fronts has been established, furthermore, the results obtained for fronts on a sloping bottom are superior to any previous ones.

• 한국수산과학회지
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.1044-1055
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• 1997

To find out generating mechanism of eddies in the polar frontal zone of the East Sea, we carried out a series of numerical experiments using the nonlinear $1^{1/2}-layer$ model allowing the effect of the polar front. We assumed the polar front at about $39^{\circ}N$ in zonal direction with the cold water region in the northern part and the warm water region in the southern part of the model ocean. To examine the effect of the frontal motion without the influence of the Tsushima Current from the beginning of the geostrophic adjustment, the initial state of the model ocean was assumed motionless. Eastward current was caused by the geostrophic adjustment process in the polar frontal zone that induced a steady northward coastal current along the Korean coast to satisfy the mass continuity. The overshooting of this coastal current acted as an initial disturbance of the zonal flow field which caused meanders and eddies. The spatial scales of eddies were in good agreement with the baroclinic instability theory.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.183-195
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• 1996

A barotropic non-linear numerical model is used to study the response of the Yellow Sea to winter cyclone passage. Cyclones normally come from the outside of the western boundary, China, and pass the region eastward. The cyclone parameters used for the present study are the following: the intensity, i.e., the maximum wind speed of the cyclone; the effective radius corresponding to this maximum; and the translation speed. The equations of motion are integrated over the depth which is supposed to be a constant. The Gaussian function is used to define the stream function of the wind. The following results have been found. A northward current is generated by the frontal part of the cyclone near the western boundary. After the cyclone leaves the sea area, a southward current is generated by the rear part of the cyclone. After that, a northward current is generated once again due to the westward propagating Rossby waves. The response of the sea to the cyclone passage is strongly influenced by a steady current when the steady current and the current due to the cyclone wind are of the same order. The steady current diminishes the sea response and reduces the speed of the southward current, and enhances the northward current speed. The intensity and the translation speed of a cyclone also influence the flow pattern significantly.