The Upper-Layer Circulation of the Japan/East Sea: Historical Data Analysis
Abstract
Our results provide a better description of the water properties and seasonal variability in the upper-ocean circulation of the East China and Japan/East Seas, and its causes. The AXBT data sets have been particularly valuable for understanding the synoptic water mass structure in this region over a very large area, a view usually reserved for remote sensing studies. The intrathermocline eddies described above were heretofore not identified in the extensive AXBT surveys. They may play an important role in the flux of properties across the subpolar front in the Japan Sea. The broad scale AXBT surveys illuminate the difference between surface and sub-mixed layer depth temperature structure, and how this structure evolves seasonally. The two Septembers surveys bring forth the possible difference between sub-mixed layer front structures in the East China Sea, and also how this difference may affect downstream conditions in the Tsushima Strait and southeastern Japan/East Seas. Subsurface synoptic temperature structure aids understanding of previous E.G., Hickox, et al., 2000 and future remote sensing studies. The large-scale synoptic nature of the surveys provides a context and reference point for future work in these regions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA401252
Entities
People
- Amy S. Bower
Organizations
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution