The Kuroshio off Southern Japan: Analysis of Data from the Asuka Study
Abstract
The long-term goal of this research is to determine Kuroshio Current and Kuroshio Countercurrent transports of volume, heat, and salt off Shikoku, Japan, and their fluctuations on time scales of days to years. The specific goals of this project are as follows: (1) Characterize the structure of Kuroshio variability off Shikoku at time scales from 1 day to 1 year; (2) Determine Kuroshio volume, heat, and salt transports and their fluctuations at these time scales; (3) Develop a simply maintained proxy measurement scheme for Kuroshio volume and heat transports; and (4) Compare the Kuroshio in this region with the Kuroshio upstream and downstream, and also with the Gulf Stream off the coast of Georgia. For more than two years, we have maintained a 1,000 km array of 8 inverted echo sounders (IES) along a TOPEX satellite altimeter line across the Kuroshio off Shikoku Island in southern Japan. During the same timeframe, Japanese oceanographers maintained an array of current meters (including moored ADCP's) and carried out frequent (nearly twice a month, on average) hydrographic studies for what was called the "ASUKA"' program. We successfully recovered all 8 IESs from the Japanese vessel T/V Keiten-maru in November 1995. Despite some data loss in the shallowest instruments due to acoustic reflections from the bottom, we obtained good data from all instruments. Processing and analysis of the IES data and comparison with the TOPEX altimeter data and hydrographic data are completed. Recently, our Japanese colleagues made their current-meter data available to us and we are using these data for absolute referencing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA551665
Entities
People
- Mark Wimbush
Organizations
- University of Rhode Island