Seasonal changes of sea surface height and sea surface geostrophic current anomalies in the Japan Sea

Asahi Keijiro, Isoda Yutaka, Fang Xiaorong

doi:10.5928/kaiyou.25.3_43

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

日本海における海面高度偏差と海面地衡流偏差の季節変化
ニホンカイニオケルカイメンコウドヘンサトカイメンチコウリュウヘンサノキセツヘンカ

Search this article

Description

<p>To understand the seasonal characteristics of sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs) in the Japan Sea, cluster analysis, with respect to similarities in the temporal variation, and harmonic analysis are conducted for a one-year period using satellite SSHA data. These analyses are employed to extract the subdomains of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) in the middle latitudes, and hence, the Japan Sea is divided into three major subdomains. This division is consistent with previous studies of the coastal sea level along Japanese islands. The seasonal changes of the sea surface geostrophic current anomalies, which are estimated from the annual harmonic constants of SSHAs, show that the coastal branch flow is intensified from summer to autumn, whereas the offshore meandering flow is intensified after autumn. The phase difference is the main reason for the three SSHA divisions in the Japan Sea. We also find local eddy anomalies in the northwestern region, which are generated by the wind stress curl in winter.</p>

Journal

Oceanography in Japan

Oceanography in Japan 25 (3), 43-61, 2016-05-15

The Oceanographic Society of Japan

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Export

Report a problem