Daisuke Simizu

Sverdrup Balance and the Cyclonic Gyre in the Sea of Okhotsk

Abstract It is proposed that the cyclonic gyre over the northern half-basin of the Okhotsk Sea is driven by the wind stress curl and that a major part of the East Sakhalin Current (ESC) can be regarded as its western boundary current. Both from the high-resolution ECMWF and Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Dataset (COADS) data, the annual mean wind stress curl is positive over the sea. When the Sverdrup streamfunction is calculated by excluding the shallow shelves, the streamfunction shows a cyclonic pattern over the central basin, which is roughly consistent with the geopotential anomaly distribution from all the available hydrographic data. Profiling floats suggest that the cyclonic gyre extends to at least a depth of 500 m: a relatively intense southward flow (ESC) with an average speed of approximately 10 cm s−1 near the western boundary and slow northward flow with an average speed of approximately 2 cm s−1 in the east. Climatological data show that along zonal sections at 50°–53°N isopycnal surfaces g...

Barotropic Response of the Sea of Okhotsk to Wind Forcing

We have examined wind-induced circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk using a barotropic model that contains realistic topography with a resolution of 9.25 km. The monthly wind stress field calculated from daily European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Re-Analysis data is used as the forcing, and the integration is carried out for 20 days until the circulation attains an almost steady state. In the case of November (a representative for the winter season from October to March), southward currents of velocity 0.1–0.3 m s−1 occur along the bottom contours off the east of Sakhalin Island. The currents are mostly confined to the shelf (shallower than 200 m) and extend as far south as the Hokkaido coast. In the July case (a representative for the summer season from April to September), significant currents do not occur, even in the shallow shelves. The simulated southward current over the east Sakhalin shelf appears to correspond to the near-shore branch of the East Sakhalin Current (ESC), which was observed with the surface drifters. These seasonal variations simulated in our experiments are consistent with the observations of the ESC. Dynamically, the simulated ESC is interpreted as the arrested topographic wave (ATW), which is the coastally trapped flow driven by steady alongshore wind stress. The volume transport of the simulated ESC over the shelf reaches about 1.0 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3s−1) in the winter season, which is determined by the integrated onshore Ekman transport in the direction from which shelf waves propagate.

Taking a look at both sides of the ice: comparison of ice thickness and drift speed as observed from moored, airborne and shore-based instruments near Barrow, Alaska

Abstract Data from the Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet) acquired near Barrow, Alaska, during the 2009/10 ice season allow novel comparisons between measurements of ice thickness and velocity. An airborne electromagnetic survey that passed over a moored Ice Profiling Sonar (IPS) provided coincident independent measurements of total ice and snow thickness and ice draft at a scale of 10 km. Once differences in sampling footprint size are accounted for, we reconcile the respective probability distributions and estimate the thickness of level sea ice at 1.48 ± 0.1 m, with a snow depth of 0.12 ± 0.07 m. We also complete what we believe is the first independent validation of radar-derived ice velocities by comparing measurements from a coastal radar with those from an under-ice acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). After applying a median filter to reduce high-frequency scatter in the radar-derived data, we find good agreement with the ADCP bottom-tracked ice velocities. With increasing regulatory and operational needs for sea-ice data, including the number and thickness of pressure ridges, coordinated observing networks such as SIZONet can provide the means of reducing uncertainties inherent in individual datasets.

A wind-driven, hybrid latent and sensible heat coastal polynya off Barrow, Alaska

The nature of the Barrow Coastal Polynya (BCP), which forms episodically off the Alaska coast in winter, is examined using mooring data, atmospheric reanalysis data, and satellite-derived sea-ice concentration and production data. We focus on oceanographic conditions such as water mass distribution and ocean current structure beneath the BCP. Two moorings were deployed off Barrow, Alaska in the northeastern Chukchi Sea from August 2009 to July 2010. For sea-ice season from December to May, a characteristic sequence of five events associated with the BCP has been identified; (1) dominant northeasterly wind parallel to the Barrow Canyon, with an offshore component off Barrow, (2) high sea-ice production, (3) upwelling of warm and saline Atlantic Water beneath the BCP, (4) strong up-canyon shear flow associated with displaced density surfaces due to the upwelling, and (5) sudden suppression of ice growth. A baroclinic current structure, established after the upwelling, caused enhanced vertical shear and corresponding vertical mixing. The mixing event and open water formation occurred simultaneously, once sea-ice production had stopped. Thus, mixing events accompanied by ocean heat flux from the upwelled warm water into the surface layer played an important role in formation/maintenance of the open water area (i.e., sensible heat polynya). The transition from a latent to a sensible heat polynya is well reproduced by a high-resolution pan-Arctic ice-ocean model. We propose that the BCP, previously considered to be a latent heat polynya, is a wind-driven hybrid latent and sensible heat polynya, with both features caused by the same northeasterly wind.

Observations of supercooled water and frazil ice formation in an Arctic coastal polynya from moorings and satellite imagery

Abstract Formation of supercooled water and frazil ice was studied in the Chukchi Sea coastal polynya off Barrow, Alaska, USA, in winter 2009/10, using moored salinity/temperature sensors and Ice Profiling Sonar (IPS) data along with satellite data. Oceanographic data from two moorings revealed episodic events of potential supercooling at 30–40m depth, including the possibility of in situ supercooling, while the polynya was open. We identified frazil ice-like signals in the IPS data down to 5–15 m depth, associated with large heat loss and windy, turbulent conditions in an active polynya. This likely represents the first IPS observation of frazil ice in the marine environment. On the day of the maximum signal of frazil ice, spaceborne synthetic aperture radar shows streaks of high backscatter within the polynya, indicating active frazil ice formation just downwind of the mooring sites. In addition, the longer-term potential supercooling that persisted for 1–3 weeks occurred twice despite the absence of polynya activity at the mooring sites. These events occurred during periods dominated by the northeastward current. A series of coastal polynyas had formed southwest of the mooring sites prior to these events. Thus, the water masses with potential supercooling were likely advected from these polynyas.

An artificial pool experiment in Antarctic sea ice: effects of sea ice melting on physical and biogeochemical components of pool water

Abstract We performed an artificial pool experiment in the Antarctic multi-year land-fast ice to examine and simulate the effect of sea ice melting on physical and biogeochemical components of the sea ice field. The input of snow and ice meltwater resulted in warmer, low salinity water at the surface of the pool and probably stratification of the less dense water. Current speed measurements also pointed to water stratification within the pool. Rapid phytoplankton growth in the pool resulted in drastic decreases in concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon and nutrients (NO3- and Si(OH)4) in the surface waters of the pool, particularly depleted for NO3-. There was high correlation between variations of dissolved inorganic carbon and nutrient concentrations, but the apparent uptake ratios of these components deviated from that generally applied to marine phytoplankton. The sequence of changes in the physical and biogeochemical components of the pool water suggests that the onset of rapid phytoplankton growth was closely related to the water stratification, which provided stable conditions for phytoplankton bloom even though the supply of nutrients from under-ice water would have declined.

Bromoform concentrations in slush-layer water in Antarctic fast ice

Abstract Bromoform concentrations in water of the slush layer that developed at the interface between snow and sea ice were measured during the seasonal warming in Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica. Mean bromoform concentration was 5.5 ± 2.4 pmol l-1, which was lower than that of the under-ice water (10.9 ± 3.5 pmol l-1). Temporal decrease in bromoform concentrations and salinity with increasing temperature of the slush water suggest that the bromoform concentrations were reduced through dilution with meltwater input from the upper surface of sea ice. In contrast, bromoform concentrations in the under-ice water increased during this period while the salinity of the under-ice water decreased. It is speculated that the sea ice meltwater input contained high bromoform concentrations from the brine channels within the sea ice and from the bottom of the ice that were contributed to the increased bromoform concentrations in the under-ice water.

Influence of Sea Ice Crack Formation on the Spatial Distribution of Nutrients and Microalgae in Flooded Antarctic Multiyear Ice

Cracks are common and natural features of sea ice formed in the polar oceans. In this study, a sea ice crack in flooded, multiyear, land-fast Antarctic sea ice was examined to assess its influence on biological productivity and the transport of nutrients and microalgae into the upper layers of neighboring sea ice. The water inside the crack and the surrounding host ice were characterized by a strong discoloration (brown color), an indicator of a massive algal bloom. Salinity and oxygen isotopic ratio measurements indicated that 64–84% of the crack water consisted of snow meltwater supplied during the melt season. Measurements of nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations within the slush layer pool (the flooded layer at the snow-ice interface) revealed the intrusion of water from the crack, likely forced by mixing with underlying seawater during the tidal cycle. Our results suggest that sea ice crack formation provides conditions favorable for algal blooms by directly exposing the crack water to sunlight and supplying nutrients from the under-ice water. Subsequently, constituents of the crack water modified by biological activity were transported into the upper layer of the flooded sea ice. They were then preserved in the multiyear ice column formed by upward growth of sea ice caused by snow ice formation in areas of significant snow accumulation. Plain Language Summary Formation of cracks in sea ice affects the environment associated with biological production and biogeochemical cycling in the surface ocean of sea ice systems. Because cracks are likely to form frequently within the sea ice during the season of ice melting and ice breaking, the contributions of cracks to biological production and biogeochemical cycling may be significant in ice-covered oceans. In the future, the melting of sea ice in polar oceans will strongly affect the output of biogeochemical parameters trapped within sea ice and their use in primary and secondary production within surface oceans. In the case of multiyear, land-fast ice, biogeochemical parameters that accumulate within the ice would be discharged abruptly to ocean surface waters when the multiyear ice breaks up.

Volume, Heat, and Salt Transports through the Soya Strait and Their Seasonal and Interannual Variations

AbstractVolume, heat, and salt transports through the Soya Strait are estimated based on measurements from high-frequency ocean radars during 2003–15 and all available hydrographic data. The baroclinic velocity structure derived from the climatological geopotential anomaly is combined with the sea surface gradient obtained from radar-derived surface velocities to estimate the absolute velocity structure. The annual-mean volume, heat, and salt transports are 0.91 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1), 25.5 TW, and 31.15 × 106 kg s−1, respectively. The volume transport exhibits strong seasonal variations, with a maximum of 1.41 Sv in August and a minimum of 0.23 Sv in January. The seasonal amplitude and phase roughly correspond to those of the Tsushima–Korea Strait. Time series of the monthly transport is presented for the 12 yr, assuming that the baroclinic components are the monthly climatological values. In cold seasons (November to April), the monthly volume transport is strongly correlated with the sea level differen...

Biogeochemical properties of water in surface ponds on Antarctic fast ice and their relationship with underlying sea-ice properties

Surface ponds on Antarctic fast ice were examined by measuring temperature, salinity and concentrations of chlorophyll a (Chl-a), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients (NO3 + NO2, PO4 and SiO2) in the surface pond water and under-ice water. Sea-ice cores were also collected from the bottom of a surface pond (pond-ice core) and from a site away from the pond (bare-ice core). Time-series measurements of surface pond water temperature showed that it varied with solar radiation rather than with air temperature. Comparison of water properties between surface pond water and under-ice water suggested that DIC and nutrients were consumed by biological productivity during pond formation. Depth profiles of nutrient concentrations in the pond-ice core suggested the remineralization of organic matter at the bottom of the surface pond. The Chl-a concentration was lower at the bottom of the pond-ice core than in the bare-ice core, suggesting that surface pond formation reduces ice algae abundance in sea ice because meltwater flushes algae from the porous sea ice into the under-ice water.