Toshihiko Teramoto

Velocity fluctuations of the Kuroshio near the Izu Ridge and their relationship to current path

Abstract Major velocity fluctuations in the Kuroshio around the Izu Ridge were examined by direct current measurements in the upper layer (at 250-m depth in the Oshima-West Channel) from March 1977 to May 1979 and in the lower layer (at 1670-m depth west of Hachijojima Island) from May 1978 to February 1979. Mean observations for 286 days in the upper layer and 271 days in the lower layer showed velocity fluctuations in two period bands, one near 33 days and the other near 100 days. The fluctuation with the 33-day period was dominant in both layers with an amplitude of about 20 cm s −1 . The fluctuation with the 100-day period was dominant in the upper layer and was also seen in the east-west shift of the path of the Kuroshio near Hachijojima. More than 50% of the variance of the north component of velocity with a period greater than 2 h was concentrated at frequencies lower than 0.1 cycle per day. The Kuroshio was meandering around a stationary cold water mass that appeared south of Honshu in 1975. The current velocity in the upper layer increased when the meandering path of the Kuroshio shifted eastward by about 100 km in April 1978.

Abyssal current along the northern periphery of Shikoku Basin

AbstractAbyssal currents along the northern periphery of the Shikoku Basin south of Japan were measured by current meters moored off Cape Daio-zaki, Cape Shiono-misaki and Cape Ashizuri-misaki and on the eastern foot of the northernmost part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. Total length of observation off Cape Shiono-misaki was about five years including the periods of the Kuroshio large meander and no meander. Analyses of current data show:1)Mean currents with a magnitude of 5–10 cm sec−1 were observed during the whole observation period at all of current meters which were set 400 m above the sea bottom that was deeper than 4,500 m. The mean current for each current meter was parallel to the local bottom contour arond each station and was toward a direction looking the Nankai Trough (a trough located along the northern end of the Shikoku Basin) to the left.2)At each station located above the shelf toe off Cape Daio-zaki and off Cape Shiono-misaki and on the foot of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, the mean current increases with depth (a bottomward intensification of the mean current), and the vertical extent of the mean current is estimated to be about 2,000 m above the sea bottom.3)At a station located at 2,600 m depth on the continental slope off Cape Shiono-misaki, no bottom-ward intensification of currents was observed. These results strongly suggest that a steady abyssal flow exists in the depths deeper than about 3,000 m along the northern and northwestern peripheries of the Shikoku Basin. Existence of the abyssal circulation system is also suggested, at least, in the north of the Shikoku Basin.

Observations of internal tides in Uchiura Bay

Remarkable tidal currents associated with temperature fluctuations in the subsurface layer have been observed in Uchiura Bay. In order to study the characteristics of these tidal currents, we carried out current measurements in November 1972 and October 1974. It was confirmed from the first set of observations in 1972 that the tidal currents above and below the seasonal thermocline oscillate out of phase with each other and the tidal currents are associated with internal tides.In the second set of observations in 1974 not only current measurements but also serial BT lowerings were made. The phase of the thermocline displacements lagged behind the tidal currents by 81‡ for the semidiurnal constituent and by 83‡ for the diurnal constituent, and it is thus concluded that the internal tides in Uchiura Bay behave as standing waves.

Path and volume transport of the Kuroshio current in Sagami Bay and their relationship to cold water masses near Izu Peninsula.

The path of the Kuroshio in Sagami Bay was surveyed through drifter tracking from Oshima-West Channel to Oshima-East Channel. A subsurface drifter with a drogue at 300 m depth flowed around Oshima from Oshima-West Channel to Oshima-East Channel. A difference in flow directions between the upper and lower layers was apparent in the northwest of Oshima. Flow directions there were shown to change from north in the surface layer to east in the bottom layer, and this was confirmed with moored currentmeters.A profile of northward current velocity was estimated from measurements in six layers with currentmeters deployed in the Oshima-West Channel. The profile shows a core of northward flow along the eastern bottom slope and a weak southward flow along the western bottom slope. Volume transport of the Kuroshio into Sagami Bay was estimated to be 1.8×106m3sec−1 from the profile.Long-term current measurement showed that southward flows were observed in Oshima-West Channel in July 1977, May 1978 and April 1979. Cold or warm water masses appearing south of the Izu Peninsula are suggested to have caused the changes.Displacement of the cold water mass in July 1977 is discussed on the basis of current measurements and offshore oceanographic conditions.

Bottom currents in Nankai Trough and Sagami Trough.

Mean flows and velocity fluctuations are described from direct measurements of bottom currents made at three stations across Nankai Trough and two stations in Sagami Trough from May 1982 to May 1984. Aanderaa current meters were moored 7 m above the bottom. The observed mean flows indicate a counter-clockwise circulation in Nankai Trough with current speeds of 0.9–2.1 cm sec−1. The mean flows were larger on the slopes than on the flat bottom of the trough. The mean flows observed in Sagami Trough show an inflow into Sagami Bay which is considered to be a part of the Oyashio undercurrent from the north that flows along the eastern coast of Honshu. Velocity fluctuations with periods greater than 100 hr were less energetic in the troughs than those at a station west of Hachijo-jima Island. A highly energetic fluctuation with a period of 66.7 hr was observed on the northern slope of Sagami Trough in the velocity component parallel to the trough axis. A maximum current speed of 49 cm sec−1 was observed in Sagami Trough.

Current measurements with surface and subsurface drifters

An examination of behaviors of a subsurface drogue and a subsequent examination of current measurement with a drifter comprising the drogue as its important part are made in the channel between Oshima and Izu Peninsula. The drogue submerged to the anticipated depth of 300 m within 10 minutes after launching. Since then the drogue kept its depth and operated normally. From the comparison with the velocity measurement by the use of a currentmeter moored at a station in the vicinity of the drifters track, it is verified that the drifters motion well reflects the motion of a water parcel around the drogue.

Hydrographic structure in association with deep boundary current in the north of the Shikoku Basin

AbstractHigh quality CTD data were collected in the north of the Shikoku Basin where an abyssal boundary current has been observed through direct current measurements. Analyses of hydrographic data showed:1.Colder and saltier water (heavier water) compared to surrounding waters is found above the continental shelf-toe and the eastern flank of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge where the existence of the abyssal boundary current has been expected. The heavier water has a horizontal extent of about 50 km.2.The heavier water has the vertical scale of 2000 m from the sea bottom, and is associated with a thermal wind shear which enhances a component of the flow toward a direction looking the Nankai Trough (a trough located along the northern end of the Shikoku Basin) to the left in the abyss. The assumed “level of no motion” at about 2500 m depth gives the geostrophically estimated current in a good agreement with the directly measured current. A volume transport associated with the colder and higher salinity water is estimated to be about 2 Sv off Cape Shiono-misaki which may include a recirculation above the Nankai Trough. This is about twice of the transport estimated in the interior of the Shikoku Basin through a vorticity balance between the stretching term and latitudinal variation of the planetary vorticity.

Mesoscale current fluctuations observed in the deep western North Pacific.

A set of simultaneous long-term, deep current measurements was taken using a moored array in the mid-ocean of the western North Pacific near 30°N, 146°E. Five current meters at three stations provided good quality records over 84 days. Low-frequency current fluctuations with meridional dominance are clearly seen in the deep layer records. They are consistent with signals of a mesoscale current fluctuation which has a period of about 100 days, an east-west wave length of about 200 km, and a westward phase propagation with a speed of about 2 cm sec−1. Bottom intensification of the east component of low-frequency current fluctuations is also observed.

Estimation of sea-bed conductivity and its influence upon velocity measurements with towed electrodes

A formula to determine an effective electric conductivity of channel-bed from measurements of water velocity, cross-channel potential difference and electric current-density is presented. The effective conductivity defined in this paper is the conductivity averaged over depth from channel-bed surface to a depth of the order comparable to a breadth of the channel. Effective conductivities for the Izu Island region and the Straits of Tsugaru are estimated as 2.2×10−2 mhos/m and 6.0×10−2 mhos/m, which are considerably large and very large, respectively, in comparison to most of those determined for several regions near England. High conductivities for these regions are consistent with the distribution of underground conductivity anomaly deduced from that of geomagnetic field anomaly observed at the earths surface in Japan. An influence of underground conductivity upon measurements of sea surface water velocity with towed electrodes is estimated for the regions.

Centrifugal forces estimated from trajectories of drifting buoys in winding paths of the Kuroshio.

Radii and angular velocities in the motions of drifting buoys deployed in the Kuroshio are estimated by fitting circles to the trajectories of two drifting buoys, one with a drogue at 300 m depth and the other at 800 m depth. The buoys were deployed in the Kuroshio where it was flowing counter-clockwise around the large cold water mass south of Honshu. The same technique was applied to two drifting buoys with drogues at 300 m depth placed in the Kuroshio where it flowed clockwise around Oshima Island in Sagami Bay. The centrifugal forces were 7% and 6% as large as the Coriolis forces in the Kuroshio around the cold water mass, and they were −56% and −42% as large as the Coriolis forces in the current around the Oshima Island. The temperature gradient observed in the Oshima-West Channel suggested that the pressure gradient there was smaller due to the centrifugal force acting against the Coriolis force than the pressure gradient to be balanced with the Coriolis force.