Young Ho Seung

Significance of Shallow Bottom Friction in the Dynamics of the Tsushima Current

A simple analytical model is considered for the dynamics of volume transport of the Tsushima Current. This model is basically baroclinic but allows bottom friction over the shallow regions connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Japan Sea basin, and is thus different from previous models which are either purely barotropic with bottom friction predominating over the whole domain, or purely baroclinic with bottom friction completely ignored. Compared to the previous barotropic model, this model is not only more realistic but also gives much simpler results. It gives the observed downstream sea level slope, which is not seen in the previous baroclinic model. As a result, the estimated transport of the Tsushima Current is closer to the observational data than those of previous models. This model indicates that the localized bottom friction acting over the shallow regions not only controls the transport of the Tsushima Current but also moves the stagnation point of the western boundary current northward.

Seasonal Variation of Volume Transport through the Straits of the East/Japan Sea Viewed from the Island Rule

Among others, a question that has long been unanswered is why the seasonal variation of volume transport is larger in the Soya and Korea/Tsushima Straits than in the Tsugaru Strait. An attempt is made to answer this question in terms of the island rule with friction being taken into account. The problem is idealized as a simple model. The model results indicate that volume transport through a channel is determined not only by the circulation created around the adjacent island but also by those created around the neighboring islands farther away. The latter is due to the presence of bottom friction in the channels. The volume transports through the Korea/Tsushima, Tsugaru and Soya Straits estimated from the model using observed wind data show the general pattern of observed seasonality, although they contain large errors associated with the uncertain frictional parameter employed in the model. The model indicates that the observed seasonality arises essentially from the fact that wind stress curl changes its sign, from negative in the summer to positive in winter, following a large fluctuation of zero-stress curl latitude east of Hokkaido.

Abyssal currents driven by a local wind forcing through deep mixed layer: implication to the east sea

A simple analytical model is considered in an attempt to demonstrate a formation mechanism of the abyssal current in the East Sea. In this model, the abyssal currents are driven by wind through an outcrop region and flow along closed geostrophic contours. A rough estimate of the abyssal currents, arrived at by applying this model to the region of deep mixing in the East Sea, gives currents comparable to those observed, although there is an uncertainty in the surface area of the outcrop region. It seems that the spin-up of deep water by wind forcing through the region of deep winter mixing is, at least partly, an important contribution to the formation of the abyssal currents in the East Sea.

Seasonal variations in the low-salinity intermediate water in the region south of sub-polar front of the East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Seasonal variations in the low-salinity intermediate water (ESIW) in the region south of the sub-polar front of the East Sea were investigated by using historical hydrographic data. The salinity of the representative density (sigma-0=27.2) of the ESIW was minimal in summer and maximal in winter in the region south of the sub-polar front. The selected four subregions showed different salinity variations. In the west of Oki Spur and the Yamato Basin, salinity fluctuated similarly, with a minimum during summer. In the Ulleung Basin and northwest of Sado Island, however, variations in salinity showed two minima, one is in winter and the other is in summer. These results imply differences in the flow path of the ESIW into the region south of the sub-polar front over time.

Abyssal Circulation Driven by a Periodic Impulsive Source in a Small Basin with Steep Bottom Slope with Implications to the East Sea

In the theory of source-driven abyssal circulation, the forcing is usually assumed to be steady source (deep-water formation). In many cases, however, the deep-water formation occurs instantaneously and it is not clear whether the theory can be applied well in this case. An attempt is made to resolve this problem by using a simple reduced gravity model. The model basin has large depth change compared for its size, like the East Sea, such that isobaths nearly coincide with geostrophic contours. Deep-water is formed every year impulsively and flows into the model basin through the boundary. It is found that the circulation driven by the impulsive source is generally the same as that driven by a steady source except that the former has a seasonal fluctuation associated with unsteadiness of forcing. The magnitudes of both the annual average and seasonal fluctuations increase with the rate of deep-water formation. The problem can be approximated to that of linear diffusion of momentum with boundary flux, which well demonstrates the essential feature of abyssal circulation spun-up by periodic impulsive source. Although the model greatly idealizes the real situation, it suggests that abyssal circulation can be driven by a periodic impulsive source in the East Sea.

A Unified Numerical Model for Typhoon Surge in the Northwestern Pacific

ABSTRACT Kang, S.K.; Seung, Y.H.; Kim, K.O.; Kim, E.J., and Jung, K.T., 2017. A unified numerical model for typhoon surge in the Northwestern Pacific. In: Lee, J.L.; Griffiths, T.; Lotan, A.; Suh, K.-S., and Lee, J. (eds.), The 2nd International Water Safety Symposium. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 79, pp. 139–143. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. A new finite difference modeling system with modified fetched variable grid technique has been developed in order to predict the typhoon induced surge over the Northwestern Pacific. The grid resolution ranges from 18.5 km (10 ′) in open ocean to 109 m (1/17 ′) near the coastal areas of interest, which is quite suitable for resolving the complicated coastal boundaries of the Korean coasts. The total grid number is about 1,350,000 points and the model computation can be effectively carried out with efficient time interval satisfying 1–30 Courant numbers. This system has various advantages over regular finite difference grid system, allowing one to avoid possible numerical errors arising when adopting nested grid technique. Experiments for typical typhoons such as Maemi in 2003 and Nari in 2007 have been carried out to demonstrate that the system works reasonably well. The model results are compared well with observations. It is found that negative surges are generated by typhoons over the shelf, horizontally grow while moving with typhoons, and propagate along the coastline as Kelvin waves on arriving at the coast. The alternating positive and negative surges, occurring in the southern Korean coasts including Pusan area and also along the Japanese coasts of the Korea Strait, seem to be due to the geometric effect by the East/Japan Sea.

Seasonal Variability in Middepth Gyral Circulation Patterns in the Central East/Japan Sea as Revealed by Long-Term Argo Data

AbstractTrajectories of Argo floats deployed in the East/Japan Sea from 2001 to 2014 reveal that the middepth gyral circulation pattern of the Japan basin, the central part of the East/Japan Sea, undergoes a seasonal variation. The middepth circulation of the Japan basin is found to be characterized usually by the gyres trapped to the east of the Bogorov Rise (E-gyres) and those extending farther westward into the whole basin (BW-gyres). The E-gyre trajectories are generally associated with the turning of the floats toward deeper regions off the isobaths. This occurs in winter either on the northern or eastern side of the eastern Japan basin. It seems that the upstream part of the otherwise BW-gyre is subject to a strong negative wind stress curl in winter, and there the circulating water columns are driven toward the deeper region, thus triggering the formation of the E-gyre. The topographic effect associated with the Bogorov Rise seems to interfere thereafter in the process of determining the passage of...

Evidences of Intermittent Wind-Induced Flow in the Yellow Sea obtained from AVHRR SST Data

Ten-year AVHRR sea surface temperature data obtained in the Yellow Sea are put into EOF analyses. Temperature variation is predominated by the first mode which is associated with the seasonal fluctuation of temperature with annual range decreasing with the bottom depth. Since such a strong annual signal may mask the upwind or downwind flows occurring intermittently during the winter, only the data obtained during this season are put into EOF analyses. Every winter shows similar results. The first mode, explaining more than 90% of total variance, appears to be a part of the seasonal variation of temperature mentioned above. In the second mode, the time coefficient is well correlated with northerly winds to which the responses of the trough and shallow coastal areas are opposite to each other. A simple theoretical consideration suggests the following physical explanation: The northerly wind stress anomaly creates an upwind (downwind) flow over the trough (coastal) areas, which then induces a temperature increase (decrease) by advection of heat, and vice versa for the southerly wind stress anomaly. Hence, this paper provides further evidence of the intermittent upwind or downwind flows occurring in the Yellow Sea every winter.

Effect of Taiwan Strait Current on the onshore intrusion of Kuroshio: A geostrophic adjustment model

The effect of the Taiwan Strait Current on the onshore intrusion of Kuroshio, both contributing to the formation of Tsushima Warm Current, is addressed theoretically by invoking a geostrophic adjustment model previously proposed. The idealized model assumes two unbounded basins, shallow and deep, separated by an infinitely long and thin barrier. On either side of the barrier, a western boundary current in the deep basin and a shelf current in the shallow basin flow along the barrier with the surface elevation of the former higher than that of the latter. When a part of the barrier is removed and a gap is created, the onshore part of the western boundary current intrudes onto the shallow basin through the gap while conserving its potential vorticity. Both the intruding current and the shelf current will later geostrophically adjust themselves to the disturbances created by the intrusion. Model results show that the transport of onshore intrusion increases with the sea level difference imposed initially between the deep and shallow basins across the barrier, indicating that the sea level rise associated with the strengthening of shelf current inhibits the shelf-ward intrusion. The intruding current is in jet mode when its transport is maximized, which otherwise is in coastal mode. The maximization of transport occurs when the sea level difference between the two basins is sufficiently large. Although this model greatly idealizes the problem, it explains well the observed fact that the transport of Tsushima Warm Current is fed mostly by the Taiwan Strait Current in summer when the latter becomes the strongest, and by the onshore intrusion of Kuroshio in winter when the Taiwan Strait Current nearly vanishes, suggesting that the seasonal variation of the onshore intrusion of Kuroshio is largely due to the seasonal variation in the strength of the Taiwan Strait Current.