The flow system in the Japan Sea caused by a sea level difference through shallow straits

1994 ◽  
Vol 99 (C5) ◽  
pp. 9925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay I. Ohshima
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Flow System ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
Level Difference ◽  
The Japan Sea ◽  
Sea Level Difference

Atlantic to Mediterranean Sea Level Difference Driven by Winds near Gibraltar Strait

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitris Menemenlis ◽  
Ichiro Fukumori ◽  
Tong Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Coastal Current ◽  
Alboran Sea ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
Level Difference ◽  
Gibraltar Strait ◽  
Sea Level Difference ◽  
Alborán Sea

Abstract Observations and numerical simulations show that winds near Gibraltar Strait cause an Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea sea level difference of 20 cm peak to peak with a 3-cm standard deviation for periods of days to years. Theoretical arguments and numerical experiments establish that this wind-driven sea level difference is caused in part by storm surges due to alongshore winds near the North African coastline on the Atlantic side of Gibraltar. The fraction of the Moroccan coastal current offshore of the 284-m isobath is deflected across Gibraltar Strait, west of Camarinal Sill, resulting in a geostrophic surface pressure gradient that contributes to a sea level difference at the stationary limit. The sea level difference is also caused in part by the along-strait wind setup, with a contribution proportional to the along-strait wind stress and to the length of Gibraltar Strait and adjoining regions and inversely proportional to its depth. In the 20–360-day band, average transfer coefficients between the Atlantic–Alboran sea level difference and surface wind stress at 36°N, 6.5°W, estimated from barometrically corrected Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon data and NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data, are 0.10 ± 0.04 m Pa−1 with 1 ± 5-day lag and 0.19 ± 0.08 m Pa−1 with 5 ± 4-day lag for the zonal and meridional wind stresses, respectively. This transfer function is consistent with equivalent estimates derived from a 1992–2003 high-resolution barotropic simulation forced by the NCEP–NCAR wind stress. The barotropic simulation explains 29% of the observed Atlantic–Alboran sea level difference in the 20–360-day band. In turn, the Alboran and Mediterranean mean sea level time series are highly correlated, ρ = 0.7 in the observations and ρ = 0.8 in the barotropic simulation, hence providing a pathway for winds near Gibraltar Strait to affect the mean sea level of the entire Mediterranean.

scholarly journals Unusually high sea level at the south coast of Japan in September 2011 induced by the Kuroshio

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norihisa Usui ◽  
Koji Ogawa ◽  
Kei Sakamoto ◽  
Hiroyuki Tsujino ◽  
Goro Yamanaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Tide Gauge ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
South Coast ◽  
The South ◽  
Characteristic Analysis ◽  
The Japan Sea ◽  
The Kuroshio

Abstract Using a coastal assimilation model, generation mechanism of unusually high sea level (UHSL) at the south coast of Japan in September 2011 is investigated. Both model results and tide gauge observations indicate that sea level rise associated with the UHSL event occurred twice in the middle and end of September. The first one, which is localized around the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, is caused by a cyclonic circulation in the Kii Channel formed as a result of northward migration of the Kuroshio axis toward Cape Shionomisaki. The second sea level rise, which is the main contributor to this UHSL event, is observed in wide areas not only at the south coast of Japan, but also at the coast of the Japan Sea. It is brought about by a coastal trapped wave (CTW) induced as a result of a fluctuation of the Kuroshio path to the south of the Boso Peninsula. The CTW with positive SSH anomalies propagates westward along the south coast of Japan, and then goes into the coast of the Japan Sea. Sensitivity experiments and a modal characteristic analysis indicate that the CTW is mainly characterized by the first mode baroclinic Kelvin wave. The phase speed for the first mode is calculated at 2.96 m s$$^{-1}$$ - 1 , which compares well with that estimated by tide gauge observations.

Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes in the Japan Sea since the last glaciation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuefa Shi ◽  
Jianjun Zou ◽  
Sergey Gorbarenko
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Last Deglaciation ◽  
Central Japan ◽  
Warm Current ◽  
Ice Coverage ◽  
The Japan Sea

<p>The Japan Sea, one of the marginal seas of the North Pacific, communicates with adjacent seas through four shallow straits (<130 m) and the present environment in the Japan Sea is mainly forced by the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC), East Asia Monsoon (EAM) and seasonal sea ice. During the Quaternary, the pronounced effects of glacial eustatic sea level on the hydrography, ocean biogeochemistry and sediment depositions in the Japan Sea over glacial-interglacial cycles. However, the spatial heterogeneity of these forcings exerting on environment of the Japan Sea may results in contrasting response. On the basis of a suite of sediment cores collected during the China-Russia joint expedition in 2010, we investigate the sedimentary processes and paleoenvironment changes in the Japan Sea. We found enhanced extent of seasonal sea-ice coverage in the western Japan Sea, which is synchronous with the intensification of East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) from 15ka to 8ka. During the early last deglaciation (17ka-15ka), perennial sea ice cover at investigated site occurs and thus inhibits the deepwater formation in the Japan Sea. Since 8 ka, increased deep ventilation and dampened sea ice coverage are closely related to enhanced EAWM and invasion of high-salinity TWC into the Japan Sea. In the southern Japan Sea, the sediment provenance is mainly derived from the Yangtze and old yellow rivers, while the terrigenous matter was mainly sourced from the Yangtze River after 7 ka, on the basis of elemental and radiogenic isotopic data (Sr and Nd) of fine-sized (<63 μm) sediments. Abrupt shifts in sediment provenance occurred at ~18 ka and ~7 ka and these time periods are synchronous with changes in surface hydrography and deep ventilation in the Ulleung Basin. In the central Japan Sea, eolian dust sourced from central Asia and Chinese Loess Plateau by westerly was delivered to the central Japan Sea. In addition, deep ventilation in the southern and central Japan Sea evidenced by redox-sensitive elements and ventilation-like radiolarian species suggest intensified ventilation since 8ka and during cold spells of the last deglaciation, which is closely related to the invasion of the Tsushima Warm Current into the Japan Sea. Our data suggest that sea level is a first-order factor in controlling the environment and sediment deposition in the Japan Sea at orbital timescales, while the East Asian Monsoon and Kuroshio Current play a secondary role. Note: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 41420104005, U1606401) and National Program on Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction (GASI-GEOGE-03 &-04).<span> </span></p>

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