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- Title
Influence of the Oyashio Current and Tsugaru Warm Current on the circulation and water properties of Otsuchi Bay, Japan.
- Authors
Ishizu, Miho; Tanaka, Kiyoshi; Itoh, Sachihiko; Komatsu, Kosei
- Abstract
Mooring and hydrographic observations were conducted from September 2012 to May 2014 at the mouth of Otsuchi Bay, a ria along the Pacific coast of Japan. Our observations quantitatively demonstrated that the circulation and the water properties of Otsuchi Bay are strongly influenced by the Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) and Oyashio Current (OY) at seasonal and subseasonal time scales. Two bottom-mounted velocity profilers and temperature and salinity measurements beneath the near-surface halocline showed a counterclockwise lateral circulation pattern related to the TWC, which was enhanced from summer to autumn. From winter to early spring, the lateral circulation patterns related to the TWC weakened and the influence of the OY occasionally increased. When the OY was weak, surface flows became an overturning structure, with outflows in the upper layer and inflows in the lower layer. When the OY was strong and passed close to the Sanriku coast, the circulation became highly variable and intermittent. Intrusions of the markedly low-salinity OY water were observed on two occasions and persisted for periods of several weeks to several months. Salinity was sometimes less than 33.7, the lower limit of the typical TWC from late summer to autumn even when the TWC dominates. We suggested that this is the seasonal fluctuations of the TWC itself, as the upstream current of the Tsushima Warm Current is freshened in summer as a result of the influence of the Changjiang River. The surface water was generally fresher in the south of the bay than in the north, suggesting the Coriolis deflection of the river plume.
- Subjects
TSUGARU Strait (Japan); SEA of Japan; OCEAN circulation; OYASHIO Current; OCEAN temperature measurement; MEASUREMENT of salinity; SEAWATER salinity; OCEAN currents
- Publication
Journal of Oceanography, 2017, Vol 73, Issue 1, p115
- ISSN
0916-8370
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10872-016-0383-z