Numerical Modelling Of The Coastal Upwelling Near The Poleward Edge Of The Western Boundary Current

  • An, Hui Soo (Dept. of Earth Science, Seoul National University)
  • Published : 1981.06.01

Abstract

A numerical experiment is made in order to clarify the mechanism of the upwelling phenomenon along the coast near the poleward edge of the western boundary current. The possibility of the upwelling is suggested from the analysis of the observational data in the east of Honshu, Japan, and in the south eastern coast of Korean Peninsula. This upwelling phenomenon is very deep and can be traced to the bottom layer. The upwelling phenomenon seems to be a general oceanic feature which characterizes the region along the west coast near the poleward edge of the western boundary current. This experiment is simulating the oceanic condition of the transition region between Kuroshio front and the Oyashio front in the east of Honshu, Japan. The possible explanations of the causes of the upwelling are as follows;In the interior of the modeled ocean the cold heavy water supplied from the north and the warm light water from the south make the north-south gradient of the pressure field and accelerate the eastward current to produce the h-orizontal divergence feld near the west coast. The divergence is compensated by the upwelling near the separation region. Another one is that the upwell-ed cold water strengthen constantly the pressure gradient which is balanced by the northward current and is weakened by the horizontal diffusion.

Keywords