• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2018

Previous studies have indicated a great regional difference in Sea Level Rise (SLR) in the Pacific and it has been suggested that this is linked to climate variability over the past two decades. In this study, we seek to identify the possible linkage between regional sea level and Pacific climate variability from altimetry-based sea level data (1993-2012) and further investigate how the Pacific sea level has changed spatially and temporally over the past 60 years from long-term sea level reconstruction data (1953-2008). Based on the same method as Zhang and Church (2012), the Inter-annual Climate Index (ICI) associated with the El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o-Southern$ Oscillation (ENSO) and the Decadal Climate Index (DCI) associated with Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are defined and then the multiple variable linear regression is used to analyze quantitatively the impact of inter-annual and decadal climate variability on the regional sea levels in the Pacific. During the altimeter period, the ICI that represents ENSO influence on inter-annual time scales strongly impacts in a striking east-west "see-saw mode" on sea levels across the tropical Pacific. On the other hand, the decadal sea level pattern that is linked to the DCI has a broad meridional structure that is roughly symmetric in the equator with its North Pacific expression being similar to the PDO, which largely contributes to a positive SLR trend in the western Pacific and a negative trend in the eastern Pacific over the two most recent decades. Using long-term sea level reconstruction data, we found that the Pacific sea levels have fluctuated in the past over inter-annual and decadal time scales and that strong regional differences are presented. Of particular interest is that the SLR reveals a decadal shift and presents an opposite trend before and after the mid-1980s; i.e., a declining (rising) trend in the western (eastern) Pacific before the mid-1980s, followed by a rising (declining) trend from the mid-1980s onward in the western (eastern) Pacific. This result indicates that the recent SLR patterns revealed from the altimeters have been persistent at least since the mid-1980s.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.121-133
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• 2019

Natural variability associated with a variety of large-scale climate modes causes regional differences in sea level rise (SLR), which is particularly remarkable in the Pacific Ocean. Because the superposition of the natural variability and the background anthropogenic trend in sea level can potentially threaten to inundate low-lying and heavily populated coastal regions, it is important to quantify sea level variability associated with internal climate variability and understand their interaction when projecting future SLR impacts. This study seeks to identify the dominant modes of sea level variability in the tropical Pacific and quantify how these modes contribute to regional sea level changes, particularly on the two strong El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ events that occurred in the winter of 1997/1998 and 2015/2016. To do so, an adaptive data analysis approach, Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), was undertaken with regard to two datasets of altimetry-based and in situ-based steric sea levels. Using this EEMD analysis, we identified distinct internal modes associated with El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) varying from 1.5 to 7 years and low-frequency variability with a period of ~12 years that were clearly distinct from the secular trend. The ENSO-scale frequencies strongly impact on an east-west dipole of sea levels across the tropical Pacific, while the low-frequency (i.e., decadal) mode is predominant in the North Pacific with a horseshoe shape connecting tropical and extratropical sea levels. Of particular interest is that the low-frequency mode resulted in different responses in regional SLR to ENSO events. The low-frequency mode contributed to a sharp increase (decrease) of sea level in the eastern (western) tropical Pacific in the 2015/2016 El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ but made a negative contribution to the sea level signals in the 1997/1998 El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$. This indicates that the SLR signals of the ENSO can be amplified or depressed at times of transition in the low-frequency mode in the tropical Pacific.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.182-193
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• 2017

A typical snowfall pattern occurs over the east coastal region of the Korean Peninsula, known as the Yeongdong region. The precipitation over the Yeongdong region is influenced by the cold and dry northeasterly wind which advects over warm and moist sea surface of the East Sea of Korea. This study reveals the influence of large-scale factors, affecting local to remote areas, on the mesoscale snowfall system over the Yeongdong region. The National Centers for Environmental Prediction-Department of Energy reanalysis dataset, Extended Reconstructed sea surface temperature, and observed snowfall data are analyzed to reveal the relationship between February snowfall and large-scale factors from 1981 to 2014. The Yeongdong snowfall is associated with the sea level pressure patterns over the Gaema Plateau and North Pacific near the Bering Sea, which is remotely associated to the sea surface temperature (SST) variability over the North Pacific. It is presented that the relationship between the Yeongdong snowfall and large-scale factors is strengthened after 1999 when the central north Pacific has warm anomalous SST. These enhanced relationships explain the atmospheric patterns of recent strong snowfall years (2010, 2011, and 2014). It is suggested that the newly defined index in this study based on related SST variability can be used for a seasonal predictor of the Yeongdong snowfall with 2-month leading.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.171-180
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• 1997

Daily mean sea level variability and its response to atmospheric pressure along the coasts of the northwestern Pacific Ocean are investigated. Daily values of sea level and atmospheric pressure covering the period 1976-1986 from 72 stations are analyzed. The sea level and the air pressure in all the data set have a definite seasonal signal, and higher frequency oscillations at time scales of several days to several weeks are also observed. Among the short-period oscillations of sea level with periods shorter than six months, the period of around 3 or 4 months is dominant in most study stations. According to the statistical analysis of sea level and air pressure, the length scale of sea level variability is smaller than that of air pressure for the present study area. The overall variability of sea level is found to be the smallest around Hokkaido, Japan and the largest in the China coasts. Large short-period (< 6 months) sea level variability is found in the southern coasts of China and Hokkaido, and large long-period (> 6 months) variability in the southern coasts of Japan and Korea along Tsushima Current and Kuroshio. The patterns of air pressure are very similar to those of sea level. The air pressure field is found to account for 31% of the overall sea level variability in the study area. Conside.ins the fact that the results (40%) of Pang and Oh (1995) were obtained through monthly sea level, the present result implies that the short-period sea level variability is less affected by air pressure. Generally the sea level response to air pressure are found to be isostatic, but significantly nonisostatic for the periods around 4 months and for those of 2 to 4 days. In particular, nonisostatic response for higher frequencies seem to be due to the restrictions to water transport necessary for barometric responsein the Korea Strait.

• Atmosphere
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.67-78
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• 2009

A strong negative correlation has been detected between the North Pacific Oscillation Index (NPI) and the Effective Drought Index (EDI) in May over Korea. In May of positive NPI year, anomalous patterns caused a drought in Korea as follows: the anomalous south-low, north-high low-level pressure patterns in the northeast and southeast of Korea have strengthened the anomalous northerlies to Korea. In addition, these anomalous northerlies have prevented western North Pacific (WNP) high from moving northward. As a result, anomalous descending flows have strengthened in the mid-latitude region in East Asia. In the WNP, the anomalous south-high, north-low sea surface temperature (SST) has been widely distributed, which has strengthened anomalous south-low, north-high low-level pressure patterns. These anomalous characteristics of pressure and SST patterns observed in May of positive NPI years have already been detected in previous winter (December-February) and early spring (March, April). In addition, the anomalous negative sea ice concentration in the North Pacific during two seasons has strengthened the anomalous anticyclonic circulation in the same region and in turn made a contribution to formation of anomalous south-low, north-high pressure patterns in May.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.313-324
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• 2008

In order to understand the variation of ENSO-related oceanic environments in the tropical and North Pacific Ocean, spatio-temporal variations of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) and sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) are analyzed from distributions of complex empirical orthogonal functions (CEOF). Correlations among warm pool variation, southern oscillation index, and ocean surface currents were also examined with respect to interannual variability of the warm pool in western tropical Pacific. Spatio-temporal distributions of the first CEOF modes for SSTA and SSHA indicate that their variabilities are associated with ENSO events, which have a variance over 30% in the North Pacific. The primary reasons for their variabilities are different; SST is predominantly influenced by the change of barrier layer thickness, while SSH fluctuates with the same phase as propagation of an ENSO episode in the zonal direction. Horizontal boundary of warm pool area, which normally centered around $149^{\circ}E$ in the tropics, seemed to be expanded to the middle and eastern tropical regions by strong zonal currents through the mature phase of an ENSO episode.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.300-303
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• 2001

The first 7 years of altimeter data from the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) were analyzed to study the surface circulation and its variability in the East Asian Marginal Seas. Long term averaged T/P sea level time series data where compared with in situ sea level measurements from a float-operated type tide gauge around of south Korea and Japan. T/P data are a large contaminated by 60-day tidal aliasing effect, very near the alias periods of M2 and S2. When this 60-day effect is removed, the data agree well with the tide gauge data with 4.6 cm averaged RMS difference. The T/P derived sea level variability reveals clearly the well-known, strong current-topography such as Kuroshio. The T/P mean sea level of North Pacific (NP) was higher than Yellow Sea (YS) and East Sea (ES). The T/P sea level valibility, with strong eddy and meandaring, was the largest in eastern part of Japan and this variability was mainly due to the influence of bottom topography in Kuroshio Extention area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.461-473
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• 2015

Jinhae Bay located in the southern of Korean Peninsular is an important spawning area in Korea. By some preliminary studies it was measured several times that adult Pacific codes (Gadus microcephalus) were passed (swimming layer: 15 to 18 m) over a submerged sea tunnel (sea bottom: about 30 m) rather than another immigration route when the Pacific codes were tagged surgically with an acoustic transmitters and released inside of the Bay. There is a possibility that the Pacific codes and the other fishes use the route on the sea tunnel as an immigration route are affected by a human-generated underwater noise around the sea tunnel due to the sea tunnel traffic. On this study the 25-hour measurements of the underwater noise level by water layer were conducted with a hydrophone attached on a portable CTD and an underwater noise level meter during four seasons, and the acoustical characteristics of the underwater noise was analyzed. The mean traffic volume for one hour at the sea tunnel on the spring was shown the largest value of 1,408 [standard deviation (SD): 855] vehicles among four seasons measurement. The next one was ordered on the autumn [1,145 (SD: 764)], winter [947 (SD: 598)] and summer [931 (SD: 558)] vehicles. Small size vehicle was formed 84.3% of the traffic volume, and ultra-small size, medium size, large size and extra-large size of the vehicle were taken possession of 8.7%, 3.2%, 2.0% and 1.8%, respectively. On the daily change of the noise level in vertical during four seasons the noise level of 5 m-layer was shown the highest value of 121.2 (SD: 3.6) dB (re $1{\mu}Pa$), the next one was 10 m-layer [120.7 (SD: 3.5)], 2 m- and 15 m-layer [120.3 (SD: 3.5 to 3.7)] and 1 m-layer [119.2 (SD: 3.6)] dB (re $1{\mu}Pa$). In relation with the seasonal change of the noise level the average noise level measured during autumn was shown the highest value of 123.9 (SD: 2.6) dB (re $1{\mu}Pa$), the next was during summer [121.4 (SD: 3.2)], spring [118.0 (SD: 3.4)] and winter [116.5 (SD: 5.1)] dB (re $1{\mu}Pa$). In results of eigenray computation when the real bathymetry data (complicate shape of sea bed) was applied the average number of eigenray was 2.68 times (eigenrays: 11.03 rays) higher than those of model bathymetry (flat and slightly sloped sea bottom). When the real bathymetric data toward inside (water depth becomes shallow according to a distance between the source of noise and hydrophone) of the Bay was applied on the eigenrays calculation the number of the eigenray was 1.31 times (eigenrays: 12.49 rays) larger than the real bathymetric data toward outside (water depth becomes deep with respect to the distance). But when the model bathymetric data toward inside of the Bay was applied the number of the eigenray was 1.05 times (eigenrays: 4.21 rays) larger than the model bathymetric data toward outside.

• Proceedings of the Korean Association of Geographic Inforamtion Studies Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.108-111
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• 2003

Altimeter data from the Topex/Poseidon (T/P) were analyzed to study the sea surface circulation and its variability in the North East Asian Seas. Long term averaged T/P sea level time series data where compared with in situ sea level measurements from a float-operated type tide gauge around of south Korea and Japan. Tf data are a large contaminated by 60-day tidal aliasing effect, very near the alias periods of M2 and S2. When this 60-day effect is removed, the data agree well with the tide gauge data with 4.6 cm averaged RMS difference. The T/P derived sea level variability reveals clearly the well-known, strong current-topography such as Kuroshio. The T/P mean sea level of North Pacific (NP) was higher than Yellow Sea (YS) and East Sea (ES). The T/P sea level variability, with strong eddy and meandering, was the largest in eastern part of Japan and this variability was mainly due to the influence of bottom topography in Kuroshio Extension area.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2010

Calcium carbonate ($CaCO_3$) content was measured from 3 box core (BC060301, BC060303, BC070301) sediments, in addition to pilot core (PC313) sediments, from deep waters within the Western Pacific Ocean. At the two collection sites (BC060301, PC313) located close to the equator, downcore variation exhibited low $CaCO_3$ content during the interglacial period and high $CaCO_3$ content during the glacial period. Variation of coarse fraction (>$63\;{\mu}m$) content also followed changes in $CaCO_3$ content, indicating that dissolution effect of bottom water decreased during the glacial period. Such variation pattern is typical of the Pacific Ocean. However, downcore variation at the two collection sites (BC060303, BC070301) in the Philippine Sea contrasted the trend of the previous two cores (i.e., high $CaCO_3$ content during the interglacial period and low during the glacial period). This pattern is typical of the Atlantic Ocean. Such results may be attributed to the increasing dilution effect, initiated possibly by the increased transportation of terrigenous materials from nearby continent and archipelago during the glacial period when sea level was low. Alternatively, it is possible that the non-carbonate biogenic particles may have been responsible for dilution. Because of these uncertainties, the record of $CaCO_3$ variation in the deep Western Pacific Ocean is not regionally consistent.