• Title/Summary/Keyword: geostrophic wind

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ESTIMATING THE GEOSTROPHIC VELOCITY COMPONENT IN THE SEA SURFACE VELOCITY OBSERVED BY THE HF RADAR IN THE UPSTREAM OF THE KUROSHIO

  • Tokeshi, Ryoko;Ichikawa, Kaoru;Fujii, Satoshi;Sato, Kenji;Kojima, Shoichiro
    • Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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    • v.2
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    • pp.672-675
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    • 2006
  • The geostrophic current component is estimated from the sea surface velocity observed by the long-range High-Frequency Ocean Radar (HF radar) system in the upstream of the Kuroshio, by comparing with geostrophic velocity determined from along-track T/P and Jason-1 altimetry data. However, the sea surface velocity of the HF radar (HF velocity) contains not only the geostrophic current but also the ageostrophic current such as tidal current and wind-driven Ekman current. Tidal current component is first extracted by the harmonic analysis of the time series of the HF velocity. Then, the Ekman current is further estimated from daily wind data of IFREMER by applying the least-square method to the residual difference between the HF velocity and the altimetry geostrophic velocity. As a result, the Ekman current in the HF velocity is estimated as 1.32 % of the wind speed and as rotated 45$^{\circ}$ clockwise to the wind direction. These parameters are found almost common in the Kuroshio area and in the Open Ocean. After these corrections, the geostrophic velocity component in the HF velocity agrees well with the altimetry geostrophic velocity.

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Classification of Synoptic Meteorological Conditions for the Medium or Long Term Atmospheric Environmental Assessment in Urban Scale (도시규모 중·장기 대기질영향평가를 위한 종관기상조건의 분류)

  • Kim, Cheol-Hee;Son, Hye-Young;Kim, Ji-A
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.157-168
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    • 2007
  • In case there is a need to run the multi-year urban scale air qulaity model, it is a difficult task due to the computational demand, requiring the statistical approach for the long time atmospheric environmental assessment. In an effort to approach toward long term urban assessment, the sixteen synoptic meteorological conditions are statistically classified from the estimated geostrophic wind speeds and directions of 850 hPa geopotential height field during 2000 ~ 2005. The geostrophic wind directions are subdivided into four even intervals (north, east, south, and west), geostrophic wind speeds into two classes(${\leq}5m/s$ and >5m/s), and daily mean cloud amount into 2 classes(${\leq}5/10$ and >5/10), which result into sixteen classes of the synoptic meteorological cases for each season. The frequency distributions for each 16 synoptic meteorological case are examined and some discussions on how these synoptic classifications can be used in the environmental assessment are presented.

Verification of the Wind-driven Transport in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre using Gridded Wind-Stress Products Constructed by Scatterometer Data

  • Aoki, Kunihiro;Kutsuwada, Kunio
    • Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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    • 2007.10a
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    • pp.418-421
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    • 2007
  • Using gridded wind-stress products constructed by satellite scatterometers (ERS-1, 2 and QSCAT) data and those by numerical weather prediction(NWP) model(NCEP-reanalysis), we estimate wind-driven transports of the North Pacific subtropical gyre, and compare them in the central portion of the gyre (around 300 N) with geostrophic transports calculated from historical hydrographic data (World Ocean Database 2005). Even if there are some discrepancies between the wind-driven transports by the QSCAT and NCEP products, they are both in good agreement with the geostrophic transports within reasonable errors, except for the regional difference in the eastern part of the zone. The difference in the eastern part is characterized by an anticyclonic deviation of the geostrophic transport resulting from an anti-cyclonic anomalous flow in the surface layer, suggesting that it is related to the Eastern Gyral produced by the thermohaline process associated with the formation of the Eastern Subtropical Mode Water. We also examine the consistency of the Sverdrup transports estimated from these products by comparing them with the transports of the western boundary current, namely the Kuroshio regions, in previous studies. The net southward transport, based on the sum of the Sverdrup transports by QSCAT and NCEP products and the thermohaline transport, agrees well with the net northward transport of the western boundary current, namely the Kuroshio transport. From these results, it is concluded that the Sverdrup balance can hold in the North Pacific subtropical gyre.

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Diurnal Variations of Air Quality under the Various Synoptic Wind Fields for Each Season over Taegu City (종관바람장에 따른 대구시의 계절별 대기질의 일변화)

  • 송은영;윤희경
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.113-130
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    • 1996
  • Diurnal variations of air quality for each season over Taeau city were analyzed using the characteristic features of the various synoptic wind fields. The air quality data which were monitored by four stations are the hourly averaged sulfur dioxide($SO_2$), total suspended particulate(TSP) and oxidants ($O_3$) during the period of 1989 to 1992. The various synoptic wind fields obtained from the 850 hPa geopotential height were divided in to four geostrophic wind directions and two geostrophic wind speeds for each seasons. The synoptic weather conditions were again subdivided info two categories using the lotal cloud amounts, The results shows that diurnal and seasonal variations of the air quality over Taegu city, such as sulfur dioxide, total suspended particulate and oxidants reseal the various characteristics under the same synoptic weather conditions.

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SEASONAL AND INTER-ANNUAL VARIATION OF SEA SURFACE CURRENT IN THE GULF OF THAILAND

  • Sojisuporn, Pramot;Morimoto, Akihiko;Yanagi, Tetsuo
    • Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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    • v.1
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    • pp.352-355
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    • 2006
  • In this study, the seasonal and inter-annual variation of sea surface current in the Gulf of Thailand were revealed through the use of WOD temperature and salinity data and monthly sea surface dynamic heights (SSDH) from TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-2 altimetry data during 1995-2001. The mean dynamic height and mean geostrohic current were derived from the climatological data while SSDH data gave monthly dynamic heights and their geopstrophic currents. The mean geostrophic current showed strong southward and westward flow of South China Sea water along the gulf entrance. Counterclockwise eddy in the inner gulf and the western side of the gulf entrance associated with upwelling in the area. Seasonal geostrophic currents show basin-wide counterclockwise circulation during the southwest monsoon season and clockwise circulation during the northeast monsoon season. Upwelling was enhanced during the southwest monsoon season. The circulation patterns varied seasonally and inter-annually probably due to the variation in wind regime. And finally we found that congregation, spawning, and migration routes of short-bodied mackerel conform well with coastal upwelling and surface circulation in the gulf.

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Abyssal Currents Driven by a Local Wind Forcing through Deep Mixed Layer: Implication to the East Sea

  • Seung, Young-Ho
    • Ocean Science Journal
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    • v.40 no.2
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    • pp.101-107
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    • 2005
  • 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.

INTERACTIONS WITH EDDIES IN THE UPSTREAM OF THE KUROSHIO AS SEEN BY THE HF RADAR AND ALTIMETRY DATA

  • Ichikawa, Kaoru;Tokeshi, Ryoko
    • Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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    • v.2
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    • pp.969-972
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    • 2006
  • The long-range High-Frequency (HF) ocean radar system has observed surface velocity field in the upstream of the Kuroshio north of Ishigaki Island and east of Taiwan since 2001. Applying a new method to extract geostrophic velocity component from the HF surface velocity data with the aid of satellite-born wind data, time series of daily surface geostrophic velocity field has been determined. Despite limited width of the study area of the HF radar, analysis of the sea surface height anomaly determined from the satellite altimetry data in a wider area can provide estimated dates of arrival of mesoscale eddies in the study area of the HF radar. Variations of the Kuroshio position and strength are studied in detail for these cases of interaction with mesoscale eddy, although number of occurrence of direct interaction with the Kuroshio in the study area is not statistically enough. For example, when an anticyclonic eddy approaches to the Kuroshio, the Kuroshio axis is found tend to move northward, keeping away from the approaching eddy from the east.

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Numerical Simulations of the local circulation in coastal area using Four-Dimensional Data Assimilation Technique (4차원 자료동화 기법을 이용한 해안가 대기 순환의 수치 실험)

  • Kim, Cheol-Hee;Song, Chang-Keun
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.79-91
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    • 2002
  • Four dimensional data assimilation (FDDA) technique was considered for 3 dimensional wind field in coastal area and a set of 3 numerical experiments including control experiments has been tested for the case of the synoptic weather pattern of the weak northerly geostrophic wind with the cloud amount of less than 5/10 in autumn. A three dimensional land and sea breeze model with the sea surface temperature (SST) of 290K was performed without nudging the observed wind field and surface temperature of AWS (Automatic Weather System) for the control experiment. The results of the control experiment showed that the horizontal temperature gradient across the coastline was weakly simulated so that the strength of the sea breeze in the model was much weaker than that of observed one. The experiment with only observed horizontal wind field showed that both the pattern of local change of wind direction and the times of starting and ending of the land-sea breeze were fairly well simulated. However, the horizontal wind speed and vertical motion in the convergence zone were weakly simulated. The experiment with nudgings of both the surface temperature and wind speed showed that both the pattern of local change of wind direction and the times of starting and ending of the land-sea breeze were fairly well simulated even though the ending time of the sea breeze was delayed due to oversimulated temperature gradient along the shoreline.

Geostrophic Response of the Yellow Sea to Cyclone Passage

  • Oh, Im-Sang;Subbotina, Marina M.
    • Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.183-195
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    • 1996
  • A barotropic non-linear numerical model is used to study the response of the Yellow Sea to winter cyclone passage. Cyclones normally come from the outside of the western boundary, China, and pass the region eastward. The cyclone parameters used for the present study are the following: the intensity, i.e., the maximum wind speed of the cyclone; the effective radius corresponding to this maximum; and the translation speed. The equations of motion are integrated over the depth which is supposed to be a constant. The Gaussian function is used to define the stream function of the wind. The following results have been found. A northward current is generated by the frontal part of the cyclone near the western boundary. After the cyclone leaves the sea area, a southward current is generated by the rear part of the cyclone. After that, a northward current is generated once again due to the westward propagating Rossby waves. The response of the sea to the cyclone passage is strongly influenced by a steady current when the steady current and the current due to the cyclone wind are of the same order. The steady current diminishes the sea response and reduces the speed of the southward current, and enhances the northward current speed. The intensity and the translation speed of a cyclone also influence the flow pattern significantly.

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Effects of Wind Stress Curl, Topography, and Stratification on the Basin-scale Circulations in a Stratified Lake (바람의 회전응력, 지형, 그리고 성층화가 성층 호수의 물 순환에 미치는 영향)

  • Chung, Se-Woong;Schladow, S.G.
    • Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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    • 2015.05a
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    • pp.53-53
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    • 2015
  • Basin-scale motions in a stratified lake rely on interactions of spatially and temporally varying wind force, bathymetry, density variation, and earth's rotation. These motions provide a major driving force for vertical and horizontal mixing of inorganic and organic materials, dissolved oxygen, storm water and floating debris in stratified lakes. In Lake Tahoe, located between California and Nevada, USA, basin-scale circulations are obviously important because they are directly associated with the fate of the suspended particulate materials that degrade the clarity of the lake. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, ELCOM, was applied to Lake Tahoe to investigate the underlying mechanisms that determine the characteristics of basin-scale circulations. Numerical experiments were designed to examine the relative effects of various mechanisms responsible for the horizontal circulations for two different seasons, summer and winter. The unique double gyre, a cyclonic northern gyre and an anti-cyclonic southern gyre, occurred during the winter cooling season when wind stress curl, stratification, and Coriolis effect were all incorporated. The horizontal structure of the upwelling and downwelling formed due to basin-scale internal waves found to be closely related to the rotating direction of each gyre. In the summer, the spatially varying wind field and the Coriolis effect caused a dominant anti-cyclonic gyre to develop in the center of the lake. In the winter, a significant wind event excited internal waves, and a persistent (2 week long) cyclonic gyre formed near the upwelling zone. Mechanism of the persistent cyclonic gyre is explained as a geostrophic circulation ensued by balancing of the baroclinc pressure gradient (or baroclinic instability) and Coriolis effect. Topographic effect, examined by simulating a flat bathymetry with constant depth of 300m, was found to be significant during the winter cooling season but not as significant as the wind curl and baroclinic effects.

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