• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
• /
• v.2
• /
• pp.672-675
• /
• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2001

We demonstrated the importance of initial estimates of model parameters and the utility of an optimization approach of the uncertain forcing of wind-driven circulation off the southeastern coastal waters of Korea. The wind stress represents the upper boundary condition in this model and enters in the model equation as a forcing term in the numerical formalism. The wind field contributes to maintain the almost time-independent distribution of the upper layer thickness feature in a north-south direction and negative wind stress curl to maintain the formation of warm eddy off the southeastern coastal waters of Korea. Elucidated is the variational characteristics of the East Korean Warm Current due to the variations of the zonally averaged wind stress (southward transport) from the seasonal variations of the meridional transport by the Ekman transport.

• 한국해양학회지
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.41-50
• /
• 1982

We present theoretical models for the unstedy transports driven by the time-varying wind stress in horizontally unbounded shallow seas of an uniform depth. We derive linearized transport equations that inchude the acceleration, the Coriolis firce, the wind stress and the bottom friction. The steady transport in a shallow sea is different from the classical Ekman transport because of a presence of non-negligible bottom fricttttion. The transient reansport and an inertial oscillation of which frequency of rotation is the same as the frequency of the wind stress forcing. The transprt associated with a wind stress of which direction changes linearlywith time is decribed by a superpoeition so a free inertial oscillation with a pweiod of one inertial day, The theoretical models of the transports are useful in understanding the time-varying currents and the transports of nutrients in shallow seas.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.34-46
• /
• 2010

We observed tidal currents throughout all four seasons in 2007 at a single station, located 1.6km off Haeundae Beach and compared these current data with wind data. The direction of seasonal wind represented a similarity between the winds at sea and on land but the speed of wind at sea was almost three times stronger than the wind on land. In addition, the wind at sea turned out to considerably affect on tidal currents, particularly from late summer to autumn. On the other hand, the thickness of Ekman Layer, indicating a limitation of wind influence, was estimated to be 31.8 m on average, suggesting that the entire water column is under the influence of wind. Therefore, we are required to consider the wind stress into the analysis of tidal currents for the prevention of the loss of sand from Haeundae Beach.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.91-107
• /
• 2002

The wintertime upwind flow in the Yellow Sea has been investigated through a series of two-dimensional numerical experiments in an idealized basin. A total of 10 experiments have been carried out to examine the effects of wind forcing, bottom friction and the presence of oceanic currents sweeping the shelf of the East China Sea. A spatially uniform steady and periodic wind stresses are considered along with comparison of linear and quadratic formulations. The wind-driven flow in the absence of oceanic current has been computed using Proudman open boundary condition (POBC), while the wind-driven current in the presence of oceanic current has been computed using Flather’s radiation condition (FOBC). The oceanic currents to be prescribed at the open boundary have been simulated by specifying uniform sea level gradients across the Taiwan Strait and the eastern ECS shelf, Calculations show that, as seen in Lee et al. (2000), oceanic flow little penetrates into the Yellow Sea in the absence of wind forcing unless a unrealistically low rate of bottom frictional dissipation is assumed. Both steady and time-periodic wind stresses invoke the upwind flow along the central trough of the Yellow Sea, independently of the presence of the oceanic current. The presence of oceanic currents very marginally alters the north-south gradient of the sea surface elevation in the Yellow Sea. Changes in the intensity and direction of the wind-induced mean upwind flow are hardly noticeable in the Yellow Sea but are found to be significant near Cheju Island where the gradient is reduced and therewith contribution of Ekman transport increases. In case of steady wind forcing circulation patterns such as two gyres on the slope sides, a cyclonic gyre on the western slope and an anticyclonic gyre on the eastern slope persist and the upwind flow composes part of the cyclonic gyre in the Yellow Sea. While in case of the time-periodic wind stress the appearance and disappearance of the patterns are repeated according to the time variation of the wind stress and the upwind flow accordingly varies with phase delay, mostly intensifying near the time when the wind forcing is approximately near the middle of the decaying stage.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.11-29
• /
• 2009

Variability of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Japan/East Sea (JES) was studied using complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) analysis. Two daily data sets were analyzed: (1) New Generation 0.05o-gridded SST from Tohoku University, Japan (July 2002-July 2006), and (2) 0.25o-gridded SST from the Japan Meteorological Agency (October 1993-November 2006). Linkages with wind stress curl were revealed using 6-h 1o-gridded surface zonal and meridional winds from ancillary data of the Sea- WiFS Project, a special National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) product (1998-2005). SST anomalies (SSTA) were obtained by removing the seasonal signal, estimated as the leading mode of the CEOF decomposition of the original SST. Leading CEOF modes of residual SSTA obtained from both data sets were consistent with each other and were characterized by annual, semiannual, and quasi-biennial time scales estimated with 95% statistical significance. The Semiannual Mode lagged 2 months behind the increased occurrence of the anticyclonic (AC) wind stress curl over the JES. Links to dynamic processes were investigated by numerical simulations using an oceanic model. The suggested dynamic forcings of SSTA are the inflow of subtropical water into the JES through the Korea Strait, divergence in the surface layer induced by Ekman suction, meridional shifts of the Subarctic Front in the western JES, AC eddy formation, and wind-driven strengthening/weakening of large-scale currents. Events of west-east SSTA movement were identified in July-September. The SSTA moved from the northeastern JES towards the continental coast along the path of the westward branch of the Tsushima Current at a speed consistent with the advective scale.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
• /
• v.1
• /
• pp.21-24
• /
• 2006

Processes controlling the interannual variation of mixed layer temperature (MLT) averaged over the NINO3 domain ($150-90^{\circ}W$, $5^{\circ}N-5^{\circ}S$) are studied using an ocean data assimilation product that covers the period of 1993 to 2003. Advective tendencies are estimated here as the temperature fluxes through the domain's boundaries, with the boundary temperature referenced to the domain-averaged temperature to remove the dependence on temperature scale. The overall balance is such that surface heat flux opposes the MLT change but horizontal advection and subsurface processes assist the change. The zonal advective tendency is caused primarily by large-scale advection of warm-pool water through the western boundary of the domain. The meridional advective tendency is contributed mostly by Ekman current advecting large-scale temperature anomalies though the southern boundary of the domain. Unlike many previous studies, we explicitly evaluate the subsurface processes that consist of vertical mixing and entrainment. In particular, a rigorous method to estimate entrainment allows an exact budget closure. The vertical mixing across the mixed layer (ML) base has a contribution in phase with the MLT change. The entrainment tendency due to temporal change in ML depth is negligible comparing to other subsurface processes. The entrainment tendency by vertical advection across the ML base is dominated by large-scale changes in wind-driven upwelling and temperature of upwelling water. Tropical instability waves (TIWs) result in smaller-scale vertical advection that warms the domain during La Ni? cooling events. When the advective tendencies are evaluated by spatially averaging the conventional local advective tendencies of temperature, the apparent effects of currents with spatial scales smaller than the domain (such as TIWs) become very important as they redistribute heat within the NINO3 domain. However, such internal redistribution of heat does not represent external processes that control the domain-averaged MLT.