The effect of current and wave on whitecap coverage via relative speed： the Atlantic Ocean case

Whitecapping plays an important role in many air-sea exchange and upper ocean processes. Traditionally, whitecap coverage is parameterized as a function of wind speed only. At present, the relative speed of ocean current to wind is considered to be important in the air-sea exchange parameterization which is the function of wind speed only. In this paper, the effects of ocean surface velocity (current velocity and wave induced velocity) and the wave parameters on whitecap coverage through relative speeds are investigated, by applying a 2-parameter whitecap coverage model to the Atlantic Ocean. It is found that the impacts of both current and wave on whitecap coverage are considerable in the most part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is interesting that the effect of wave is more significant than that of current.     

The effects of natural capital protection on pastoralist’s livelihood and management implication in the source region of the Yellow River, China

The interaction among different livelihood capitals is a key to generate a deeper understanding of the livelihood sustainability.In this paper,we use net income per capita(economic capital),meat and milk production per capita(physical capital),and areas of fenced pasture,livestock shelter,grassland rodent control and planted grassland(physical capital) as proxy indicators of livelihood promotion,livelihood provision,and livelihood protection respectively.By developing a correlation model between pastoralists’ livelihood protection and improvement,we found that(1) there is a statistically significant correlation between the pastoralists’ livelihood protection and promotion;(2) based on the maximum effect of pastoralists’ livelihood promotion and provision,there is a benchmark in the effect of the intervention intensity of livelihood capital(grassland resource protection) on livelihood improvement;(3) on basis of two indicators,i.e.net income per capita and meat production per capita,the reasonable scales of fenced pasture,livestock shelter and planted grassland are less than 843,860 and 46 thousand hectares(hm2) per year respectively.With the marginal effect of livelihood protection,moderately decreased areas of fenced pasture and planted grassland,and increased area of livestock shelter is a critical to ensure pastoralist’s livelihood sustainability.     

A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KUROSHIO FRONTAL EDDY IN THE EAST CHINA SEA IN SPRING

The Kuroshi'o front eddy's surface and sectional isothermal distribution characteristics were analyzed on the basis of observation data obtained in April 13-16 of 1989 in the East China Sea. It was found from the similarity between these isothermal distributions with those in January and beginning of June for the years 1986-1990 that the Kuroshio front eddy often occurred from March to the beginning of June. The Kuroshio front eddy movement in the East China Sea in spring was along two routes: the Okinawa Trough route, and the continental shelf slope route. The two moving routes both in the surface layer and in the section are described, their causes are discussed, and differences are compared.     

The Kuroshio transport east of taiwan and the Sea Surface Height Anomaly from the interior ocean

1　Introduction　TheKuroshioflowsthroughtheEastTaiwanChan nel (ETC)betweenthenortheastcoastofTaiwanandtheJapaneseRyukyuIslandbeforeenteringintotheEastChinaSea (ECS)astheextendingflowoftheNorthEquatorialCurrent (NEC)whichbifurcatestotheeastofthePhilippines…     

Chemical characteristics of aerosols in the Kuroshio area

Aerosol samples were collected with a Sierrer Model 235 cascade impactor in the marine atmosphere over the Kuroshio area in consecutive four seasons from 1987 to 1988. Na, Cl, Al, V, and water soluble and acid soluble Mn, Fe, Pb, Cu, V, Cd were determined by neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrophotometry, respectively. Seawater source chemical species in the aerosols appeared in high content in large over 3.6 μm diameter particles, and crustal source vanadium appeared in 3.6 μm diameter particles, but pollution source vanadium appeared in less than 0.52 μm diameter particles. Trace metals in the aerosols mostly had the highest concentration of water soluble metals on fine particles, and acid soluble metals on large particles. The concentrations of trace metals in the aerosols were higher in autumn and winter, lower in spring and summer. Funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

The effect of the East China Sea Kuroshio Front on the marine atmospheric boundary layer

Various satellite data, JRA-25 (Japan reanalysis of 25 years) reanalyzed data and WRF (Weather Research Forecast) model are used to investigate the in situ effect of the ESKF (East China Sea Kuroshio Front) on the MABL (marine atmospheric boundary layer). The intensity of the ESKF is most robust from January to April in its annual cycle. The local strong surface northerly/northeasterly winds are observed right over the ESKF in January and in April and the wind speeds decrease upward in the MABL. The thermal wind effect that is derived from the baroclinic MABL forced by the strong SST gradient contributes to the strong surface winds to a large degree. The convergence zone existing along the warm flank of the ESKF is stronger in April than in January corresponding to the steeper SST (sea surface temperature) gradient. The collocations of the cloud cover maximum and precipitation maximum are basically consistent with the convergence zone of the wind field. The clouds develop higher (lower) in the warm (cold) flank of the ESKF due to the less (more) stable stratification in the MABL. The lowest clouds are observed in April on the cold flank of the ESKF and over the Yellow Sea due to the existence of the pronounced temperature inversion. The numerical experiments with smoothed SST are consistent with the results from the ovservations.     

Transfort of oxygen,nutrients and carbonates by the Kuroshio Current

Measured concentrations of dissolved oxygen, phosphate, silicate, total alkalinity and calculated total CO₂ in a section between 121° E and 125° E across the Kuroshio near 22° N off Taiwan and the geostrophic velocity were used to estimate the gross transport of oxygen, nutrients and carbonates. The flux of dissolved oxygen is 6.7×10⁶ mol/s northward and 0.9×10⁶ mol/s southward. The net flux equals 5.8×10⁶ mol/s down-stream. The northward flux of phosphate is 22.6×10³ mol/s; the southward flux is 1.4×10³ mol/s. The net phosphate flux is 21.2×10³ mol/s northward. The flux of silicate is 967×10³ northward and 59×10³ mol/s southward; the net transport is 908×10³ mol/s down-stream. The flux of alkalinity is 75.5×10⁶ mol/s northward, and 10.8×10⁶ mol/s southward, the net flux is 64.7×10⁶ mol/s northward. For total CO₂ the transport is 73.4×10⁶ mol/s northward and 10.8×10⁶ mol/s southward, or a net transport of 62.6×10⁶ mol/s horthward.     

ANALYSIS OF Cu, Cd, Co AND Ni IN SURFACE WATER OF THE KUROSHIO AREA IN THE EAST CHINA SEA

Study of 1986 and 1987 heavy metal distribution in surface water of the Kuroshio area in the East China Sea showed regional and slight seasonal variations in distribution and concentration . Heavy metal levels in Taiwan Strait, the sea area north of Taiwan and the continental shelf are higher than those in the main axis of the Kuroshio . Dissolved Cu in summer and winter decreases with the increase of salinity , but dissolved Cd has no obvious change with salinity .     

THE KUROSHIO MEANDER/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION CONNECTION AND DROUGHT/FLOOD CYCLES IN THE CHANGJIANG RIVER

In response to a suggestion that the large meander of the Kuroshio is a good predictor of droughtsin the Changjiang River Valley, it is argued that more recent inceptions of the meander lend statisticalweigh to the belief that the large meander is itself a consequence of E1 Nino, and hence of the SouthernOscillation. The meander usually lags. Thus, if the meander reliably predicts droughts, the Tahiti componentof the Southern Oscillation will usually give six months' extra warning.     

A spectral mixture model analysis of the Kuroshio variability and the water exchange between the Kuroshio and the East China Sea

For understanding more about the water exchange between the Kuroshio and the East China Sea,We studied the variability of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea(ECS) in the period of 1991 to 2008 using a three-dimensional circulation model,and calculated Kuroshio onshore volume transport in the ECS at the minimum of 0.48 Sv(1 Sv ;106 m3/s) in summer and the maximum of 1.69 Sv in winter.Based on the data of WOA05 and NCEP,The modeled result indicates that the Kuroshio transport east of Taiwan Island decreased since 2000.Lateral movements tended to be stronger at two ends of the Kuroshio in the ECS than that of the middle segment.In addition,we applied a spectral mixture model(SMM) to determine the exchange zone between the Kuroshio and the shelf water of the ECS.The result reveals a significantly negative correlation(coefficient of-0.78) between the area of exchange zone and the Kuroshio onshore transport at 200 m isobath in the ECS.This conclusion brings a new view for the water exchange between the Kuroshio and the East China Sea.Additional to annual and semi-annual signals,intra-seasonal signal of probably the Pacific origin may trigger the events of Kuroshio intrusion and exchange in the ECS.     

The formation of wind curl in the marine atmosphere boundary layer over the East China Sea Kuroshio in spring

Various data are used to investigate the characteristics of the surface wind field and rainfall on the East China Sea Kuroshio (ESK) in March and April, 2011. In March, the wind speed maximum shows over the ESK front (ESKF) in the 10 meter wind field, which agrees with the thermal wind effect. A wind curl center is generated on the warm flank of the ESKF. The winds are much weaker in April, so is the wind curl. A rainband exists over the ESKF in both the months. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used for further researches. The winds on the top of the marine atmosphere boundary layer (MABL) indicate that in March, a positive wind curl is generated in the whole MABL over the warm flank of the ESKF. The thermal wind effect forced by the strong SST gradient overlying the background wind leads to strong surface northeasterly winds on the ESKF, and a positive shearing vorticity is created over the warm flank of the ESKF to generate wind curl. In the smoothed sea surface temperature experiment, the presence of the ESKF is responsible for the strong northeast winds in the ESKF, and essential for the distribution of the rainfall centers in March, which confirms the mechanism above. The same simulation is made for April, 2011, and the responses from the MABL become weak. The low background wind speed weakens the effect of the thermal wind, thus no strong Ekman pumping is helpful for precipitation. There is no big difference in rainfall between the control run and the smooth SST run. Decomposition of the wind vector shows that local wind acceleration induced by the thermal wind effect along with the variations in wind direction is responsible for the pronounced wind curl/divergence over the ESKF.     

基于MGIS与MODIS SST数据的黑潮海表温度锋特征分析

本文利用我国自主研发的海洋地理信息系统软件MaXplorer,以黑潮为例,阐述了基于过程的海洋形态特征提取方法,利用VC++,对MODIS水星SST时间序列数据进行海表温度锋抽取,并分析了2003年东海黑潮表层温度锋位置的季节性变迁。结果表明,东海黑潮表层温度锋位置的季节性变化不大,只是在台湾东北部海域和北纬30°附近海域季节性变化比较活跃,由于夏季东海表层水温比较均匀,基本保持在28℃以上,温度锋位置难以确定。其他3个季节温度锋的位置由于受海底地形的影响,基本保持在200m等深线附近的陆坡区,而在台湾岛东北部有一个明显的先是气旋,后是反气旋的弯曲,冬季的温度锋位置相对稍偏东,秋季的温度锋路线比较曲折。