PROPAGATION OF 30—60 DAY LOW FREQUENCY OSCILLATIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE UPON THE SUBTROPICAL WESTERLIES JET STREAM DURING NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER

Based on daily ECMWF gridpoint data of two winters during 1981—1983 including an ENSOyear,propagation of low frequency oscillations(LFO)during Northern Hemisphere winters andtheir influences upon 30—60 day oscillations of the subtropical jet stream are studied with the sta-tistical methods as complex empirical orthogonal function(CEOF)and so on.Results show that inthe winter of a normal year(1981—1982),30—60 day oscillations in the subtropical zone aremainly in the northern and southern flanks of exit region of jet stream.In the ENSO year(1982—1983),they are mainly in the vicinity of entrance and exit regions of jet stream.Intraseasonalchanges of subtropical jet stream manifested themselves as latitudinal fluctuation or longitudinalprogression or regression of about 40 day period.There are marked differences between propagat-ing passages of low frequency modes responsible for changes of subtropical jet stream in the normalyear(1981—1982)and in the ENSO year(1982—1983).Changes of oscillation amplitude showobvious phases.In general,the one in late winter is stronger than that in early winter,strongestone occurs in February.     

Sea‐surface temperature and salinity changes in the northwest Pacific since the Last Glacial Maximum

The oxygen isotope records of both benthic and planktonic Foraminifera in five piston cores, collected from the region between the Oyashio and Kuroshio Currents near Japan, clearly show the marked latitudinal shifts of these two currents during the past 25 kyr. Under the present hydrographic condition, a clear relationship between the sea‐surface temperature (SST) and oxygen isotope differences from benthic to planktonic Foraminifera is observed in this region. Using this relationship, we find decreased SSTs of 12–13°C (maximum 15°C) in the southernmost core site at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), indicating the Oyashio Current shifted southward. The SSTs at the southern two core sites abruptly increased more than 10°C at 10–11 ka, suggesting the Kuroshio Current shifted northward over these sites at 10–11 ka. In contrast, the northern two core sites have remained under the influence of the cold Oyashio Current for the past 25 kyr. With the reasonable estimate of bottom‐water temperature decrease of 2.5°C at the LGM, the SSTs estimated by this new method give exactly the same SST values calculated from Mg/Ca ratio of planktonic Foraminifera, allowing palaeosea‐surface salinities to be reconstructed. The result suggests that the ice volume effect was 1.0 ± 0.1‰ at the LGM. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of the M2 internal tide on data-assimilative model estimates of the surface tide

We use a synthetic data experiment to assess the accuracy of ocean tides estimated from satellite altimetry data, with emphasis on the impact of the phase-locked internal tide, which has a surface expression of several centimeters near its sites of genesis. Previous tidal estimates have regarded this signal as a random measurement error; however, it is deterministic and not scale-separated from the barotropic (surface) tide around complex bathymetric features. The synthetic data experiments show that the internal tide has a negligible impact on the barotropic tidal fields inferred under these circumstances, and the barotropic dissipation (a quadratic functional of the tidal fields) is in good agreement with the energetics of the three-dimensional regional primitive equations model which is the source of the synthetic data.     

Seasonal variations in river discharge and nutrient export to a Northeastern Pacific estuary

Seasonal variations in dissolved nitrogen and silica loadings were related to seasonal variability in river discharge. Dissolved nutrient concentrations measured weekly at three stations in the Yaquina River, Oregon from 1999 through 2001, and then monthly in 2002 were used as the basis for developing a nutrient loading regression as part of a larger agency program for evaluating nutrient processes. Because realistic models of nutrient transport require dense data sets to capture both long and short term fluctuations in nutrient concentrations, data at one freshwater station also were collected hourly for the same years using an in-stream monitor.The effects of storm events on dissolved nutrient transport were examined during three storms, including one in a high rainfall-discharge year, and two in average years, one of which followed a drought year. During the drought year (WY2001), total dissolved nitrate input was considerably less than in wetter years. Dissolved nitrate concentrations, however, were unusually high in the first winter storm runoff after the drought. The freshwater dissolved nitrate nitrogen loads varied from 40,380 kg day⁻¹ during a high-flow storm event to 0.11 kg day⁻¹ during late summer, low flow conditions. Dissolved silica dynamics differed from those of nitrate because during storm events, silica concentrations in the Yaquina River decreased to near zero at the storm height, probably due to dilution by near surface or overland flow, and later recovered.During the time interval studied, over 94% of the dissolved nitrate and silica were transported from the watershed during the winter months of greater rainfall, indicating that seasonality and river flow are primary factors when considering nutrient loadings from this watershed system.     

Outflow of the Intermediate Oyashio Water from Sagami Bay to the Shikoku Basin

Since the Intermediate Oyashio Water (IOW) gradually accumulates in Sagami Bay, it can reasonably be supposed that the IOW also flows out from Sagami Bay, even though it may be altered by mixing with other waters. We have occasionally observed a water less than 34.2 psu with a potential density of 26.8 at the southeastern area off Izu Peninsula in July 1993 by the training vessel Seisui-maru of Mie University. Observational data supplied by the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Kanagawa Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station show that the IOW of less than 34.1 psu was observed at northern stations of the line PT (KJ) off the Boso Peninsula and to the east of Oshima in the late spring 1993. Based upon these observations, it is concluded that the IOW flows out from Sagami Bay into the Shikoku Basin along southeastern area off the Izu Peninsula. The less saline water (<34.2 psu) was also observed to the west of Miyake-jima during the same cruise, and the westward intrusion of IOW from south of the Boso Peninsula to the Shikoku Basin through the gate area of the Kuroshio path over the Izu Ridge was detected. This event indicated that the IOW branched south of the Boso Peninsula and flowed into Sagami Bay and/or into the gate area over the Izu Ridge. The southward intrusion of IOW into the south of the Boso Peninsula is discussed in relation to the latitudinal location of the main axes of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

千里岩的气温变化特征及其与西北太平洋副热带高压的关系

本文根据１９６０～１９９４年千里岩和青岛月平均气温资料，分析了千里岩与青岛３５年来气温的年、季变化特征及差别，发现３５年来，千里岩和青岛的年、季平均气温均呈变暖趋势，但千里岩增温幅度较青岛小。从分析中发现，与气温变暖趋势相对应，西北太平洋副热带高压（以下简称副高）面积、强度指数的年、季变化也呈明显的增强、增大趋势。且年平均气温与冬季副高面积指数相关最显著。最后依此关系建立回归方程，并预测了１９９６年千里岩年平均气温的变化趋势。     

西太平洋暖池区热带波动的天气效应

为了探讨西太平洋暧地区热带波动的天气效应，利用1980年2－9月140°E日本静止卫星纬度时间剖面卫星云图，分析了5d和14d左右周期热带波动云的演变特征，井综合分析了14d周期的云系演变型式与流场的关系，为预报热带中期天气变化规律提供了依据；热带波动中30－60d大气低频振荡的云量变化最显著，北半球夏半年热带波动的天气压主要在10°N－0°，各半年在10°N－10°S，超过这个区域热带云量的港分布型式就有明显的变化。