低塩分水の潜り込み（東シナ海）

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Outline

The East China Sea surrounded by the continent of China, Kyushu and Ryukyu Islands has a wide continental shelf and has been well known as a highly productive sea in fisheries. Influence by the river discharge from the continent as well as by the Kuroshio flowing along the continental slope could provide rather complicated oceanic structure, consequently the interaction could grow up the biological productivity. There are several kinds of interaction in physical, chemical and biological senses, and they have not been well known yet. For example, we can find large eddies along the Kuroshio front in satellite images, which could enhance the mixing between the Kuroshio and shelf waters. Satellite images can provide clear visible images, but we cannot see subsurface structure from the satellites. Our study focuses to determine the internal motions in the ocean mainly based on the field observations. Water mixing between the Kuroshio and the shelf waters is not only generated by frontal eddies but also associated with internal waves. The shelf break region of the East China Sea is well known as a region where internal tides are significantly enhanced. We have continued field observations around the shelf break of the East China Sea, and found frequent occurrence of internal waves with tidal and shorter time scales. Our measurements are extended to detect the intensity of turbulence generated by internal waves. However, it is not easy to make clear the energy transfer from the internal waves to turbulence, because internal waves usually occurs intermittently, and we cannot follow the propagation of the waves to catch the breaking. One of the main themes in our laboratory concerns the mixing processes in the ocean.
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The East China Sea surrounded by the continent of China, Kyushu and Ryukyu Islands has a wide continental shelf and has been well known as a highly productive sea in fisheries. Influence by the river discharge from the continent as well as by the Kuroshio flowing along the continental slope could provide rather complicated oceanic structure, consequently the interaction could grow up the biological productivity.

There are several kinds of interaction in physical, chemical and biological senses, and they have not been well known yet. For example, we can find large eddies along the Kuroshio front in satellite images, which could enhance the mixing between the Kuroshio and shelf waters. Satellite images can provide clear visible images, but we cannot see subsurface structure from the satellites.

Our study focuses to determine the internal motions in the ocean mainly based on the field observations. Water mixing between the Kuroshio and the shelf waters is not only generated by frontal eddies but also associated with internal waves. The shelf break region of the East China Sea is well known as a region where internal tides are significantly enhanced.

We have continued field observations around the shelf break of the East China Sea, and found frequent occurrence of internal waves with tidal and shorter time scales. Our measurements are extended to detect the intensity of turbulence generated by internal waves. However, it is not easy to make clear the energy transfer from the internal waves to turbulence, because internal waves usually occurs intermittently, and we cannot follow the propagation of the waves to catch the breaking. One of the main themes in our laboratory concerns the mixing processes in the ocean.

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