Abstract
Intermediate Water Formation at the Japan/East Sea Subpolar Front
Highlights
Eddies, making frontal-zone regions of energetic, small-scale activity
Saline Kuroshio waters enter Tsushima Strait to form the Tsushima Warm Current, with one branch flowing northward along the Korean coast to meet the south-flowing North Korean (Liman) Cold Current (Figure 1; see Talley et al, this issue, Figure 1). The confluence of these two water masses forms the Japan/East Sea Subpolar Front, which extends across the basin at roughly 40°N to exit Tsugaru Strait along the eastern margin
Dry, cold continental air masses periodically channel through mountain gaps near Vladivostok to drive intense, northwesterly winds over the northern and central Japan/East Sea (Kawamura and Wu 1998; Dorman et al, 2004; Scotti, 2005)
Summary
Upper-ocean fronts play an important role in determining upper pycnocline water properties by providing an efficient conduit for communicating atmospheric forcing into the stratified interior. The presence of a persistent, strong subpolar front; intense, episodic (but reliable) atmospheric forcing by cold-air outbreaks; and relatively easy logistics makes the Japan/East Sea an ideal location for investigating the dynamics of fronts, subduction, and water-mass-formation processes. Water properties suggest that these eddies originated in the wintertime mixed layer of the Subpolar Front and are perhaps the integrated result of wintertime forcing and subduction These prominent, persistent features influence basin-scale circulation and provide an illustration of the large-scale impacts of subduction processes active at the O(10 km) scales of upper ocean fronts. ATMOSPHERIC FORCING Wintertime outbreaks of very cold, dry Siberian air produce intense south/ southeastward winds and large oceanic net surface heat loss across much of the Japan/East Sea (Figure 4).
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