The mechanism of bottom water DO variation in summer at the northern mouth of Isahaya Bay, Japan

Abstract

Recently, bivalves have been massively killed by anoxia or hypoxia in summer at the northern part of Isahaya Bay, Japan, which constituted a major problem for fisheries. However, the mechanism behind the occurrence of hypoxic water masses is unclear. It is known that the bottom water dissolved oxygen (DO) in this area is affected by the inflow of seawater into the northern mouth of Isahaya Bay. To understand the mechanism of hypoxia, it is necessary to determine the physical processes that cause changes in the bottom DO concentrations in this area. This study shows that there is a neap-spring tidal variation in bottom DO due to a change in vertical tidal mixing, and it also suggests that the decrease in bottom DO was generated by a baroclinic flow, which is due to the internal tide, and a shear flow, which is induced by the external tide in the bottom boundary layer. In addition, our study suggests that the source of cold and hypoxic water that appears in the bottom layer at low tide is the inner area of the Ariake Sea.