Abstract
Weakening of the upper portion of the Japan Sea Proper Water formation was detected based on the dissolved oxygen concentration and potential temperature from 1970 to 2004, unlike the suggestion of previous studies that it has been enhanced since the 1970s. The revealed warming and decreasing trends in DO concentration throughout the water column indicate that the conveyor belt system in the Japan Sea is still slowing down even in the intermediate layers, though a relatively active dissolved oxygen supply into the intermediate layers is suggested. This fact leads us to modify the previous concept about the water mass formation; though a relatively active formation of the intermediate water mass occurs, the deep water formation is not counterbalanced by the intermediate water formation, and the overall Japan Sea Proper Water formation has been stagnating since the 1970s.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bindoff NL, Willebrand J, Artale V, Cazenave A, Gregory J, Gulev S, Hanawa K, Le Quéré C, Levitus S, Nojiri Y, Shum CK, Talley LD, Unnikrishnan A (2007) Observations: Oceanic Climate Change and Sea Level. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, pp 385–432
Cox PM, Betts RA, Jones CD, Spall SA, Totterdell IJ (2000) Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model. Nature 408:184–187
Cui YL, Senjyu T (2010) Interdecadal oscillations in the Japan Sea Proper Water related to the Arctic Oscillation. J Oceanogr 66:337–348
Gamo T, Nozaki Y, Sakai H, Nakai T, Tsubota H (1986) Spatial and temporal variations of water characteristics in the Japan Sea bottom layer. J Mar Res 44:781–793
Gamo T (1999) Global warming may have slowed down the deep conveyor belt of a marginal sea of the northwestern Pacific: Japan Sea. Geophys Res Lett 26:3137–3140
Gamo T, Momoshima N, Tolmachyov S (2001) Recent upward shift of the deep convection system in the Japan Sea, as inferred from the geochemical tracers tritium, oxygen, and nutrients. Geophys Res Lett 28:4143–4146
Houghton J (2005) Global warming. Rep Prog Phys 68:1343–1403
Ichiye T (1984) Some problems of circulation and hydrography of the Japan Sea and the Tsushima Current. In: Ichiye T (ed) Ocean hydrodynamics of the Japan Sea and East China Sea. Elsevier Oceanography series 39. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 15–54
Kim KR, Kim K (1996) What is happening in the East Sea (Japan Sea)?: Recent chemical observations during CREAMS 93-96. J Korean Soc Oceanogr 31: 164–172
Kim K, Kim KR, Min DH, Vlokov Y, Yoon JH, Takematsu M (2001) Warming and structural changes in the East (Japan) Sea: A clue to future changes in global oceans? Geophys Res Lett 28:3293–3296
Kim K, Kim KR, Kim YG, Cho YK, Kang DJ, Takematsu M, Volkov Y (2004) Water masses and decadal variability in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Prog Oceanogr 61:157–174
Minami H, Kano Y, Ogawa K (1999) Long-term variations of potential temperature and dissolved oxygen of the Japan Sea Proper Water. J Oceanogr 55:197–205
Senjyu T, Sudo H (1993) Water characteristics and circulation of the upper portion of the Japan Sea Proper Water. J Mar Syst 4:349–362
Senjyu T, Sudo H (1994) The upper portion of the Japan Sea Proper Water; its source and circulation as deduced from isopycnal analysis. J Oceanogr 50:663–690
Sudo H (1986) A note on the Japan Sea Proper Water. Prog Oceanogr 17:313–336
Torrence C, Compo GP (1998) A practical guide to wavelet analysis. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 79:61–78
Uda M (1934) The results of simultaneous oceanographical investigations in the Japan Sea and its adjacent waters in May and June. J Imp Fish Exp Sta 5:57–190
Watanabe YW, Wakita M, Maeda N, Ono T, Gamo T (2003) Synchronous bidecadal periodic changes of oxygen, phosphate and temperature between the Japan Sea deep water and the North Pacific intermediate water. Geophys Res Lett 30 2273. doi:10.1029/2003GL018338
Worthington LV (1981) The water masses of the world ocean: Some results of a fine-scale census. In: Warren BA, Wunsch C (eds) Evolution of physical oceanography. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 42–69
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Prof. Matsuno and members of the Laboratory of Ocean Circulation Dynamics, RIAM, Kyushu University, for their support. Cui’s study was sponsored by the China Scholarship Council.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cui, Y., Senjyu, T. Has the upper portion of the Japan Sea Proper Water formation really been enhancing?. J Oceanogr 68, 593–598 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-012-0115-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-012-0115-y