Abstract
The occurrence of the small meander of the Kuroshio, generated south of Kyushu and propagating eastward, was examined using sea level data collected during 1961–1995 along the south coast of Japan. Intra-annual variation of the sea level was expanded by the frequency domain empirical orthogonal function (FDEOF) modes, and it was found that the second and third modes are useful for monitoring the generation and propagation of the small meander. The third FDEOF for periods of 10–100 days has a phase reversal between Hosojima and Tosa-shimizu with significant amplitude west of Kushimoto, and the amplitude of its time coefficient is large during the non-large-meander (NLM) period and has a significant peak when the small meander exists southeast of Kyushu. The second FDEOF for periods of 20–80 days has a phase reversal between Kushimoto and Uragami, and the amplitude of its time coefficient is large when the small meander propagates to the south of Shikoku. The third FDEOF mode allowed us to conclude that the small meander occurred 42 times from July 1961 to May 1995, most of them (38) occurring during the NLM periods. The second FDEOF mode permits the conclusion that half of the 38 small meanders reached south of Shikoku. Of these, five small meanders influenced transitions of the Kuroshio path from the nearshore NLM path; one caused the offshore NLM path and four brought about the large meander. About one-tenth of the total number of small meanders are related to the formation of the large meander.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kamihira, E., H. Minami, H. Ishizaki, H. Eguchi and J. Nishizawa (1978): The cut-off phenomenon of the large cold water mass off Tokaido. Bull. Kobe Mar. Obs., 195, 1–15 (in Japanese with English abstract).
Kawabe, M. (1980): Sea level variations along the south coast of Japan and the large meander in the Kuroshio. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 36, 97–104.
Kawabe, M. (1985): Sea level variations at the Izu Islands and typical stable paths of the Kuroshio. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Ja-pan, 41, 307–326.
Kawabe, M. (1986): Transition processes between the three typical paths of the Kuroshio. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 42, 174–191.
Kawabe, M. (1987): Spectral properties of sea level and time scales of Kuroshio path variations. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Ja-pan, 43(2), 111–123.
Kawabe, M. (1988): Variability of Kuroshio velocity assessed from the sea-level difference between Naze and Nishinoomote. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 44, 293–304.
Kawabe, M. (1989): Sea level changes south of Japan associ-ated with the non-large-meander path of the Kuroshio. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 45, 181–189.
Kawabe, M. (1995): Variations of current path, velocity, and volume transport of the Kuroshio in relation with the large meander. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 25(12), 3103–3117.
Kawabe, M. (2003): Study on variations of current path and transport of the Kuroshio. Oceanography in Japan, 12(3), 247–267 (in Japanese with English abstract).
Moriyasu, S. (1961a): An example of the conditions at the oc-currence of the cold water region. Oceanogr. Mag., 12(2), 67–76.
Moriyasu, S. (1961b): On the difference in the monthly sea level between Kushimoto and Uragami, Japan. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 17, 197–200.
Nishida, H. (1982): Description of the Kuroshio meander in 1975–1980—Large meander of the Kuroshio in 1975–1980 (I)—. Rep. Hydrogr. Res., 17, 181–207.
Nitani, H. (1975): Variation of the Kuroshio south of Japan. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 31, 154–173.
Nitani, H. (1977): Process of the ocurrence, continuation and disappearance of the large meander of the Kuroshio off Enshu-nada. Marine Sciences, 9, 173–180 (in Japanese with English abstract).
Okada, M. (1977): Cold water mass off the Enshunada and mean sea level along the south coast of Japan. Marine Sciences, 9, 264–269 (in Japanese with English abstract).
Shoji, D. (1961): On the variations of the daily mean sea levels along the Japanese Islands. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 17, 141–152.
Shoji, D. (1972): Time variation of the Kuroshio south of Ja-pan. p. 217–234 In Kuroshio—Its Physical Aspects, ed. by H. Stommel and K. Yoshida, University of Tokyo Press.
Taft, B. (1972): Characteristics of the flow of the Kuroshio south of Japan. p. 165–216. In Kuroshio—Its Physical Aspects, ed. by H. Stommel and K. Yoshida, University of Tokyo Press.
Tsumura, K. (1963): Investigation of the mean sea level and its variation along the coast of Japan (Part I). J. Geod. Soc. Japan, 9, 49–90 (in Japanese with English abstract).
Wallace, J. M. and R. E. Dickinson (1972): Empirical orthogonal representation of time series in the frequency domain. Part I: Theoretical considerations. J. Appl. Meteor., 11, 887–892.
Yoshida, S. (1961): On the variation of the Kuroshio and cold water mass off Enshu-nada (Part 1). Hydrogr. Bull., New Ser., 67, 54–57.
Yoshida, S. (1964): A note on the variations of the Kuroshio during recent years. Bull. Japan. Soc. Fish. Oceanogr., 5, 66–69 (in Japanese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nagano, A., Kawabe, M. Monitoring of Generation and Propagation of the Kuroshio Small Meander Using Sea Level Data along the Southern Coast of Japan. Journal of Oceanography 60, 879–892 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-004-5780-z
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-004-5780-z