Abstract
The temporal and spatial variability of the Kuroshio Current was analyzed. Current data were estimated from hydrographic data collected from areas within the central East China Sea (PN section) from 1955 to 2010 and the Tokara Strait (TK section) from 1987 to 2010. To reduce the bias caused by cruise-dependent spatial resolution among the data, grid-consistent temperature and salinity fields were reconstructed by use of a regression relationship to account for anomalies between observed stations and grid points. The mass imbalance problem between the PN and TK sections, which appears stochastically when viewed by use of the dynamic method, was solved by use of the inverse method. The estimated Kuroshio volume transport (KVT) was found to be closely consistent with that of current observations and had an uncertainty of 2.4 Sv. The KVT seemed to have neither a regime shift in approximately 1976 nor a sharply increasing trend. The KVT was dominated by 2–5 year modulating interannual variability with an amplitude of 2.8 Sv, followed by weak 20-year decadal variability with an amplitude of 0.33 Sv. Empirical orthogonal function analysis of the currents suggested that the temporal and spatial variability of the Kuroshio Current in the PN section was dominated by a transport mode, manifested by the high variability of current on the seaward side of current core with expansion or shrinkage of the core. In contrast, the temporal and spatial variability of the Kuroshio Current in the TK section was dominated by a meandering mode, as indicated by the migration of the Kuroshio axis in the south gap of the Tokara Strait.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akima H (1970) A new method of interpolation and smooth curve fitting based on local procedures. J ACM 17(4):589–602
Andres M, Park J-H, Wimbush M, Zhu X-H, Chang K-I, Ichikawa H (2008a) Study of the Kuroshio/Ryukyu Current system based on satellite-altimeter and in situ data measurements. J Oceanogr 64:937–950. doi:10.1007/s10872-008-0077-2
Andres M, Wimbush M, Park J-H, Chang K-I, Lim B-H, Watts DR, Ichikawa H, Teague WJ (2008b) Observations of Kuroshio flow variations in the East China Sea. J Geophys Res 113:C05013. doi:10.1029/2007JC004200
Bingham FM, Talley LD (1991) Estimates of Kuroshio transport using an inverse technique. Deep Sea Res 38(1):S21–S43
Bryden HL, Roemmich DH, Church JA (1991) Ocean heat transport across 24°N in the Pacific. Deep Sea Res 38(3):297–324
Cressman GP (1959) An operational objective analysis system. Mon Weather Rev 87(10):367–374
Fujiwara I (1981) Oceanic features at the East China Sea: mean values of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen from 1951–1980. Mar Sci (in Japanese) 13(4):264–270
Guo X, Miyazawa Y, Yamagata T (2006) The Kuroshio onshore intrusion along the shelf break of the East China Sea: the origin of the Tsushima Warm Current. J Phys Oceanogr 36:2205–2231
Hinata T (1996) Seasonal variation and long-term trends of the oceanographic conditions along a fixed hydrographic line crossing the Kuroshio in the East China Sea. Oceanogr Mag 45:9–32
Ichikawa H, Beardsley RC (1993) Temporal and spatial variability of volume transport of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea. Deep Sea Res I 40(3):583–605
Isobe A (2008) Recent advances in ocean-circulation research on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea shelves. J Oceanogr 64:569–584
Matsuno T, Lee J-S, Yanao S (2009) The Kuroshio exchange with the South and East China Seas. Ocean Sci 5(3):303–312
Nitani H (1972) Beginning of the Kuroshio. In: Stommel H, Yoshida K (eds) Kuroshio, physical aspects of the Japan Current. University of Washington Press, Seattle, pp 129–164
North GR (1984) Empirical orthogonal functions and normal modes. J Atmos Sci 41:879–887
Oka E, Kawabe M (2003) Dynamic structure of the Kuroshio south of Kyushu in relation to the Kuroshio path variations. J Oceanogr 59(5):595–608
Saiki M (1982) Relation between the geostrophic flux of the Kuroshio in the Eastern China Sea and its large meander in south of Japan. Oceanogr Mag 32:11–18
Su J, Guan B, Jiang J (1990) The Kuroshio, part 1, physical features. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 28:11–71
Teague WJ, Jacobs GA, Ko DS, Tang TY, Chang K-I, Suk M-S (2003) Connectivity of the Taiwan, Cheju and Korea straits. Cont Shelf Res 23(1):63–77
Torrence C, Compo GP (1998) A practical guide to wavelet analysis. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 79:61–78
Wunsch C (1978) The North Atlantic general circulation west of 50°W determined by inverse methods. Rev Geophys 16(4):583–620
Yuan Y, Kaneko A, Su J, Zhu X, Liu Y, Gohda N, Chen H (1998) The Kuroshio east of Taiwan and in the East China Sea and the currents east of Ryukyu Islands during early summer of 1996. J Oceanogr 54:217–226
Zhang D, Lee TN, Johns WE, Liu CT, Zantopp R (2001) The Kuroshio east of Taiwan: modes of variability and relationship to interior ocean mesoscale eddies. J Phys Oceanogr 31(4):1054–1074
Zhang Q-L, Hou Y-J, Yan T-Z (2011) Inter-annual and inter-decadal variability of Kuroshio heat transport in the East China Sea. Int J Climatol. doi:10.1002/joc.2295
Zhu X-H, Park J-H, Kaneko I (2006) Velocity structures and transports of the Kuroshio and the Ryukyu Current during fall of 2000 estimated by an inverse technique. J Oceanogr 62:587–596
Acknowledgments
The authors would like thank the Japan Oceanographic Data Center of JMA for its generous support of the in-situ hydrographic data. The NOAA High Resolution SST data were provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD, of Boulder, Colorado, USA, through their website at http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/. The altimeter products were produced by Ssalto/Duacs and distributed by Aviso with support from Cnes. The authors would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism and suggestions. This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China under grants 2011CB409803 and 2011CB403503, the Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 41176021 and 41276028, the China 908-Project under grants 908-01-BC06 and 908-ZC-II-05, and the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean under grants 201205015.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wei, Y., Huang, D. & Zhu, XH. Interannual to decadal variability of the Kuroshio Current in the East China Sea from 1955 to 2010 as indicated by in-situ hydrographic data. J Oceanogr 69, 571–589 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-013-0193-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-013-0193-5