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Baroclinic circulation and its high frequency variability in Otsuchi Bay on the Sanriku ria coast, Japan

  • Special Section: Original Article
  • Oceanographic observations after the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku
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Abstract

Hydrographic observations were made in Otsuchi Bay on the Sanriku ria coast, Japan, to provide clear images of the baroclinic circulation extending over the bay together with the associated intrusion of lower-layer water (bottom water) from outside the bay. In summer, a prominent baroclinic circulation with flow speeds \({>} 0.1\ \text{ m }\ \text{ s }^{-1} \) extends over the greater part of the bay. A main pycnocline (thermocline), which separates the upper and lower layers, is located at a depth of 15–40 m in and around the bay. The direction of the lower-layer flow (inflow into and outflow from the bay) is opposite to that of the upper-layer flow, which are baroclinically coupled to each other. Moreover, with regard to the lower-layer flow, the inflow tends to occur mainly through the northwestern part of the bay mouth, whereas the outflow tends to occur mainly through the southeastern part. The inflow and outflow alternate on time scales of several to a few tens of hours, and the flow directions are sometimes related to the tidal ones, although the relationship is not applied persistently. In winter, the baroclinic circulation is considerably weaker than in summer, because the stratification breaks down.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their appreciation to Captains Masataka Kurosawa and Masaaki Hirano for their help with the shipboard surveys. Thanks are also extended to Shinzou Fujio for his assistance. The figures were produced using the GFD-DENNOU Library and the General Mapping Tools. This study was supported by the TEAMS (Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences) from MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan

    Kousei Komatsu

  2. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan

    Kiyoshi Tanaka, Kousei Komatsu, Sachihiko Itoh, Daigo Yanagimoto, Miho Ishizu, Hiroyasu Hasumi, Takashi T. Sakamoto & Yutaka Michida

  3. Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Meteorological Agency, 1-1 Nagamine, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0052, Japan

    Shogo Urakawa

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  1. Kiyoshi Tanaka
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  2. Kousei Komatsu
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  3. Sachihiko Itoh
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  4. Daigo Yanagimoto
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  5. Miho Ishizu
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  6. Hiroyasu Hasumi
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  7. Takashi T. Sakamoto
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  8. Shogo Urakawa
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  9. Yutaka Michida
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Correspondence to Kiyoshi Tanaka.

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Tanaka, K., Komatsu, K., Itoh, S. et al. Baroclinic circulation and its high frequency variability in Otsuchi Bay on the Sanriku ria coast, Japan. J Oceanogr 73, 25–38 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-015-0338-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-015-0338-9

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