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Short-term flow fluctuations in Onagawa Bay, Japan, as revealed by long-term mooring observation

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

Short-term flow fluctuations in the southern central part of Onagawa Bay were examined using long-term mooring and hydrographic data observed during the period from May 2013 to April 2014. The short-term flow fluctuations were dominant in the periodic bands of 15–27 days and shorter than 10 days. The principal and minor components of these flow fluctuations were respectively along and across the local isobaths, which are almost parallel in the north direction. The northward flow fluctuations along the local isobaths were correlated with the northeastward wind fluctuations in both periodic bands, and these correlations were more evident from fall to winter. On the basis of these results, the northward flows are regarded as wind-induced barotropic coastal jets. On other hand, the eastward flow fluctuations across the local isobaths were related to inflow and outflow via the bay mouth or the Izushima Channel. Inflow and outflow with reverse flow at lower depths formed in summer, but those with vertically uniform flow tended to form in winter. The main summertime inflow and outflow were driven by horizontal gradients in density. These permit us to regard the main summertime inflow and outflow as gravitational circulation. Also, the summertime inflow can be intermittently caused by internal waves.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by the project “Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences (TEAMS)” of a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The authors would like to acknowledge the captain T. Hiratsuka and crew T. Kimura of R/V Kaisei of the Field Science Center, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University. The authors also extend their gratitude to Prof. S. Katayama of the Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University and Branch Chief M. Hiratsuka of the Japan Fisheries (JF) Cooperative. Thanks are extended to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 15, Konorihama-Azamukai, Onagawa-cho, Oshika-gun, Miyagi, 986-2242, Japan

    Daisuke Takahashi, Yasushi Gomi, Yuki Minegishi & Akihiro Kijima

  2. Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1, Tsutsumidori-Amamiyamachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-8555, Japan

    Kenji Kaneko

  3. Laboratory of Fisheries Biology and Ecology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1, Tsutsumidori-Amamiyamachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-8555, Japan

    Michihiro Shoji

  4. Laboratory of Marine Plant Ecology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1, Tsutsumidori-Amamiyamachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-8555, Japan

    Hikaru Endo

  5. Laboratory of Integrative Aquatic Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 15, Konorihama-Azamukai, Onagawa-cho, Oshika-gun, Miyagi, 986-2242, Japan

    Akihiro Kijima

Authors
  1. Daisuke Takahashi
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  2. Kenji Kaneko
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  3. Yasushi Gomi
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  4. Yuki Minegishi
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  5. Michihiro Shoji
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  6. Hikaru Endo
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  7. Akihiro Kijima
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Correspondence to Daisuke Takahashi.

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Takahashi, D., Kaneko, K., Gomi, Y. et al. Short-term flow fluctuations in Onagawa Bay, Japan, as revealed by long-term mooring observation. J Oceanogr 73, 67–86 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0360-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0360-6

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