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Characteristics of an atypical large-meander path of the Kuroshio current south of Japan formed in September 2017

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Abstract

Since September 2017, the Kuroshio has taken a large-meander (LM) path in the region south of Japan. We examined characteristics of the 2017–present LM path in comparison with previous LM paths, using tide gauge, altimetric sea surface height, and bottom pressure data. The 2017–present LM path was formed from a path passing through a channel south of Hachijo-jima Island, while a typical LM path originated from a path through a channel north of Miyake-jima Island. The meander trough of this atypical path was found to be shifted far to the east and to vary on a timescale of months. These characteristics are different from those of a typical LM path but they are similar to those of the 1981–1984 LM path. Therefore, we identified two types of LM path; a stable and unstable LM paths. The 2017–present unstable type large meander has a zonal scale greater than that of the 2004–2005 stable type large meander and protrudes from the eastern boundary of the Shikoku Basin, i.e., Izu-Ogasawara Ridge. No significant bottom pressure depression was observed, associated with the formation of the 2017–present LM path, indicating that baroclinic instability was not important in the formation of this LM path. Due to no significant bottom steering, even during the 2017–present LM period, a mesoscale current path disturbance occurred southeast of Kyushu, propagated eastward, and amplified the offshore displacement of the Kuroshio.

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Notes

  1. This term does not mean that any meanders do not occur in the NLM periods. Rather, smaller scale (mesoscale) disturbances of the current path occur more frequently than LM periods, described as follows.

  2. We deployed instruments in July 2017 with the intention of recovering them in August 2018, but because we have not recovered them yet owing to severe typhoons, the data are not included in this analysis.

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Acknowledgements

OBP data were obtained as part of “Research project for compound disaster mitigation on the great earthquakes and tsunamis around the Nankai trough region,” a project of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The authors thank Prof. S Fujio (Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo) for kindly providing tide gauge data publicly browsable through the web site of the Ocean Variability Dynamics Group, Department of Physical Oceanography of AORI (https://ovd.aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/tides/). The authors express gratitude to Prof. K. Ichikawa (Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University) for providing a suggestion on how to use near-real-time SSH data and Ms. K. Taniguchi (JAMSTEC) for correcting the manuscript. Also, the authors are deeply grateful to the Editor-in-Chief (Dr. Wu-Cheng Chi, Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica) and anonymous reviewers for encouraging and constructive comments. This work was partly supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (15H04228, 17K05660).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Center for Global Change (RCGC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan

    Akira Nagano

  2. Disaster Prediction Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Yusuke Yamashita

  3. Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    Takuya Hasegawa

  4. Research and Development Center for Earthquake and Tsunami, JAMSTEC, Yokosuka, Japan

    Keisuke Ariyoshi & Hiroyuki Matsumoto

  5. Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Masanao Shinohara

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  1. Akira Nagano
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  2. Yusuke Yamashita
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  4. Keisuke Ariyoshi
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Correspondence to Akira Nagano.

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Nagano, A., Yamashita, Y., Hasegawa, T. et al. Characteristics of an atypical large-meander path of the Kuroshio current south of Japan formed in September 2017. Mar Geophys Res 40, 525–539 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-018-9372-5

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