Open AccessA sensitivity study of the dense shelf water formation in the Okhotsk Sea
Author(s) -
Sasajima Y.,
Hasumi H.,
Nakamura T.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2009jc005697
Subject(s) - submarine pipeline , geology , formation water , oceanography , sea ice , wind stress , horizontal resolution , environmental science , climatology , petroleum engineering
Sensitivity of Dense Shelf Water (DSW) formation to tidal mixing around the Kuril Straits, wind stress, and river runoff in the Okhotsk Sea is examined by an ice‐ocean coupled model. Horizontal resolution of the model is set to 3–8 km in the northern Okhotsk Sea for well resolving the coastal polynyas which is believed to be the principal region of DSW formation. The model shows a good performance in terms of sea ice production and the consequent DSW formation. DSW is also found to be formed in the offshore region apart from the coastal polynya. DSW is defined independently for each experiment such that it identifies the water influenced by brine. By introducing such definition the sensitivity of the DSW formation is assessed separately for change of density and that of formation rate. The density of DSW exhibits high sensitivity to all the elements considered herein, while its formation rate is sensitive only to winds. Winds affect the DSW formation rate mainly by influencing that occurs in the offshore region.