Open AccessSynoptic flow structures in the confluence region of the Kuroshio and the Ryukyu Current
Author(s) -
Nagano Akira,
Ichikawa Kaoru,
Ichikawa Hiroshi,
Konda Masanori,
Murakami Kiyoshi
Publication year - 2009
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 - 10.1029/2008jc005213
Subject(s) - china sea , oceanography , submarine pipeline , geology , current (fluid) , confluence , far east , geostrophic wind , east asia , china , water mass , climatology , geography , archaeology , computer science , programming language
In the southeastern region of Kyushu, Japan, the Kuroshio from the East China Sea encounters the Ryukyu Current from the east of the Ryukyu Islands. By analyzing synoptic sections of water properties and geostrophic velocity in August 2004 and October 2005, we distinguished the waters in the Kuroshio southeast of Kyushu to be separated into an offshore region and a shallow onshore one. The onshore water is derived from the East China Sea, while the offshore water originates from both the east of Amami‐Oshima Island and the interior region of the North Pacific. The water mass transport from the east of Amami‐Oshima Island may become equivalent to that of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea as in October 2005. The volume transport–averaged temperature of the Kuroshio southeast of Kyushu is significantly lower than that in the East China Sea because of the confluence with the colder Ryukyu Current east of the Amami‐Oshima Island.