Comparing the steric height in the Nordic Seas with satellite altimeter sea surface height

In this study the steric height anomaly which is calculated from the hydrological data （EN3） is compared with the sea level anomaly derived from satellite altimetry in the Nordic Seas. The overall pattern of steric height is that it is higher in the margin area and lower in the middle area. The extreme values of steric height linear change from 1993 to 2010 occur in the Lofoten Basin and off the Norwegian coast, respectively. Such a distribution may be partly attributed to the freshening trend of the Nordic Seas. The correlation between SLA （sea level anomaly） and SHA （steric height anomaly） is not uniform over the Nordic Seas. The time series of SLA and SHA agree well in the Lofoten Basin and northern Norwegian Basin, and worse in the northern Norwegian Sea, implying that the baroclinic effect plays a dominant role in most areas in the Norwegian Sea and the barotropic effect plays a dominant role in the northern Norwegian Sea. The weaker correlations between SLA and SHA in the Greenland and Iceland Seas lead a conclusion that the barotropic contribution is significant in these areas. The area-mean SHA over the entire Nordic Seas has similar amplitudes compared with the SLA during 1996-2002, but SHA has become lower than SLA, being less than half of SLA since 2006.

Slowdown of sea surface height rises in the Nordic seas and related mechanisms

A slowdown of sea surface height （SSH） rise occurred in the Nordic （GIN） seas around 2004. In this study, SSH satellite data and constructed steric height data for the decades before and after 2004 （i.e., May 1994 to April 2014） were used for comparative analysis. The findings indicate that the rate of slowdown of SSH rises in the GIN seas （3.0 mm/a） far exceeded that of the global mean （0.6 mm/a）. In particular, the mean steric height of the GIN seas increased at a rate of 4.5 mm/a and then decreased at a slower pace. This was the main factor responsible for the stagnation of the SSH rises, while the mass factor only increased slightly. The Norwegian Sea particularly experienced the most prominent slowdown in SSH rises, mainly due to decreased warming of the 0-600 m layer. The controlling factors of this decreased warming were cessation in the increase of volume of the Atlantic inflow and stagnation of warming of the inflow. However, variations in air-sea thermal flux were not a major factor. In the recent two decades, mean halosteric components of the GIN seas decreased steadily and remained at a rate of 2 mm/a or more because of increased flow and salinity of the Atlantic inflow during the first decade, and reduction in freshwater inputs from the Arctic Ocean in the second decade.

Relative contributions of temperature and salinity to steric sea level over the South China Sea

The relative contributions of surface temperature and salinity to steric sea-level variations are investigated using satellite observations and reanalysis datasets.By defi ning a contribution factor,the relative roles of thermal and haline steric height variations are quantifi ed over the South China Sea(SCS).The thermosteric height dominates the steric sea level variation in the northern SCS deep basin,while the contribution of the halosteric height increases southward.Further investigation reveals that this transition is related to the meridional imbalance of surface heat flux and precipitation variations.The revealed steric constitution distribution is not confi ned to the surface but extends within the upper layer to approximately 50m depth,and then the thermosteric component dominates from the depth underneath.The results of this study clarify the steric sea level constitution over the SCS,benefit the understanding of sea-level variations at the regional scale,and may further facilitate multisensor remote sensing data mining studies.

南海海面高度季节变化规律及机制探讨

利用POP模式对南海海面高度(SSH)、环流的季节变化进行了数值模拟,并将模拟得到的海面高度和比容高度(SSL)分别与TOPEX/Poseidon(T/P)高度和Ishii(2005)温盐资料算得的比容高度进行比较。结果表明,本文较好的模拟了南海海面高度和比容高度的季节变化。海面高度和比容高度在冬季和夏季、春季和秋季的空间变化形态相反。动力高度(DSL)与模拟得到的环流结构对应。冬季,吕宋冷涡和越南南部沿岸流转向形成的逆时针环流对应两个低值中心,南海西岸由于Ekman输运海水向岸堆积使西岸动力高度达到全年最高值;夏季,越南沿岸流转向形成的顺时针环流对应高值中心,东岸动力高度相对较高,西岸动力高度达到全年最低值。在南海周边海区动力高度对总的海面高度的贡献非常大,特别是越南、广东沿岸和泰国湾,约为80%~90%。在深水海区,尤其是主要的高值中心和低值中心,动力高度的贡献虽仍比比容高度的贡献大,而其对总的海面变化的贡献却只有50%~60%,这几乎与比容高度的贡献的40%~50%相当。

The water mass variability and southward shift of the Southern Hemisphere mid-depth supergyre

The Southern Hemisphere subtropical supergyre at intermediate depths connects all three ocean basins and plays a significant role in responding and conveying the climate-change-related variations in the glob- al ocean. On the basis of the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation/SODA） ocean reanalysis, the thermohaline variability and southward shift of the mid-depth supergyre are demonstrated. The steric height of the sub- surface relative to 1 500 m （400-1 500 m） from the SODA depicts exactly the flow patterns and variability of the oceanic supergyre. During 1958-2007 the water masses in the gyre interiors become cooler/fresher, with the significant exceptions of the Agulhas Current system and Agulhas leakage. The results also exhibit a pronounced strengthening of the inter-basin connection of the supergyre, and the strongest southward shift, by about 2.5° over the whole period, occurs in the central-south Pacific, which is associated with the changes in the basin-scale wind forcing.

基于卫星测高资料的班达海海平面季节及年际变化研究

本文基于法国空间局AVISO提供的格点化绝对动力地形(MADT:maps of absolute dynamic topography)资料,分析了1993年1月—2013年12月班达海(Banda Sea)海平面的季节和年际变化特征。班达海海面高度的季节变化主要表现为12月到翌年4月西北季风盛行时较高,7月到10月东南季风盛行时较低,全年变化幅度为16.5cm;班达海东部近阿拉弗拉海(Arafuru Sea)与西南部近弗洛勒斯海(Flores Sea)海平面随季风转换表现出"跷跷板"形态。海平面的变化受比容海平面变化和海水质量变化共同调制,其中比容海面高度季节变化振幅为14cm左右,约占海平面变化的84%,并且班达海比容海平面的季节性空间分布与总体海平面具有明显的一致性,因此比容海平面的变化是造成班达海海平面季节变化的主要原因;而风生Ekman流引起的海水堆积会影响班达海东北部的海平面高度。年际尺度上,班达海海平面与ENSO事件密切相关,月平均海面高度异常EOF分解第一模态方差贡献率高达96%,第一模态时间序列(PC1)滞后Ni?o3.4指数1个月左右时相关系数达到–0.76,远超过95%置信度水平;相比之下,IOD事件对班达海海平面的影响较小,PC1与印度洋偶极子指数(DMI)之间的最大相关系数仅为–0.3,低于95%置信度水平。并且月平均比容海平面异常和动力地形异常之间的差异在ENSO事件期间显著增大,表明ENSO事件引起的平流输送在班达海海平面高度年际变化中起到重要作用。

利用海洋温度剖面与海表盐度反演盐度剖面方法研究

为解决海洋中大量观测数据只含有温度剖面而缺乏盐度观测的问题,基于历史观测的温盐剖面资料,考虑到盐度卫星数据的发展,采用回归分析方法,在孟加拉湾建立了盐度与温度、经纬度、表层盐度的关系,并对不同反演方法的反演结果进行检验评估。结果发现,在不引入海表盐度(sea surface salinity,SSS)时,最佳反演模型是温度、温度的二次项与经纬度确定的回归模型,而SSS的引入则可以进一步优化反演结果。将反演结果与观测结果进行对比,显示用反演的盐度剖面计算的比容海面高度误差超过2cm,而引入SSS后的误差低于1.5cm。SSS的引入能够较为真实地反映海洋盐度场的垂直结构和内部变化特征,既能够捕捉到对上混合层有重要影响的SSS信号,又能够反映盐度在跃层上的季节内变化以及盐度障碍层的季节变化。水团分析显示,与气候态相比,盐度反演结果可以更好地表征海洋上层水团的变化特征。

太平洋热、盐比容高度对比容高度的影响

为了理解太平洋区域热、盐比容高度与比容高度之间的相关关系,利用2000—2010年太平洋区域的简单海洋数据集(SODA)计算出热、盐比容高度与比容高度,采用非线性典型相关分析法(NLCCA),对热、盐比容高度与比容高度的相关性进行分析。研究发现:在太平洋区域,热比容高度对比容高度的季节及年际变化信号有显著影响,两者存在较强的线性关系,热比容高度主要影响赤道区域;盐比容高度则主要影响比容高度的长期变化趋势,对短周期的信号影响不显著;盐比容高度与比容高度之间的非线性关系较强,其影响区域主要集中在南太平洋。