Using a 1.5 layer nonlinear shallow-water reduced-gravity model, we executed numerical simulations to investigate the possibility of a western boundary current (WBC) path transition due to mesoscale eddies based on th...Using a 1.5 layer nonlinear shallow-water reduced-gravity model, we executed numerical simulations to investigate the possibility of a western boundary current (WBC) path transition due to mesoscale eddies based on the background of the Kuroshio intrusion into the South China Sea (SCS) from the Luzon Strait. Because the WBC existed different current states with respect to different wind stress control parameters, we chose three steady WBC states (loop current, eddy shedding and leaping) as the background flow field and simulated the path transition of the WBC due to mesoscale eddies. Our simulations indicated that either an anticyclonic or cyclonic eddy can lead to path transition of the WBC with different modes. The simulation results also show that the mesoscale eddies can lead to path transition of the WBC from loop and eddy shedding state to leaping state because of the hysteresis effect. The leaping state is relatively stable compared with the mesoscale eddies. Moreover, an anticyclonic eddy is more effective in producing the WBC path transition for the path transition than a cyclonic eddy. Our results may help to explain some phenomena observed regarding the path transition of the Kuroshio due to the mesoscale eddies at the Luzon Strait.展开更多
This study focuses on the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea(SCS). An automatic eddy detection method,based on the geometry of velocity vectors,was adopted to ...This study focuses on the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea(SCS). An automatic eddy detection method,based on the geometry of velocity vectors,was adopted to obtain an eddy dataset from 21 years of satellite altimeter data. Analysis revealed that the number of anticyclonic eddies was nearly equal to cyclonic eddies; in the SCS,cyclonic eddies are generally stronger than anticyclonic eddies and anticyclonic eddies are larger and longer-lived than cyclonic eddies. Anticyclonic eddies tend to survive longer in the spring and summer,while cyclonic eddies have longer lifetimes in the autumn and winter. The characteristics and seasonal variations of eddies in the SCS are strongly related to variations in general ocean circulation,in the homogeneity of surface wind stress,and in the unevenness of bottom topography in the SCS. The spatial and temporal variation of mesoscale eddies in the SCS could,therefore,be an important index for understanding local hydrodynamics and regional climate change.展开更多
Since the 2000 s,extratropical extremes have been more frequent,which are closely related to anomalies of planetary-scale and synoptic-scale systems.This study focuses on a key synoptic system,the extratropical cyclon...Since the 2000 s,extratropical extremes have been more frequent,which are closely related to anomalies of planetary-scale and synoptic-scale systems.This study focuses on a key synoptic system,the extratropical cyclonic vortex(ECV)over land,to investigate its relations with extreme precipitation.It was found that ECVs have been more active post-2000,which has induced more extreme precipitation,and such variation is projected to persist along with increasing temperature within 1.5℃of global warming.An enhanced quasi-stationary vortex(QSV)primarily contributes to the ECV,rather than inactive synoptic-scale transient eddies(STEs).Inactive STEs respond to a decline in baroclinicity due to the tendency of the homogeneous temperature gradient.However,such conditions are helpful to widening the westerly jet belt,favoring strong dynamic processes of quasi-resonant amplification and interaction of STEs with the quasi-stationary wave,and the result favors an increasing frequency and persistence of QSVs,contributing to extreme precipitation.展开更多
Mesoscale eddies exist almost everywhere in the ocean and play important roles in the ocean circulation of the world. These eddies may cause sound spread singular regions and bring great influences to the upwater ship...Mesoscale eddies exist almost everywhere in the ocean and play important roles in the ocean circulation of the world. These eddies may cause sound spread singular regions and bring great influences to the upwater ship and underwater aircraft. Due to the lack of hydrographic survey datasets, study of mesoscale eddies has been greatly restricted. Fortunately, satellite altimeter provided an effective way to study mesoscale eddies. An automatic detection algorithm is introduced to detect mesoscale eddies of specific intensity and spatial/temporal scale based on satellite sea surface height(SSH) data and the algorithm is applied in a strong eddy activity region: the South China Sea and the Northwest Pacific. The algorithm includes four steps. The first step is preprocessing of the SSH image, which includes elimination of error SSH data and interpolation. The second step is to detect suspected mesoscale eddies from preprocessed SSH images by dynamic threshold adjustment and morphological method, and the suspected mesoscale eddy detection includes two procedures: suspected mesoscale eddy core region detection and suspected mesoscale eddy brim extraction. The third step is to pick out mesoscale eddies satisfied with specified criteria from suspected mesoscale eddies. The criteria include three items, that is, intensity criterion, spatial scale, criterion and temporal scale criterion. The last step is algorithm performance analysis and verification. The algorithm has the capability of adaptive parameter adjustment, and can extract mesoscale eddies of interested intensity and spatial/temporal scale. The paper can provide a basis for analyzing space-time characteristics of mesoscale eddy in the South China Sea and the Northwest Pacific.展开更多
We used a two-dimensional quasi-geostrophic barotropic model simulation to study effects of an initial brows-like meso-scale vortex on tropical cyclone (TC) track. Our results show that the impact of each of the three...We used a two-dimensional quasi-geostrophic barotropic model simulation to study effects of an initial brows-like meso-scale vortex on tropical cyclone (TC) track. Our results show that the impact of each of the three foundational factors (the environ- mental current, the asymmetric structure and the asymmetric convection system) on TC track varies with time and the im- portance of each of the factors is different for the different TC motion time period. They show two kinds of the effects. One is a direct way. The asymmetric outer wind structure and the positive longitudinal wind speed averaged in radial-band (100-300) km in the period of (0-11) h are caused by the introduction of the initial brows-like meso-scale vortex, which results in TC track to turn to the north from the northwest directly. The other is an indirect influence. First, initial TC axisymmetric circula- tion becomes a non-axisyrnmetric circulation after the addition of the meso-scale vortex. The initial non-axisymmetric circula- tion experiences an axisymmetrizational process in the period of (0-11) h. Second, axisymmetrizationed TC horizontal size is enlarged after t=-12 h. Third, both the TC asymmetric structure and the TC energy dispersion induced-anticyclone are intensi- fied, which quickens the TC motion and results in the track to turn to the north indirectly. The TC motion is characterized by the unusual track under the direct and the indirect effect. The formation of the unusual track should be attributed to the com- mon effects of three factors, including the environmental flow, the TC asymmetric structure and the asymmetric convection system.展开更多
The three-dimensional structure of mesoscale eddies in the western tropical Pacific(6°S–20°N, 120°E–150°E)is investigated using a high-resolution ocean model simulation. Eddy detection and eddy t...The three-dimensional structure of mesoscale eddies in the western tropical Pacific(6°S–20°N, 120°E–150°E)is investigated using a high-resolution ocean model simulation. Eddy detection and eddy tracking algorithms are applied to simulated horizontal velocity vectors, and the anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies identified are composited to obtain their three-dimensional structures. The mean lifetime of all long-lived eddies is about 52 days, and their mean diameter is 147 km. Two typical characteristics of mesoscale eddies are revealed and possible dynamic explanations are analyzed. One typical characteristic is that surface eddies are generally separated from subthermocline eddies along the bifurcation latitude(~13°N) of the North Equatorial Current in the western tropical Pacific, which may be associated with different eddy energy sources and vertical eddy energy fluxes in subtropical and tropical gyres. Surface eddies have maximum swirl velocities of 8–9 cm s^(-1) and can extend to about 1500 m depth. Subthermocline eddies occur below 200 m, with their cores at about 400–600 m depth, and their maximum swirl velocities can reach 10 cm s^(-1). The other typical characteristic is that the meridional velocity component of the eddy is much larger than the zonal component. This characteristic might be due to more zonal eddy pairs(two eddies at the same latitude),which is also supported by the zonal wavelength(about 200 km) in the high-frequency meridional velocity component of the horizontal velocity.展开更多
基金Supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX1-YW-12, KZCX2-YW-201)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 90411013)the National High Technology Research and Development Program (863 Program) of China (No. 2007AA092201)
文摘Using a 1.5 layer nonlinear shallow-water reduced-gravity model, we executed numerical simulations to investigate the possibility of a western boundary current (WBC) path transition due to mesoscale eddies based on the background of the Kuroshio intrusion into the South China Sea (SCS) from the Luzon Strait. Because the WBC existed different current states with respect to different wind stress control parameters, we chose three steady WBC states (loop current, eddy shedding and leaping) as the background flow field and simulated the path transition of the WBC due to mesoscale eddies. Our simulations indicated that either an anticyclonic or cyclonic eddy can lead to path transition of the WBC with different modes. The simulation results also show that the mesoscale eddies can lead to path transition of the WBC from loop and eddy shedding state to leaping state because of the hysteresis effect. The leaping state is relatively stable compared with the mesoscale eddies. Moreover, an anticyclonic eddy is more effective in producing the WBC path transition for the path transition than a cyclonic eddy. Our results may help to explain some phenomena observed regarding the path transition of the Kuroshio due to the mesoscale eddies at the Luzon Strait.
基金Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China(863 Program)(No.2013AA09A505)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.U1133001)the NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers Grant(No.U1406401)
文摘This study focuses on the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea(SCS). An automatic eddy detection method,based on the geometry of velocity vectors,was adopted to obtain an eddy dataset from 21 years of satellite altimeter data. Analysis revealed that the number of anticyclonic eddies was nearly equal to cyclonic eddies; in the SCS,cyclonic eddies are generally stronger than anticyclonic eddies and anticyclonic eddies are larger and longer-lived than cyclonic eddies. Anticyclonic eddies tend to survive longer in the spring and summer,while cyclonic eddies have longer lifetimes in the autumn and winter. The characteristics and seasonal variations of eddies in the SCS are strongly related to variations in general ocean circulation,in the homogeneity of surface wind stress,and in the unevenness of bottom topography in the SCS. The spatial and temporal variation of mesoscale eddies in the SCS could,therefore,be an important index for understanding local hydrodynamics and regional climate change.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41975083)。
文摘Since the 2000 s,extratropical extremes have been more frequent,which are closely related to anomalies of planetary-scale and synoptic-scale systems.This study focuses on a key synoptic system,the extratropical cyclonic vortex(ECV)over land,to investigate its relations with extreme precipitation.It was found that ECVs have been more active post-2000,which has induced more extreme precipitation,and such variation is projected to persist along with increasing temperature within 1.5℃of global warming.An enhanced quasi-stationary vortex(QSV)primarily contributes to the ECV,rather than inactive synoptic-scale transient eddies(STEs).Inactive STEs respond to a decline in baroclinicity due to the tendency of the homogeneous temperature gradient.However,such conditions are helpful to widening the westerly jet belt,favoring strong dynamic processes of quasi-resonant amplification and interaction of STEs with the quasi-stationary wave,and the result favors an increasing frequency and persistence of QSVs,contributing to extreme precipitation.
文摘Mesoscale eddies exist almost everywhere in the ocean and play important roles in the ocean circulation of the world. These eddies may cause sound spread singular regions and bring great influences to the upwater ship and underwater aircraft. Due to the lack of hydrographic survey datasets, study of mesoscale eddies has been greatly restricted. Fortunately, satellite altimeter provided an effective way to study mesoscale eddies. An automatic detection algorithm is introduced to detect mesoscale eddies of specific intensity and spatial/temporal scale based on satellite sea surface height(SSH) data and the algorithm is applied in a strong eddy activity region: the South China Sea and the Northwest Pacific. The algorithm includes four steps. The first step is preprocessing of the SSH image, which includes elimination of error SSH data and interpolation. The second step is to detect suspected mesoscale eddies from preprocessed SSH images by dynamic threshold adjustment and morphological method, and the suspected mesoscale eddy detection includes two procedures: suspected mesoscale eddy core region detection and suspected mesoscale eddy brim extraction. The third step is to pick out mesoscale eddies satisfied with specified criteria from suspected mesoscale eddies. The criteria include three items, that is, intensity criterion, spatial scale, criterion and temporal scale criterion. The last step is algorithm performance analysis and verification. The algorithm has the capability of adaptive parameter adjustment, and can extract mesoscale eddies of interested intensity and spatial/temporal scale. The paper can provide a basis for analyzing space-time characteristics of mesoscale eddy in the South China Sea and the Northwest Pacific.
基金supported by,National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.40775038,40875031,40975036 and 40730948)Wuxi Research Center for Environment Science and Technology
文摘We used a two-dimensional quasi-geostrophic barotropic model simulation to study effects of an initial brows-like meso-scale vortex on tropical cyclone (TC) track. Our results show that the impact of each of the three foundational factors (the environ- mental current, the asymmetric structure and the asymmetric convection system) on TC track varies with time and the im- portance of each of the factors is different for the different TC motion time period. They show two kinds of the effects. One is a direct way. The asymmetric outer wind structure and the positive longitudinal wind speed averaged in radial-band (100-300) km in the period of (0-11) h are caused by the introduction of the initial brows-like meso-scale vortex, which results in TC track to turn to the north from the northwest directly. The other is an indirect influence. First, initial TC axisymmetric circula- tion becomes a non-axisyrnmetric circulation after the addition of the meso-scale vortex. The initial non-axisymmetric circula- tion experiences an axisymmetrizational process in the period of (0-11) h. Second, axisymmetrizationed TC horizontal size is enlarged after t=-12 h. Third, both the TC asymmetric structure and the TC energy dispersion induced-anticyclone are intensi- fied, which quickens the TC motion and results in the track to turn to the north indirectly. The TC motion is characterized by the unusual track under the direct and the indirect effect. The formation of the unusual track should be attributed to the com- mon effects of three factors, including the environmental flow, the TC asymmetric structure and the asymmetric convection system.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41576014 & 41330963)the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2013CB956202)+1 种基金the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA11010101)the National Natural Science Foundation of China-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (Grant No. U1406401)
文摘The three-dimensional structure of mesoscale eddies in the western tropical Pacific(6°S–20°N, 120°E–150°E)is investigated using a high-resolution ocean model simulation. Eddy detection and eddy tracking algorithms are applied to simulated horizontal velocity vectors, and the anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies identified are composited to obtain their three-dimensional structures. The mean lifetime of all long-lived eddies is about 52 days, and their mean diameter is 147 km. Two typical characteristics of mesoscale eddies are revealed and possible dynamic explanations are analyzed. One typical characteristic is that surface eddies are generally separated from subthermocline eddies along the bifurcation latitude(~13°N) of the North Equatorial Current in the western tropical Pacific, which may be associated with different eddy energy sources and vertical eddy energy fluxes in subtropical and tropical gyres. Surface eddies have maximum swirl velocities of 8–9 cm s^(-1) and can extend to about 1500 m depth. Subthermocline eddies occur below 200 m, with their cores at about 400–600 m depth, and their maximum swirl velocities can reach 10 cm s^(-1). The other typical characteristic is that the meridional velocity component of the eddy is much larger than the zonal component. This characteristic might be due to more zonal eddy pairs(two eddies at the same latitude),which is also supported by the zonal wavelength(about 200 km) in the high-frequency meridional velocity component of the horizontal velocity.