A sensitivity study of the dense shelf water formation in the Okhotsk Sea
[1] 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.
Surface Heat Budget of the Sea of Okhotsk during 1987-2001 and the Role of Sea Ice on it
The surface heat flux over the Sea of Okhotsk has been calculated from 1987 to 2001 by bulk parameterizations using ECMWF, ISCCP, and GISST data, corrected by COADS data. Sea ice concentration and ice type are incorporated by using an SSM/I open water and thin-ice algorithm to better represent the sea ice conditions. The mean seasonal variation of the net heat flux, averaged over the entire Okhotsk Sea, ranges from a summer maximum of 158 W m � 2 in June (a positive value indicates that the sea or sea ice gains heat form the air), to a winter minimum of � 219 W m � 2 in December. The seasonal geographic distribution of the net heat flux is determined mostly by turbulent (sensible and latent) heat flux. Because of the heat insulating effect of sea ice, the turbulent heat flux and accordingly the net heat flux has the largest variation in winter, particularly in the north region, reflecting the yearly difference of sea ice extent. The geographic distribution of the annual net heat flux shows a distinct contrast, significant cooling of the ocean in the north and net heating of the ocean in the south. This contrast is a result of heat transport by both sea ice and the southward East Sakhalin Current; sea ice formed by obtaining negative latent heat in the north is transported to the south, then it releases the negative latent heat by melting. The annual net heat budget is estimated to be � 22 W m � 2 averaged over the entire sea. The Okhotsk Sea loses heat to the atmosphere on an annual basis, although at least the order of 20 W m � 2 error exists in the estimation. A trial was performed to estimate sea ice production using the heat budget calculation. The results suggest that most of the production occurs in open water and thin ice areas. The highest production area is located over the northwest shelf, within 100 km of the coast.
Influence of Okhotsk Sea Intermediate Water on the Oyashio and North Pacific Intermediate Water
[1] The volume transport between the Okhotsk Sea and western subarctic North Pacific is estimated on the basis of direct current measurements made by a lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) and hydrographic data taken in August and September 1999 near the Kuril Islands. The estimated southwestward Oyashio transport was 11–12 Sv (=106 m3/s) in the density range of 26.7–27.4 σθ. The net transport of the Okhotsk Sea water (OSW) was 3.4 Sv, of which 1.3 Sv was coming out through the Kruzenshterna Strait and 2.1 Sv was coming out through the Bussol' Strait. A bidirectional flow was observed in the Bussol' Strait: inflow in the northern part of the strait and outflow in the southern part; 0.6 Sv of OSW recirculated along the western subarctic gyre. The remaining 2.8 Sv of OSW could contribute to the formation of North Pacific Intermediate Water as a cross-Subarctic Front transport along the coast (1.4 Sv) and across the offshore SAF (1.4 Sv). The production rate of the Dense Shelf Water (DSW) through sea ice formation was estimated to be at least 1.1 Sv. When the intermediate OSW is formed through the mixing between cold and fresh DSW and warm and salty waters from the Pacific and Japan Sea, 16.8 TW (=1012 W) of heat, 0.007 Sv of freshwater, and 2.3 × 105 kg/s of salt are exchanged. The net flux of oxygen and anthropogenic CO2 (ex-CO2) from the Okhotsk Sea into the Pacific in 26.7–27.4 σθ is estimated to be 10.5 and 2.1 Tmol/yr (0.025 GtC/yr), respectively. The ex-CO2 transported by OSW accounts for about 10% of the accumulation of ex-CO2 in the subarctic and subtropical Pacific.