Seasonal and interannual variations in the East Sakhalin current revealed by TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data |
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| Authors: | Naoto Ebuchi |
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| Institution: | (1) Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Seasonal and interannual variations in the East Sakhalin Current (ESC) are investigated using ten-year records of the sea
level anomaly (SLA) observed by the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimeter. The T/P SLA clearly documents seasonal and interannual
variations in the ESC along the east coast of Sakhalin Island, although sea ice masks the region from January to April. Estimates
of surface current velocity anomaly derived from T/P SLA are in good agreement with drifting buoy observations. The ESC is
strong in winter, with a typical current velocity of 30–40 cm s−1 in December, and almost disappears in summer. Southward flow of the ESC is confined to the shelf and slope region and consists
of two velocity cores. These features of the ESC are consistent with short-term observations reported in previous studies.
Analysis of the ten-year records of T/P SLA confirms that the structure of the ESC is maintained each winter and the seasonal
cycle is repeated every year, although the strength of the ESC shows large interannual variations. Seasonal and interannual
variations in the ESC are discussed in relation to wind-driven circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk, using wind stress and wind
stress curl fields derived from European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis data and a scatterometer-derived
wind product. Seasonal and interannual variations of the anticyclonic eddy in the Kuril Basin are also revealed using T/P
SLA. |
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| Keywords: | East Sakhalin Current Sea of Okhotsk TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimetry |
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