Observation of the Soya Warm Current using HF ocean radar |
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Authors: | Naoto Ebuchi Yasushi Fukamachi Kay I Ohshima Kunio Shirasawa Masao Ishikawa Toru Takatsuka Takaharu Daibo Masaaki Wakatsuchi |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan |
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Abstract: | Three High Frequency (HF) ocean radar stations were installed around the Soya/La Perouse Strait in the Sea of Okhotsk in order
to monitor the Soya Warm Current (SWC). The frequency of the HF radar is 13.9 MHz, and the range and azimuth resolutions are
3 km and 5 deg., respectively. The radar covers a range of approximately 70 km from the coast. The surface current velocity
observed by the HF radars was compared with data from drifting buoys and shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs).
The current velocity derived from the HF radars shows good agreement with that observed using the drifting buoys. The root-mean-square
(rms) differences were found to be less than 20 cm s−1 for the zonal and meridional components in the buoy comparison. The observed current velocity was also found to exhibit reasonable
agreement with the shipboard ADCP data. It was shown that the HF radars clearly capture seasonal and short-term variations
of the SWC. The velocity of the Soya Warm Current reaches its maximum, approximately 1 m s−1, in summer and weakens in winter. The velocity core is located 20 to 30 km from the coast, and its width is approximately
40 km. The surface transport by the SWC shows a significant correlation with the sea level difference along the strait, as
derived from coastal tide gauge records at Wakkanai and Abashiri.
Deceased. |
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Keywords: | HF radar Soya Warm Current Sea of Okhotsk coastal current |
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