The global project of the Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography （ARGO） provides a unique opportunity to observe the absolute velocity in mid-depths of the world oceans. A total of 1597 velocity vectors at 10...The global project of the Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography （ARGO） provides a unique opportunity to observe the absolute velocity in mid-depths of the world oceans. A total of 1597 velocity vectors at 1000 （2000） db in the tropical Pacific derived from the ARGO float position information during the period November 2001 to October 2004 are used to evaluate the intermediate currents of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis. To derive reliable velocity information from ARGO float trajectory points, a rigorous quality control scheme is applied, and by virtue of a correction method for reducing the drift error on the surface in obtaining the velocity vectors, their relative errors are less than 25%. Based on the comparisons from the quantitative velocity vectors and from the space-time average currents, some substantial discrepancies are revealed. The first is that the velocities of the reanalysis at mid-depths except near the equator are underestimated relative to the observed velocities by the floats. The average speed difference between NCEP and ARGO values ranges from about -2.3cm s^-1 to -1.8 cm s^-1. The second is that the velocity difference between the ocean model and the observations at 2000 dB seems smaller than that at 1000 dB. The third is that the zonal flow in the reanalysis is too dominant so that some eddies could not be simulated, such as the cyclonic eddy to the east of 160°E between 20°N and 30°N at 2000 dB. In addition, it is noticeable that many floats parking at 1000 dB cannot acquire credible mid-depth velocities due to the time information of their end of ascent （start of descent） on the surface in the trajectory files. Thus, relying on default times of parking, descent and ascent in the metadata files gravely confines their application to measuring mid-depth currents.展开更多
The circulation in the Shikoku Basin plays a very important role in the pathway of the Kuroshio and the water exchange in the subtropical gyre in the North Pacific Ocean. The Argo profiling floats deployed in the Shik...The circulation in the Shikoku Basin plays a very important role in the pathway of the Kuroshio and the water exchange in the subtropical gyre in the North Pacific Ocean. The Argo profiling floats deployed in the Shikoku Basin are used to study the circulations and water masses in the basin. The trajectories and parking depth velocity fields derived from all Argo floats show an anticyclonic circulation at 2 000 m in the Shikoku Basin. There are inhanced eddy activities in the Shikoku Basin, which have large influence on the Shikoku Basin circulation patterns. The characteristics of temperature - salinity curves indicate that there are North Pacific Ocean tropical water （NPTW）, North Pacific Ocean subtropical mode water （NPSTMW） and North Pacific Ocean intermediate water （NPIW） in the Shikoku Basin. The NPTW is only exists south of 32°N. In the middle part of the basin, which is 28°～31°N,133°～135°E, there is a confluence region. Water masses coming from the Kuroshio mix with the water in the Shikoku Basin.展开更多
Analysis of Argo float trajectories at 1 000 m and temperature at 950 m in the North Atlantic between November 2003 and January 2005 demonstrates the existence of two different circulation modes with fast transition b...Analysis of Argo float trajectories at 1 000 m and temperature at 950 m in the North Atlantic between November 2003 and January 2005 demonstrates the existence of two different circulation modes with fast transition between them. Each mode has a pair of cyclonic - anticyclonic gyres. The difference is the location of the cyclonic gyre. The cyclonic gyre stretches from southeast to northwest in the first mode and from the southwest to the northeast in the second mode. The observed modes strongly affect the heat and salt transport in the North Atlantic. In particular, the second mode slows down the westward transport of the warm and saline water from the Mediterranean Sea.展开更多
基金This research is supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(Contract No.40437017 and 40225015).
文摘The global project of the Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography （ARGO） provides a unique opportunity to observe the absolute velocity in mid-depths of the world oceans. A total of 1597 velocity vectors at 1000 （2000） db in the tropical Pacific derived from the ARGO float position information during the period November 2001 to October 2004 are used to evaluate the intermediate currents of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis. To derive reliable velocity information from ARGO float trajectory points, a rigorous quality control scheme is applied, and by virtue of a correction method for reducing the drift error on the surface in obtaining the velocity vectors, their relative errors are less than 25%. Based on the comparisons from the quantitative velocity vectors and from the space-time average currents, some substantial discrepancies are revealed. The first is that the velocities of the reanalysis at mid-depths except near the equator are underestimated relative to the observed velocities by the floats. The average speed difference between NCEP and ARGO values ranges from about -2.3cm s^-1 to -1.8 cm s^-1. The second is that the velocity difference between the ocean model and the observations at 2000 dB seems smaller than that at 1000 dB. The third is that the zonal flow in the reanalysis is too dominant so that some eddies could not be simulated, such as the cyclonic eddy to the east of 160°E between 20°N and 30°N at 2000 dB. In addition, it is noticeable that many floats parking at 1000 dB cannot acquire credible mid-depth velocities due to the time information of their end of ascent （start of descent） on the surface in the trajectory files. Thus, relying on default times of parking, descent and ascent in the metadata files gravely confines their application to measuring mid-depth currents.
文摘The circulation in the Shikoku Basin plays a very important role in the pathway of the Kuroshio and the water exchange in the subtropical gyre in the North Pacific Ocean. The Argo profiling floats deployed in the Shikoku Basin are used to study the circulations and water masses in the basin. The trajectories and parking depth velocity fields derived from all Argo floats show an anticyclonic circulation at 2 000 m in the Shikoku Basin. There are inhanced eddy activities in the Shikoku Basin, which have large influence on the Shikoku Basin circulation patterns. The characteristics of temperature - salinity curves indicate that there are North Pacific Ocean tropical water （NPTW）, North Pacific Ocean subtropical mode water （NPSTMW） and North Pacific Ocean intermediate water （NPIW） in the Shikoku Basin. The NPTW is only exists south of 32°N. In the middle part of the basin, which is 28°～31°N,133°～135°E, there is a confluence region. Water masses coming from the Kuroshio mix with the water in the Shikoku Basin.
基金The Naval Postgraduate School and the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Analysis of Argo float trajectories at 1 000 m and temperature at 950 m in the North Atlantic between November 2003 and January 2005 demonstrates the existence of two different circulation modes with fast transition between them. Each mode has a pair of cyclonic - anticyclonic gyres. The difference is the location of the cyclonic gyre. The cyclonic gyre stretches from southeast to northwest in the first mode and from the southwest to the northeast in the second mode. The observed modes strongly affect the heat and salt transport in the North Atlantic. In particular, the second mode slows down the westward transport of the warm and saline water from the Mediterranean Sea.
