Oceanic influence on the Baiu frontal zone in the East China Sea
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: A high‐resolution transect of atmospheric soundings across the Kuroshio Current in the East China Sea was conducted onboard a ship in June 2012 with the objective of analyzing the influence of the complex sea surface temperature (SST) distribution on the Baiu frontal zone (BFZ). Expendable bathythermograph castings and continuous surface meteorological observations were also examined. Two distinct mesoscale atmospheric fronts, characterized by changes of wind direction in the lower troposphere and surface air temperature, were found in the BFZ. One (northern) atmospheric front was observed around the SST front in relation to a warm water tongue extending from the Kuroshio. A high SST region around the northern atmospheric front enhances unstable near surface stratification and intensifies turbulent heat flux. They help modify the marine atmospheric boundary layer in the BFZ. The other (southern) atmospheric front was at the southern end of the BFZ. Intense evaporation over the Kuroshio and moisture transport by southerly winds were important in forming the conditionally unstable air masses in the lower troposphere of the BFZ.
DOI: 10.1002/2014jd022234
Institutions: Hirosaki University, Pasco Corporation (Japan), Nagasaki University, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, Japan Meteorological Agency, Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Mie University
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G4737547565
OpenAlex ID: W1963371971