Winter 2001 Convection in the Japan Sea

University Of California-San Diego Scripps Inst Of Oceanography, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

Talley/0117271 This project is an experiment conducted as a rapid response to the anomalously cold winter conditions over eastern Siberia. Mid-winter conditions appear to be comparable to those seen in 1976. The goals are to discover the depth to which deep convection penetrates under such conditions in the Sea of Japan, the size of a typical convective patch, and the properties of the dense water formed. The experiment consists of a short cruise into a part of the Sea of Japan south of Vladivostok. The choice of location is based on survey work conducted last winter as part of a large ONR-sponsored experiment in the Japan Sea, recent AVHRR imagery, and recent data from a PALACE float in the Sea of Japan. Deep CTD and bottle casts will be made at approximately 34 stations south of Peter the Great Bay. The endeavor is a collaboration between U.S. and Russian oceanographers.