Deep convection and brine rejection in the Japan Sea

doi:doi:10.1029/2002GL016451

Abstract

Lynne D. Talley

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

V. Lobanov

V. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

V. Ponomarev

V. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

A. Salyuk

V. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

P. Tishchenko

V. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

I. Zhabin

V. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

S. Riser

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Direct water mass renewal through convection deeper than 1000 m and the independent process of dense water production through brine rejection during sea ice formation occur at only a limited number of sites globally. Our late winter observations in 2000 and 2001 show that the Japan (East) Sea is a part of both exclusive groups. Japan Sea deep convection apparently occurs every winter, but massive renewal of bottom waters through brine rejection had not occurred for many decades prior to the extremely cold winter of 2001. The sites for both renewal mechanisms are south of Vladivostok, in the path of cold continental air outbreaks.

Published 19 February 2003.

Citation: Talley, L. D., V. Lobanov, V. Ponomarev, A. Salyuk, P. Tishchenko, I. Zhabin, and S. Riser (2003), Deep convection and brine rejection in the Japan Sea, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(4), 1159, doi:10.1029/2002GL016451.

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