Development of the observation system of three-dimensional small-scale flow structures: Fill the observation gap between sub-mesoscale and turbulence

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25707036
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Meteorology/Physical oceanography/Hydrology
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: NAKAMURA Tomohiro 北海道大学, 低温科学研究所, 講師 (60400008)
• Research Collaborator: SHIMODA Chikara ; KURODA Hiroshi ; FUJITA Kazuyuki
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 海洋物理 / 乱流 / サブメソスケール / 内部波 / 微細流動構造

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Mixing is a fundamental factor in oceanography, as it controls the transport of heat and dissolved materials in the ocean together with ocean circulation. However, the actual state and nature of small-scale three-dimensional structures (horizontal scales < O (1 km)), which drives mixing, have been obscured by the lack of means of observation. This study is the first achievement of observing such small-scale structures. For this end, we devised and developed an observation system of small-scale three-dimensional flow structures. With this system, we observed small-scale structures of transitional processes toward turbulence from the breaking of large-amplitude internal waves or sub-mesoscale eddies in the Kuril Straits and Oyashio region.

Free Research Field

海洋物理