Date of Award

Spring 5-2012

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Marine Science

Committee Chair

Dmitri Nechaev

Committee Chair Department

Marine Science

Committee Member 2

Stephan Howden

Committee Member 2 Department

Marine Science

Committee Member 3

Vladimir Kamenkovich

Committee Member 3 Department

Marine Science

Abstract

Mode water in the Sea of Japan (SOJ) is associated with anti-cyclonic eddies that form in the quasi-stationary meanders of the offshore Tsushima Warm Current. Previous work in this region has shown free-running, advanced ocean models are able to capture the physical processes that generate mode water; however, data assimilation is seen to ,I have a negative impact. A 3.5km resolution Regional Navy Coastal Ocean Model is used to assess the ability of a data-assimilating model to reproduce the mode water structure in the SOJ. The model's response to the assimilation of in-situ and synthetic profiles, derived from remotely sensed surface measurements, demonstrates that the model has difficulty recreating and retaining mode water beyond a single forecast run. The model's shortfall occurs because the climatological data, used to derive the synthetic profiles, are too coarse to capture the seasonal mode water evolution of the meander eddies. Two data analysis methods, EOF analysis and multi-variate regression analysis, are utilized to recreate synthetic profiles in the mean locations of the meander eddies during peak mode water occurrence months.

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