Cold Season Features Of The Japan Sea Coastal Zone
More than a hundred ERS SAR images were analyzed to investigate the features of wind regime and surface circulation in the Japan Sea during the winter monsoon season. Most of the images cover the northwestern portion of the sea. 35 of them were eliminated from the analysis due to strong winds. Backg...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.20.6448 http://earth.esa.int/pub/ESA_DOC/gothenburg/186mitni.pdf |
| Summary: | More than a hundred ERS SAR images were analyzed to investigate the features of wind regime and surface circulation in the Japan Sea during the winter monsoon season. Most of the images cover the northwestern portion of the sea. 35 of them were eliminated from the analysis due to strong winds. Background radar characteristics on the rest images varied from practically uniform when the marine boundary layer of the atmosphere was stable or neutral to highly variable when the boundary layer was unstable. Dynamics and thermal factors were responsible for formation of radar signatures of oceanic phenomena such as eddies and fronts. Sometimes the location of radar signatures were correlated with the thermal boundaries of eddies. These signatures had both positive and negative contrast against the background, probably, due to the change of angle between sensing direction and current direction. In December-March sea surface temperature derived from NOAA AVHRR and in situ data varied here from --1.8 to + 3-5C. Thermal contrasts were associated with eddies and streamers in the subarctic frontal zone and also near coast where sea ice formation took place. The oceanic radar signatures were also detected in the areas without clear thermal features. Probable detection of SAR signatures of deep ocean convection is discussed. The differences in radar signatures allowed us to distinguish the imprints of oceanic phenomena against variable background. |
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