Seasonal variation of energetics in deep water of the East/Japan Sea

Overturning deep circulation in the ocean redistributes the energy between low and high latitudes, and it plays an important role in global climate change. The deep circulation and its energetics in the East/Japan Sea (EJS), which is considered as a “miniature ocean”, might be crucial implication in understanding the deep circulation in the ocean. Few direct measurements have been conducted to understand the deep circulation in EJS. They implied a cyclonic circulation and its seasonal variation in the deep layer. Previous studies using models suggested that deep circulation and its seasonal variation are closely related to the energetics than external forcings. But energetics in the EJS has not been well clarified. In this study, High resolution ROMS (Regional Ocean Modelling System) with 1/30˚ horizontal resolution, 40 vertical layers is used to investigate the seasonal variation of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) and mean kinetic energy (MKE) in the EJS. The horizontal distribution of energies and its seasonal variation will be presented.