Skip to main content
Log in

Temperature profiling measurements by sea turtles improve ocean state estimation in the Kuroshio-Oyashio Confluence region

  • Published:
Ocean Dynamics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We demonstrate that assimilation of water temperature measurements by sea turtles into an operational ocean nowcast/forecast system improves representation of mesoscale eddies and front variations in the Kuroshio-Oyashio Confluence region. For a period from August to December in 2009, vertical ranges of the measurements by six turtles covered from surface to maximum 150 m depth, and the number of the measurements in the region was comparable to that of usual sampling by research vehicles and profiling floats. Comparison of the turtle measurements and products of an operational ocean nowcast/forecast system JCOPE2M elucidated low-temperature bias in JCOPE2M due to assimilation of high-resolution satellite sea surface temperature data. Additional assimilation of the turtle data into a modified JCOPE2M system with correction of the low-temperature bias led to reasonable modification of horizontal temperature/salinity gradient associated with northward moving warm core rings separating from the Kuroshio Extension and southward moving the Oyashio water intrusion branches. Effects of the turtle data assimilation propagated to far east of the Kuroshio-Oyashio confluence region along the subarctic boundary and front through advection. Another experiment assimilating the in situ profile data excluding the traditional temperature/salinity profiles data but including only the turtle data showed that the turtle measurements captured the warm core rings better than the Oyashio intrusion branches, suggesting possible optimum design of future ocean observing systems composed of different kinds of animals and/or autonomous underwater vehicles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baba M, Nitto H, Nitta A (2000) Satellite tracking of young Steller sea lion off the coast of northern Hokkaido. Fish Sci 66:180–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell MJ, Schiller A, Le Traon PY, Smith NR, Dombrowsky E, Wilmer-Becker K (2015) An introduction to GODAE Ocean View. J Operational Oceanogr 8:s2–s11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carse F, Martin MJ, Sellar A, Blockley EW (2015) Impact of assimilating temperature and salinity measurements by animal-borne sensors on FOAM ocean model fields. Q J R Meteorol Soc 141:2934–2943

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feder T (2000) Argo begins systematic global probing of the upper oceans. Phys Today 53:50–51. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1292477

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer AS, Hall J, Harrison DE, Stammer D, Benveniste J (2010) Conference summary—ocean information for society: sustaining the benefits, realizing the potential in proceedings of OceanObs’09: sustained ocean observations and information for society, vol. 1, Venice, Italy, 21–25 September 2009. In: Hall J, Harrison DE, Stammer D (eds) ESA Publication WPP-306. https://doi.org/10.5270/OceanObs09.Summary

  • Fu LL, Ferrari R (2008) Observing oceanic submesoscale processes from space. Eos Trans AGU 89:488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujii Y, Kamachi M (2003) A reconstruction of observed profiles in the sea east of Japan using vertical coupled temperature-salinity EOF modes. J Oceanogr 59:173–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen DV, Poulain PM (1996) Quality control and interpolation of WOCE-TOGA drifter data. J Atmos Ocean Technol 13:900–909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosoda K, Murakami H, Sakaida F, Kawamura H (2007) Algorithm and validation of sea surface temperature observation using MODIS sensors aboard Terra and Aqua in the western North Pacific. J Oceanogr 63:267–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isoguchi O, Kawamura H, Oka E (2006) Quasi-stationary jets transporting surface warm waters across the transion zone between the subtropical and the subarctic gyres in the North Pacific. J Geophys Res 111:C10003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalnay E, Kanamitsu M, Kistler R, Collins W, Deaven D, Gandin L, Iredell M, Saha S, White G, Woolen J, Zhu Y, Chelliah M, Ebisuzaki W, Higgins W, Janowiak J, Mo KC, Ropelewski C, Wang J, Leetemaa A, Reynolds R, Jenne R, Dennis J (1996) The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 77:437–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kida S, Mitsudera H, Aoki S, Guo X, Ito S, Kobashi F, Komori N, Kubokawa A, Miyama T, Morie R, Nakamura H, Nakamura T, Nakano H, Nishigaki H, Nonaka M, Sasaki H, Sasaki YN, Suga T, Sugimoto S, Taguchi B, Takaya K, Tozuka T, Tsujino H, Usui N (2015) Oceanic fronts and jets around Japan: a review. J Oceanogr 71:469–497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kooyman GL (1965) Techniques used in measuring diving capacity of Weddell seals. Polar Rec 12:391–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kouketsu S, Yasuda I, Hiroe Y (2007) Three-dimensional structure of frontal waves and associated salinity minimum formation along the Kuroshio Extension. J Phys Oceanogr 37:644–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurihara Y, Sakurai T, Kuragano T (2006) Global daily sea surface temperature analysis using data from satellite microwave radiometer, satellite infrared radiometer and in-situ observations (in Japanese). Weather Bull 73:s1–s18

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, McWilliams JC, Ide K, Farrara JD (2015) Coastal ocean data assimilation using a multi-scale three-dimensional variational scheme. Ocean Dyn 65:1001–1015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallett HKW, Boehme L, Fedak M, Heywood KJ, Stevens DP, Roquet F (2018) Variation in the distribution and properties of circumpolar deep water in the eastern Amundsen Sea, on seasonal timescales, using seal-borne tags. Geophys Res Lett 45:4982–4990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mellor GL, Hakkinen S, Ezer T, Patchen R (2002) A generalization of a sigma coordinate ocean model and an inter comparison of model vertical grids. In: Pinardi N, Woods JD (eds) Ocean forecasting: conceptual basis and applications. Springer, New York, pp 55–72

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mitsudera H, Miyama T, Nishigaki H, Nakanowatari T, Nishikawa H, Nakamura T, Wagawa T, Furue R, Fujii Y, Ito S (2018) Low ocean-floor rises regulate subpolar sea surface temperature by forming baroclinic jets. Nat Commun 9:1190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyazawa Y, Zhang RC, Guo X, Tamura H, Ambe D, Lee JS, Okuno A, Yoshinari H, Setou T, Komatsu K (2009) Water mass variability in the Western North Pacific detected in a 15-year eddy resolving ocean reanalysis. J Oceanogr 65:737–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyazawa Y, Murakami H, Miyama T, Varlamov SM, Guo X, Waseda T, Sil S (2013a) Data assimilation of the high-resolution sea surface temperature obtained from the Aqua-Terra satellites (MODIS-SST) using an ensemble Kalman filter. Remote Sens 5:3123–3139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyazawa Y, Masumoto Y, Varlamov SM, Miyama T, Takigawa M, Honda M, Saino T (2013b) Inverse estimation of source parameters of oceanic radioactivity dispersion models associated with the Fukushima accident. Biogeosciences 10:2349–2363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyazawa Y, Yamashita N, Taniyasu S, Yamazaki E, Guo X, Varlamov SM, Miyama T (2014) Oceanic dispersion simulation of perfluoroalkyl substances in the Western North Pacific associated with the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. J Oceanogr 70:535–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyazawa Y, Guo X, Varlamov SM, Miyama T, Yoda K, Ka S, Kano T, Ke S (2015) Assimilation of the seabird and ship drift data in the north-eastern sea of Japan into an operational ocean nowcast/forecast system. Sci Rep 5:17672

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyazawa Y, Varlamov SM, Miyama T, Guo X, Hihara T, Kiyomatsu K, Kachi M, Kurihara Y, Murakami H (2017) Assimilation of high-resolution sea surface temperature data into an operational nowcast/forecast system around Japan using a multi-scale three-dimensional variational scheme. Ocean Dyn 67:713–728

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narazaki T, Sato K, Miyazaki N (2015) Summer migration to temperate foraging habitats and active winter diving of juvenile loggerhead turtles Carretta carreta in the western North Pacific. Mar Biol 162:1251–1263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okuda K, Yasuda I, Hiroe Y, Shimizu Y (2001) Structure of subsurface intrusion of the Oyashio water into the Kuroshio Extension and formation process of the North Pacific Intermediate Water. J Oceanogr 57:121–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palacz AP, Pearlman J, Simmons S, Hill K, Miloslavich P, Telszewski M, Sloyan B, Pearlman F, Bourassa M (2017) Report of the workshop on the Implementation of Multi-disciplinary Sustained Ocean Observations (IMSOO). Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Report No. 223, http://www.goosocean.org/imsoo-report

  • Roquet F, Wunsch C, Forget G, Heimbach P, Guinet C, Reverdin G, Charrassin JB, Bailleul F, Costa DP, Huckstadt LA, Goetz KT, Kovacs KM, Lydersen C, Biuw M, Nost OA, Bomemann H, Ploetz J, Bester MN, McIntyre T, Muelber MC, Hindell MA, McMahon CR, Williams G, Harcourt R, Field IC, Chafik L, Nicholls KW, Boehme L, Fedak MA (2013) Estimates of the southern ocean general circulation improved by animal-borne instruments. Geophys Res Lett 40:6176–6180

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by a research project entitled “Cyber ocean: next generation navigation system on the sea” funded by the CREST program (JPMJCR1685) of Japan Science and Technology Agency. It is also a part of the Japan Coastal Ocean Predictability Experiment (JCOPE) promoted by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). The Ssalto/Duacs altimeter products were produced and distributed by the Copernicus Marine and Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) (http://www.marine.copernicus.eu). Merged Satellite and In-situ Data Global Daily SST (MGDSST) was obtained from the NEAR-GOOS regional real-time data base. The Advance Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) SST data were downloaded from the Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PODAAC) ftp site: ftp://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov. In situ temperature and salinity profiles were obtained from the Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Program (GTSPP) website: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/. Drifting buoys track data were obtained from the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Global Drifter Program website: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/gdp/index.php. Comments from two anonymous reviewers and a handling editor were quite useful for improving earlier versions of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasumasa Miyazawa.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Fanghua Xu

This article is part of the Topical Collection on the 10th International Workshop on Modeling the Ocean (IWMO), Santos, Brazil, 25–28 June 2018

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Miyazawa, Y., Kuwano-Yoshida, A., Doi, T. et al. Temperature profiling measurements by sea turtles improve ocean state estimation in the Kuroshio-Oyashio Confluence region. Ocean Dynamics 69, 267–282 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-018-1238-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-018-1238-5

Keywords

Navigation

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy