Site and project name: JAMSTEC Kuroshio Extension Observatory (JKEO)
Position (coordinates):
To the north of Kuroshio Extension, ca 400 km to the east of Japan.
Nominal 38N, 146.5E (Actual Sinker Position: 38- 04.71N, 146-25.14E)
Categories:
Air-sea flux, meteorological, physical, and biogeochemical Observatory
Safety distance for ship operations: 5 miles Short description of JKEO3 (the latest system):
Platforms in use:
A surface mooring buoy K-TRITON developed at JAMSTEC, with slack-line mooring.
Variables measured and depths of the measurements:
Surface: wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, shortwave and longwave
radiations, 1m sea surface temperature and salinity.
Subsurface temperature at nominal depths of 15m*, 20m, 50m*, 100m*, 150m*, 200m, 300m*, 600m*
(*: delayed-mode only by MicroCat)
Subsurface salinity at nominal depths of 15m*, 20m, 50m*, 100m*, 150m*, 300m*, 600m*
(*: delayed-mode only by MicroCat)
Subsurface ocean pressure at nominal depths of 15m*, 50m*, 100m*, 150m*, 200m, 300m*, 600m*
(*: delayed-mode only by MicroCat)
Surface water pCO2 together with temperature and salinity at 1m depth.
Start date of the time-series
18 February, 2007
Service interval (if mooring), sampling interval (if ship-based):
Planned to be replaced every one year
Scientific rationale: (including up to two diagrams if needed)
As the Kuroshio Extension region is the one of the largest heat flux regions in the world, the high quality surface heat flux data there is necessary for better understanding of global climate system. However, due to severe weather condition in winter and large spatial variability accompanied with eddies and strong oceanic front, there is a large difference among various kinds of atmospheric reanalysis data and satellite-based data. Using the in-situ data observed by a surface flux buoy at JKEO-site in the mixed water region between two SST fronts associated respectively with the Oyashio and the Kuroshio Extension together with that at KEO-site to the south of the Kuroshio Extension, we will develop the method estimating high quality sea surface heat flux in the Kuroshio Extension region from the satellite remote sensing data.
Groups / P.I.s /labs /countries involved or responsible:
P.I. for Meteorological and physical elements:
Hiroshi Ichikawa, Dr., Principal Scientist,
Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Research Team,
Ocean Climate Change Research Program,
Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC),
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
2-15 Natsushima-Cho, Yokosuka-City, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
E-mail: ichikawah@jamstec.go.jp
P.I. for CO2 measurement:
Shuichi Watanabe, Dr., Director,
Mutsu Institute for Oceanography (MIO),
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
690 Kitasekine, Sekine, Mutsu-city, Aomori 035-0022
E-mail: swata@jamstec.go.jp
Status: Operating:
The PMEL-based buoy system (JKEO1) was deployed in February 2007 under the collaboration in research with PMEL/NOAA, and replaced in February 2008 by K-TRITON buoy system (JKEO2) developed at JAMSTEC. JKEO2 buoy was recovered in September 2008 after severe damage caused by fisheries activity in May 2008. In November 2008, the repaired K-TRITON buoy system (JKEO3) was deployed and had started again the measurements and data transmission.
Delayed-mode data of meteorological and physical elements from JKEO1 is available publicly both in ASCII and NetCDF format file. Delayed-mode data from JKEO2 is available publicly in ASCII format file, but under preparation in OceanSITES NetCDF format file. Near real-time data of meteorological and physical elements from JKEO3 has been available publicly in ASCII format file, but under preparation in OceanSITES NetCDF format file.
Technology:
Surface mooring with data telemetry
Data policy:
Meteorological and physical elements
Data available in near real-time:
Hourly values and daily-averages of wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, shortwave and longwave radiations, 1m sea surface temperature and salinity, 20m subsurface temperature and salinity, and 200m subsurface temperature and pressure with spot ARGOS positions are updated daily in the web site.
Hourly values of wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, and 1m sea surface temperature are on GTS with WMO ID: 21210.
Post-recovery data immediately available publicly:
All post-recovery data will be available publicly not immediately but within 6 months after the recovery.
Data not wanted on the GTS:
We do not want 20m subsurface temperature and salinity and 200m subsurface temperature on GTS because their measurment depths are not fixed due to the design of slackline mooring system.
Biogeochemical component
Data available in near real-time:
CO2, temperature and salinity every 6 hours (4 times a day) on each other 2 days (every 3 days) will be available publicly and updated at web site every 3 days..
Post-recovery data immediately available publicly:
All post-recovery data will be available publicly not immediately but within 6 months after the recovery.
Data management:
Data Assembly Center (DAC) chosen or suggested/desired:
Japan Oceanographic Data Center (JODC) for subsurface oceanographic data.
Real Time data management and quality control:
Meteorological and physical elements: At PMEL/NOAA for data from February 2007 to March 2008. At
IORGC/JAMSTEC for data later than February 2008 (at RIGC/JAMSTEC from April 2009).
CO2: At PMEL/NOAA for data from February 2007 to March 2008. At MIO/JAMSTEC for data later than
February 2008.
Delayed-mode data management and quality control:
Meteorological and physical elements: At PMEL/NOAA and IORGC/JAMSTEC for data from February
2007 to March 2008. At IORGC/JAMSTEC for data later than February 2008 (at RIGC/JAMSTEC from April 2009).
CO2: At PMEL/NOAA for data from February 2007 to March 2008. At MIO/JAMSTEC for data later than
February 2008.
Societal value / Users / customers:
Dr. Masami Nonaka at Frontier Research Center for Global Change (FRCGC), JAMSTEC, is planning to utilize the meteorological and physical data at JKEO together with numerical model results from the Ocean General Circulation Model for the Earth Simulator (OFES) in the study on the air-sea interaction in the Kuroshio Extension region.
Prof. Masahisa Kubota at Tokai University is using the data in validation of their data set named as ‘Japanese Ocean Flux data sets with Use of Remote sensing Observations 2, J-OFURO2’.
Dr. Eric Schulz at Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research is building a system at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to verify the Bureau’s NWP models with open-ocean air-sea fluxes from JKEO and other moorings by uploading daily average file in OceanSITES NetCDF format.
Contact Person:
for enquiry about addition of instruments or sensors to the site or for possible ancillary measurements during cruises to the site:
for physical elements, Hiroshi Ichikawa (ichikawah@jamstec.go.jp)
for biogeochemical elements, Shuichi Watanabe (swata@jamstec.go.jp)
for information about the site:
Hiroshi Ichikawa (ichikawah@jamstec.go.jp)
for information about the data:
of meteorological and physical elements, Hiroshi Ichikawa (ichikawah@jamstec.go.jp)
of CO2, , Shuichi Watanabe (swata@jamstec.go.jp)
Links / Web-sites:
for Project information:
on meteorological and physical elements, http://www.jamstec.go.jp/iorgc/ocorp/ktsfg/data/jkeo/
on CO2 measurements, http://www.jamstec.go.jp/jamstec-e/mutu/co2/introduction/index.html
for data access:
to meteorological and physical elements,
http://www.jamstec.go.jp/iorgc/ocorp/ktsfg/data/jkeo/JKEOocean_site.htm
to CO2 data set, http://www.jamstec.go.jp/jamstec-e/mutu/co2/data/index.html
Updated by:
Hiroshi Ichikawa, July 2009
Figure 1 The locations of JKEO mooring site over the winter mean SST (color) and ship-based surface latent and sensible heat flux (white contours, Jan. – March mean of COADS data in 1960-1997) together with mooring site of KEO operated by PMEL/NOAA.
Figure 2 Time-series of daily averages of wind speed (top panel), latent heat flux (black line in bottom panel) and sensible heat flux (red line in bottom panel) at JKEO measured by JKEO1 from 18 February 2007 to 25 January 2008, and JKEO2 from 1 March to 27 May 2008.
|
