CONSEQUENCES OF THE KUROSHIO PATH FOR HYDRAULIC PHENOMENA AROUND SETO INLAND SEA

Abstract

We examined the physical factors affecting annual and seasonal changes in water quality of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan by using the data measured by several institutions. The observed sea level height (SLH) and sea surface temperature (SST) at Cape Shiono and Cape Ashizuri were influenced by the Kuroshio path. This result suggests that an open boundary condition is sensitive to the annual/seasonal fluctuation of water quality in inland seas.
The water quality in Seto Inland Sea is greatly related with the Kuroshio path. In the recent twenty years, the Kuroshio path changed periodically. The Kuroshio current often takes a meanderings path over 1980's and it tends to come alongside Kii peninsula over 1990's. Also, the salinity distribution in the inland sea changed periodically with the shifts of the Kuroshio path.