Seasonal upwelling underneath the Tsushima Warm Current along the Japanese shelf slope

Seasonal upwelling variations are examined in the eastward coastal boundary branches of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC). The climatological pattern and the fundamental hydrographic structure of the seasonal appearance of cold water are revealed by analyzing the temperature profile data around the Japanese shelf area. Seasonal maps of temperature at the intermediate layer around 200 m depth show the rise of the main pycnocline along the Japanese coast due to seasonal subsurface cooling from May to September. The cold water areas appear around the strong curvature in the continental shelf break. These areas are confined to the south of the TWC thermal front, i.e., to the coastal boundary region. The seasonal appearance of the localized cooling areas implies that the seasonal upwelling is induced by horizontal variations in shelf topography and the intensifying TWC from May to September.