OBSERVATION OF CONVERGENCE, DIVERGENCE AND SINKING VELOCITY AT A THERMOHALINE FRONT IN THE KII-CHANNEL, JAPAN

Detailed Row structure around a thermohaline front in the Kii Channel, Japan, was observed for the first time with the use of an 130 kHz Aco ustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Surface water converged with co unter-clockwise motion at the interface between cold coastal water and warm offshore water. After sinking, these waters diverged with a cloc kwise motion, forming skirt-like distributions in the lower layer belo w the front. The maximum surface convergence and sinking velocity were 2.0 x 10(-4) s(-1) and 0.25 cm s(-1), respectively. These observation s and our results substantiate previous numerical studies. (C) 1996 El sevier Science Ltd