Mixed layer in the Sea of Japan: numerical simulation and long-term data analysis

Seasonal variation and topography of the mixed layer in the Sea of Japan are studied by comparison of results from long-term observation data analysis and from numerical simulation with the MHI oceanic model (Shapiro. 1998. Marine Hydrophysical Journal, 6: 26-40). The data are retrieved from Oceanographic A tlas of the Bering Sea, Okhotsk Sea, and Japan/East Sea (Rostov, Rostov, Dmitrieva, et al. 2003. Pacific Oceanography, 1(1):70-72). The simulated and long-term patterns are compared. An impact of surface buoyancy flux, wind, and convergence/divergence of surface currents upon the mixed layer in the Sea of Japan is analyzed.