Wind-Driven Vortex-Pair Flows in Funka Bay, Hokkaido in Early Summer
摘要
Coastal currents were observed to try to detect wind-driven vortex-pair flows at four stations in Funka Bay located southwest Hokkaido. In early summer, when southeasterly winds were dominant in the area, leeward currents were observed at 10 m depth at northwest and southeast mooring station (Sts. DA and OT) in the bay, while weak and stagnant currents at the innermost station (St. OS) were observed throughout the mooring periods. At the center of the bay (St. 30), there were mainly windward currents at 80 m depth, but strong northeastward currents were found at 20 m depth. Correlation coefficients between north west components of the currents and southeasterly winds were of the same value for the two coastal stations of St. DA and St. OT, but the response time of the currents for the winds were different at their stations. These observations confirm that a wind-driven vortex-pair in the bay was generated by wind forcing.