IOC/SC-WESTPAC-XII/8file.iocwestpac.org/WESTPAC-XII/meeting docs/pdf/XII-8-20-rev WG0… · Processes through which internal gravity waves can lead to enhanced mixing, e.g. shear

Restricted Distribution IOC/SC-WESTPAC-XII/8.20 Bangkok, 4 March 2019 English only

INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC COMMISSION (of UNESCO) Twelfth Intergovernmental Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC-XII) Manila, the Philippines, 2-5 April 2019

Item 5.4.2 of the Provisional Agenda

PROGRESS REPORT ON A FRAMEWORK FOR COOPERATIVE STUDIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC MARGINAL

SEAS: ENERGY AND MATERIALS EXCHANGE BETWEEN LAND AND OPEN OCEAN (MAY 2017–APRIL 2019)

(Unedited)

In accordance with Terms of Reference of IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific, the report is provided to facilitate the consideration by the Sub-Commission on the progress made on the WESTPAC Working Group 006 – A framework for cooperative studies in the Western Pacific Marginal Seas: Energy and materials exchange between land and open ocean.

The report presents a summary of the activities and results of the Working Group 006 over the last intersessional period. The Sub-Commission is invited to consider its workplan for the next intersessional period.

IOC/SC-WESTPAC-XII/8.20 page 1

I. Program

1. Working Group 006 - A framework for cooperative studies in the Western Pacific Marginal Seas: Energy and materials exchange between land and open ocean

II. Program objectives and expected outputs/outcomes

2. The goals of this working group are to exchange information and to discuss future cooperative studies. Specific objectives to be achieved via workshops are to 1) share current information of national scientific activities, including current and potential international cooperative research programs around the marginal seas in East and Southeast Asia, 2) exchange information of research cruises in the marginal seas and berths available for cooperative researches, 3) identify potential common interests and develop international cooperative research programs, and 4) exchange information of scientific activities of young-generation scientists in each country, particularly for field studies.

3. Another goal is to establish a framework to continue cooperative research in various fields in the East and Southeast Asian marginal seas. Each country seeks funding to support research in the region. Considering the on-going changes of the ocean, it is necessary for the cooperative research to continue long term, and thus, international relationships between young scientists are important. The most direct recommendation is to create an opportunity to have a workshop conducted by early career scientists.

III. Principal Investigator (Chairperson) and Program Steering Group

Principal Investigator Jing Zhang, University of Toyama, Japan ([email protected])

Program Steering Group Anukul Buranapratheprat, Burapha University, Thailand ([email protected]) Andreas Hutahaean, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Indonesia

([email protected]) Joji Ishizaka, Nagoya University, Japan ([email protected]) Guebuem Kim, Seoul National University, Korea ([email protected]) Jae Hak Lee, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Korea

([email protected]) Ren-Chieh Lien, University of Washington, USA ([email protected]) Xiaopei Lin, Ocean University of China, China ([email protected]) Vyacheslav Lobanov, Pacific Oceanological Institute, Russia ([email protected]) Takeshi Matsuno, Kyushu University, Japan ([email protected]) SungHyun Nam, Seoul National University, Korea ([email protected]) Noor Azhar Mohamed Shazili, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaisia

([email protected]) Olga Trusenkova, Pacific Oceanological Institute, Russia ([email protected]) Cesar Villanoy, University of the Philippines, Philippines ([email protected]) Meixun Zhao, Ocean University of China, China ([email protected])

IV. Terms of Reference of the Program Steering Group

Composition 4. One to three scientists from each country in East/Southeast Asia and the United States, fifteen in total, compose the program steering group. They have various scientific expertise in the fields of marine sciences, such as physical, chemical, biological and paleo oceanography. Most members are interested in field studies in the ocean, because the fundamental objective of this working group is to arrange cooperative research cruises and exchange relevant information.


Function 5. The Steering Group gathers in a workshop held once a year, and exchanges the information about the international cooperative cruises and discusses possible cooperative research in the future, through discussion on common interests. Finding the topics of common interest in the related countries in the WESTPAC area is also a role of the steering group.

6. Another function of the steering group is to encourage international and interdisciplinary relationship of early career scientists, and to nominate candidates from each country, considering scientific fields and gender.

V. Activities carried out during the last intersessional period (May 2017 – April 2019)

7. The first workshop was held in Fukuoka, Japan, on 26 October 2017, where sixteen experts from eight countries in East/Southeast Asia and US gathered. During the workshop, activities and future plans on international cooperative studies in each country were introduced, and research activities were categorized into 5 groups, considering the locations of the marginal seas, that is, Okhotsk Sea(OS), Marginal Seas surrounding Japan, Korea and Russia (MSJKR), East China Sea (ECS), South China Sea (SCS) and material exchange and transport with the Kuroshio, eddies and mixing (ETK). Common research interests in each group were collected, and then further information was exchanged in two sub-sessions for the northern and southern parts of northwestern Pacific region.

8. In the northern area sub-session, a long-term monitoring was proposed as a cooperative study in the central and outer shelf regions of the ECS, named PEACE I and II areas, respectively. Objectives of the monitoring are to understand long-term changes in physical conditions and water quality influenced by Changjiang river-water and Yellow Sea deep water in the ECS. Scientists from Korea, Japan and China could take part in the monitoring every year. Cooperative studies for long-term changes in physical and biogeochemical conditions in association with climate change and human forcing are also expected in the MSJKR, forwhichscientistsfromRussia,KoreaandJapanwouldbeinvolved.

9. In the southern area sub-session, the theme common to Southeast Asia countries is “Material Mixing from Land to Marginal Sea to Open Ocean, including Hypoxia and Eutrophication”. In this sub-session, possibilities of funding for cooperative research cruises and other activities were discussed. Various information for seeking funding was exchanged.

10. During the workshop, information for cooperative cruise plans in the near future was exchanged and submission of proposals for international cooperative research fund was encouraged.

11. After the workshop, members of Program Steering Group were fixed.

12. The second workshop was held in Qingdao, China, on 17 and 18 December 2018, where twenty-eight experts from six countries in the East and Southeast Asia gathered along with a remote participant from US. In the workshop, recent research activities in each sub-group were introduced by the participants. It was reported that various international cooperative research cruises were


carried out in the MSJRK, ECS and Kuroshio region, by scientists from China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, and Russia as well as approval of international cooperative research funds between China and Malaysia, and between US and Japan.

13. During the second workshop, more detailed discussion occurred in two sub-sessions. Two topics, which are chosen from common interests through the sub-groups, were ocean mixing processes associated with internal gravity waves and ocean tracers: regional GEOTRACES activities in the East China Sea and West Pacific Ocean. Both sub-sessions were led by young scientists who were interested in the topics, to progress international scientific relationships in the younger generation.

14. In the sub-session of ocean mixing processes, the following issues were discussed. 1) Processes through which internal gravity waves can lead to enhanced mixing, e.g. shear and/or convective instability, breaking of internal gravity waves on the shallow regime, etc., 2) Regions/areas suitable to observe the processes, 3) Quantities to be measured, 4) Instrumentation necessary for measuring the quantities and 5) Possible collaboration.

15. In the sub-session of regional GEOTRACES activities, it was discussed what we can learn from ocean tracers, particularly in the East China Sea and West Pacific Ocean. Ocean tracers mentioned in the sub-session were 1) Fe, Al, Mn; 2) REEs, Nd isotope; 3) Ra, Rn; 4) Hg; 5) paleo proxies; 6) others.

16. Based on the discussion in both sub-sessions, it was confirmed that participants in the workshop were commonly interested in the material and energy exchange between the marginal seas and open ocean, which is the main theme of this WG, and it was agreed that energy source of vertical mixing, such as topography-induced internal waves, wind-induced near-inertial waves, typhoons, Internal tides, and solitary waves were important to be investigated, as well as understanding of material transport using multi-chemical tracers.

VI. Outputs generated during the intersessional period (May 2017 – April 2019)

17. In the northern area sub-session discussed in the 1st workshop, long-term monitoring sites were proposed as cooperative studies in the marginal seas. One of the monitoring sites is set in the central and outer shelf regions of the ECS, named PEACE I and II areas, respectively. International cooperative cruises were carried out in the area PEACE II. Monitoring of the current velocity started in the central region of the MSJKR. A cruise with cooperating scientists from Japan and the Philippines was carried out in the Luzon Strait to understand the mixing processes, which was discussed in the workshop as one of common interested topics.

18. During the intersessional period, concerning the framework of the WG06, three international cooperative research programs have been approved: 1) US/NSF fund proposed by R.C. Lien of the US/Japan cooperative study on mixing processes in the Kuroshio south of Japan, 2) a joint research program based between Tongji University China and University of Malaysia Terengganu started in April 2018 to study the mechanism of regional climate change, 3) Bilateral Joint Research Project between Japan and China for cooperative research in the ECS supported by JSPS, Japan and NSFC, China.

19. Relationships in the younger generation is built to promote international cooperative research in the near future. Four younger associate members were approved for the Program Steering Group.

IOC/SC-WESTPAC-XII/8.20 page 4 VII. Problems encountered and actions to be considered by the 12th Intergovernmental

Session, scheduled for 2-5 April 2019, Manila, the Philippines

20. -


VIII. Workplan and Budget for May 2019 – April 2021

Program

Funding Required

Remark Activities Objectives Expected outputs/outcomes

Date and place IOC

Other sources (i.e. from

national or international)

WG006 - A framework for cooperative studies in the Western Pacific Marginal Seas: Energy and materials exchange between land and open ocean

3rd workshop Exchange information for cooperative researches based on the common interests discussed in the previous workshop. Promote planning of possible cooperative cruises. Provide an opportunity to encourage early career scientists to progress their relationship.

Expand cooperative research groups and recommend cooperative cruises in the marginal seas. Framework by early career scientists starts for future cooperative researches.

June 2019 in Seoul

8000 USD

Possible but not fixed

4th workshop Confirm common understanding on the energy and material exchange in the marginal seas. Start a few frameworks for cooperative research by early career scientists.

Recommend international cooperative research in the marginal seas, mainly managed by early career scientists.

October 2020

in Toyama

8000 USD

Possible but not fixed

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