Observation of Ocean Mixing induced by Typhoon Soulik West of Jeju Island using Autonomous Underwater Glider

Abstract

The glider was deployed over the Yellow Sea trough west of Jeju Island and east of IORS from August 15 to 25. During this mission, the eye of typhoon Soulik passed within about 25 km of the glider on August 23 at 0700 KST. The IORS measured a minimum pressure of 963 hPa, maximum wind speed of 43 m/s, and maximum significant wave height of 7.2 m. During typhoon Soulik, the glider observed rapid cooling. Surface temperatures dropped 11C, from 27.5C to 16.5C, bottom temperatureincreased by 3C, from 11C to 14C, and a dramatic deepening of the pycnocline from 30 to 70 meters depth. In this study, we present a preliminary analysis of typhoon Soulik and its interaction with this tidally dominated and highly stratified coastal ocean causing a typhoon deintensification by a rapid ocean destratification.