Preface Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Morphology 1.2 Hydrodynamic conditions 1.2. 1 The Kuroshio 1.2. 2 Huanghai 1.2.3 The East China Sea 1.2.4 Taiwan Strait 1.2.5 The PN-line, the TK-line and the Kuroshio transport 1.2.6 The meander of the Kuroshio front 1.2.7 The Korea Strait and Japan Sea 1.2.8 The Kuroshio south of Japan 1.2. 9 The Eddy field east of the Taiwan Island 1.3 Atmosphere conditions 1.4 Recent modelling work on the NEAR-Waters:A simple review Chapter 2 The Model 2.1 A brief introduction of the model 2.2 Model configurations 2. 2.1 Boundary conditions 2.2. 2 Model initialization and modelling strategy Chapter 3 Model validation 3.1 Historic observations of the NEAR-seas 3.1.1 Model validation using hourly sea level data 3.1.2 Model validation using the temperature station data 3.1.3 Model validation using oceanographic observations 3.2 Satellite remote sensing observations of the North East Asia Regional seas 3.2.1 Model validation using the AVHRR Oceans Pathfinder 3. 2.2 Model validation using the AVIS() absolute dynamic topography 3.3 Summary Chapter 4 The Drifter field 4. 1 The WOCE SVP program 4.2 Buoys released in North East Asian Regional seas 4. 3 Surface current features revealed by buoys 4.3.1 The zonal eddy zone along the southern boundary 4. 3.2 The current pattern northeast of Taiwan Island 4. 3.3 The frontal eddies accompanying the Kuroshio in the EastChina Sea 4.3.4 Anticyclonic motions southwest of Kyushu and branching of the Kuroshio there 4.3.5 The water exchange across Ryukyu archipelago 4. 3.6 Eddy field east of Ryukyu archipelago and southeast of Japan 4. 4 The tracer model and the numerically produced tracer field 4.4.1 Simulation of buoys released near the eastern Taiwan Island coast 4. 4. 2 Simulation of buoys released over the East China Shelf 4. 4.3 Simulation of buoys released in Korea Strait 4. 5 Summary Chapter 5 Discussion of the Kuroshio system in the East China Sea 5.1 Model generated climatology of the stream function 5.1.1 General pattern of the stream function field 5.1.2 EOF analysis of the monthly mean streamfunction 5.2 Simulated transport across channels in the NEAR-seas 5.2. 1 The climatological channel transports 5.2.2 The monthly transport across selected channels and their variations 5.3 Analysis of the velocity fields in the East China Shelf 5.3.1 Sections across channels 5.3.2 Sections surrounding the East China Shelf 5.3. 3 Sections near northeastern coast of the Taiwan Island 5.3.4 PN-section and sections of origin, ation of the Tsushima Current 5.4 Summary Chapter 6 Discussion of the temperature and salinity fields 6.1 Introduction: Climate signals in the Pacific 6.2 Model generated sea surface climatological fields 6.3 Long-term variations of surface fields across the PN section 6.4 Distribution of temperature and salinity along the PN section 6.5 Model simulated Huanghai Bottom Cold Water in summertime 6.6 Summary Chapter 7 Discussion of the Joint Effect of Baroclinicity and Relief (JEBAR) 7.1 Introduction to JEBAR 7.2 Interpretation of the JEBAR-term by vorticity derivations 7.3 Distribution of JEBAR-term in NEAR-Seas 7.3.1 A simple review of JEBAR research in the NEAR-Seas 7. 3.2 JEBAR distribution in the NEAR-Seas 7.4 Summary Chapter 8 Summary and outlook List of abbreviations List of symbols References Acknowledgements