Based on absolute geostrophic velocity, which was calculated using repeated hydrographic data of 39 cruises from 2000 to 2009 and nitrate concentrations measured in the same areas from 1964 to 2009, we obtained the temporally averaged nitrate flux (the product of velocity and nitrate concentration) and nitrate transport (integration of flux over one section) of four sections across the Kuroshio from the East China Sea (sections PN and TK) to an area south of Japan (sections ASUKA and 137E). In addition, we examined section OK east of the Ryukyu Islands in order to understand how the Ryukyu Current contributes to the transport of nutrients by the Kuroshio south of Japan. The mean nitrate flux shows a subsurface maximum core with values of 9.6, 10.6, 11.2, 10.5, and 5.7 mol m⁻² s⁻¹ at sections PN, TK, ASUKA, 137E, and OK, respectively. The depth of the subsurface maximum core changes among these five sections and is approximately 400, 500, 500, 400, and 800 m at sections PN, TK, ASUKA, 137E, and OK, respectively. The mean downstream nitrate transport is 204.8, 165.8, 879.3, 1230.4, and 338.6 kmol s⁻¹ at sections PN, TK, ASUKA, 137E, and OK, respectively. The transport of nutrients in these sections suggests the presence of the Kuroshio nutrient stream from its upstream to downstream regions. The deep current structure of the Ryukyu Current (section OK) contributes to the same order of nitrate transport as does the Kuroshio from the East China Sea (section TK) to the area south of Japan; however, the former only has one-fifth the volume transport of the latter. A budget calculation suggests that the downstream increase of transported nitrate along the Kuroshio is mainly caused by the recirculation of nitrate into the Kuroshio. This conclusion, however, depends on water depth. In the upper layers (< 26.5σ_θ), the downstream change of nitrate concentration along the Kuroshio and that from the recirculation of nitrate has a significant contribution to the downstream increase of nitrate transport along the Kuroshio. In the deep layers (> 26.5σ_θ), the change in nitrate concentration is small and the Kuroshio recirculation dominates the downstream increase of nitrate transport.

The subsurface structures of internal solitary waves were observed over two days from 27 to 29 February 2019, by two bottom‐moored coastal acoustic tomography systems over a path length of 18.286 km in the Lombok Strait, Indonesia. One‐way travel times along the transmission path between the acoustic stations were determined for the first three arrival peaks. The resulting three travel times were used to execute a four‐layer (0–50, 150–300, 300–450, and 400–603 m) temperature inversion, constructing an underdetermined problem. The inverted four‐layer temperatures show three positive peaks and two negative peaks during the observation period, implying the sequential passage of internal solitary waves with depressed and elevated interfaces. The generation of these temperature peaks is synchronized with the diurnal tides, and the peak heights decrease with depth. The inverted four‐layer temperatures are in excellent agreement with conductivity‐temperature‐depth data obtained near the acoustic stations.

Temperature variations caused by a typhoon were measured in the northern part of Hiroshima Bay by four coastal acoustic tomography (CAT) systems. The horizontal distributions of depth‐averaged temperature from 0 to 8 m were mapped at 10 min intervals between the 11 and 25 September 2013. The horizontal distributions of a coastal upwelling and the associated diurnal internal tides were reconstructed well by regularized inversion based on the grid segmented method, using one‐way travel time data along five successful sound transmission lines. Station‐to‐station ranges were corrected in such a way that sound speed (determined from one‐way travel time data) was equal to sound speed calculated from a couple of CTD (conductivity‐temperature‐depth) data sets on each transmission line. In addition, all station positions were adjusted to make focal points at the geographical positions of the transducers. The corrections increased the accuracy of temperature measurements to make temperature errors as small as 0.073–0.079°C. The high accuracy made it possible to map the temperature structure with a variation range of less than 0.5°C. An upwelling grew from 16 to 17 September, due to a typhoon‐derived northerly wind. The diurnal internal tide resonated with the semidiurnal external tide, which was pronounced after the upwelling decayed (18 September), around the time the spring tide occurred. The upwelling and mixing fractions were formulated. These fractions increased continuously as the upwelling grew. Complete mixing was observed during the upwelling's mature phase.