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A unique characteristic by the Kuroshio off the southern coast of Japan is its bimodal path variations. In contrast to its straight path that follows the coastline, the Kuroshio takes a large meander (LM) path when its axis detours southward by as much as 300 km. Since 1950, eight Kuroshio LM events took place and their occurrences appeared random. By synthesizing available in situ/satellite observations and atmospheric reanalysis product, this study seeks to elucidate processes conducive for the LM occurrence. We find neither changes in the inflow Kuroshio transport from the East China Sea nor in the downstream Kuroshio Extension dynamic state are determinant factors. Instead, intense anticyclonic eddies with transport > 20 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) emanated from the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) are found to play critical roles in interacting with Kuroshio path perturbations southeast of Kyushu that generate positive relative vorticities along the coast and lead the nascent path perturbation to form a LM. Occurrence of this intense cyclonic–anticyclonic eddy interaction is favored when surface wind forcing over the STCC is anticyclonic during the positive phasing of Pacific decadal oscillations (PDOs). Such wind forcing strengthens the meridional Ekman flux convergence and enhances eddy generation by the STCC, and seven of the past eight LM events are found to be preceded by 1–2 years by the persistent anticyclonic wind forcings over the STCC. Rather than a fully random phenomenon, we posit that the LM occurrence is regulated by regional wind forcing with a positive PDO imprint.

Decadal modulations of the Kuroshio Extension (KE) system between a stable and an unstable dynamic state in the western North Pacific have prevailed in the past three decades. This dominance of decadal variations is controlled by the negative feedback loop involving the wind-forced KE variability and its feedback onto the overlying extratropical storm tracks and the basin-scale surface wind field. The wind-forced decadal KE modulations were disrupted in August 2017 due to the development of the Kuroshio large meander south of Japan. By forcing the inflow KE paths northward and by avoiding overriding the shallow Izu Ridge, the Kuroshio large meander was able to compel the KE to change rapidly from the wind-forced, pre-existing, unstable state to a stable state. Following the large meander occurrence in late 2017, the stabilized KE change is found to affect the overlying storm tracks and the basin-scale wind field the same way as those generated by the wind-forced KE change prior to 2017. Given the consistent atmospheric response to both the large-meander-induced and wind-forced KE variability, we expect that the KE dynamic state will resume its decadal modulation after the phase reset relating to the 2017 large meander event.

Ocean circulation receives its energy input at basin scales while dissipates at microscopic mixing scale. How this energy is transferred across different lengthscales is of paramount importance for understanding the ocean circulation equilibration and variability. Advancement in high-resolution numerical simulations in recent years has significantly improved our understanding of kinetic energy (KE) cascades from basin to kilometer scales, although observational evidence to verify the simulated processes remains limited. Using repeat ship-board velocity measurements along 165°E across the equatorial, subtropical and subarctic Pacific Ocean, we show that the length scale separating the inverse and forward cascades, L_S, falls in the 8 ∼ 300 km range and it does not scale straightforwardly with the baroclinic deformation radius. Balanced and unbalanced oceanic motions co-exist in this range but contribute oppositely to the directional energy cascades. L_S is observed to depend on the relative strengths of these motions, as well as by their interaction.

The M2 internal tide field contains waves of various baroclinic modes and various horizontal propagation directions. This paper presents a technique for decomposing the sea surface height (SSH) field of the multimodal multidirectional internal tide. The technique consists of two steps: first, different baroclinic modes are decomposed by two-dimensional (2D) spatial filtering, utilizing their different horizontal wavelengths; second, multidirectional waves in each mode are decomposed by 2D plane wave analysis. The decomposition technique is demonstrated using the M2 internal tide field simulated by the MITgcm. This paper focuses on a region lying off the U.S. West Coast ranging 20°–50°N, 220°–245°E. The lowest three baroclinic modes are separately resolved from the internal tide field; each mode is further decomposed into five waves of arbitrary propagation directions in the horizontal. The decomposed fields yield unprecedented details on the internal tide’s generation and propagation, which cannot be observed in the harmonically fitted field. The results reveal that the mode-1 M2 internal tide in the study region is dominantly from the Hawaiian Ridge to the west but also generated locally at the Mendocino Ridge and continental slope. The mode-2 and mode-3 M2 internal tides are generated at isolated seamounts, as well as at the Mendocino Ridge and continental slope. The Mendocino Ridge radiates both southbound and northbound M2 internal tides for all three modes. Their propagation distances decrease with increasing mode number: mode-1 waves can travel over 2000 km, while mode-3 waves can only be tracked for 300 km. The decomposition technique may be extended to other tidal constituents and to the global ocean.

Reconstructability of upper-ocean vertical velocity w and vorticity ζ fields from high-resolution sea surface height (SSH) data is explored using the global 1/48° horizontal-resolution MITgcm output in the context of the forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. By decomposing w with an omega equation of the primitive equation system and by taking into account the measurement design of the SWOT mission, this study seeks to reconstruct the subinertial, balanced w and ζ signals. By adopting the effective surface quasigeostrophic (eSQG) framework and applying to the Kuroshio Extension region of the North Pacific, we find that the target and reconstructed fields have a spatial correlation of ~0.7 below the mixed layer for w and 0.7–0.9 throughout the 1000-m upper ocean for ζ in the error-free scenario. By taking the SWOT sampling and measurement errors into account, the spatial correlation is found to decrease to 0.4–0.6 below the mixed layer for w and 0.6–0.7 for ζ, respectively. For both w and ζ reconstruction, the degradation due to the SWOT errors is more significant in the surface layer and for smaller-scale signals. The impact of errors lessens with the increasing depth and lengthening horizontal scales.

Low-frequency resonance may seriously threaten the stable operation of a long-distance ultra-high-voltage-direct-current (UHVDC) system. In this paper, the impedance model of long-distance UHVDC systems was analyzed for various disturbances. For different disturbances, the positions of voltage sources in the simulated DC loop are different. Taking the first ±1100-kV DC power transmission project with a length of 2688 km as an example, the frequency characteristics of the DC-loop impedance were studied using the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation platform. The effects of various operating modes and the firing angle of the converters on impedance–frequency characteristics of the DC loop were discussed. The effect of the length of DC transmission lines on the DC-loop resonant frequency was studied. The distance is the most important factor determining the system low-frequency resonance. Faults in an AC grid, such as phase-to-phase short-circuit and single-phase faults, are shown to produce 50-Hz positive sequence harmonics on the AC side and 100-Hz disturbances in the DC loop. Two methods of mitigating low-frequency resonance were proposed and the effects simulated. Installation of the blocking filter in the neutral bus of the converter station can reduce the amplitude of the resonance overvoltage.

The transition scale Lt from balanced geostrophic motions to unbalanced wave motions, including near-inertial flows, internal tides, and inertia–gravity wave continuum, is explored using the output from a global 1/48° horizontal resolution Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) simulation. Defined as the wavelength with equal balanced and unbalanced motion kinetic energy (KE) spectral density, Lt is detected to be geographically highly inhomogeneous: it falls below 40 km in the western boundary current and Antarctic Circumpolar Current regions, increases to 40–100 km in the interior subtropical and subpolar gyres, and exceeds, in general, 200 km in the tropical oceans. With the exception of the Pacific and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean, the seasonal KE fluctuations of the surface balanced and unbalanced motions are out of phase because of the occurrence of mixed layer instability in winter and trapping of unbalanced motion KE in shallow mixed layer in summer. The combined effect of these seasonal changes renders Lt to be 20 km during winter in 80% of the Northern Hemisphere oceans between 25° and 45°N and all of the Southern Hemisphere oceans south of 25°S. The transition scale’s geographical and seasonal changes are highly relevant to the forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. To improve the detection of balanced submesoscale signals from SWOT, especially in the tropical oceans, efforts to remove stationary internal tidal signals are called for.

Rather than a single and continuous boundary current outflow, long-term satellite observations reveal that the Oyashio Extension (OE) in the North Pacific Subarctic Gyre comprises two independent, northeast–southwest-slanted front systems. With a mean latitude along 40°N, the western OE front exists primarily west of 153°E and is a continuation of the subarctic gyre western boundary current. The eastern OE front, also appearing along 40°N, is located between 153° and 170°E, whose entity is disconnected from its western counterpart. During 1982–2016, both of the OE fronts exhibit prominent decadal fluctuations, although their signals show little contemporaneous correlation. An upper-ocean temperature budget analysis based on the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, phase II (ECCO2), state estimate reveals that the advective temperature flux convergence plays a critical role in determining the low-frequency temperature changes relating to the OE fronts. Specifically, the western OE front variability is controlled by the decadal mesoscale eddy modulations in the upstream Kuroshio Extension (KE). An enhanced eddy activity increases the poleward heat transport and works to strengthen the western OE front. The eastern OE front variability, on the other hand, is dictated by both the meridional shift of the KE position and the circulation intensity change immediately north of the eastern OE. Different baroclinic adjustment speeds for the KE and OE are found to cause the in-phase changes between these latter two processes. Lack of contemporaneous correlation between the decadal western and eastern OE variability is found to be related to the interaction of the meridionally migrating KE jet with the Shatsky Rise near 159°E.

The zinc-oxide (ZnO) varistor is widely used to limit the overvoltage in the power systems, and its quality is closely related to the safety of the entire protected system. In this paper, accelerated aging experiments under different current levels were carried out on the ZnO varistors to study the harmonic characteristics of the leakage currents in the aging process. It is found that the proportions of higher order harmonics in leakage currents increase faster after several impulse tests and then a sudden decrease appears before the varistor fails, which is caused by the decrease of the varistor voltage. And based on this, a new criterion for the aging of the ZnO varistor is put forward.

Previous studies have found that the decadal variability of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the upstream Kuroshio Extension is negatively correlated with the jet strength, which seems counterintuitive at first glance because linear stability analysis usually suggests that a stronger jet would favor baroclinic instability and thus lead to stronger eddy activities. Using a time-varying energetics diagnostic methodology, namely, the localized multiscale energy and vorticity analysis (MS-EVA), and the MS-EVA-based nonlinear instability theory, this study investigates the physical mechanism responsible for such variations with the state estimate from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), Phase II. For the first time, it is found that the decadal modulation of EKE is mainly controlled by the barotropic instability of the background flow. During the high-EKE state, violent meanderings efficiently induce strong barotropic energy transfer from mean kinetic energy (MKE) to EKE despite the rather weak jet strength. The reverse is true in the low-EKE state. Although the enhanced meander in the high-EKE state also transfers a significant portion of energy from mean available potential energy (MAPE) to eddy available potential energy (EAPE) through baroclinic instability, the EAPE is not efficiently converted to EKE as the two processes are not well correlated at low frequencies revealed in the time-varying energetics. The decadal modulation of barotropic instability is found to be in pace with the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation but with a time lag of approximately 2 years.

Numerical studies indicate that interactions between ocean internal gravity waves (especially those

ZnO varistors with high energy absorption capability and aging stability were fabricated. The main prescriptions of ZnO varistors include 94.09 mol%ZnO, 1.0 mol%Bi 2 O 3 , 0.75 mol%MnO 2 , 1.0 mol%Co 2 O 3 , 0.5 mol%Cr 2 O 3 , 1.0 mo.%Sb 2 O 3 , 1.2 mol%SiO 2 , 0.1 mol%Al 2 O 3 , and 0.36 mol%Ga 2 O 3 . The varistors maintained a large voltage gradient and a high nonlinearity. AC accelerated aging test performed under 0.9 U 1 mA at 115 °C with 1000 h showed that the ZnO varistors were stable. The varistors without being aged were in good condition after being struck 18 times by a 400 A square wave energy pulse. The absorption energy was more than 327 J/cm 3 and the degradation rate coefficient ( K t ) was 0.04. These values are suitable for manufacturing 1000 kV ultra-high voltage surge arresters.

Interannual and longer timescale variations of the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) in the western Pacific are investigated using the multi-decade (1960-2014) hindcast by the Ocean general circulation model for the Earth Simulator (OFES). The OFES-simulated sea level and upper ocean circulation changes show favorable comparisons with available tide gauge data and repeat hydrographic surveys along the 137oE meridian. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis reveals that the low-frequency NECC variability is dominated by two distinct modes. The first mode fluctuates interannually and shows strengthening and southward migration of the NECC concurrent with the development of El Nino events. Unlike the extra-tropical western Pacific Ocean circulation variability controlled by wind forcing west of the dateline, the interannual NECC variations are forced by equatorial wind forcing cumulative across the entire Pacific basin. The second mode of the NECC variability has a inter-decadal timescale and is characterized by NECC's progressive weakening in strength, migrating poleward, and broadening in width over the past 50 years. These long-term changes in NECC are caused by the corresponding changes in the trade wind system that weakened and expanded poleward in the past half a century across the Pacific basin. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Utilizing the framework of effective surface quasigeostrophic (eSQG) theory, this study explores the potential of reconstructing the 3D upper-ocean circulation structures, including the balanced vertical velocity w field, from high-resolution sea surface height (SSH) data of the planned Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission. Specifically, the authors utilize the 1/30°, submesoscale-resolving, OFES model output and subject it to the SWOT simulator that generates the along-swath SSH data with expected measurement errors. Focusing on the Kuroshio Extension region in the North Pacific where regional Rossby numbers range from 0.22 to 0.32, this study finds that the eSQG dynamics constitute an effective framework for reconstructing the 3D upper-ocean circulation field. Using the modeled SSH data as input, the eSQG-reconstructed relative vorticity ζ and w fields are found to reach a correlation of 0.7–0.9 and 0.6–0.7, respectively, in the 1000-m upper ocean when compared to the original model output. Degradation due to the SWOT sampling and measurement errors in the input SSH data for the ζ and w reconstructions is found to be moderate, 5%–25% for the 3D ζ field and 15%–35% for the 3D w field. There exists a tendency for this degradation ratio to decrease in regions where the regional eddy variability (or Rossby number) increases.

This paper studied how to improve the high-impulse current discharge capability of ZnO varistors by doping with gallium oxide. In particular, the current–voltage characteristics under small and upturn current characteristics were examined. In the small current region, the gallium dopant is available to improve the surface state density and the potential barrier, which inhibits the leakage current from increasing and leads to the improvement of the stability of ZnO varistors in operation. In the upturn region, the gallium dopant makes the I–V curve shift right, so the nonlinearity region is extended and the impulse current discharge capability of ZnO varistors is greatly improved. High-performance ZnO varistor ceramics with optimal compositions were obtained under 0.42 mol% Ga 2 O 3 ; their nonlinearity coefficient and voltage gradient under 1 mA reached 80 and 432 V/mm, respectively. This finding is helpful for dramatically improving the protective effect of surge protection devices assembled with ZnO varistors as the core element in electrical systems and greatly increasing the safety of electrical systems.

This paper deals with the electrical characteristics of rare-earth-doped ZnO varistor ceramics. Multiple donor dopants (Al3+, Ga3+, and Y3+) were employed to improve the comprehensive performance of ZnO varistor ceramics. The leakage current of rare-earth-doped ZnO varistor ceramics decreased noticeably with Ga2O3 dopants. The Ga3+ dopant occupies the defect sites of grain boundaries and increases the barrier potential of ZnO varistor ceramics, so the leakage current is effectively inhibited. Y2O3 is primarily located around the grains, which restrains ZnO grain growth, increasing the voltage gradient. The Al3+ goes into the lattices of ZnO grains, decreasing the grain resistance; thus, the residual voltage ratio can be controlled at low levels under a high impulse current. With the combined incorporation of Al3+, Ga3+, and Y3, excellent electrical properties of ZnO varistor ceramics can be acquired with a nonlinearity coefficient of 87, voltage gradient of 517 V/mm, leakage current of 0.96 μA/cm2, and residual voltage ratio of 1.60. These rare multiple donor dopants can aid in engineering high-quality ZnO varistors.

Internal gravity waves (IGWs) and balanced motions (BMs) with scales < 100‐km capture most of the vertical velocity field in the upper ocean. They have, however, different impacts on the ocean energy budget, which explains the need to partition motions into BMs and IGWs. One way is to exploit the synergy of using different satellite observations, the only observations with global coverage and a reasonable spatial and temporal resolution. But we need first to characterize and understand their signatures on the different surface oceanic fields. This study addresses this issue by using an ocean global numerical simulation with high‐resolution (1/48o). Our methodology is based on the analysis of the 12,000 frequency‐wavenumber spectra to discriminate these two classes of motions in the surface kinetic energy, Sea Surface Height, Sea Surface Temperature, Sea Surface Salinity, relative vorticity, and divergence fields and for two seasons. Results reveal a complex picture worldwide of the partition of motions between IGWs and BMs in the different surface fields, depending on the season, the Hemisphere, low and high eddy kinetic energy regions. But they also highlight some generic properties on the impact of these two classes of motions on the different fields. This points to the synergy of using present and future satellite observations to assess the ocean kinetic energy on a global scale. The 12,000 frequency‐wavenumber spectra represent a World Ocean Atlas of the surface ocean dynamics not fully exploited in the present study. We hope the use of this World Ocean Atlas by other studies will lead to extend much these results. Plain Language Summary Motivation of partitioning surface oceanic motions with scales < 100 km into two classes, balanced motions (BMs) and internal gravity waves (IGWs), is that they are known to have different impacts on the ocean kinetic budget although they share the same range of spatial and temporal scales. Satellite observations are the only ones with a global coverage to capture oceanic surface motions. Our motivation of exploiting the synergy of using all these observations is that these two classes of motions can have different signatures on each of these observations. The results reveal a complex picture worldwide of the partition of motions between IGWs and BMs in the different surface fields, depending on the season, the Hemisphere, low and high eddy kinetic energy regions. But they also highlight some generic properties on the impact of these two classes of motions on the different fields. This emphasizes the strong synergy of using present and future satellite observations to diagnose this partition on a global scale. The results can be of interest for Earth Science community because of their consequences on the ocean kinetic energy budget, the physical‐biological interactions, and the air‐sea interactions.

Seasonal eddy kinetic energy (EKE) variability and its associated eddy energy conversion processes in the western tropical Pacific are investigated using satellite altimeter observations and a global, eddy-resolving, ocean general circulation model (OGCM). Both the altimeter-observed sea surface height anomalies and the OGCM simulation show an area with enhanced EKE east of the Mindanao Island centered around 133°E and 5°N. This enhanced EKE area corresponds to the location of the quasi-stationary meander of the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) and is bordered to the south by the Halmahera Eddy. The mesoscale EKE in this area exhibits a clear seasonality, strong in summer (July–August) and weak in winter (November–January), and much of this seasonality is confined to the upper 200 m layer. An investigation into the upper ocean eddy energetics based on the OGCM simulation reveals that the areal barotropic eddy energy conversion rate has an annual cycle similar to the EKE variations, while the areal baroclinic eddy energy conversion is found to be much smaller that the barotropic conversion rate and exhibits no clear seasonal changes. This indicates that the EKE variations are largely controlled by barotropic conversion of the seasonally varying regional circulation. By examining the seasonal background circulation changes, we find that the amplification of the barotropic eddy energy conversion rate in July–August is related to the seasonal evolution of the Mindanao Current and the New Guinea Coastal Current that amplifies the curvature and amplitude of the quasi-stationary meander of the NECC and results in an elevated EKE level through increased regional barotropic conversion.

Regional sea level trend and variability in the Pacific Ocean have often been considered to be induced by low-frequency surface wind changes. This study demonstrates that significant sea level trend and variability can also be generated by eddy momentum flux forcing due to time-varying instability of the background oceanic circulation. Compared to the broad gyre-scale wind-forced variability, the eddy-forced sea level changes tend to have subgyre scales and, in the North Pacific Ocean, they are largely confined to the Kuroshio Extension region (30°–40°N, 140°–175°E) and the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) region (18°–28°N, 130°–175°E). Using a two-layer primitive equation model driven by the ECMWF wind stress data and the eddy momentum fluxes specified by the AVISO sea surface height anomaly data, the relative importance of the wind- and eddy-forced regional sea level trends in the past two decades is quantified. It is found that the increasing (decreasing) trend south (north) of the Kuroshio Extension is due to strengthening of the regional eddy forcing over the past two decades. On the other hand, the decreasing (increasing) sea level trend south (north) of the STCC is caused by the decadal weakening of the regional eddy momentum flux forcing. These decadal eddy momentum flux changes are caused by the background Kuroshio Extension and STCC changes in connection with the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) wind pattern shifting from a positive to a negative phase over the past two decades.

Comprehensive study of the impulse corona characteristics is helpful to understand the transient process and guarantee a suitable insulation design of power transmission systems. In this paper, first the attenuation and deformation characteristics of lightning overvoltage traveling along a 500 kV experimental transmission line are tested. Then the lightning impulse corona characteristics on different bundled conductors commonly used in the 110–1000 kV power transmission lines are experimentally investigated, the impulse corona Q – V data measured in the corona cage is transformed into those on the corresponding overhead lines. The influence of bundle geometry on corona is analyzed. Attenuation and deformation effects of lightning impulse corona along transmission lines are evaluated by comparing the simulation and test results. Simulation shows the amplitude and wave-front steepness attenuate remarkably, and the deformation of the voltage mainly happens when the impulse voltage exceeds the corona inception one.

With radar interferometry, the next-generation Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite mission will improve the measured sea surface height resolution down to 15 km, allowing us to investigate for the first time the global upper ocean variability at the submesoscale range. Here, by analysing shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler measurements along 137°E in the northwest Pacific of 2004–2016, we show that the observed upper ocean velocities are comprised of balanced geostrophic flows and unbalanced internal waves. The transition length scale, Lt, separating these two motions, is found to depend strongly on the energy level of local mesoscale eddy variability. In the eddy-abundant western boundary current region of Kuroshio, Lt can be shorter than 15 km, whereas Lt exceeds 200 km along the path of relatively stable North Equatorial Current. Judicious separation between the geostrophic and internal wave signals represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission., Satellite altimeters resolution poorly capture mesoscale signals in the upper ocean. Here, the authors analyse shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler measurements from the northwest Pacific, and show that balanced geostrophic flows and unbalanced internal waves comprise upper ocean velocities.

Being the extension of a wind-driven western boundary current, the Kuroshio Extension (KE) has long been recognized as a turbulent current system rich in large-amplitude meanders and energetic pinched-off eddies. An important feature emerging from recent satellite altimeter measurements and eddy-resolving ocean model simulations is that the KE system exhibits well-defined decadal modulations between a stable and an unstable dynamic state. Here the authors show that the decadally modulating KE dynamic state can be effectively defined by the sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the 31°–36°N, 140°–165°E region. By utilizing the SSH-based KE index from 1977 to 2012, they demonstrate that the time-varying KE dynamic state can be predicted at lead times of up to ~6 yr. This long-term predictability rests on two dynamic processes: 1) the oceanic adjustment is via baroclinic Rossby waves that carry interior wind-forced anomalies westward into the KE region and 2) the low-frequency KE variability influences the extratropical storm tracks and surface wind stress curl field across the North Pacific basin. By shifting poleward (equatorward) the storm tracks and the large-scale wind stress curl pattern during its stable (unstable) dynamic state, the KE variability induces a delayed negative feedback that can enhance the predictable SSH variance on the decadal time scales.

Formation processes responsible for the North Equatorial Undercurrent (NEUC) jets that appear across the tropical North Pacific Ocean near 9°, 13°, and 18°N are explored both theoretically and using numerical models with different complexities. Analyses of an eddy-resolving global ocean general circulation model output reveal that the NEUC jets have a mode-1 baroclinic vertical structure and are spatially persistent on the interannual and longer time scales. This OGCM-simulated vertical structure prompts the authors to adopt the simpler, nonlinear -layer reduced-gravity model, as well as the baroclinic Rossby wave triad interaction theory, to unravel the essential processes underlying the NEUC jets. The seed for the NEUC jets originates in annual baroclinic Rossby waves driven by the large-scale surface wind stress forcing. Emanating from the ocean basin’s eastern boundary, these wind-forced “primary” waves are subject to nonlinear triad interactions and break down offshore where the e-folding time scale of the most unstable triad instability matches the advective time scale of the primary waves. The breakdown boundary of the wind-forced primary waves tends to tilt northeast–southwest and, west of this boundary, finite-amplitude eddies emerge, whose meridional scales are set by the most unstable short secondary waves participating in the triad interactions along the breakdown boundary. With their meridional scales set similarly by the short secondary waves, the time-mean zonal jets of characteristics resembling the observed NEUC jets are formed by the converging potential vorticity fluxes of these finite-amplitude eddies.

The lightning overvoltage is one of key issues in designing the insulation of transmission line and power apparatus. Usually the influence of the impulse corona is ignored in numerical analysis of electromagnetic transients in power systems due to the lack of experimental data. But the relationship between the overvoltage and the insulation size of 1000-kV ac ultra-high voltage (UHV) power systems enters the nonlinear region, and a small decrease in overvoltage will lead to a high reduction in insulation size and bring huge economical benefits. So fully understanding the corona characteristics of the 1000-kV UHV transmission line is helpful to understand the actual wave process and realize a suitable insulation design of the 1000-kV UHV system. Experiments on the lightning impulse corona characteristic of bundle conductors for 1000-kV transmission lines are carried out in the China UHV ac test base and the impulse corona Q-V curves of different bundle conductors are obtained. The results show that the impulse corona leads the increment of the capacitance of the conductor. Analysis on the Q-V curves shows that the occurrence of the positive impulse corona has a time delay after the lightning impulse voltage exceeds the corona inception voltage and the delay time is a tenth of a microsecond. At the end of this paper, a simulation model for corona based on the empirical formulas of Q-V curves fitted from the test results is proposed, and is applied to the overvoltage analysis of 1000- kV transmission line and substation. The analysis results show the lightning impulse corona has a large influence on the lightning overvoltage of the transmission line and substation.

[1] Subthermocline circulation in the tropical North Pacific Ocean (2°N–30°N) is investigated using profiling float temperature-salinity data from the International Argo and the Origins of the Kuroshio and Mindanao Current (OKMC) projects. Three well-defined eastward jets are detected beneath the wind-driven, westward flowing North Equatorial Current. Dubbed the North Equatorial Undercurrent (NEUC) jets, these subthermocline jets have a typical core velocity of 2–5 cms−1 and are spatially coherent from the western boundary to about 120°W across the North Pacific basin. Centered around 9°N, 13°N, and 18°N in the western basin, the NEUC jet cores tend to migrate northward by ∼4° in the eastern basin. Vertically, the cores of the southern, central, and northern NEUC jets reside on the 26.9, 27.2, and 27.3 σθsurfaces, respectively, and they tend to shoal to lighter density surfaces, by about 0.2 σθ, as the jets progress eastward.

Air-cored Current-Limiting Reactor (CLR) has already been widely applied to limit the magnitude of fault current in power systems in many countries, Brazil for example, and meanwhile the CLR has made a significant contribution to the severity of transient overvoltages in power systems, such as transient recovery voltage (TRV), switching overvoltage (SOV), and temporary overvoltage (TOV). The present paper here did a lot of simulations on the application of CLR for a real-life transmission line, suggesting that with equipment parameters of originally draft, TRV would have exceeded the circuit breakers’ TRV ratings and necessary measures should be taken to decrease TRV. Digital simulations were made with PSCAD/EMTDC software and the results implied that the magnitude of the SOV and the TOV increased up to or even exceeded the safe limits with the CLR installed. Relevant studies are strongly recommended before the CLR is applied to ensure the safety of equipment and transmission system.

Satellite altimeter data of the past two decades are used to investigate the low-frequency mesoscale eddy variability inside the western North Pacific subtropical gyre. Eddy activity modulations with a decadal time scale are detected concurrently within the 18°–28°N band, including the three branches of the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) and the Hawaiian Lee Countercurrent (HLCC). Lagging behind the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) index by six months, enhanced eddy activities were detected in 1995–98 and 2003–06, whereas the eddy activities were below the average in 1999–2002 and 2009–11. Analysis of the temperature and salinity data that became available after 2001 via the International Argo Program reveals that the modulating eddy activities are due to the decadal change in the upper-ocean eastward shear in the broad-scale STCC–HLCC band. By conducting an upper-ocean temperature budget analysis, the authors found that this observed eastward shear change can be effectively accounted for by the decadal-varying surface heat flux forcing. Using the Argo-based temperature and salinity data, it is further found that the decadal subsurface potential vorticity (PV) signals to the north and beneath the STCC–HLCC were vertically coherent and not confined to the mode water isopycnals. Adjusting to the PDO-related surface forcing, these subsurface PV anomalies lagged behind the upper-ocean eastward shear signals and likely made minor contributions to generate the decadal-varying eddy signals observed in the western North Pacific subtropical gyre.

This paper focuses on the stray capacitance of HVDC key devices and its impact on the harmonic distribution and the problem of obtaining wide band models for electrical power system transient simulation purposes for EMTP with linear components. Smoothing reactor, converter transformer and the valve hall can be modeled with stray parameters by segmented wide-band model with skin effect resistance. The simulation curve of the model can already be consistent with measured curves, and it can reflect the resonance characteristics in low frequency and fit the stray capacitance well in high frequency. The analysis of overvoltage fault proves that the stray capacitance played an important role in fault analysis with respect to harmonics distribution of HVDC system and the model with stray parameters has significant value of application.

Nonlinear composite dielectrics can function as smart materials for stress control and field grading in all fields of electrical insulations. The percolation process is a significant issue of composite dielectrics. However, the classic percolation theory mainly deals with traditional composites in which the electrical parameters of both insulation matrix and conducting fillers are independent of the applied electric field. This paper measured the nonlinear V-I characteristics of ZnO microvaristors/silicone rubber composites with several filler concentrations around an estimated percolation threshold. For the comparison with the experiment, a new microstructural model is proposed to simulate the nonlinear conducting behavior of the composite dielectrics modified by metal oxide fillers, which is based on the Voronoi network and considers the breakdown feature of the insulation matrix for near percolated composites. Through both experiment and simulation, the interior conducting mechanism and percolation process of the nonlinear composites were presented and a specific percolation threshold was determined as 33%. This work has provided a solution to better understand the characteristics of nonlinear composite dielectrics.

The electrical properties of ZnO varistor ceramics prepared with different sintering temperature were researched. The grain size of samples was homogeneous at sintering temperature 1160°C. The largest nonlinearity coefficient and least grain resistance were 75 and 0.3 Ω respectively, at 1160°C. The leakage current was reduced with increasing sintering temperature. The voltage gradient E 1mA 410V/mm acquired was good to optimize the ultra-high voltage arrestor structure. The optimized sintering temperature is 1160°C for giving ZnO varistors recipe.

Sea level rise with the trend >10 mm yr−1 has been observed in the tropical western Pacific Ocean over the 1993–2009 period. This rate is 3 times faster than the global-mean value of the sea level rise. Analyses of the satellite altimeter data and repeat hydrographic data along 137°E reveal that this regionally enhanced sea level rise is thermosteric in nature and vertically confined to a patch in the upper ocean above the 12°C isotherm. Dynamically, this regional sea level trend is accompanied by southward migration and strengthening of the North Equatorial Current (NEC) and North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC). Using a 1½-layer reduced-gravity model forced by the ECMWF reanalysis wind stress data, the authors find that both the observed sea level rise and the NEC/NECC’s southward migrating and strengthening trends are largely attributable to the upper-ocean water mass redistribution caused by the surface wind stresses of the recently strengthened atmospheric Walker circulation. Based on the long-term model simulation, it is further found that the observed southward migrating and strengthening trends of the NEC and NECC began in the early 1990s. In the two decades prior to 1993, the NEC and NECC had weakened and migrated northward in response to a decrease in the trade winds across the tropical Pacific Ocean.