We use dynamical systems approach and Lagrangian tools to study surface transport and mixing of water masses in a selected coastal region of the Japan Sea with moving mesoscale eddies associated with the Primorskoye Current. Lagrangian trajectories are computed for a large number of particles in an interpolated velocity field generated by a numerical regional multi-layer eddy-resolving circulation model. We compute finite-time Lyapunov exponents for a comparatively long period of time by the method developed and plot the Lyapunov synoptic map quantifying surface transport and mixing in that region. This map uncovers the striking flow structures along the coast with a mesoscale eddy street and repelling material lines. We propose new Lagrangian diagnostic tools --- the time of exit of particles off a selected box, the number of changes of the sign of zonal and meridional velocities --- to study transport and mixing by a pair of strongly interacting eddies often visible at sea-surface temperature satellite images in that region. We develop a technique to track evolution of clusters of particles, streaklines and material lines. The Lagrangian tools used allow us to reveal mesoscale eddies and their structure, to track different phases of the coastal flow, to find inhomogeneous character of transport and mixing on mesoscales and submesoscales and to quantify mixing by the values of exit times and the number of times particles wind around the eddy's center

Abstract.Lagrangian approach is applied to study nearsurface large-scale transport in the Kuroshio Extension area using a simulation with synthetic particles advected by AVISO altimetric velocity field.

We present the results of in-situ measurements of 134 Cs and 137 Cs released from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) collected at surface and different depths in the western North Pacific in June and July 2012. It was found that 15 month after the incident concentrations of radiocesium in the Japan and Okhotsk seas were at background or slightly increased level, while they had increased values in the subarctic front area east of Japan. The highest concentrations of 134 Cs and 137 Cs up to 13.5 ± 0.9 and 22.7 ± 1.5 Bq m −3 have been found to exceed ten times the background levels before the accident. Maximal content of radiocesium was observed within subsurface and intermediate water layers inside the cores of anticyclonic eddies (100 -500 m). Even slightly increased content of radiocesium was found at some eddies at depth of 1000 m. It is expected that convergence and subduction of surface water inside eddies are main mechanisms of downward transport of radionuclides. In situ observations are compared with the results of simulated advection of these radioisotopes by the AVISO altimetric velocity field. Different Lagrangian diagnostics are used to reconstruct the history and origin of synthetic tracers imitating measured seawater samples collected in each of those eddies. The results of observations are consistent with the simulated results. It is shown that the tracers, simulating water samples with increased radioactivity to be measured in the cruise, really visited the areas with presumably high level of contamination. Fast water advection between anticyclonic eddies and convergence of surface water inside eddies make them responsible for spreading, accumulation and downward transport of cesium rich water to the intermediate depth in the frontal zone.