Spatial distribution characteristics of surface tidal currents in the southwest of Taiwan Strait

This study was conducted on the spatial distribution characteristics of surface tidal currents in the southwestern Taiwan Strait based on the quasi-harmonic analysis of current data obtained by two high frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR) systems. The analysis shows that the tidal current pattern in the southwestern Taiwan Strait is primarily semi-diurnal and influenced significantly by shallow water constituents. The spatial distribution of tidal current ellipses of M₂ is probably affected by the interaction between two different systems of tide wave, one from the northern mouth of Taiwan Strait and the other from the Bashi Channel. The directions of the major axes of M₂ tidal current ellipses coincide roughly with the axis of the Taiwan Strait. The spatial distribution of the magnitudes of the probable maximum current velocity (PMCS) shows gradual increase of the velocity from northeast to southwest, which is in accordance with the spatial distribution of the measured maximum current velocity (MMCS). The directions of the residual currents are in accordance with the direction of the prevailing monsoon wind at the Taiwan Strait and the direction of the Taiwan warm current during summer. The bathymetry also shows a significant effect on the spatial distribution characteristics of tidal currents.     

The study of single station inverting the sea surface current by HF ground wave radar based on adjoint assimilation technology

This paper introduces the assimilation technology in an ocean dynamics model and discusses the feasibility of inverting the sea surface current in the detection zone by assimilating the sea current radial velocity detected by single station HF ground wave radar in ocean dynamics model. Based on the adjoint assimilation and POM model, the paper successfully inverts the sea surface current through single station HF ground wave radar in the Zhoushan sea area. The single station HF radar inversion results are also compared with the bistatic HF radar composite results and the fixed point measured results by Annderaa current meter. The error analysis shows that acquisition of flow velocity and flow direction data from the single station HF radar based on adjoint assimilation and POM model is viable and the data obtained have a high correlation and consistency with the flow field observed by HF radar.     

Analysis of multi-dimensional SAR for determining the thickness of thin sea ice in the Bohai Sea

Flat thin ice (<30 cm thick) is a common ice type in the Bohai Sea, China. Ice thickness detection is important to offshore exploration and marine transport in winter. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be used to acquire sea ice data in all weather conditions, and it is a useful tool for monitoring sea ice conditions. In this paper, we combine a multi-layered sea ice electromagnetic (EM) scattering model with a sea ice thermodynamic model to assess the determination of the thickness of flat thin ice in the Bohai Sea using SAR at different frequencies, polarization, and incidence angles. Our modeling studies suggest that co-polarization backscattering coefficients and the co-polarized ratio can be used to retrieve the thickness of flat thin ice from C- and X-band SAR, while the co-polarized correlation coefficient can be used to retrieve flat thin ice thickness from L-, C-, and X-band SAR. Importantly, small or moderate incidence angles should be chosen to avoid the effect of speckle noise.     

SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENT IN TAIWAN SHOAL

Taiwan Shoal sediments are well sorted and rounded medium-coarse sands eontaining a large amount of shell and beach rock fragments and basalt gravels, and are of deltaic, coastal and eolian origin. Underwater sand waves are formed by the combined tidal currents and are remolded by storm waves.     

Tidal current and tidal energy changes imposed by a dynamic tidal power system in the Taiwan Strait,China

The Taiwan Strait has recently been proposed as a promising site for dynamic tidal power systems because of its shallow depth and strong tides. Dynamic tidal power is a new concept for extracting tidal potential energy in which a coast-perpendicular dike is used to create water head and generate electricity via turbines inserted in the dike. Before starting such a project, the potential power output and hydrodynamic impacts of the dike must be assessed. In this study, a two-dimensional numerical model based on the Delft3D-FLOW module is established to simulate tides in China. A dike module is developed to account for turbine processes and estimate power output by integrating a special algorithm into the model. The domain decomposition technique is used to divide the computational zone into two subdomains with grid refinement near the dike. The hydrodynamic processes predicted by the model, both with and without the proposed construction, are examined in detail, including tidal currents and tidal energy flux. The predicted time-averaged power yields with various opening ratios are presented. The results show that time-averaged power yield peaks at an 8% opening ratio. For semidiurnal tides, the flow velocity increases in front of the head of the dike and decreases on either side. For diurnal tides, these changes are complicated by the oblique incidence of tidal currents with respect to the dike as well as by bathymetric features. The dike itself blocks the propagation of tidal energy flux.     

Shear-flow induced secondary circulation in parallel underwater topographic corrugation and its application to satellite image interpretation

This study aims to figure out satellite imaging mechanisms for submerged sand ridges in the shallow water region in the case of the flow parallel to the topography corrugation.Solving the disturbance governing equations of the shear-flow yields the analytical solutions of the secondary circulation.The solutions indicate that a flow with a parabolic horizontal velocity shear and a sinusoidal vertical velocity shear will induce a pair of vortexes with opposite signs distributed symmetrically on the two sides of central line of a rectangular canal.In the case of the presence of surface Ekman layer with the direction of Ekman current opposite to(coincident with) the mean flow,the two vortexes converge(diverge) at the central line of canal in the upper layer and form a surface current convergent(divergent) zone along the central line of the canal.In the case of the absence of surface Ekman layer,there is no convergent(divergent) zone formed over the sea surface.The theoretical results are applied to interpretations of three convergent cases,one divergent case and statistics of 27 cases of satellite observations in the submerged sand ridge region of the Liaodong Shoal in the Bohai Sea.We found that the long,finger-like,bright patterns on SAR images are corresponding to the locations of the canals(or tidal channels) formed by two adjacent sand ridges rather than the sand ridges themselves.     

Tidal Characteristics in the Wenzhou Offshore Waters and Changes Resulting from the Wenzhou Shoal Reclamation Project

The Wenzhou Shoal Reclamation Project is the core part of Wenzhou Peninsula Engineering which is a big comprehensive development project to expand the city space. The dynamics of the surrounding area was proved to suffer little effect in response to the Lingni north dyke since it was built approximately along the current direction. Therefore, this paper focuses firstly on the tidal characteristics in the Wenzhou and Yueqing bays with the Lingni north dyke being built and then on the changes resulting from the implementation of the on-going Wenzhou Shoal Reclamation Project(WSRP) which will reclaim land from the whole Wenzhou Shoal. To simulate the tidal dynamics, a high-resolution coastal ocean model with unstructured triangular grids was set up for the Wenzhou and Yueqing Bays. The model resolved the complicated tidal dynamics with the simulated tidal elevation and current in good agreement with observations. In the study area, M2 is the predominant tidal component, which means the tide is semidiurnal. The new reclamation project hardly affects the Yueqing Bay and the open ocean, but there are concentrated effects on the mouth of the southern branch of the Oujiang River and the southwest of Wenzhou Shoal. This study provides an indicative reference to the local government and helps to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the project.     

NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE TIDAL FRONT IN THE WESTERN YELLOW SEA

The formation and evolution of the tidal front in the western Yellow Sea are studied by means of a two-dimensional model in which wind and tide mixing, sun radiation and wind stress, and realistic topography are incorporated. In this numerical study, the schemes employed are stable for time step t= 900 s, so the model can be run for 4 months to simulate the front evolution. The authors examined the effects of mixing and atmospheric forcing on the tidal front under conditions of : mixing and solar heating without wind stress on the sea surface; mixing, solar heating and 50 hours of wind stress; mixing, solar heating and long time periodical wind stress, Results show that (1) the tidal front forms at the beginning of May, and strengthens with the increasing of heat input, (2) the temperature structure in the shallow well-mixed water is dominated by mixing, while in the front and deeper stratified regions, it is controlled by the joint effects of (mainly) mixing and advection, 0) the currents and front all     

Observed residual currents off the Changjiang （Yangtze） Rivermouth in summertime of 1959 and 1982

Data taken in two large scale ocean observations in China in summer 1959 and 1982 were used to analyze the residual current off the Changjiang (Yangtze) River mouth. The currents at surface off the mouth in July 1959 and 1982 flow northeastward and eastward due to the river discharge, the current speed was larger in 1982 than in 1959. All the bottom currents flow landward due to baroclinic effect. The surface current was controlled by the river runoff and the Taiwan Warm Current (TWC). A return current at surface off the mouth was observed in September 1959. In general, the bottom currents were controlled by the TWC in most study area in addition to the runoff near the mouth. Although driven by 3-D model with the monthly averaged forces (river discharge, wind stress, baroclinic effect, open boundary water volume flux and tidal mixing) in August, the simulated circulations were basically consistent with the observed ones with episodic time manner.     

Deriving Changjiang coastal zone wind from C-band SAR and its application to salinity simulation

Wind plays an important role in hydrodynamic processes such as the expansion of Changjiang （Yangtze） River Diluted Water （CDW）, and shelf circulation in the Changjiang estuary. Thus, it is essential to include wind in the numerical simulation of these phenomena. Synthetic aperture radar （SAR） with high resolution and wide spatial coverage is valuable for measuring spatially inhomogeneous ocean surface wind fields. We have collected 87 ERS-2 SAR images with wind-induced streaks that cover the Cbangjiang coastal area, to verify and improve the validity of wind direction retrieval using the 2D fast Fourier transform method. We then used these wind directions as inputs to derive SAR wind speeds using the C-band model. To demonstrate the applicability of the algorithms, we validated the SAR-retrieved wind fields using QuikSCAT measurements and the atmospheric Weather Research Forecasting model. In general, we found good agreement between the datasets, indicating the reliability and applicability of SAR- retrieved algorithms under different atmospheric conditions. We investigated the main error sources of this process, and conducted sensitivity analyses to estimate the wind speed errors caused by the effect of speckle, uncertainties in wind direction, and inaccuracies in the normalized radar cross section. Finally, we used the SAR-retrieved wind fields to simulate the salinity distribution off the Changjiang estuary. The findings of this study will be valuable for wind resource assessment and the development of future numerical ocean models based on SAR images.     

A THREE-LAYER OCEAN CIRCULATION MODEL APPLICATION TO NUMERICAL STUDIES ON THE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN CIRCULATION

The formulation and justification of a three-layer baroclinic ocean model developed to simulate thegeneral circulation of the ocean are described in this paper.Test of the model in simulating the annualmean circulation patterns in the North Pacific under the prescribed atmospheric forcing,which consists ofthe climatological surface wind stress and sea surface heat flux,and comparison of the results withobservations showed that the model basically simulated the large scale features of the annual meancirculation patterns in the North Pacific Ocean such as those of the intensified western boundary currentsand the North Equatorial Currents and Undercurrents.But due to the coarse resolution of the model,some details of these currents were poorly reproduced.The seasonal variations of the North Pacific Oceancirculation driven by the seasonal mean sea surface wind stress was calculated,the different aspects of theseresults were analyzed and the main current(the intensified western boundary currents)transports we     

A modelling study of inter-annual variation of Kuroshio intrusion on the shelf of East China Sea

Inter-annual variability of the Kuroshio water intrusion on the shelf of East China Sea (ECS) was simulated with a nested global and Northwest Pacific ocean circulation model. The model analysis reveals the influence of the variability of Kuroshio transport east of Taiwan on the intrusion to the northeast of Taiwan: high correlation (r = 0.92) with the on-shore volume flux in the lower layer (50–200 m); low correlation (r = 0.50) with the on-shore flux in the upper layer (0–50 m). Spatial distribution of correlations between volume fluxes and sea surface height suggests that inter-annual variability of the Kuroshio flux east of Taiwan and its subsurface water intruding to the shelf lag behind the sea surface height anomalies in the central Pacific at 162°E by about 14 months, and could be related to wind-forced variation in the interior North Pacific that propagates westward as Rossby waves. The intrusion of Kuroshio surface water is also influenced by local winds. The intruding Kuroshio subsurface water causes variations of temperature and salinity of bottom waters on the southern ECS shelf. The influence of the intruding Kuroshio subsurface water extends widely from the shelf slope northeast of Taiwan northward to the central ECS near the 60 m isobath, and northeastward to the region near the 90 m isobath.     

合成孔径雷达干涉测量原理与应用

合成孔径雷达（SAR）是一种微波相干成像方法，应用不同波段的雷达信号可以对地球表面不同的散射特性成像。合成孔径雷达干涉（InSAR）是将两个不同轨道位置或不同时间获得的复数SAR数据进行相位差分处理，从这些差分干涉数据中可以提取特别有用的信息，用于绘制地形图，测量诸如地震、火山、冰川运动等造成的地形变，研究植被覆盖特性、洋流等。介绍了InSAR的基本原理与应用，并对影响干涉结果的一些重要因素进行了分析。     

A new modulation transfer function for ocean wave spectra retrieval from X-band marine radar imagery

When imaging ocean surface waves by X-band marine radar,the radar backscatter from the sea surface is modulated by the long surface gravity waves. The modulation transfer function(MTF) comprises tilt,hydrodynamic,and shadowing modulations. A conventional linear MTF was derived using HH-polarized radar observations under conditions of deep water. In this study,we propose a new quadratic polynomial MTF based on VV-polarized radar measurements taken from heterogeneous nearshore wave fields. This new MTF is obtained using a radar-observed image spectrum and in situ buoy-measured wave frequency spectrum. We validate the MTF by comparing peak and mean wave periods retrieved from X-band marine radar image sequences with those measured by the buoy. It is shown that the retrieval accuracies of peak and mean wave periods of the new MTF are better than the conventional MTF. The results also show that the bias and root mean square errors of the peak and mean wave periods of the new MTF are 0.05 and 0.88 s,and 0.32 and 0.53 s,respectively,while those of the conventional MTF are 0.61 and 0.98 s,and 1.39 and 1.48 s,respectively. Moreover,it is also shown that the retrieval results are insensitive to the coefficients in the proposed MTF.     

Dynamical Control of Asymmetrically Oblique Tidal Currents to the Sedimentary Characteristics and Development of Linear Sand Ridges in the Liaodong Shoal,East Bohai Sea

The Liaodong Shoal is a group of linear sand ridges located in the east Bohai Sea of China.In this study,54 surface sediment samples have been collected,current measurements at 4 stations have been carried out and bathymetric data were obtained.The current directions are rightward deflected relative to the strikes of the sand ridges.Affected by the narrowing effect of the ridge,the current velocities exhibited an anti-‘C’type vertical profile.The velocities of the lower currents linearly correlate with the water depths.The near-bed current velocities over the troughs are estimated to be higher than those over the ridges,and this feature could be explained by the loss of kinetic energy together with the conversion between kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy.The sedimentary characteristics that are compatible with the tidal dynamics are developed across the ridges and troughs,including grain size compositions,grain size parameters,mineral compositions and Dhm indexes.The existence of the angles between the current directions and the strikes of the sand ridges is the key factor for the growth of the sand ridges.The asymmetric hydrodynamic features between the flood and ebb currents lead to the differences in the topographical and sedimentary characteristics on both sides of a sand ridge.Insufficient material supply led to the degradation of the sand ridges,and the reduction of the tidal current intensity has led to the development of the subordinate sand ridges in the troughs.Sand ridges are migrating.     

Measurements of ocean wave and current field using dual polarized X-band radar

A new ocean wave and sea surface current monitoring system with horizontally-(HH) and vertically-(VV) polarized X-band radar was developed. Two experiments into the use of the radar system were carried out at two sites, respectively, for calibration process in Zhangzi Island of the Yellow Sea, and for validation in the Yellow Sea and South China Sea. Ocean wave parameters and sea surface current velocities were retrieved from the dual polarized radar image sequences based on an inverse method. The results obtained from dual-polarized radar data sets acquired in Zhangzi Island are compared with those from an ocean directional buoy. The results show that ocean wave parameters and sea surface current velocities retrieved from radar image sets are in a good agreement with those observed by the buoy. In particular, it has been found that the vertically-polarized radar is better than the horizontally-polarized radar in retrieving ocean wave parameters, especially in detecting the significant wave height below 1.0 m.     

Wave steepness retrieved from scatterometer data in a genetic algorithm

Wave steepness is an important characteristic of a high sea state, and is widely applied on wave propagations at ports, ships, offshore platforms, and CO2 circulation in the ocean. Obtaining wave steepness is a difficult task that depends heavily on theoretical research on wavelength distribution and direct observations. Development of remote-sensing techniques provides new opportunities to study wave steepness. At present, two formulas are proposed to estimate wave steepness from QuikSCAT and ERS-1/2 scatterometer data. We found that wave steepness retrieving is not affected by radar band, and polarization method, and that relationship of wave steepness with radar backscattering cross section is similar to that with wind. Therefore, we adopted and modified a genetic algorithm for relating wave steepness with radar backscattering cross section. Results show that the root-mean-square error of the wave steepness retrieved is 0.005 in two cases from ERS-1/2 scatterometer data and from QuikSCAT scatterometer data.     

Analysis and Prediction of Influence Imposed on Jiaozhou Bay Tidal Currents and Tidal Energy of M_2 Tidal System by Jiaozhou Bay Reclamation

The 3-D ECOMSED ocean model was applied to establish a time-dependent boundary model for Jiaozhou Bay (JZB), in which the operator-splitting technique was used and the ‘dry and wet’ method was introduced. The influence caused by JZB reclamation on the surface level, residual currents, tidal system and tidal energy of M2 tidal system were predicted and analyzed. The results show that JZB reclamation has slight impact on the M2 tidal system, in which the variation of amplitude and phase is less than 1%.The ch...     

Analysis and prediction of influence imposed on Jiaozhou Bay tidal currents and tidal energy of M2 tidal system by Jiaozhou Bay reclamation

The 3-D ECOMSED ocean model was applied to establish a time-dependent boundary model for Jiaozhou Bay (JZB), in which the operator-splitting technique was used and the ‘dry and wet’ method was introduced. The influence caused by JZB reclamation on the surface level, residual currents, tidal system and tidal energy of M₂ tidal system were predicted and analyzed. The results show that JZB reclamation has slight impact on the M₂ tidal system, in which the variation of amplitude and phase is less than 1%.The changes of the currents and residual currents in Qian Bay and near the reclamation areas are greater, but in other areas the changes are smaller, in which the currents have a change of around 1%, while the residual currents change ranges from 1.82%–9.61%. After reclamation, the tidal energy fluxes increase by 2.62%–5.24% inside and outside the JZB mouth, but decrease by 20.21%–87.23% near Qian Bay and the reclamation area.     

Evaluating and correcting rain effects on dual-frequency altimeter Jason-1 wind measurements

Rain is one of the main sources of error in dual-frequency altimeter Jason-1 wind measurement. In this study, a new radar altimeter backscatter model is proposed and validated to eliminate rain effects. The model takes into account attenuation, volume backscattering, and sea surface perturbation by raindrops under rain conditions. A match-up dataset is built to evaluate rain effects, in combination with the Jason-1 normalized radar cross section, precipitation radar data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, and sea surface wind reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The results show that rain-induced surface perturbation backscatter increases with rain rate at Ku-band, but their correlation at C-band is poor. In addition, rain surface perturbation and attenuation have major effects onradar altimeter wind measurements. Finally, a rain correction model for Jason-1 winds is developed and validation results prove its ability to reduce rain-induced inaccuracies in wind retrievals.