Spatio-temporal Variations of Sea Surface Wind in Coral Reef Regions over the South China Sea from 1988 to 2017

The seasonal and interannual variabilities of sea surface wind(SSW) in the South China Sea(SCS), especially in coral reef regions such as Nansha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Dongsha Islands were investigated in detail using the Blended Sea Winds dataset(1988–2017). Annual and monthly variations of SSW and sea surface temperature(SST) in the four zones were investigated. Empirical Orthogonal Function(EOF) analysis of wind field was performed to aid in better understanding the different spatial patterns. The results indicate that, as observed in the spatial distribution of the first mode of monthly mean wind speed anomaly, the magnitudes in the four island zones are all negative and are similar to each other, showing that the variations of SSW in the four island zones are consistent. In the second mode, the magnitudes in Nansha Islands are opposite to those in the other three zones. The spatial distribution of the third mode reflects regional differences. The maximum annual SSW appears in Dongsha Islands, and the minimum appears in Nansha Islands. The interannual variations of SSW in all island zones are basically concurrent. The island zones with high SSW mostly have low SST, and vice versa. There may be an inverse relationship between SSW and SST in coral reef regions in the SCS. The multiyear monthly variations of SSW in the island zones present a ‘W'-shaped structural variation. Each island undergoes two months of minimum SSW every year, one during March–May(MAM) and the other during September–November(SON). Both months are in monsoon transition periods. During the months with low SSW, high SST appears. The SST peaks almost correspond to the SSW troughs.This further indicates that SSW and SST may have opposite changes in coral reef regions. Coral bleaching events often correspond to years of high SST and low SSW.     

Coral reef bleaching at Agatti Island of Lakshadweep atolls, India

A survey on coral bleaching was carried out at Agatti Island of Lakshadweep from May to June 2010.Elevated sea surface temperatures(SSTs)of the region exceeded the seasonal average and delayed the onset of monsoon,which triggered widespread bleaching of corals.The Agatti reefs showed an average of 73%bleached corals with apparent bleaching-related mortality of sea anemones(87%)and giant clams(83%).The SST increased up to 34℃with an average maximum SST of 32.5℃ during the study period between May and June 2010.Coral reefs on the southern side of the island are fully or partially exposed to sun light during low tide in contrast to the other side.This suggests that the mortality is more likely due to the low tide exposure than exclusively due to the elevated SST.Observations indicated a clear increase in coral bleaching during April 2010,at levels higher than that in normal summer.     

Coral reef recovery status in south Andaman Islands after the bleaching event 2010

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are one of the Union Territories of India, located in the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. In 2010 summer, the increment in sea surface water temperature (up to 34℃) resulted in the bleaching of about 74% to 77% of corals in the South Andaman. During this event, coral species such as Acropora cerealis, A. humilis, Montipora sp., Favia pallida, Diploastrea sp., Goniopora sp. Fungia concinna, Gardineroseries sp., Porites sp., Favites abdita and Lobophyllia robusta were severely affected. This study is to assess the recovery status of the reef ecosystem by estimating the percentage of Live Coral cover, Bleached coral cover, Dead coral with algae, Rubble, Sandy flat, Algal assemblage and other associated organisms. The sedimentation rate (mg cm-2 d-1) and coral coverage (%) were assessed during this study period. The average sedimentation rate was ranged between 0.27 and 0.89 mg cm-2 d-1 . The observed post bleaching recovery of coral cover was 21.1% at Port Blair Bay and 13.29% at Havelock Island. The mortality rate of coral cover due to this bleaching was estimated as 2.05% at Port Blair Bay and 9.82% at Havelock Island. Once the sea water temperature resumed back to the normal condition, most of the corals were found recovered.     

Spatial-temporal variations of dominant drought/flood modes and the associated atmospheric circulation and ocean events in rainy season over the east of China

By using Season-reliant Empirical Orthogonal Function (S-EOF) analysis, three dominant modes of the spatial-temporal evolution of the drought/flood patterns in the rainy season over the east of China are revealed for the period of 1960-2004. The first two leading modes occur during the turnabout phase of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) decaying year, but the drought/flood patterns in the rainy season over the east of China are different due to the role of the Indian Ocean (IO). The first leading mode appears closely correlated with the ENSO events. In the decaying year of El Nino, the associated western North Pacific (WNP) anticyclone located over the Philippine Sea persists from the previous winter to the next early summer, transports warm and moist air toward the southern Yangtze River in China, and leads to wet conditions over this entire region. Therefore, the precipitation anomaly in summer exhibits a ’Southern Flood and Northern Drought’ pattern over East China. On the other hand, the basin-wide Indian Ocean sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) plays a crucial role in prolonging the impact of ENSO on the second mode during the ENSO decaying summer. The Indian Ocean basin mode (IOBM) warming persists through summer and unleashes its influence, which forces a Matsuno-Gill pattern in the upper troposphere. Over the subtropical western North Pacific, an anomalous anticyclone forms in the lower troposphere. The southerlies on the northwest flank of this anticyclone increase the moisture transport onto central China, leading to abundant rainfall over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River valleys. The anomalous anticyclone causes dry conditions over South China and the South China Sea (SCS). The precipitation anomaly in summer exhibits a ’Northern Flood and Southern Drought’ pattern over East China. Therefore, besides the ENSO event the IOBM is an important factor to influence the drought/flood patterns in the rainy season over the east of China. The third mode is positively correlated with the tropical SSTA in the Indian Ocean from the spring of preceding year(-1) to the winter of following year(+1), but not related to the ENSO events. The positive SSTA in the South China Sea and the Philippine Sea persists from spring to autumn, leading to weak north-south and land-sea thermal contrasts, which may weaken the intensity of the East Asia summer monsoon. The weakened rainfall over the northern Indian monsoon region may link to the third spatial mode through the ’Silk Road’ teleconnection or a part of circumglobal teleconnection (CGT). The physical mechanisms that reveal these linkages remain elusive and invite further investigation.     

Analysis on long-term change of sea surface temperature in the China Seas

Long-term change of sea surface temperature (SST) in the China Seas from 1900 to 2006 is examined based on two different observation datasets (HadISST1 and HadSST3). Similar to the Atlantic, SST in the China Seas has been well observed dur-ing the past 107 years. A comparison between the reconstructed (HadISST1) and un-interpolated (HadSST3) datasets shows that the SST warming trends from both datasets are consistent with each other in most of the China Seas. The warming trends are stronger in winter than in summer, with a maximum rate of SST increase exceeding 2.7℃ (100 year)-1 in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait during winter based on HadISST1. However, the SST from both datasets experienced a sudden decrease after 1999 in the China Seas. The estimated trend from HadISST1 is stronger than that from HadSST3 in the East China Sea and the east of Taiwan Island, where the difference in the linear SST warming trends are as large as about 1℃ (100 year)-1 when using respectively HadISST1 and HadSST3 datasets. When compared to the linear winter warming trend of the land surface air temperature (1.6℃ (100 year)-1), HadSST3 shows a more reasonable trend of less than 2.1℃ (100 year)-1 than HadISST1’s trend of larger than 2.7℃ (100 year)-1 at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The results also indicate large uncertainties in the estimate of SST warming patterns.     

Asymmetric response of the South China Sea SST to El Niño and La Niña

The interannual variability of the sea surface temperature (SST) in the South China Sea (SCS) is investigated according to its relationship with El Nio/La Nia (EN/LN) using monthly products from ICOADS. The SCS SST bears two peaks associated with EN/LN and shows the asymmetric features. Coinciding with the mature phase of EN/LN, the first SST warming/cooling peaks in December(0)-February(1) (DJF(1)) and centers in the southern part. The major difference is in the amplitude associated with the strength of EN/LN. However, the SCS SST anomaly shows distinct difference after the mature phase of EN/LN. The EN SST warm-ing develops a mid-summer peak in June-August(1) (JJA(1)) and persists up to September-October(1), with the same amplitude of the first warming peak. Whereas the LN SST cooling peaks in May(1), it decays slowly until the end of the year, with amplitude much weaker. Comparing with SST and atmospheric circulations, the weak response and early termination of the second cooling is due to the failure of the cyclonic wind anomalies to develop in the northwest Pacific during JJA(1).     

The South China Sea throughflow: linkage with local monsoon system and impact on upper thermal structure of the ocean

The tendency of South China Sea throughflow (SCSTF) variation associated with the local monsoon system, and its impact on upper-layer thermal structure, are studied using the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) dataset, combined with Ishii reanalysis data. Luzon Strait Transport (LST) is measured and used as an index for studying the SCSTF variation. Results show that LST had an increasing tendency over the last 50 years, mainly in summer and fall. The increasing tendency was 0.017 1 Sv/a in summer and 0.027 4 Sv/a in fall, as estimated by SODA, and 0.018 0Sv/a in summer and 0.018 9 Sv/a in fall, as estimated by "Island Rule" theory. LST increased by 0.53Sv in JJA (June-July-August) and 0.98Sv in SON (September-October-November) after climate shift, as inferred by SODA data. The average LST anomaly in JJA and SON is strongly related to the local monsoon system, especially to variability of the meridional wind stress anomaly after application of a 3-year running mean, with correlation coefficients 0.57 and 0.51, respectively. In addition to the basin-scale wind forcing, the local northeasterly wind stress anomaly in the SCS can push Pacific water entering the SCS more readily in JJA and SON after climate shift, and an SCSTF-associated cooling effect may favor subsurface cooling more frequently after climate shift.     

Comparison of remote sensing data with in-situ wind observation during the development of the South China Sea monsoon

Wind measurements derived from QuikSCAT data were compared with those measured by anemometer on Yongxing Island in the South China Sea (SCS) for the period from April 2008 to November 2009. The comparison confirms that QuikSCAT estimates of wind speed and direction are generally accurate, except for the extremes of high wind speeds (>13.8m/s) and very low wind speeds (<1.5m/s) where direction is poorly predicted. In-situ observations show that the summer monsoon in the northern SCS starts between May 6 and June 1. From March 13, 2010 to August 31, 2010, comparisons of sea surface temperature (SST) and rainfall from AMSR-E with data from a buoy located at Xisha Islands, as well as wind measurements derived from ASCAT and observations from an automatic weather station show that QuikSCAT, ASCAT and AMSR-E data are good enough for research. It is feasible to optimize the usage of remote-sensing data if validated with in-situ measurements. Remarkable changes were observed in wind, barometric pressure, humidity, outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), air temperature, rainfall and SST during the monsoon onset. The eastward shift of western Pacific subtropical high and the southward movement of continental cold front preceded the monsoon onset in SCS. The starting dates of SCS summer monsoon indicated that the southwest monsoon starts in the Indochinese Peninsula and forms an eastward zonal belt, and then the belt bifurcates in the SCS, with one part moving northeastward into the tropical western North Pacific, and another southward into western Kalimantan. This largely determined the pattern of the SCS summer monsoon. Wavelet analysis of zonal wind and OLR at Xisha showed that intra-seasonal variability played an important role in the summer. This work improves the accuracy of the amplitude of intra-seasonal and synoptic variation obtained from remote-sensed data.     

A study of response of thermocline in the South China Sea to ENSO events

This paper investigates the response of the thermocline depth(TD) in the South China Sea(SCS) to the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) events using 51-year(from 1960 to 2010) monthly seawater temperature and surface wind stress data acquired from the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation(SODA), together with heat flux data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP), precipitation data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) and evaporation data from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution(WHOI). It is indicated that the response of the SCS TD to the El Ni?o or La Ni?a events is in opposite phase. On one hand, the spatial-averaged TDs in the SCS(deeper than 200 m) appear as negative and positive anomalies during the mature phase of the El Ni?o and La Ni?a events, respectively. On the other hand, from June of the El Ni?o year to the subsequent April, the spatial patterns of TD in the north and south of 12°N appear as negative and positive anomalies, respectively, but present positive and negative anomalies for the La Ni?a case. However, positive and negative TD anomalies occur almost in the entire SCS in May of the subsequent year of the El Ni?o and La Ni?a events, respectively. It is suggested that the response of the TD in the SCS to the ENSO events is mainly caused by the sea surface buoyancy flux and the wind stress curl.     

Numerical Simulation for Shallow Strata Stability of Coral Reef in the Southwest of Yongshu Reef (South China Sea)

In recent years, infrastructure construction on coral reefs has been increasingly developed. Therefore, the shallow strata stability of coral reefs in the South China Sea should be evaluated. This study aims to investigate the profiles for the shallow strata of coral reefs in the southwest of the Yongshu Reef, particularly in the hydrodynamic marine environment, and to establish a geological model for numerical simulation using Geo-Studio. The shallow strata of the coral reefs include mass gravel, sand gravel, mid-coarse sand, silty sand, fine sand, and reef limestone. The shallow reef slope near the lagoon is similar to a ‘layer cake', in which the side close to the sea is analogous to a ‘block cake'. The simulation results showed that coral reef stability depends on wave loads and earthquake strength and on the physical properties of coral reefs. The factor of safety for the outer reef is greater than 10.0 under static, wave, and seismic conditions; this indicated that the outer reefs were less affected by waves and earthquakes. However, the factor of safety next to the lagoon varied from 0.1 to 5.3. The variation was primarily caused by the thick strata of coral reefs close to the sea(reef limestone, typically with the thickness 10 m and equivalent to a block). The soil and rock layers in the coral reef strata with thicknesses 10 m showed weak engineering geological characteristics. Our findings can provide useful information to future construction projects on coral reefs.     

Monsoon-ocean coupled modes in the South China Sea and their linkage with the eastern Indian Ocean-western Pacific warm pool

Monsoon-ocean coupled modes in the South China Sea （SCS） were investigated by a combined singular value decomposition （CSVD） analysis based on sea surface temperature （SST） and sea surface wind stress （SWS） fields from SODA （Simple Ocean Data Assimilation） data spanning the period of 1950-1999. The coupled fields achieved the maximum correlation when the SST lagged SWS by one month, indicating that the SCS coupled system mainly reflected the response of the SST to monsoon forcing. Three significant coupled modes were found in the SCS, accounting for more than 80% of the cumulative squared covariance fraction. The first three SST spatial patterns from CSVD were： （Ⅰ） the monopole pattern along the isobaths in the SCS central basin; （Ⅱ） the north-south dipole pattern; and （Ⅲ） the west-east seesaw pattern. The expansion coefficient of the SST leading mode showed interdecadal and interannual variability and correlation with the Indo-Pacific warm pool （IPWP）, suggesting that the SCS belongs to part of the IPWP at interannual and interdecadal time scales. The second mode had a lower correlation coefficient with the warm pool index because its main period was at intra-annual time scales instead of the interannual and interdecadal scales with the warm pools. The third mode had similar periods to those of the leading mode, but lagged the eastern Indian Ocean warm pool （EIWP） and western Pacific warm pool （WPWP） by five months and one year respectively, implying that the SCS response to the warm pool variation occurred from the western Pacific to the eastern Indian Ocean, which might have been related to the variation of Indonesian throughflow. All three modes in the SCS had more significant correlations with the EIWP, which means the SCS SST varied much more coherently with the EIWP than the WPWP, suggesting that the SCS belongs mostly to part of the EIWP. The expansion coefficients of the SCS SST modes all had negative correlations with the Nino3 index, which they lag by several months, indicating a remote response of SCS SST variability to the El Nifio events.     

Relationship between Antarctic sea ice and the climate in summer of China

The variations of sea ice are different in different regions in Antarctica, thus have different impacts on local atmospheric circulation and global climatic system. The relationships between the sea ice in Ross Sea and Weddell Sea regions and the synoptic climate in summer of China are investigated in this paper via diagnostic analysis methods by using global sea ice concentration gridded data covering Jan. 1968 through Dec. 2002 obtained from Hadley Center, combined with Geopotential Height on 500hPa and 100hPa over North Hemisphere and monthly precipitation and air temperatures data covering the corresponding period over 160 meteorological stations in China obtained from CMA （ China Meteorological Administration）. Results disclose that both these two regions are of indicative meanings to the climate in summer of China. The Ross Sea Region is the key sea ice region to the precipitation in Northeast China in summer. More sea ice in this region in September will result in less precipitation in Northeast China in the following June. Weddell Sea Region is the key sea ice region to the air temperature in Northeast China in summer. More sea ice in this region in September will contribute to lower air temperature in Northeast China in the following June.     

Impact of Autumn SST in the Japan Sea on Winter Rainfall and Air Temperature in Northeast China

We studied the impact of sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) in the Japan Sea and the sea area east of Japan on the winter rainfall and air temperature in Northeast(NE) China using the singular value decomposition(SVD) and empirical orthogonal function(EOF). The monthly-mean rainfall data observed at 160 stations in China, monthly-mean sea surface temperature(SST) of the Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research and monthly-mean air temperature from the NCEP reanalysis during 1960–2011 were used. Correlation analysis indicates that the SSTAs in the Japan Sea in September may last for three or four months and are an important index for forecasting the winter rainfall and air temperature in NE China. Positive SSTAs in the central Japan Sea and in the sea area east of Tokyo correspond to positive rainfall anomaly and negative air temperature anomaly in NE China. With the rise of SST in the Japan Sea, a weak cyclone appears over the Japan Sea. The northeasterly wind transports water vapor from the Okhotsk to NE China, resulting in more rainfall and lower air temperature. Negative SSTA years are accompanied by warmer air temperature and less snow in NE China. The 1000 h Pa geopotential height anomaly and wind anomaly fields are simulated by IAP-9L model, which supports the analysis results.     

SATELLITE MONITORING OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES OFF CHINA

Satellite measurements of global sea surface temperatures (SST) have been made since 1962 using the multi-channel radiometers (AVHRR) on NOAA polar orbiting satellites. A four year data set was accumulated at daily intervals and a spatial resolution of about 100 kilometers on an interactive computer system, i he time lapse evaluation of the data revealed variations of the SST which were related to coastal and equatorial upwelling events as well as to the pronounced equatorial wanning associated with the 1962-1983 El Nino. In the present study, satellite time series are used to describe the annual variability of the SST at selected locations along the coast of China, the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan and the Equatorial Indian and Pacific Oceans. Further study of the SST off China using higher resolution satellite data are also described.     

Surface thermal centroid anomaly of the eastern equatorial Pacific as a unified Niño index

By analyzing the variability of global SST(sea surface temperature) anomalies,we propose a unified Ni o index using the surface thermal centroid anomaly of the region along the Pacific equator embraced by the 0.7°C contour line of the standard deviation of the SST anomalies and try to unify the traditional Ni o regions into a single entity.The unified Ni o region covers almost all of the traditional Ni o regions.The anomaly time series of the averaged SST over this region are closely correlated to historical Ni o indices.The anomaly time series of the zonal and meridional thermal centroid have close correlation with historical TNI(Trans-Ni o index) indices,showing differences among El Ni o(La Ni a) events.The meridional centroid anomaly suggests that areas of maximum temperature anomaly are moving meridionally(although slightly) with synchronous zonal movement.The zonal centroid anomalies of the unified Ni o region are found helpful in the classification of the Eastern Pacific(EP)/Central Pacific(CP) types of El Ni o events.More importantly,the zonal centroid anomaly shows that warm areas might move during a single warming/cooling phase.All the current Ni o indices can be well represented by a simple linear combination of unified Ni o indices,which suggests that the thermal anomaly(SSTA) and thermal centroid location anomaly of the unified Ni o region would yield a more complete image of each El Ni o/ La Ni a event.     

The Upper Ocean Thermal Structure and the Genesis Locations of Tropical Cyclones in the South China Sea

The relationship between the upper ocean thermal structure and the genesis locations of tropical cyclones （TCs） in the South China Sea （SCS） is investigated by using the Joint Typhoon Warning Center （JTWC） best-track archives and high resolution （1/4 degree） temperature analyses of the world＇s oceans in this paper In the monthly mean genesis positions of TCs from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, the mean sea surface temperature （SST） was 28.8℃ and the mean depth of 26℃ water was 53.1 m. From the monthly distribution maps of genesis positions of TCs, SST and the depth of 26℃ water in the SCS, we discovered that there existed regions with SST exceeding 26℃ and 26℃ water depth exceeding 50m where no tropical cyclones formed from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, which suggests that there were other factors unfavorable for TC formation in these regions.     

Decadal variability of chlorophyll a in the South China Sea: a possible mechanism

Four climatologies on a monthly scale (January, April, May and November) of chlorophyll a within the South China Sea (SCS) were calculated using a Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) (1979-1983) and the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) (1998-2002). We analyzed decadal variability of chlorophyll a by comparing the products of the two observation periods. The relationships of variability in chlorophyll a with sea surface wind speed (SSW), sea surface temperature (SST), wind stress (WS), and mixed layer depth (MLD) were determined. The results indicate that there is obvious chlorophyll a decadal variability in the SCS. The decadal chlorophyll a presents distinct seasonal variability in characteristics, which may be as a result of various different dynamic processes. The negative chlorophyll a concentration anomaly in January was associated with the warming of SST and a shallower MLD. Generally, there were higher chlorophyll a concentrations in spring during the SeaWiFS period compared with the CZCS period. However, the chlorophyll a concentration exhibits some regional differences during this season, leading to an explanation being difficult. The deepened MLD may have contributed to the positive chlorophyll a concentration anomalies from the northwestern Luzon Island to the northeastern region of Vietnam during April and May. The increases of chlorophyll a concentration in northwestern Borneo during May may be because the stronger SSW and higher WS produce a deeper mixed layer and convective mixing, leading to high levels of nutrient concentrations. The higher chlorophyll a off southeastern Vietnam may be associated with the advective transport of the colder water extending from the Karimata Strait to southeastern Vietnam.     

ESR DATING OF CORAL REEFS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

ESR dating of aragonitic and calcitic corals , eolianite , calcrete , and corallineae from coral reefs in the South China Sea was applied to study of Quaternary reef geology . The ESR ages of calcitic corals correlated with the biostratigraphy , lithostratigraphy and geochemistry of Well Xi-Chen-1 and the oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of deep sea sediments, were reliable and up to 1.26 Ma. The selection of signals for dating and other related problems are discussed .     

Predictability of Chinese Summer Extreme Rainfall Based on Arctic Sea Ice and Tropical Sea Surface Temperature

Chinese summer extreme rainfall often brings huge economic losses, so the prediction of summer extreme rainfall is necessary. This study focuses on the predictability of the leading mode of Chinese summer extreme rainfall from empirical orthogonal function(EOF) analysis. The predictors used in this study are Arctic sea ice concentration(ASIC) and regional sea surface temperature(SST) in selected optimal time periods. The most important role that Arctic sea ice(ASI) plays in the appearance of EOF1 may be strengthening the high pressure over North China, thereby preventing water vapor from going north. The contribution of SST is mainly at low latitudes and characterized by a significant cyclone anomaly over South China. The forecast models using predictor ASIC(PA), SST(PS), and the two together(PAS) are established by using data from 1980 to 2004. An independent forecast is made for the last 11 years(2005-2015). The correlation coefficient(COR) skills between the observed and cross-validation reforecast principal components(PC) of the PA, PS, and PAS models are 0.47, 0.66, and 0.76, respectively. These values indicate that SST is a major cause of Chinese summer extreme rainfall during 1980-2004. The COR skill of the PA model during the independent forecast period of 2004-2015 is 0.7, which is significantly higher than those of the PS and PAS models. Thus, the main factor influencing Chinese summer extreme rainfall in recent years has changed from low latitudes to high latitudes. The impact of ASI on Chinese summer extreme rainfall is becoming increasingly significant.     

Does the Asian monsoon modulate tropical cyclone activity over the South China Sea?

To investigate whether the Asian monsoon influences tropical cyclone (TC) activity over the South China Sea (SCS), TCs (including tropical storms and typhoons) over the SCS are analyzed using the Joint Typhoon Warning Center dataset from 1945 to 2009. Results show an increasing trend in the frequencies of TC-all (all TCs over the SCS) and TY-all (all typhoons over the SCS), due mainly to an increase in the number of TCs moving into the SCS after development elsewhere. Little change is seen in the number of TCs that form in the SCS. The results of wavelet analysis indicate that the frequency of typhoons (TY) shows a similar oscillation as that of TCs, i.e., a dominant periodicity of 8-16 years around the 1970s for all TC activity, except for TC-mov (TCs that moved into the SCS from the western North Pacific). To examine the relationship between typhoon activity and the summer monsoon, a correlation analysis was performed that considered typhoons, TCs, and five monsoon indexes. The analysis reveals statistically significant negative correlation between the strength of the Southwest Asian summer monsoon and typhoon activity over the SCS, which likely reflects the effect of the monsoon on TC formation in the western North Pacific (WNP) and subsequent movement into the SCS. There is a statistically significant negative correlation between TY-loc (typhoons that developed from TCs formed over the SCS) and the South China Sea summer monsoon and Southeast Asian summer monsoon.