The research on typhoon wave spectrum in northwestern South China Sea

Based upon the one-year wind wave measurement data, collected from the South China Sea (SCS) at coordinates 20° 36.298′N, 110°45.433′E. by Acoustic Wave And Current (AWAC), we analyzed the wave characteristics and concluded that the most common wave direction was E and the second most common direction was ENE, the mean and the maximum values of significant height was 1.2 m and 4.36 m, respectively. The mean period was 4.0 s. We also evaluated the wave spectrums under conditions existing in three typhoons: Rumbi, Jeti and Utor. We found that unimodal spectrums occurred more often than others, and the maximum spectrum peak was 30.7911 m² s. The minimum peak frequency was 0.0625 Hz, and the mean peak frequency was 0.126 Hz. The wave period is important for the design of marine structures, especially the position of peak frequency had a great influence on the stress calculation. Spectral analysis showed that the values of peak frequency distributed between 0.063 Hz and 0.217 Hz, with the mean value 0.114 Hz. We fit the normalized spectrum with 6 theoretical spectral models, out of which, the Wen spectrum, JONSWAP spectrum and Wallops spectrum were proved to give the best fit. What distinguished the Wen Spectrum from the rest was that it does not rely on the measured spectrum for parameter estimation. Hence, we recommend that the Wen spectrum should be widely used in marine construction.     

Cross-shelf transport induced by coastal trapped waves along the coast of East China Sea

Cross-shelf transport is important due to its role in the transport of nutrients, larvae, sediments, and pollutants. The role of coastal trapped waves(CTWs) and their contribution to the cross-shelf transport is presently unknown. The impact of wind-driven CTWs on the structure of the cross-shelf currents and transport is investigated in the East China Sea(ECS) starting from theory. The cross-shelf currents are divided into four terms: the geostrophic balance(GB) term, the second-order wave(SOW) term, the bottom friction(BF) term and Ekman(EK) term, as well as three modes: the Kelvin wave(KW) mode, the first shelf wave(SW1) mode and the second shelf wave(SW2) mode. Comparison among these decompositions shows that(1) for the four terms, the effect of the GB and EK terms is continual, while that of the BF term is confi ned to 60–240 km of fshore, and the contribution of the SOW term can be ignored;(2) for the three modes, the KW and SW1 modes are dominant in cross-shelf transport. The results show that the total cross-shelf transport travels onshore under idealized wind stress on the order of 10~(-1), and it increases along the cross-shelf direction and peaks about-0.73 Sv at the continental shelf margin. With the increase of linear bottom friction coeffi cient, the cross-shelf transport declines with distance with the slope becoming more uniform.     

Observation of near-inertial internal waves on the continental slope in the northwestern South China Sea

Based on nearly 3 months of moored acoustic Doppler current profiler records on the continental slope in the northwestern South China Sea(SCS) in 2006,this study examines temporal and vertical characteristics of near-inertial internal waves(NIW).Rotary frequency spectrum indicates that motions in the near-inertial frequency are strongly polarized,with clockwise(CW) energy exceeding counterclockwise(CCW) by about a factor of 10.Wavelet analysis exhibits an energy peak exceeding the 95% confidence level at the frequency of local inertial during the passage of typhoon Xangsane(24 September to 4 October).This elevated near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE) event possesses about a 4 days delay correlation with the time integral of energy flux induced by typhoon,indicating an energy source of wind.Further analysis shows that the upward phase velocity of this event is 3.8 m h~(-1)approximately,corresponding to a vertical wavelength of about 125 m if not taking the redshift of local inertial frequency into account.Rotary vertical wavenumber spectrum exhibits the dominance of clockwise-with-depth energy,indicating downward energy propagation and implying a surface energy source.Dynamical modes suggest that mode 1 plays a dominant role at the growth stage of NIW,whereas major contribution is from higher modes during the penetration of NIKE into the ocean interior.     

Highly nonlinear internal solitary waves over the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea

Large amplitude internal solitary waves (ISWs) often exhibit highly nonlinear effects and may contribute significantly to mixing and energy transporting in the ocean. We observed highly nonlinear ISWs over the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea (19°35′N, 112°E) in May 2005 during the Wenchang Internal Wave Experiment using in-situ time series data from an array of temperature and salinity sensors, and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). We summarized the characteristics of the ISWs and compared them with those of existing internal wave theories. Particular attention has been paid to characterizing solitons in terms of the relationship between shape and amplitude-width. Comparison between theoretical prediction and observation results shows that the high nonlinearity of these waves is better represented by the second-order extended Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) theory than the first-order KdV model. These results indicate that the northwestern South China Sea (SCS) is rich in highly nonlinear ISWs that are an indispensable part of the energy budget of the internal waves in the northern South China Sea.     

Response of internal waves to 2005 Typhoon Damrey over the northwestern shelf of the South China Sea

Continuous observation of sea water temperature and current was made at Wenchang Station (19°35′N, 112°E) in 2005. The data collected indicate vigorous internal waves of both short periods and tidal and near-inertial periods. The temperature and current time series during 18-30 September were examined to describe the upper ocean internal wave field response to Typhoon Damrey (0518). The strong wind associated with the typhoon, which passed over the sea area about 45 km south of Wenchang Sta- tion on 25 September, deepened the mixed layer depth remarkably. It decreased the mixed layer temperature while increasing the deep layer temperature, and intensified the near-inertial and high-frequency fluctuations of temperature and current. Power spectra of temperature and current time series indicate significant deviations from those obtained by using the deep ocean internal wave models characterized by a power law. The frequency spectra were dominated by three energetic bands: around the inertial frequency (7.75× 10-6 Hz), tidal frequencies (1.010-25 to 2.4×10-5 Hz), and between 1.4×10-4 and 8.3 × 10-4 Hz. Dividing the field data into three phases (before, during and after the typhoon), we found that the typhoon enhanced the kinetic energy in nearly all the frequency bands, es- pecially in the surface water. The passage of Damrey made a major contribution to the horizontal kinetic energy of the total surface current variances. The vertical energy density distribution, with its peak value at the surface, was an indication that the energy in- jected by the strong wind into the surface current could penetrate downward to the thermocline.     

Numerical simulation and preliminary analysis of typhoon waves during three typhoons in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

In this study, typhoon waves generated during three typhoons(Damrey(1210), Fung-wong(1416), and Chan-hom(1509)) in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea were simulated in a simulating waves nearshore(SWAN) model, and the wind forcing was constructed by combining reanalyzed wind data with a Holland typhoon wind model. Various parameters, such as the Holland fitting parameter(B) and the maximum wind radius(R), were investigated in sensitivity experiments in the Holland model that affect the wind field construction. Six different formulations were considered and the parameters determined by comparing the simulated wind results with in-situ wind measurements. The key factors affecting wave growth and dissipation processes from deep to shallow waters were studied, including wind input, whitecapping, and bottom friction. Comparison with in-situ wave measurements suggested that the KOMEN scheme(wind input exponential growth and whitecapping energy dissipation) and the JONSWAP scheme(dissipation of bottom friction) resulted in good reproduction of the significant wave height of typhoon waves. A preliminary analysis of the wave characteristics in terms of wind-sea and swell wave revealed that swell waves dominated with the distance of R to the eye of the typhoon, while wind-sea prevailed in the outer region up to six to eight times the R values despite a clear misalignment between wind and waves. The results support the hypothesis that nonlinear wave-wave interactions may play a key role in the formation of wave characteristics.     

Influence of sequential tropical cyclones on phytoplankton blooms in the northwestern South China Sea

Upper ocean responses to the passage of sequential tropical cyclones over the northwestern South China Sea(SCS) in 2011 were investigated using satellite remote sensing data,Argo reanalysis data,and an array of mooring data.We found that the sea surface low temperature region lasted for more than 38 days and two phytoplankton blooms occurred after the passage of sequential tropical cyclones.The upper ocean cooling reached 2-5℃ with a right-side bias was observed along the typhoon track to about 200 km.The maintenance of low temperature region and the two phytoplankton blooms were mainly driven by upwelling and near-inertial turbulence mixing induced by the sequential tropical cyclones.The first phytoplankton bloom appeared on the 7~(th) day after the passage of the three tropical cyclones,and the chlorophyll-a(chl-a) concentration increased by 226%,which may be mainly driven by typhoons induced upwelling.The second phytoplankton bloom occurred on the 30~(th) day,the chl-a concentration increased by290%.Further analysis suggested that only the typhoons with similar characteristics as Nesat and Nalgae can induce strong near-inertial oscillation(NIO).Strong turbulent mixing associated with the near-inertial baroclinic shear instability lasted for 26 days.The measured mean eddy diffusivity in the upper ocean was above 10~(-4) m~2/s after typhoon Nesat.Enhancement of the turbulent mixing in the upper ocean helped to transport nutrient-rich cold waters from the deep layer to the euphotic layer,and is a maj or mechanism for the long-term maintenance of low temperature region as well as the second phytoplankton bloom.     

WIND WAVES SIMULATION IN THE NORTH AREA OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

A third generation wave model was developed to simulate wind waves in the South China Sea near Hong Kong. The model solves the energy conservation equation of the two dimensional wave spectrum by directly computing the nonlinear energy interaction among waves of different frequencies, thus avoiding the imposition of restrictions on the shape of the predicted spectra. The use of an upwind difference scheme in the advective terms produces an artificial diffusion which partly compensates the dispersive effect due to the phase velocity differences among various wave components. The use of a semi-implicit scheme for the source terms together with a special treatment of the high frequency tail of the spectrum allows a large time integration step. Verification of the model was done for wave hindcasting studies under conditions of two typhoons and two cold fronts in the north part of the South China Sea near Hong Kong . The model results agree well with the field measurements except that the presence of a dista     

Characteristics of nonlinear internal waves observed in the northern South China Sea

The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the most active areas of internal waves. We undertook a program of physical oceanography in the northern South China Sea from June to July of 2009, and conducted a 1-day observation from 15:40 of June 24 to 16:40 of June 25 using a chain of instruments, including temperature sensors, pressure sensors and temperature-pressure meters at a site (117.5°E, 21°N) northeast of the Dongsha Islands. We measured fluctuating tidal and subtidal properties with the thermistor-chain and a ship-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, and observed a large-amplitude nonlinear internal wave passing the site followed by a number of small ones. To further investigate this phenomenon, we collected the tidal constituents from the TPXO7.1 dataset to evaluate the tidal characteristics at and around the recording site, from which we knew that the amplitude of the nonlinear internal wave was about 120 m and the period about 20 min. The horizontal and vertical velocities induced by the soliton were approximately 2 m/s and 0.5 m/s, respectively. This soliton occurred 2–3 days after a spring tide.     

Nonlinear interactions among internal tidal waves in the northeastern South China Sea

We used a set of 75-day long ADCP data from the northeastern South China Sea (SCS) to investigate nonlinear interactions among freely propagating internal tidal waves. The kinetic energy spectra displayed significant peaks at some higher tidal frequencies, such as O₁M₂ (O₁+M₂), and M₄ (M₂+M₂), where O₁ is the lunar diurnal internal tide, M₂ is the lunar semidiurnal internal tide, and M₄ is the first higher harmonic frequency of M₂. These higher tidal harmonic frequency peaks, as well as the fundamental tidal harmonic peaks, show a σ ^−2.3 spectral falloff rate with frequency. In addition, we explored the possible generation mechanism of higher tidal harmonics. Analysis on the rotary and bicoherence spectra suggests that strong forced non-resonant interaction induced by nonlinear advections was the dominant physical mechanism that induced these higher tidal harmonics. Moreover, the energetic, freely propagating semidiurnal (M₂) internal tidal wave played the most crucial role in these interactions. These results indicate that strong nonlinear forced non-resonant interactions among internal tides can be one of the processes responsible for the redistribution of energy in the internal wave spectrum.     

Upper ocean response to typhoon Kujira(2015) in the South China Sea by multiple means of observation

The impact of typhoon Kujira(2015) on the ocean environment around Yongxing Island in the South China Sea was observed using multiple-satellite sensors and on-site data.A subsurface buoy and Agro float were located to the left and lower right of the track of the typhoon.Satellite observations revealed sea surface cooling of up to 2.5℃,a maximum decrease in sea surface salinity of 2 in the main study area because of heavy rain,and increases in the chlorophyll concentration induced by the slow-moving typhoon with a maximum observed instantaneous wind speed of 35.1 m/s.The sea surface temperature to the right of the typhoon track changed more than that on the left owing to a right bias of the typhoon associated with coupling of the typhoon with wind stress on the sea surface.In the ocean interior,there was obvious downwelling at 24.7 m and upwelling at a depth of 35.7 m with the vertical entrainment and agitation of the typhoon,and the ef fects extended to different depths of up to more than 1 000 m.When the typhoon passed through the main study area,the maximum flow velocity change at depths of 51 and 660 m was about 0.44 and 0.04 m/s,respectively.The typhoon af fected the flow field to a depth of 660 m as it formed and decayed in 11 h,moved at an average speed of 60 m/h,and af fected the sea surface over a range exceeding 700 km as it moved slowly and stayed at sea for 2 d.Vertical entrainment and agitation generated by the typhoon,as well as rainfall,cooled the sea surface.This inhibited the strengthening of the typhoon,but the energy transmitted to the ocean led to divergence-convergence flow from a shallow to deep layer.     

Effects of tidal currents on nonlinear internal solitary waves in the South China Sea

The propagation and fission process of internal solitary waves (ISWs) with amplitudes of about 170 m are simulated in the northeast of the South China Sea (NSCS) by using the generalized Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation under continuous stratification. More attention is paid to the effects of the ebb and flood background currents on the fission process of ISWs. This kind of background current is provided by the composed results simulated in terms of monthly mean baroclinic circulation and barotropic tidal current. It is found that the obtained relation of the number of fission solitons to the water depth and stratification is roughly in accordance with the fission law derived by Djordjevic and Redekopp in 1978; however, there exists obvious difference between the effects of the ebb and flood background currents on the wave-lengths of fission solitons (defined as the distance between two neighboring peaks of ISWs). The difference in nonlinearity coefficient α between the ebb and flood background currents is a main cause for the different wave-lengths of fission solitons.     

Effects of internal waves on signal temporal correlation length in the South China Sea

We simulated the temporal correlation of sound transmission using a two-dimensional advective frozen-ocean model with temperature data from a temperature sensor array on a propagation path in the South China Sea (SCS) Experiment 2009, and investigated the relationships of temporal correlation length, source-receiver range, and maximal sound speed fluctuation mainly caused by the solitary internal waves. We found that the temporal correlation length is −1.2-power dependent on source-receiver range and −0.9-power dependent on maximal sound speed fluctuation. The empirical relationship is deduced from one-day environmental measurements in a limited area, needing more works and verification in the future with more acoustic data. But the relationship is useful in many applications in the area of SCS Experiment 2009.