Patterns of K1 and M2 internal tides and their seasonal variations in the northern South China Sea

Seasonal variations of baroclinic tides for K₁ and M₂ constituents were separately studied using two-dimensional numerical simulations along the 21°N section of the northern South China Sea (SCS). Results show that the continental slope of the northern SCS and the west ridge of the Luzon Strait are supercritical to K₁ internal tides, which may be trapped in the deep basin of the SCS and form standing or partial standing waves. Meanwhile, these areas are sub-critical to M₂ internal tides, which can transmit onto the shelf and are seldom reflected back into the basin. The trapped K₁ internal tides are dominated by mode-2 and mode-3 in summer and by mode-1 and mode-3 in winter. Moreover, high mode K₁ internal tides account for nearly 20–40 % of the total energy density in winter and 15–20 % in summer. The pattern of K₁ internal tides in the basin is mainly determined by the percentage of reflected energy from the continental slope. The phase difference between the incoming mode-1 and mode-2 K₁ internal tides near the continental slope are nearly out of phase in winter, which means that the percentage of reflection of the K₁ internal tide is larger than that in summer. Both the convergence and high mode K₁ internal tides can enhance the vertical shear. The above results indicate that, in the deep basin of the SCS, water mixing potentially induced by internal tides in winter is stronger than in summer.     

Evaluation of spatial distribution of turbulent mixing in the central Pacific

A long-term mean turbulent mixing in the depth range of 200–1000 m produced by breaking of internal waves across the middle and low latitudes (40°S–40°N) of the Pacific between 160°W and 140°W is examined by applying fine-scale parameterization depending on strain variance to 8-year (2005–2012) Argo float data. Results show that elevated turbulent dissipation rate (ε) is related to significant topographic regions, along the equator, and on the northern side of 20°N spanning to 24°N throughout the depth range. Two patterns of latitudinal variations of ε and the corresponding diffusivity (K_ρ) for different depth ranges are confirmed: One is for 200–450 m with significant larger ε and K_ρ, and the maximum values are obtained between 4°N and 6°N, where eddy kinetic energy also reaches its maximum; The other is for 350–1000 m with smaller ε and K_ρ, and the maximum values are obtained near the equator, and between 18°S and 12°S in the southern hemisphere, 20°N and 22°N in the northern hemisphere. Most elevated turbulent dissipation in the depth range of 350–1000 m relates to rough bottom roughness (correlation coefficient?=?0.63), excluding the equatorial area. In the temporal mean field, energy flux from surface wind stress to inertial motions is not significant enough to account for the relatively intensified turbulent mixing in the upper layer.     

Mesoscale variability in the South China Sea from the TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry data

Using wavelet transform we studied the mesoscale variability in the South China Sea (SCS) by analyzing 5-yr (October 1992 to August 1997) TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) altimetry data. Our analysis suggests that mesoscale variability inside the SCS is weaker than that outside the SCS in the Kuroshio. It is found that despite the large temporal variation in the mesoscale variability, there are two narrow bands of significant mesoscale variability north of 10°N throughout much of the 5-yr period. The stronger one lies along the western boundary, while the weaker one is oriented in a southwest-to-northeast direction across the central SCS. In the rest of the SCS, the mesoscale variability is much weaker. In light of the numerical simulation by Metzger and Hurlburt (1996, Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, 12,331–12,352) and an XBT section along 15°N, the broad characteristic structure of the mesoscale variability indicates that the large-scale mean circulation in the SCS is primarily a cyclonic gyre north of about 10°N. In addition to the mesoscale variability, analysis of both the T/P and the XBT data indicates that there also exists significant intra-annual variability within similar geographic locations. The intra-annual variability is found to be primarily a subsurface feature with a very weak surface signature.     

Microstructure observations in the upper layer of the South China Sea

A general pattern for turbulent mixing in the upper layer of the South China Sea (SCS) is presented based on TurboMAP measurements in April and May 2010. The turbulence level decreased significantly overall from north to south, and weakened from east to west in the northern SCS. The average dissipation rate north of 18°N reaches 1.69 × 10^?8 W/kg, approximately six times larger than that south of 18°N. The mean mixing efficiency in the SCS is 0.2, with a maximum of 0.31 near the Luzon Strait. At one repeatedly occupied station located in the central deep basin, the dissipation rate varies diurnally in the mixed layer and pycnocline due to diurnal heating and cooling by solar radiation and local barotropic tide, respectively.     

内潮耗散与自吸-负荷潮对南海潮波影响的数值研究

利用非结构三角形网格的FVCOM海洋数值模式,在其传统二维潮波方程中加入参数化的内潮耗散项和自吸-负荷潮项,计算了南海及其周边海域的M_2、S_2、K_1和O_1分潮的分布。与实测值的比较表明,引入这两项对模拟准确度的提高有明显效果。根据模式结果本文计算分析了研究海域的潮能输入和耗散。能量输入计算表明,能通量是潮能输入的最主要构成部分,通过吕宋海峡断面进入南海的M_2和K_1分潮能通量分别为38和29GW;半日周期的自吸-负荷潮能量输入以负值居多,而全日周期的自吸-负荷潮能量输入以正值居多,因而自吸-负荷潮减弱了南海的半日潮,并加强了南海的全日潮。引潮力的作用也减弱了半日潮而加强了全日潮,但其作用要小于自吸-负荷潮。潮能耗散的分析显示底摩擦耗散在沿岸浅水区域起主导作用,内潮耗散则主要发生在深水区域。内潮耗散的最大值出现在吕宋海峡,且位于南海之外的海峡东部的耗散量大于位于南海之内的海峡西部的耗散量。对M_2和K_1分潮吕宋海峡的内潮耗散总值分别达到16和23GW。     

On the predictability of mode-1 internal tides

A frequency-wavenumber tidal analysis for deriving internal-tide harmonic constants from TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) measurements of sea-surface height (SSH) has been developed, taking advantage of the evident temporal and spatial coherence and the weak dissipation of internal tides. Previous analyses consisted of simple tidal analysis at individual points, which gave inconsistent harmonic constants at altimeter track crossover points. Such analyses have difficulty in distinguishing between the effects of interference, incoherence, and dissipation. The frequency-wavenumber analysis provides an objective way to interpolate the internal tides measured along altimetry tracks to any arbitrary point, while leveraging all available data for optimal tidal estimates. Tidal analysis of T/P data from 2000 to 2007 is used to predict in situ time series measured during the 2001-2002 Hawaiian Ocean mixing experiment (HOME), the 1987 reciprocal tomography experiment (RTE87), and the 1991 acoustic mid-ocean dynamics experiment (AMODE), demonstrating both the temporal coherence and the lack of incoherent elements to this wave propagation. It has been conjectured that significant energy would be lost from mode-1 internal tides as they cross the 28.9°N critical latitude of parametric subharmonic instability (PSI). No apparent change in amplitude at 28.9°N was detected by this analysis, however. Further, after correcting for changes in background stratification, the amplitude of the mode-1 internal tide was found to decrease by less than 20% over the 2000 km between the Hawaiian Ridge and 40°N. A significant fraction of the variability of internal waves, that component associated with mode-1 internal tides, appears to be predictable over most of the world's oceans, using harmonic constants derived from satellite altimetry.     

Anomalous hydrographic and biological conditions in the northern South China Sea during the 1997–1998 El Niño and comparisons with the equatorial Pacific

It is demonstrated that weakened wind mixing and strengthened water column stratification resulted in the anomalously low sea surface chlorophyll in the northern South China Sea during the 1997–1998 El Niño event. Remotely sensed sea surface temperature, wind and chlorophyll, which were validated by shipboard observations at the SouthEast Asian Time-series Study (SEATS) station (18°N, 116°E) in the northern South China Sea (SCS) provided the basis for this study. During the 1997–1998 winter at the SEATS station, the sea surface temperature was elevated by about 2 °C above the climatological mean, while the wind speed of the northeast monsoon was reduced from a climatological mean of 9.4 to 6.8 m/s. The concentration of surface chlorophyll-a dropped from 0.2 to 0.1 mg/m³. The monthly area-averaged integrated primary production estimated for the northern SCS area (112–119°E, 15–21°N) was reduced by about 40% of the normal winter value. Under the anomalously high sea surface temperature and weak monsoon, the mixed-layer depth would have been reduced from an average of 65 to 45 m and the nutrients in the mixed layer would have been reduced by half, according to observations at the SEATS station in more recent years. During the 1997–1998 El Niño event, the onset of warming in the northern SCS lagged behind that in the eastern equatorial Pacific by about 5 months and lingered for 11 months. This course of change resembled that of the western Pacific warm pool region. However, contrary to the northern SCS, the sea surface chlorophyll was enhanced in the warm pool region during the event, probably mainly because of the uplifted nutricline. Unlike the eastern equatorial Pacific, the dramatic recovery of biological production did not happen in the SCS in the summer of 1998. These distinctive biogeochemical responses reflect fundamental differences between the SCS and the equatorial Pacific in terms of upper water column dynamics.     

Numerical study of baroclinic tides in Luzon Strait

The spatial and temporal variations of baroclinic tides in the Luzon Strait (LS) are investigated using a three-dimensional tide model driven by four principal constituents, O₁, K₁, M₂ and S₂, individually or together with seasonal mean summer or winter stratifications as the initial field. Barotropic tides propagate predominantly westward from the Pacific Ocean, impinge on two prominent north-south running submarine ridges in LS, and generate strong baroclinic tides propagating into both the South China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific Ocean. Strong baroclinic tides, ∼19 GW for diurnal tides and ∼11 GW for semidiurnal tides, are excited on both the east ridge (70%) and the west ridge (30%). The barotropic to baroclinic energy conversion rate reaches 30% for diurnal tides and ∼20% for semidiurnal tides. Diurnal (O₁ and K₁) and semidiurnal (M₂) baroclinic tides have a comparable depth-integrated energy flux 10–20 kW m⁻¹ emanating from the LS into the SCS and the Pacific basin. The spring-neap averaged, meridionally integrated baroclinic tidal energy flux is ∼7 GW into the SCS and ∼6 GW into the Pacific Ocean, representing one of the strongest baroclinic tidal energy flux regimes in the World Ocean. About 18 GW of baroclinic tidal energy, ∼50% of that generated in the LS, is lost locally, which is more than five times that estimated in the vicinity of the Hawaiian ridge. The strong westward-propagating semidiurnal baroclinic tidal energy flux is likely the energy source for the large-amplitude nonlinear internal waves found in the SCS. The baroclinic tidal energy generation, energy fluxes, and energy dissipation rates in the spring tide are about five times those in the neap tide; while there is no significant seasonal variation of energetics, but the propagation speed of baroclinic tide is about 10% faster in summer than in winter. Within the LS, the average turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate is O(10⁻⁷) W kg^{− 1} and the turbulence diffusivity is O(10⁻³) m²s⁻¹, a factor of 100 greater than those in the typical open ocean. This strong turbulence mixing induced by the baroclinic tidal energy dissipation exists in the main path of the Kuroshio and is important in mixing the Pacific Ocean, Kuroshio, and the SCS waters.     

Numerical study of M2 internal tide generation and propagation in the Luzon Strait

Based on the z-coordinate ocean model HAMSOM,we introduced the internal-tide viscosity term and applied the model to numerically investigate the M2 internal tide generation and propagation in the Luzon Strait (LS).The results show that (1) in the upper 250 m depth,at the thermocline,the maximum amplitude of the generated internal tides in the LS can reach 40 m;(2) the major internal tides are generated to the northwest of Itbayat Island,the southwest of Batan Island and the northwest of the Babuyan Islands;(3) during the propagation the baroclinic energy scattering and reflection is obvious,which exists under the effect of the specific topography in the South China Sea (SCS);(4) the westward-propagating internal tides are divided into two branches entering the SCS.While passing through 118 E,the major branch is divided into two branches again.The strongest internal tides in the LS are generated to the northwest of Itbayat Island and propagate northeastward to the Pacific.However,to the east of 122 E,most of the internal tides propagate southeastward to the Pacific as a beam.     

Spatial and temporal seasonal trends in coastal upwelling off Northwest Africa, 1981–2012

Seasonal coastal upwelling was analyzed along the NW African coastline (11–35°N) from 1981 to 2012. Upwelling magnitudes are calculated by wind speed indices, sea-surface temperature indices and inferred from meteorological station, sea-surface height and vertical water column transport data. A permanent annual upwelling regime is documented across 21–35°N and a seasonal regime across 12–19°N, in accordance with the climatology of previous studies. Upwelling regions were split into three zones: (1) the Mauritania–Senegalese upwelling zone (12–19°N), (2) the strong permanent annual upwelling zone (21–26°N) and (3) the weak permanent upwelling zone (26–35°N). We find compelling evidence in our various indices for the Bakun upwelling intensification hypothesis due to a significant coastal summer wind speed increase, resulting in an increase in upwelling-favorable wind speeds north of 20°N and an increase in downwelling-favorable winds south of 20°N. The North Atlantic Oscillation plays a leading role in modifying interannual variability during the other seasons (autumn–spring), with its influence dominating in winter. The East Atlantic pattern shows a strong correlation with upwelling during spring, while El Niño Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation teleconnections were not found. A disagreement between observationally-based wind speed products and reanalysis-derived data is explored. A modification to the Bakun upwelling intensification hypothesis for NW Africa is presented, which accounts for the latitudinal divide in summer wind regimes.     

On the generation and propagation of internal solitary waves in the southern Bay of Biscay

Internal solitary waves (ISWs), travelling towards the South–South-West (SSW), are now well documented in the northern and central Bay of Biscay. These are formed from large-amplitude internal tides which result from the interaction of the barotropic tide with the steep shelf-break topography. In the present paper, we investigate available satellite imagery (Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and ASAR data) to reveal that the southern Bay of Biscay is also a “hotspot” region which has a high level of ISW activity. Here, the ISWs travel towards the East–North-East from the Cape Finisterre region off North-West Spain. In fact, we reveal the presence of two wave-trains travelling in slightly different directions (055°T and 040°T). By calculating the strength of the barotropic tidal forcing in the region, and identifying the likely propagation pathways (rays) of internal tidal (IT) energy, we identify the generation sites for these wave-trains as lying on either side of the Ortegal Promontory (OP). This is an undersea “headland” projecting towards the North-West from the north-western coast of Spain (near 44°N, 8.5°W), and over which the barotropic tides are forced to flow. For each generation site, IT rays emanating from “critical” topography (where the ray slope is equal to the topographic slope) in regions of strong barotropic forcing, rise to the surface (for one site after a reflection from the sea-floor) and pass through the thermocline close to the earliest occurrences of the ISWs in the respective wave trains. These rays would then produce, through nonlinear processes, the ISWs through the same “local generation” mechanism that has been used to explain the occurrence of the ISWs in the northern and central Bay. The “local generation” mechanism may therefore be more widely applicable than previously thought. In addition, the methods we have used to deduce the generation sites for these waves are expected to prove equally useful for studies in other areas of the world's oceans.     

Mode-1 internal tides in the western North Atlantic Ocean

Mode-1 internal tides were observed the western North Atlantic using an ocean acoustic tomography array deployed in 1991–1992 centered on 25°N, 66°W. The pentagonal array, 700-km across, acted as an antenna for mode-1 internal-tides. Coherent internal-tide waves with O(1 m) displacements were observed traveling in several directions. Although the internal tides of the region were relatively quiescent, they were essentially phase locked over the 200–300 day data record lengths. Both semidiurnal and diurnal internal waves were detected, with wavenumbers consistent with those calculated from hydrographic data. The M₂ internal-tide energy flux was estimated to be about 70 W m⁻¹, suggesting that mode-1 waves radiate 0.2 GW of energy, with large uncertainty, from the Caribbean island chain at this frequency. A global tidal model (TPXO 5) suggested that 1–2 GW is lost from the M₂ barotropic tide over this region, but the precise value was uncertain because the complicated topography makes the calculation problematic. In any case, significant conversion of barotropic to baroclinic tidal energy does not occur in the western North Atlantic basin. It is apparent, however, that mode-1 internal tides have very weak decay and retain their coherence over great distances, so that ocean basins may be filled up with such waves. Observed diurnal amplitudes were an order of magnitude larger than expected. The amplitude and phase variations of the K₁ and O₁ constituents observed over the tomography array were consistent with the theoretical solutions for standing internal waves near their turning latitude. The energy densities of the resonant diurnal internal waves were roughly twice those of the barotropic tide at those frequencies.     

Intrusion of the Kuroshio into the South China Sea,in September 2008

Using widespread conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) data in the Philippine Sea and northern South China Sea near the Luzon Strait together with altimeter data, we identified an intrusion of water from the Kuroshio into the South China Sea (SCS) through the Luzon Strait in September 2008. The Kuroshio water obviously intruded into the SCS from 20 to 21°N, and existed mainly in the upper 300 m. The intrusion water extended as far west as 117°E, then looped around in an anticyclonic eddy and returned to the Philippine Sea further north. The dynamics of the Kuroshio intrusion are discussed using a 1.5-layer nonlinear shallow-water reduced-gravity model. The analysis suggests that the strong cyclonic eddy to the east of the Kuroshio in September 2008 was of benefit to the intrusion event.     

Enhancement of biological productivity by internal waves: observations in the summertime in the northern South China Sea

Streaks of elevated concentrations of surface chlorophyll a (Chl_a) of various spacing were found to be associated with internal waves in their transmission zone and dissipation zone in the summertime in the deep open northern South China Sea. At an anchored station in the dissipation zone north of the Dongsha Atoll with a water depth of ca. 600?m, undulations of the mixed layer depth with an amplitude of ca. 30?m and a periodicity of ca. 12?h were observed, and they were accompanied by similar undulation in the isotherm and isopleth of the nutrients. These observations are consistent with the enhancement of vertical mixing by internal waves and the resulting transfer of cold, nutrient-rich subsurface water to the surface mixed layer to fuel biological productivity. In the transmission zone and dissipation zone, respectively, the summertime (May–October) average sea surface temperature was 0.5 and 0.8?°C lower and Chl_a was 19 and 43?% higher than those in a nearby subregion that was minimally affected by internal waves. The mean net primary productivity was elevated by 15 and 37?%. These results indicate that the enhancement of biological activity by internal waves is not confined to the shallow waters on the shelf. The effect can be detected in all phases of the internal waves although it may be especially prominent in the dissipation zone where mixing between subsurface and surface waters is more effective.     

Investigation on the Cyclonic Seastate along Southeast Coast of India

The east coast of the Indian Peninsula experiences the effects of a devastating cyclone at least annually. The Thane cyclone of 29–30 December 2011 has been once such event that resulted in significant damages along the coastline of Tamil Nadu on the southeast coast of India (13° 9′ 10′ N and 80° 21′E). Waves as high as 8–12 m in a water depth of 20 m have been measured. Such huge waves, combined with a storm surge of 0.5 m, lead to severe damages to coastal structures during the passage of the cyclone. As a part of an exercise in assessing the sediment transport rates through measurements of the hydrodynamic driving parameters along the coast of major port of Chennai instruments were deployed for the measurement of waves and flow field. The measurement campaign was carried out at a location of about 120 km north of the cyclone made landfall. The ENCEP wind data formed the input for executing the WAM model for the simulation of wave characteristics, which are compared with the measured wave data. The agreement between them is found to be good. The details of the analysis of the results are presented and discussed in this paper.     

The variation of turbulent diapycnal mixing at 18°N in the South China Sea stirred by wind stress

The spatial and temporal variations of turbulent diapycnal mixing along 18°N in the South China Sea(SCS) are estimated by a fine-scale parameterization method based on strain, which is obtained from CTD measurements in yearly September from 2004 to 2010. The section mean diffusivity can reach ~10~(–4)m~2/s, which is an order of magnitude larger than the value in the open ocean. Both internal tides and wind-generated near-inertial internal waves play an important role in furnishing the diapycnal mixing here. The former dominates the diapycnal mixing in the deep ocean and makes nonnegligible contribution in the upper ocean, leading to enhanced diapycnal mixing throughout the water column over rough topography. In contrast, the influence of the wind-induced nearinertial internal wave is mainly confined to the upper ocean. Over both flat and rough bathymetries, the diapycnal diffusivity has a growth trend from 2005 to 2010 in the upper 700 m, which results from the increase of wind work on the near-inertial motions.     

Surface manifestation of internal tides in the deep ocean: observations from altimetry and island gauges

The sea-surface height signatures of internal tides in the deep ocean, amounting to a few centimeters or less, are studied using two complementary measurement types: satellite altimetry and island tide gauges. Altimetry can detect internal tides that maintain coherence with the astronomical forcing; island gauges can monitor temporal variability which, in some circumstances, is due to internal tides varying in response to changes in the oceanic medium. This latter mechanism is at work at Hilo and other stations on the northern coasts of the Hawaiian Islands. By detecting spatially coherent low-frequency internal-tide modulations, the tide gauges, along with inverted echo sounders at sea, suggest that the mean internal tide is also spatially coherent; satellite altimetry confirms this. At Hawaii and in many other places, Topex/Poseidon altimetry detects mean surface waves, spatially coherent and propagating great distances (> 1000 km) before decaying below background noise. When temporal variability is small, the altimetry (plus information on ocean density) sets useful constraints on energy fluxes into internal tides. At the Hawaiian Ridge, 15 GW of tidal power is being converted from barotropic to first-mode baroclinic motion. Examples elsewhere warn that a simplistic interpretation of the altimetry, without regard to variability, noise, or in situ information, may be highly misleading. With such uncertainties, extension of the Hawaiian results into a usefully realistic estimate of the global internal-tide energy balance appears premature at this time.     

大洋细结构的一种可能的机制Ⅲ.对混合过程动能耗散的估计

继第部分之后研究了惯性内波和近惯性内波由f～的作用所致的剪切不稳定引起的破碎机制。物理上,该机制很象存在由风应力所致薄表面涡旋漂流层时表面波的破碎与饱和过程。惯性内波和近惯性内波的破碎产物与小尺度湍流一起形成了混合块,它与Gregg等人(1986)的持久混合观测结果一致。依据Thorpe(1973)实验的结果作者提出了一个估计湍流动能耗散率和消衰时间的方法。结果表明,在剪切不稳定中近惯性内波在湍动耗散中起了关键作用,而惯性内波引起非常弱的湍动耗散。使用内波能量谱的标准总能量密度估计出的近惯性内波的耗散率和消衰时间与PATCHEX测量结果非常一致。文中还讨论了几个与此破碎机制有关的问题。     

Ocean swell variability along the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea

This study analyses a 4.5 year (September 2009–March 2014) time-series of remotely-sensed data of altimeter significant wave heights to describe the temporal and spatial variability of ocean swells along the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea. The NOAA WAVEWATCH III (NWW3) wave model data were used with altimeter data to determine the origin of the swells that occur along the coast of Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa. We show that the ocean swells along the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea are generated in the Southern Ocean and then propagate from south to north in the South Atlantic Ocean, before turning south-west to north-east close to the coast. This finding corroborates previous studies in this area. The remotely-sensed and NWW3 significant wave height data captured the strong swells observed along the coast of Côte d'Ivoire from the period 28 August–3 September 2011, which were responsible for an extreme erosion event of more than 12?m along that country's coastline. This extreme event was triggered by a strong storm in the region between 40° and 60° S that occurred eight days previously in the South Atlantic. The waves propagated as swells at a speed of about 875?km day–¹ before reaching the northern African coast.     

Temperature variability caused by internal tides in the coastal waters of east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

The effects of tidal currents (i.e., barotropic and internal tides) are important in the biogeochemistry of a coastal shelf sea. The high-frequency of currents and near-bottom temperatures collected in three consecutive southwest monsoon seasons (May, June, July and August of 2013 until 2015) is presented to reveal the role of the tidal currents to the temperature variability in the coastal shelf sea of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (ECPM), south of the South China Sea (SCS). The results of a spectral density and harmonic analysis demonstrate that the near-bottom temperature variability and the tidal currents are influenced by diurnal (O₁ and K₁) and semidiurnal (M₂) tidal currents. The spectral density of residual currents (detided data) at 5, 10 and 16 m depth also shows significant peaks at the diurnal tidal frequency (K₁) and small peaks at the semidiurnal tidal frequency (M₂) indicating the existence of internal tides. The result of the horizontal kinetic energy (HKE) shows a strong intermittent energy of internal tides in the ECPM with the strongest energy is found at 16 m depth during a sporadic cooling event in June and July. A high horizontal cross-shore heat flux (16 m) also indicates strong intrusions of cooler water into the ECPM in June and July. During the short duration of cold pulse water observed in June and July, a cross-wavelet analysis also reveals the strong relationship between the near-bottom temperatures and the internal tidal currents at the diurnal tidal frequency. The intrusion of this cooler water is probably related to the monsoon-induced upwelling in June. It is loosely interpreted that the interaction between the strong barotropic tides and the steep slope in the central basin of the SCS under the stratified condition in southwest monsoon has generated these internal tides. The dissipation of internal tides from the slope area probably has driven the cold-upwelled water into the ECPM coastal shelf sea when the upwelling intensity is the highest in June and July.