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.     

南海西北部正压潮的数值模拟

利用1/30°分辨率三维POM(Princeton Ocean Model)模式,以M2、S2、K1、O14大分潮作为潮汐边界条件,模拟南海西北部(105.5-115°E,16-23°N)海域正压潮,分析琼州海峡及其附近区域正压潮能通量分布特征。结果表明,研究海域内M2分潮和全日潮都是顺时针传入北部湾,然后自西向东通过琼州海峡,直至琼州海峡东口;计算所得穿过琼州海峡中部(110°E断面)能通量为M2,0.2GW或m1,0.47GW;穿过北部湾湾口(18.5°N断面)能通量为M2,1.0GW或m1,2.5GW;海南岛西部和琼州海峡处潮能耗散最强。     

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.     

Numerical simulation of the structure and variation of upwelling off the east coast of Hainan Island using QuikSCAT winds

The spatial structure and variation of the upwelling in the waters east and northeast of Hainan Island, China during 2000-2007 were investigated using a nested high-resolution Princeton Ocean Model (POM) forced by QuikSCAT winds. The model produced good simulations of the summer upwelling and the seasonal and annual variability. Strong upwelling occurs from mid-July to mid-August with a peak east of Hainan Island associated with the southwesterly monsoon in the South China Sea. Sensitivity experiments indicated that when the local wind stress controls the variability of the upwelling, the large-scale circulation significantly enhances the upwelling northeast of Hainan Island by inducing a local upwelling and transporting cold water northeast-ward along the island’s east coast. The joint effects of the local wind stress and large-scale circulation result in stronger upwelling northeast of Hainan Island. This implies that the annual variation of the upwelling northeast of Hainan Island is controlled not only by the local alongshore wind stress but also by the large-scale circulation. This result will help us investigate the decadal variation of the upwelling in this region in the future.     

Research on the response of the upper layer heat structure in the Western Pacific Warm Pool to the mean Madden-Julian Oscillation

1　Introduction　TheMadden JulianOscillation (MJO)isastrongatmosphericconvection phenomenonoccurringovertheEasternIndianOceanandtheTropicalWesternPacific,usuallyinregionswithseasurfacetempera tures (SSTs)over 2 9℃ .Theeastwardmovingofalarge scalecirculat…     

Water exchange and circulation structure near the Luzon Strait in early summer

Using hydrographic data covering large areas of ocean for the period from June 21 to July 5 in 2009,we studied the circulation structure in the Luzon Strait area,examined the routes of water exchange between the South China Sea(SCS) and the Philippine Sea,and estimated the volume transport through Luzon Strait.We found that the Kuroshio axis follows a e-shaped path slightly east of 121uE in the upper layer.With an increase in depth,the Kuroshio axis became gradually farther from the island of Luzon.To study the water exchange between the Philippine Sea and the SCS,identification of inflows and outflows is necessary.We first identified which flows contributed to the water exchange through Luzon Strait,which differs from the approach taken in previous studies.We determined that the obvious water exchange is in the section of 121°E.The westward inflow from the Philippine Sea into the SCS is 6.39 Sv in volume,and mainly in the 100±500 m layer at 19.5°±20°N(accounting for 4.40 Sv),while the outflow from the SCS into the Philippine Sea is concentrated in the upper 100 m at 19°±20°N and upper 400 m at 21°±21.5°N,and below 240 m at 19°±19.5°N,accounting for 1.07,3.02 and 3.43 Sv in volume transport,respectively.     

The role of barrier layer in southeastern Arabian Sea during the development of positive Indian Ocean Dipole events

Using data from Argo and simple ocean data assimilation (SODA), the role of the barrier layer (BL) in the southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS: 60°E–75°E, 0°–10°N) is investigated during the development of positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events from 1960 to 2008. It is found that warmer sea surface temperature (SST) in the northern Indian Ocean appears in June in the SEAS. This warm SST accompanying anomalous southeastern wind persists for six months and a thicker BL and a corresponding thinner mixed layer in the SEAS contribute to the SST warming during the IOD formation period. The excessive precipitation during this period helps to form a thicker BL and a thinner mixed layer, resulting in a higher SST in the SEAS. Warm SST in the SEAS and cold SST to the southeast of the SEAS intensify the southeasterly anomaly in the tropical Indian Ocean, which transports more moisture to the SEAS, and then induces more precipitation there. The ocean-atmosphere interaction process among wind, precipitation, BL and SST is very important for the anomalous warming in the SEAS during the development of positive IOD events.     

Numerical Simulation of Typhoon Muifa(2011) Using a Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport(COAWST) Modeling System

The newly developed Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport(COAWST) Modeling System is applied to investigate typhoon-ocean interactions in this study. The COAWST modeling system represents the state-of-the-art numerical simulation technique comprising several coupled models to study coastal and environmental processes. The modeling system is applied to simulate Typhoon Muifa(2011), which strengthened from a tropical storm to a super typhoon in the Northwestern Pacific, to explore the heat fluxes exchanged among the processes simulated using the atmosphere model WRF, ocean model ROMS and wave model SWAN. These three models adopted the same horizontal grid. Three numerical experiments with different coupling configurations are performed in order to investigate the impact of typhoon-ocean interaction on the intensity and ocean response to typhoon. The simulated typhoon tracks and intensities agree with observations. Comparisons of the simulated variables with available atmospheric and oceanic observations show the good performance of using the coupled modeling system for simulating the ocean and atmosphere processes during a typhoon event. The fully coupled simulation that includes a ocean model identifies a decreased SST as a result of the typhoon-forced entrainment. Typhoon intensity and wind speed are reduced due to the decrease of the sea surface temperature when using a coupled ocean model. The experiments with ocean coupled to atmosphere also results in decreased sea surface heat flux and air temperature. The heat flux decreases by about 29% compared to the WRF only case. The reduction of the energy induced by SST decreases, resulting in weakening of the typhoon. Coupling of the waves to the atmosphere and ocean model induces a slight increase of SST in the typhoon center area with the ocean-atmosphere interaction increased as a result of wave feedback to atmosphere.     

The origin,historical variations,and distribution of heavy metals in the Qiongzhou Strait and nearby marine areas

We analyzed heavy metal concentrations in a number of surface sediments and cores from the Qiongzhou Strait and surrounding marine areas.The areas of high concentrations are primarily outside the eastern mouth of the Qiongzhou Strait and on the west side of the Leizhou Peninsula,whereas the areas of low concentrations are located primarily in the eastern Qiongzhou Strait.The maximum Cd,Pb and Zn concentrations in the samples collected in our study do not exceed the official standards for marine sediments,whereas the concentrations of Cr and Cu slightly exceed the standards.Correlations exist between the concentrations of Cu,Pb,Zn,Cr and Cd,and the concentrations of these metals are positively correlated with the mean particle size(φ value),indicating that the finer sediments have adsorbed greater amounts of heavy metal elements than the coarser sediments.An evaluation of the potential environmental risks demonstrates that certain indices of heavy metal pollution and environmental risks are relatively low and may be assigned low risk levels,thereby indicating that,in terms of heavy metals,the marine sedimentary environment in this region is only mildly impacted.Our analysis of the contaminant origins shows that the heavy metals in this region primarily originate in the Pearl River Estuary and that a small amount of them is derived from local runoff.The elevated heavy metal concentrations from the upper sections of the cores started 130 years ago,which indicats that heavy metals in the surface sediments are primarily due to human activities associated with industrialization.     

Role of Ekman transport versus Ekman pumping in driving summer upwelling in the South China Sea

Relative roles of Ekman transport and Ekman pumping in driving summer upwelling in the South China Sea (SCS) are examined using QuikSCAT scatterometer wind data. The major upwelling regions in the SCS are the coastal regions east and southeast of Vietnam (UESEV), east and southeast of Hainan Island (UESEH), and southeast of Guangdong province (USEG). It is shown that the Ekman transport due to alongshore winds and Ekman pumping due to offshore wind stress curl play different roles in the three upwelling systems. In UESEV, Ekman pumping and Ekman transport are equally important in generating upwelling. The Ekman transport increases linearly from 0.49 Sv in May to 1.23 Sv in August, while the Ekman pumping increases from 0.36 to 1.22 Sv during the same period. In UESEH, the mean estimates of Ekman transport and Ekman pumping are 0.14 and 0.07 Sv, respectively, indicating that 33% of the total wind-driven upwelling is due to Ekman pumping. In USEG, the mean Ekman transport is 0.041 Sv with the peak occurring in July, while Ekman pumping is much smaller (0.003 on average), indicating that the upwelling in this area is primarily driven by Ekman transport. In the summers of 2003 and 2007 following El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, both Ekman transport and Ekman pumping decrease in UESEV due to the abnormally weak southwest monsoon. During the same events, however, Ekman transport is slightly enhanced and Ekman pumping is weakened in UESEH and USEG.     

The characteristics of near-surface velocity during the upwelling season on the northern Portugal shelf

Observations made on the northern Portugal mid-shelf between May 13 and June 15,2002 were used to characterise the near-surface velocity during one upwelling season. It was found that in the surface mixed layer,the 'tidal current' was diurnal,but the tidal elevation was semi-diurnal. Both the residual current and the major axes of all tidal constituents were nearly perpendicular to the isobaths and the tidal current ellipses rotated clockwise;the major axis of the major tidal ellipse was about 3 cm s-1. The extremely strong diurnal current in the surface layer was probably due to diurnal heating,cooling,and wind mixing that induced diurnal oscillations,including the diurnal oscillation of wind stress. This is a case different from the results measured in the other layers in this area. The near-inertial spectral peaks occurred with periods ranging from 1 047 min to 1 170 min,the longest periods being observed in deeper layers,and the shortest in the surface layer. Weak inertial events appeared during strong upwelling events,while strong inertial events appeared during downwelling or weak subinertial events. The near-inertial currents were out of phase between 5 m and 35 m layers for almost the entire measurement period,but such relationship was very weak during periods of irregular weak wind. Strong persistent southerly wind blew from May 12 to 17 and forced a significant water transport onshore and established a strong barotropic poleward jet with a surface speed exceeding 20 cm s-1. The subinertial current was related to wind variation,especially in the middle layers of 15 m and 35 m,the maximum correlation between alongshore current and alongshore wind was about 0.5 at the 5 m layer and 0.8 at the 35 m layer. The alongshore current reacted more rapidly than the cross-shore current. The strongest correlation was found at a time lag of 20 h in the upper layer and of 30 h in the deeper layer. The wind-driven surface velocity obtained from the PWP model had maximum amplitude of about 7 cm s-1,corresponding to a wind stress at 0.1 Pa,and the horizontal velocity shear due to thermal wind balance had the order of 3 cm s-1. So the local wind and thermal wind would only explain a part of the strong surface velocity variations.     

Evolution of surface cold patches in the North Yellow Sea based on satellite SST data

Ten years(from 2005 to 2014) of satellite sea surface temperature(SST) data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer(AVHRR) are analyzed to reveal the monthly changes in surface cold patches(SCPs) in the main areas of the Northern Yellow Sea(NYS). The Canny edge detection algorithm is used to identify the edges of the patches. The monthly changes are described in terms of location, temperature and area. The inter-annual variations, including changes in the location and area of the SCPs from 2010 to 2014, are briefly discussed. The formation mechanisms of the SCPs in different periods are systematically analyzed using both in situ data and numerical simulation. The results show that from May to October, the location and area of the SCPs remain stable, with a north-south orientation. The SCPs altogether cover about 1? of longitude(124?E–125?E) in width and 2? of latitude(37.5?N–39.5?N) in length. In November, the SCP separates from the Jangsan Cape and forms a closed, isolated, and approximately circular cold patch in the central NYS. From May to October, the upwelling that leads to the formation of the SCP is mainly triggered by the headland residual current, wind field, climbing movement of the current and secondary circulation at the tide front. In November, cyclonic circulation in the NYS is primarily responsible for generating the upwelling that leads to the formation of the closed and isolated SCP.     

The Kuroshio transport east of taiwan and the Sea Surface Height Anomaly from the interior ocean

1　Introduction　TheKuroshioflowsthroughtheEastTaiwanChan nel (ETC)betweenthenortheastcoastofTaiwanandtheJapaneseRyukyuIslandbeforeenteringintotheEastChinaSea (ECS)astheextendingflowoftheNorthEquatorialCurrent (NEC)whichbifurcatestotheeastofthePhilippines…     

Observed characteristics of the North Yellow Sea water masses in summer

In this paper, we characterize the North Yellow Sea (NYS) water masses in summer by analyzing temperature and salinity data surveyed in 2006. The Liaonan Coastal Water is characterized by low salinity westward and southward flow paths. The westward path flows parallel to land, turns to the south, then to the southeast adjacent to the mouth of the Lüshun River, where it mixes with other coastal water directly to the southwest. It becomes the main source of low salinity water in the deep water area west of 123°E. The high-salinity Lubei Coastal Water is the remnant of the winter Lubei Coastal Water, which is located mostly in a small area between Yantai and Weihai, and does not originate in the Bohai Sea Coastal Water. The two NYS zones demarcated at 123°E have distinctly different temperature and salinity characteristics. There are two high-salinity centers east of 123°E, whereas there is low-salinity water to the west whose temperature and salinity structures are complex, composed of the coastal water south of Chengshantou, the Liaonan Coastal Water and the Bohai Sea Water.     

建筑用海砂资源开发利用适宜性评价初探:以琼州海峡东口为例

经济的快速发展, 对砂石料的需求巨大, 海砂的开发成为当前的热点。琼州海峡东口海砂资源丰富, 资源潜力概算可达数十亿方。依据前期调查数据, 选取含泥量、含砂量、粒级、海砂厚度、水深和离岸距离6类指标, 采用层次分析法, 构造判断矩阵计算评价因子的权重, 运用ArcGIS空间分析功能进行叠加, 对琼州海峡东口的海砂进行了开发适宜性评价。结果表明: 经计算将研究区分为开发适宜性好、较好、中等、较差、差5个等级, 其中浅滩区域海砂规模大、质量好、水深浅和开采环境影响小, 其开发适宜性最佳。分析了不同的指标对海砂开发适宜性的影响, 在浅滩区, 厚度和含砂量指标贡献较大; 在近岸海湾, 环境影响是主要因子; 在琼州海峡深槽区, 水深条件则成为海砂开发的主要限制条件。根据海砂资源的特点, 建立了以资源自然属性、开发技术条件、生态环境影响和行政管理为主要因子的海砂开发利用适宜性评价体系, 具体工作可选取不同的指标开展评价。研究结果可以为研究区海砂的开发利用和其他区域海砂开发适宜性评价提供参考。      

夏季黄海冷水团的多年际变化及原因浅析

基于ROMS(the Regional Ocean Model System)模式,以等温线范围变化作为黄海冷水团范围变化的示性指标,采用谱分析及相关分析的方法,分析夏季黄海冷水团范围变化。结果表明:黄海冷水团范围的变化存在明显的年变化特征,与纬向风速和经向风速相关,风速大则范围就大;黄海冷水团的范围还存在着5年的周期变化特征,其与ENSO现象相关;厄尔尼诺年时,滞后17个月的黄海冷水团的分布范围一般会较小;而拉尼娜年时,滞后17个月的黄海冷水团的分布范围会比较大。     

Variability of surface velocity in the Kuroshio Current and adjacent waters derived from Argos drifter buoys and satellite altimeter data

By combining Argos drifter buoys and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data, the time series of sea-surface velocity fields in the Kuroshio Current (KC) and adjacent regions are established. And the variability of the KC from the Luzon Strait to the Tokara Strait is studied based on the velocity fields. The results show that the dominant variability period varies in different segments of the KC: The primary period near the Luzon Strait and to the east of Taiwan Island is the intra-seasonal time scale; the KC on the continental shelf of the ECS is the steadiest segment without obvious periodicity, while the Tokara Strait shows the period of seasonal variability. The diverse periods are caused by the Rossby waves propagating from the interior ocean, with adjustments in topography of island chain and local wind stress. Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Nos. 2007CB411804, 2005CB422303), the NSFC (No. 40706006), the Key Project of International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (No. 2006DFB21250) and the “111 Project” (B07036), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NECT-07-0781)     

Factors influencing the climatological mixed layer depth in the South China Sea: numerical simulations

The mixed layer depth (MLD) in the upper ocean is an important physical parameter for describing the upper ocean mixed layer. We analyzed several major factors influencing the climatological mixed layer depth (CMLD), and established a numerical simulation in the South China Sea (SCS) using the Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS) with a high-resolution (1/12°×1/12°) grid nesting method and 50 vertical layers. Several ideal numerical experiments were tested by modifying the existing sea surface boundary conditions. Especially, we analyzed the sensitivity of the results simulated for the CMLD with factors of sea surface wind stress (SSWS), sea surface net heat flux (SSNHF), and the difference between evaporation and precipitation (DEP). The result shows that of the three factors that change the depth of the CMLD, SSWS is in the first place, when ignoring the impact of SSWS, CMLD will change by 26% on average, and its effect is always to deepen the CMLD; the next comes SSNHF (13%) for deepening the CMLD in October to January and shallowing the CMLD in February to September; and the DEP comes in the third (only 2%). Moreover, we analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics of CMLD and compared the simulation result with the ARGO observational data. The results indicate that ROMS is applicable for studying CMLD in the SCS area.     

Model-simulated coastal trapped waves stimulated by typhoon in northwestern South China Sea

In this paper, we apply an unstructured grid coastal ocean model to simulate variations in the sea level and currents forced by two typhoons in the northwestern South China Sea (SCS). The model simulations show distinct differences for the two cases in which the typhoon paths were north and south of the Qiongzhou (QZ) Strait. In both cases, coastal trapped waves (CTWs) are stimulated but their propagation behaviors differ. Model sensitivity simulations suggest the dominant role played by alongshore wind in the eastern SCS (near Shanwei) and southeast of Hainan Island. We also examine the influence of the Leizhou Peninsula by changing the coastline in simulation experiments. Based on our results, we can draw the following conclusions: 1) The CTWs stimulated by the northern typhoon are stronger than the southern CTW. 2) In the two cases, the directions of the current structures of the QZ cross-transect are reversed. The strongest flow cores are both located in the middle-upper area of the strait and the results of our empirical orthogonal function analysis show that the vertical structure is highly barotropic. 3) The simulated CTWs divide into two branches in the QZ Strait for the northern typhoon, and an island trapped wave (ITW) around Hainan Island for the southern typhoon. 4) The Leizhou Peninsula plays a significant role in the distribution of the kinetic energy flux between the two CTW branches. In the presence of the Leizhou Peninsula, the QZ branch has only 39.7 percent of the total energy, whereas that ratio increases to 72.2 percent in its absence.     

Physical processes causing the formation of hypoxia off the Changjiang estuary after Typhoon Chan-hom, 2015

Severe hypoxia was observed in the submarine canyon to the east of the Changjiang estuary in July 14, 2015, two days after typhoon Chan-hom. The oxygen concentration reached as low as 2.0 mg/L and occupied a water column of about 25 m. A ROMS model was configured to explore the underlying physical processes causing the formation of hypoxia. Chan-hom passed through the Changjiang estuary during the neap tide. The stratification was completely destroyed in the shallow nearshore region when typhoon passing. However, it was maintained in the deep canyon, though the surface mixed layer was largely deepened. The residual water in the deep canyon is considered to be the possible source of the later hypoxia. After Chan-hom departure, not only the low salinity plume water spread further off shore, but also the sea surface temperature (SST) rewarmed quickly. Both changes helped strengthen the stratification and facilitate the formation of hypoxia. It was found that the surface heat flux, especially the solar short wave radiation dominated the surface re-warming, the off shore advection of the warmer Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) also played a role. In addition to the residual water in the deep canyon, the Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) was found to flow into the deep canyon pre- and soon post- Chan-hom, which was considered to be the original source of the hypoxia water.