Recent advances in ocean-circulation research on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea shelves

Recent advances in ocean-circulation research on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea shelves are summarized. Observations using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) suggest that the connectivity of mean-volume-transports is incomplete between the Tsushima (2.6 Sverdrups; 1 Sv = 10⁶ m³/s) and Taiwan Straits (1.2 Sv). The remaining 1.4-Sv transport must be supplied by onshore Kuroshio intrusion across the East China Sea shelf break. The Yellow Sea Warm Current is not a persistent ocean current, but an episodic event forced by northerly winter monsoon winds. Nevertheless, the Cheju Warm Current is detected clearly regardless of season. In addition, the throughflow in the Taiwan Strait may be episodic in winter when northeasterly winds prevail. The throughflow strengthens (vanishes) under moderate (severe) northeasterly wind conditions. Using all published ADCP-derived estimates, the throughflow transport (V) in the Taiwan Strait is approximated as

Volume transport of the Tsushima Warm Current, west of Tsugaru Strait bifurcation area

Northern and southern latitudinal transects were conducted west of Tsugaru Strait to estimate the volume transport in this area. It was found that the Tsushima Warm Current is the northward volume transport across the southern transect and the Northward Current is the northward volume transport across the northern transect. The current in Tsugaru Strait,viz. the Tsugaru Warm Current, is the flow remaining when the Northward Current is subtracted from the Tsushima Warm Current. Both CTD transects covered from near-shore to west of the subarctic front, and observed depths were from the surface to the bottom or to 1000-1500 m depth. Our estimations indicate that large interannual variations of volume transport occur, relative to the seasonal ones, with interannual variations sometimes exceeding seasonal variations in the Tsushima Warm Current and the Northward Current. The Tsugaru Warm Current has near-steady transport. Fluctuations in the Tsushima Warm Current are thus transmitted to the Northward Current. Further, our results revealed seasonal variations in the flow: the baloclinic structure became deeper in April and the current axis tended to shift in a near-shore direction in October. Therefore, previous studies, which had shallow reference levels and lacked nearshore stations, may have underestimated the transport and excessive seasonal variations.     

东海环流的一个两层模式

本文用一个两层原始方程数值模式，对东海的环流现象进行了机制性的探讨。从整体上来看，海区的一些主要流态特征彼此密切相关，且在动力上都是比较稳定的。黑潮在台湾东北的入侵主要表现在下层。底斜联合效应（ＪＥＢＡＲ）、惯性效应、摩擦效应都是这支入侵流态的发生机制，而底形与行星β效应则使它表现出向岛强化的特征。下层黑潮入侵后，大部分作反气旋回转，成为台湾暖流（ＴＷＣ）下层的外海分支。ＴＷＣ下层沿岸分支能否形成，则取决于黑潮入流上下流速比γ的大小，以及上层海峡入流是否北上。ＴＷＣ上层流动的形成是海峡水入侵后在β效应作用下的结果，它在温州外海也将分出一支向外海流去。文章指出，台湾东北的冷水块不是“尾涡”所致，而是下层黑潮舌状入侵的具体表征；台湾北部的暖涡则是上层ＴＷＣ北上时与冷水块相互作用的结果。此外，本文对钓鱼岛以北的锋涡与逆流现象也作了一些初步的分析与讨论。     

Process of the Tsushima Current formation revealed by ADCP measurements in summer

In order to clarify detailed current structures over the continental shelf margin in the East China Sea, ADCP measurements were carried out in summers in 1991 and 1994 by the quadrireciprocal method (Katoh, 1988) for removing diurnal and semidiurnal tidal flows from observed flows, together with CTD measurements. We discussed the process of the Tsushima Current formation in the East China Sea. The Tsushima Current with a volume transport of 2 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³s^–1) was found north of 31°N. A current with a volume transport of 0.4 Sv was clearly found along the 100 m isobath. Between the Kuroshio and the current along the 100 m isobath, southeastward component of velocity was dominant compared to northwestward one. Four eastward to southeastward currents were found over the sea bed shallower than 90 m depth. Total volume transport of these four currents was 1 Sv, and they seemed to be originated from the Taiwan Strait. Intrusion of offshore water into the inner shelf northwest of Amami Oshima was estimated to have a volume transport of 0.6 Sv. It is concluded that the Tsushima Current is the confluence of these currents over the continental shelf margin with the offshore water intruding northwest of Amami Oshima.     

The Current System in the Yellow and East China Seas

During the 1990s, our knowledge and understanding of the current system in the Yellow and East China Seas have grown significantly due primarily to new technologies for measuring surface currents and making high-resolution three-dimensional numerical model calculations. One of the most important new findings in this decade is direct evidence of the northward current west of Kyushu provided by satellite-tracked surface drifters. In the East China Sea shelf region, these recent studies indicate that in winter the Tsushima Warm Current has a single source, the Kuroshio Branch Current in the west of Kyushu, which transports a mixture of Kuroshio Water and Changjiang River Diluted Water northward. In summer the surface Tsushima Warm Current has multiple sources, i.e., the Taiwan Warm Current, the Kuroshio Branch Current to the north of Taiwan, and the Kuroshio Branch Current west of Kyushu. The summer surface circulation pattern in the East China Sea shelf region changes year-to-year corresponding to interannual variations in Changjiang River discharge. Questions concerning the Yellow Sea Warm Current, the Chinese Coastal Current in the Yellow Sea, the current field southwest of Kyushu, and the deep circulation in the Okinawa Trough remain to be addressed in the next decade. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A two-layers model for the summer circulation of the East China Sea

Ａｔｗｏ－ｌａｙｅｒｓｍｏｄｅｌｆｏｒｔｈｅｓｕｍｍｅｒｃｉｒｃｕｌａｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅＥａｓｔＣｈｉｎａＳｅａ￥ＬｉａｎｇＸｉａｎｇｓａｎａｎｄＳｕＪｉｌａｎ（ＳｅｃｏｎｄＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＯｃｅａｎｏｇｒａｐｈｙ，ＳｔａｔｅＯｃｅａｎｉｃＡｄ...     

东海和南黄海夏季环流的斜压模式

基于拉格朗日余流及其输运过程的一种三维空间弱非线性理论，引进了黑潮边界力及长江径流，给出了东海和南黄海的夏季环流及上升流区的分布。计算结果表明：在黑潮西侧存在着台湾－对马暖流系统；进入朝鲜海峡的对马暖流来自台湾暖流、黑潮、东海混合水和西朝鲜沿岸流；黄海暖流主要来源于东海混合水，表面有部分来自对马暖流；闽浙沿岸存在上升流区且构成一带状区域；在长江口外、东海东北部和陆坡上也存在在上升流式；陆坡处上升流     

Numerical investigation on propulsion of the counter-wind current in the northern South China Sea in winter

The propulsion of the winter counter-wind current in the northern South China Sea (SCS) is investigated with a regional, three-dimensional, primitive equation model. This current is usually called the SCS Warm Current (SCSWC). Model results well reproduced the banded structure of the Guangdong coastal current, the SCSWC and the slope current from the coast to the slope in the northern SCS in the climatological data. The across-shelf flow is active in the shelf break area. Both onshore and offshore flows exist; the net across-shelf transport is shoreward throughout the year, and is larger in winter than in other seasons. The joint effect of baroclinicity and relief (JEBAR) is the dominant forcing of the across-shelf transport in the shelf break area. The major mass source of the SCSWC is the onshore-veered slope current. It is the JEBAR effect that supplies the necessary negative vorticity to maintain the slope current flowing across the isobaths and veering to the right hand to feed the SCSWC. Analyses of the momentum fields indicate that the onshore pressure gradient in the outer shelf balances the Coriolis force induced by the northeastward SCSWC in the frame of geostrophy. In winter, such an onshore pressure gradient is mainly provided by the strong density contrast between waters of the shelf and of the upper slope, which results from the Kuroshio intrusion via the Luzon Strait. The notable intrusion of the Kuroshio in winter is crucial for maintaining the density structure in the shelf break area and facilitates the set-up of the onshore pressure gradient over the outer shelf.     

Analysis of the high and low temperature centers and their relation with circulations in the East China Sea

Three warm currents, the Kuroshio, its shelf intrusion branch in the northeast of Taiwan and the Taiwan Warm Current (hereafter TWC), dominate the circulation pattern in the East China Sea (hereafter ECS). Their origination, routes and variation in winter and summer are studied. Their relationship with four major high and low temperature centers is analyzed. Differing from the previous opinion, we suggest that the four major centers are generated to a great extent by the interaction of the currents in the ECS. In summer, a cold water belt in the northeast of Taiwan is preserved from winter between the Kuroshio and the TWC. The shelf intrusion branch of the Kuroshio separates the water belt, and two low temperature centers generate in the northeast of Taiwan. In the southern ECS, the TWC transports more heat flux northward to form a warm pool. But it is separated in the lower layer by the cold water driven by the intrusion branch of the Kuroshio. So the TWC and the intrusion branch of the Kuroshio play a dominating role to generate the high temperature center. The interaction among the eastward TWC, the northward Tsushima Warm Current (hereafter TSWC) and the southward Su Bei Coastal Flow (hereafter SBCF) generates the low temperature center in the northern ECS. In winter, the strengthening of the shelf intrusion branch of the Kuroshio obscures the two low temperature centers in the northeast of Taiwan. For the weakening of the TWC, the high temperature center in the southern ECS vanishes, and the low temperature center in the northern ECS shifts to south.     

渤、黄、东海夏季环流的数值模拟

在POM的基础上 ,建立一个σ坐标系下的三维斜压预报模式 ,考虑了海底地形、外来流、长江径流、海面风应力、海面热交换等多方面因素的影响 ,较好地模拟了夏季东中国海环流的情况。其结果表明 ,黑潮在流经东海时沿东海陆坡流动 ,其途径随陆坡等深线走向而变 ,在其两侧出现一些涡旋。夏季台湾暖流上层水主要来自台湾海峡 ,底层水主要由台湾东面黑潮的次表层水入侵陆架生成。夏季进入朝鲜海峡的对马暖流的来源是多方面的 ,其中有 :台湾暖流、黑潮分支、长江冲淡水与西朝鲜沿岸流的混合水。长江冲淡水在出长江口后 ,很快转向北流动 ,到34°N附近转向东南方向。在长江口东北面存在两个中尺度的涡旋。夏季黄海冷水环流由南北两部分组成 ,表层流速大 ,底层流速小。在青岛 石岛附近还存在一个中尺度的反气旋型涡旋     

东中国海拉格朗日环流数值模拟Ⅱ.环流模拟

依据自适应数值模型，模拟了东中国海冬、夏季三维斜压Lagrange环流。模拟发现：台湾暖流的上层水来自台湾海峡入流和台湾东北黑潮的表层水；50m以下的深底层水主要由台湾东北黑潮的次表层水入侵陆架生成。冬季对马暖流外海一侧主要由黑潮水构成，而其近陆一侧由台湾暖流和陆架混合水构成，西朝鲜沿岸流在济州海峡汇入对马暖流；夏季它还包含转向后的长江冲淡水。冬季黄海暖流并非对马暖流的直接分支，黄海暖流水是对马暖流水和陆架水混合而成，这与传统观点相悖，而与中韩黄海水循环动力学合作调查结果一致。黄海暖流东西两侧分别为2支向南流动的滑岸流。夏季黄海环流构成基本封闭的逆时针环流。冬季渤海环流主要有一逆时针大环流，但辽东湾的环流是顺时针向的。渤海环流冬强夏弱，水流在渤海海峡北进南出。     

Seasonal variation of the vertically averaged flow caused by the Jebar effect in the Tsushima Strait

The seasonal variation in the barotropic mode of motion caused by joint effect of the baroclinicity and bottom relief (Jebar effect) in the Tsushima Strait is investigated with the use of the diagnostic numerical model in this study. The Jebar effect in the Tsushima Strait is mainly caused by the intrusion of the Bottom Cold Water along the Korean coast in summer. This Jebar effect along the Korean coast locally supplies the negative vorticity in situ, and it forces the coastal current to be intensified. In summer, the volume transport of the Tsushima Warm Current entering the Tsushima Strait is biassed to the western part of the strait comparing with the flow pattern calculated in winter.     

The northward intruding eddy along the East coast of Korea

The current structures and their seasonal variations in the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) region, which plays a significant role in the northward transport of warm and saline waters, were described by combining the sea surface temperature (SST) data of consecutive satellite inferred (IR) images and hydrographic data. The SST patterns in winter-spring clearly showed that the small meander of thermal front originating from the Tsushima/Korea Strait formed close to the Korean coast and grew an isolated warm eddy with horizontal dimension of order 100 km. Such warm eddy began to intrude slowly northward from spring to summer. At that time, interactions with neighboring synoptic warm eddy [Ks] around the Ulleung Basin were found to have strongly influence the movement of the intruding eddy and its structural change. In autumn, after the northward movement stopped at the north of eddy [Ks], the relative stable northward current along the Korean coast were formed. The evidence from observational results does not support a persistent branching of the EKWC from the Tsushima/Korea Strait, but a seasonal episodic supply of warm and saline waters due to the northward intruding eddy process described above.     

夏季台湾海峡水及黑潮次表层涌升水向东海近陆架区营养盐输送通量的估算

According to historical mean ocean current data through the field observations of the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute during 1991–2005 and survey data of nutrients on the continental shelf of the East China Sea(ECS) in the summer of 2006, nutrient fluxes from the Taiwan Strait and Kuroshio subsurface waters are estimated using a grid interpolation method, which both are the sources of the Taiwan Warm Current. The nutrient fluxes of the two water masses are also compared. The results show that phosphate(PO4-P), silicate(SiO3-Si) and nitrate(NO3-N) fluxes to the ECS continental shelf from the Kuroshio upwelling water are slightly higher than those from the Taiwan Strait water in the summer of 2006. In contrast, owing to its lower velocity, the nutrient flux density(i.e., nutrient fluxes divided by the area of the specific section) of the Kuroshio subsurface water is lower than that of the Taiwan Strait water. In addition, the Taiwan Warm Current deep water, which is mainly constituted by the Kuroshio subsurface water, might directly reach the areas of high-frequency harmful alga blooms in the ECS.     

Review on current and seawater volume transport through the Taiwan Strait

Patterns and features of currents and seawater volume transports in the Taiwan Strait have been reviewed by examining the results from more than 150 research papers in recent decades. It is noted that there are diverse or even conflicting viewpoints on these subjects. Here both common and different opinions are summarized. This review paper covers the studies involving in situ measurements and numerical modeling of current velocity, analyses of hydrographic data, and classification of water masses. Generally speaking, there are three currents in the Taiwan Strait: the China Coastal Current along the Fujian coast in the western Taiwan Strait, the extension of the South China Sea Warm Current in the western and central Taiwan Strait, and the Kuroshio’s branch or loop current intruding through the eastern Taiwan Strait. The current pattern in winter is quite different from that in summer, and the currents also exhibit differences between the upper and lower layers. The seawater volume transport through the Taiwan Strait is about 2.3 Sv northward in summer but about 0.8 Sv northward in winter. Both the current pattern and the seawater transport vary with local winds in the Taiwan Strait. This is particularly true in winter when the currents and the transport in the upper layer are significantly affected by strong northeasterly winds.     

东中国海环流及其季节变化的数值模拟

关于东中国海环流的研究，国内外学者已做了大量的工作。早期科学家们主要依赖于对温盐资料和少数测流资料的分析研究对渤、黄、东海的环流结构有了较系统和深入的认识。东中国海环流是由一个气旋式的“流涡”组成，东侧主要是北上的黑潮-对马暖流-黄海暖流及其延伸部分；西侧为南下的沿岸流系。黑潮对东中国海环流的影响是如此之大，以致于除了某些局部区域外，上述海域主要流系的冬、夏季分布形式比较相似而无本质上的差异(胡敦欣等，1993)。但本文所研究海域正处于世界上最显著的季风区，冬、夏季盛行风向基本相反，过渡季节(春、秋季)风向多变，风力减弱；海洋热盐结构季节变化明显(如冬季混合强，而夏季层化明显等)，这些因素都使得东中国海环流存在着较明显的季节变化。 自20世纪80年代以来，东中国海环流的数值模拟工作逐步展开，并已成为研究环流结构及其形成机制的强有力工具。但由于数值模式本身以及计算方案的缺陷(如有些学者用固定的风场、温盐场对东中国海环流进行诊断模拟等)和观测资料的不足，数值模拟的结果难以得到验证，渤、黄、东海的环流研究中仍有大量的问题存在争议，以待澄清。例如，台湾暖流的来源、流径;对马暖流的来源;夏季黄海暖流的流径以及黄海冷水团环流等均有不同的论述。对黄、东海环流季节变化的数值模拟工作也较少，多用冬、夏典型月份的风场强迫积分至稳定态，给出冬、夏季环流，这种做法值得商榷。三维环流模式很难在1个月内达到稳定态，尤其是夏季层化明显、风力减弱的情况下，非常定风场的影响更应引起人们的重视。 本文采用比较符合实际的计算方案，用年循环风场和海面热通量场为外强迫，对渤、黄、东海的环流及其季节变化进行了模拟，并对一些争议问题进行了探讨。     

Variability of the Kuroshio in the East China Sea in 1993 and 1994

INTRODUCTIONTherearemanyworksabouttheKuroshioVTintheEastChinaSeaanditsseasonalvariabil*ThisprojectwassupportedbytheNationalNaturalScienceFoundationofChinaundercontractNo.49776287.1.SecondinstituteofOceanography,StateOceanicAdministration,Hangzhou310012,Chinaity(Guan,1988;Nishizawaetal.,1982;SunandKaneko,1993;Yuanetal.,1990,1993,1994,1995).Thecomputationmethodusedtobethedynamicmethod(Guan,1988;Nishizawaetal.,1982;SunandKaneko,1993),butrecentlytheinverseandthemodifiedinversemetho…     

Numerical study of the influence of Kuroshio Current on the thermocline in the sea area around Taiwan Island

1 INTsoDUcrIONTemperature is one of the most impoFtant essential factors of ocean, and its verticalstructure, especially the phenomenon ofthermocline, is concerned by military and manufacturepractices at all times. There are two classes of research methods for thermocIine, statisticmethod and numerical method. In recent years, more attention has been paid to the latterwhich becomes the primary development direction. Since Munk et al (1948) pot forward1-D model of thermocline at steady sta…     

Intrusion of Kuroshio water onto the continental shelf of the East China Sea

As a fundamental study to evaluate the contribution of the Kuroshio to primary production in the East China Sea (ECS), we investigated the seasonal pattern of the intrusion from the Kuroshio onto the continental shelf of the ECS and the behavior of the intruded Kuroshio water, using the RIAM Ocean Model (RIAMOM). The total intruded volume transport across the 200m isobath line was evaluated as 2.74 Sv in winter and 2.47 Sv in summer, while the intruded transport below 80m was estimated to be 1.32 Sv in winter and 1.64 Sv in summer. Passive tracer experiments revealed that the main intrusion from the Kuroshio to the shelf area of the ECS, shallower than 80m, takes place through the lower layer northeast of Taiwan in summer, with a volume transport of 0.19 Sv. Comparative studies show several components affecting the intrusion of the Kuroshio across the 200 m isobath line. The Kuroshio water intruded less onto the shelf compared with a case without consideration of tide-induced bottom friction, especially northeast of Taiwan. The variations of the transport from the Taiwan Strait and the east of Taiwan have considerable effects on the intrusion of the Kuroshio onto the shelf.     

Geological Characteristics and Distribution of Submarine Physiographic Features in the Taiwan Region

The sea floor topography around Taiwan is characterized by the asymmetry of its shallow and flat shelves to the west and markedly deep troughs and basins to the south and east. Tectonics and sedimentation are major controls in forming the submarine physiographic features around Taiwan. Three Pliocene-Quaternary shelves are distributed north and west of Taiwan: East China Sea Shelf (passive margin shelf), the Taiwan Strait Shelf (foreland shelf), and Kaoping Shelf (island shelf) from north to south parallel to the strike of Taiwan orogen. Off northeastern Taiwan major morpho/tectonic features associated with plate subduction include E-W trending Ryukyu Trench, Yaeyama accretionary wedge, forearc basins, the Ryukyu Arcs, and the backarc basin of southern Okinawa Trough. Off eastern Taiwan lies the deep Huatung Basin on the Philippine Sea plate with a relatively flat floor, although several large submarine canyons are eroding and crossing the basin floor. Off southeastern Taiwan, the forearc region of the Luzon Arc has been deformed into five alternating N-S trending ridges and troughs during initial arc-continent collision. Among them, the submarine Hengchun Ridge is the seaward continuation of the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan. Off southwestern Taiwan, the broad Kaoping Slope is the major submarine topographic feature with several noticeable submarine canyons. The Penghu Canyon separates this slope from the South China Sea Slope to the west and merges southwards into the Manila Trench in the northern South China Sea. Although most of sea floors of the Taiwan Strait are shallower than 60 m in water depth, there are three noticeable bathymetric lows and two highs in the Taiwan Strait. There exists a close relationship between hydrography and topography in the Taiwan Strait. The circulation of currents in the Taiwan Strait is strongly influenced by seasonal monsoon and semidiurnal tides. The Penghu Channel-Yunchang Ridge can be considered a modern tidal depositional system. The Taiwan Strait shelf has two phases of development. The early phase of the rift margin has developed during Paleoocene-Miocene and it has evolved to the foreland basin in Pliocene-Quaternary time. The present shelf morphology results mainly from combined effects of foreland subsidence and modern sedimentation overprinting that of the Late Pleistocene glaciation about 15,000 years ago.