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

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

Seasonal-to-interannual variability of chlorophyll in central western South China Sea extracted from SeaWiFS

Using 10-year (January 1998–October 2007) dataset of Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), we extracted the dominant spatial patterns and temporal variations of the chlorophyll distribution in the central western South China Sea (SCS) through Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis. The results show that the first EOF mode is characterized by a high chlorophyll concentration zone along the Vietnam coast. We found two peaks in summer (July–August) and in winter (December), respectively, in no...     

Statistical analysis of surface hydrography and circulation variations in northern South China Sea

1 INTRODUCTIONThe South China Sea (SCS) is a semi-enclosedmarginal sea in western North Pacific Ocean withvery complex topography and is the important pas-sage connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Ithas great impact to the global climate and a greatinterest of many oceanography researchers. Twodominant surface hydrographic and circulation fea-tures in the northern SCS are a strong fresh waterexpansion and a warm and high-salinity seawaterintrusion such as the SCS Diluted Water…     

Empirical ocean color algorithm for estimating particulate organic carbon in the South China Sea

We examined regional empirical equations for estimating the surface concentration of particulate organic carbon(POC) in the South China Sea. These algorithms are based on the direct relationships between POC and the blue-to-green band ratios of spectral remotely sensed reflectance,R rs( λ B)/ R rs(555). The best error statistics among the considered formulas were produced using the power function POC(mg/m 3)=262.173 [ R rs(443)/ R rs(555)]- 0.940. This formula resulted in a small mean bias of approximately-2.52%,a normalized root mean square error of 31.1%,and a determination coefficient of 0.91. This regional empirical equation is different to the results of similar studies in other oceanic regions. Our validation results suggest that our regional empirical formula performs better than the global algorithm,in the South China Sea. The feasibility of this band ratio algorithm is primarily due to the relationship between POC and the green-toblue ratio of the particle absorption coefficient. Colored dissolved organic matter can be an important source of noise in the band ratio formula. Finally,we applied the empirical algorithm to investigate POC changes in the southwest of Luzon Strait.     

The regional air-sea coupled oscillation in the South China Sea

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STUDY OF WATER—TRANSPORT THROUGH SOME MAIN STRAITS IN THE EAST CHINA SEA AND SOUTH CHINA SEA

OCCAM global ocean model results were applied to calculate the monthly water transport through 7 straits around the East China Sea(ECS)and the South china Sea(SCS).Analysis of the features of velocity profiles and their variations in the Togara Strait,Luzon Strait and Eastern Taiwan Strait showed that;1)the velocity profiles had striped pattern in the Eastern Taiwan Strait,where monthly flux varied from 22.4 to 28.1 Sv and annual mean was about 25.8 Sv;2)the profiles of velocity in the Togara Strait were characterized by core structure,and monthly flux varied from 23.3 to 31.4 Sv,with annual mean of about 27.9 Sv;3)water flowed from the SCS to the ECS in the Taiwan Strait,with maximum flux of 3.1 Sv in July and minimum of 0.9 Sv in November;4)the flux in the Tsushima Strait varied by only about 0.4 Sv by season and its annual mean was about 2.3 Sv;5)Kuroshio water flowed into the SCS in the Luzon Strait throughout the year and the velocity profiles were characterized by multi-core structure.The flux in the Luzon Strait was minimun in June(about 2.4 Sv)and maximum in February(about 9.0 Sv),and its annual mean was 4.8 Sv;6)the monthly flux in the Mindoro Strait was maximum in December(3.0 Sv)and minimum in June(Only 0.1 Sv),and its annual mean was 1.3 Sv;7)Karimata Strait water flowed into the SCS from May to August,with maximum in-flow flux of about 0.75 Sv in June and flowed out from September to April at maximum outflow flux of 3.9 Sv in January.The annual mean flux was about 1.35 Sv.     

Anomalies of asian summer monsoon related to ssta in the south China Sea and the tropical pacific

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＴｈｅＳｏｕｔｈＣｈｉｎａＳｅａ(ＳＣＳ)ｉｓａｐａｒｔｌｙ ｅｎｃｌｏｓｅｄｏｃｅａｎｂａｓｉｎｏｖｅｒｌａｉｄｂｙａｐｒｏｎｏｕｎｃｅｄｍｏｎｓｏｏｎｓｕｒｆａｃｅｗｉｎｄ .Ｐａｓｔｓｔｕｄｉｅｓ (Ｃｈｅｎｅｔａｌ.,1 991 ;ＤｉｎｇａｎｄＭｕｒａｋａｍｉ,1 994 ;Ｙａｎ ,1 997;ＬｉａｎｇＢｉｑｉ,1 991 ;ＬｉａｎｇＪｉａｎｙｉｎ ,1 991 )ｉｎｄｉｃａｔｅｔｈａｔａｈｕｇｅｗａｒｍｗａｔｅｒｐｏｏｌｊｏｉｎｔｌｙｃｏｎｔｒｉｂｕｔｅｄｂｙｔｈｅｗｅｓｔｅｒｎＰａｃｉｆｉｃ ,ｅａ…     

Freshening of the intermediate water of the South China Sea between the 1960s and the 1980s

Variation in intermediate water salinity in the South China Sea (SCS) between the 1960s and 1980s was studied using historical hydrographic data. The results demonstrate that the water was significantly fresher in the 1980s than in the 1960s, indicating that vertical mixing at intermediate water depth was reduced in the 1980s. This was partially because of the change of the SCS meridional overturning circulation (MOC) connecting local intermediate water with deep water. Data assimilation showed a 0.5Sv (1 Sv=10 6m 3/s) reduction in the strength of the MOC, which is about one third of the mean SCS MOC. Because the SCS MOC is linked to the Pacific Ocean, such an interdecadal variation in the intermediate water SCS may reflect anthropogenic climate change in the world ocean.     

南海北部渔场表层沉积物中的硫化物

为了给南海北部渔场的资源和环境保护提供基础数据,用碘量法测定了南海北部陆架区表层沉积物中硫化物含量.结果表明,全部28份样品中硫化物含量为3.3～42.2mg/kg(干重,下同),平均为12.1mg/kg,符合外海含量低的一般规律,明显低于沿岸海湾的含量,远低于日本渔业环境质量标准(200mg/kg)和安全下限值(400mg/kg).硫化物含量在测站间和不同区域间存在一定差异,南北方向呈近岸(13.1mg/kg)略高于离岸(12.1mg/kg)、离岸略高于远岸(11.1mg/kg)的梯度分布,但梯度差异不显著(p＞0.10);东西方向的分布特点是粤西海域(23.7mg/kg)＞海南岛以东(15.3mg/kg)＞台湾浅滩(9.4mg/kg)≈粤东海域(8.7mg/kg)≈珠江口外海域(8.6mg/kg).空间分布不太均匀主要是受沉积物类型的影响,与陆源硫化物输入的关系不大.     

Dimethylsulfide in the South China Sea

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＧｒｅａｔｅｆｆｏｒｔｓｗｅｒｅｄｅｖｏｔｅｄｒｅｃｅｎｔｌｙｔｏｓｔｕｄｙｉｎｇｄｉｍｅｔｈｙｌｓｕｌｆｉｄｅ(ＤＭＳ)ｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｉｎｓｅａｗａｔｅｒ,ａｓｉｔａｃｃｏｕｎｔｓｆｏｒｔｈｅｍａｊｏｒｐａｒｔｏｆｔｈｅｓｕｌｆｕｒｆｌｕｘｆｒｏｍｔｈｅｏｃｅａｎｓｔｏｔｈｅａｔｍｏｓｐｈｅｒｅ.Ｍｏｒｅｏｖｅｒ,ｉｔｓｏｘｉｄａｔｉｏｎｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｓｉｎｔｈｅａｔｍｏｓｐｈｅｒｅｍａｙｉｎｆｌｕｅｎｃｅｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌａｃｉｄｉｆｉｃａｔｉｏｎａｎｄ…     

Spatial pattern of the air-sea interaction near the South China Sea during winter

mODUCnONTheSOuthChinaSea(SCS)isasend-enclosedoceanbasinlocatednearthewesternPeripheryofthePacificOcean.SpreadingfIDmtheeqUatorto20"Nands~ngzonallaboutl5'inlooptUde,theSCSlocatesbetweenthesouthChinacoastandtheInaritha6continent,andissurroundedbyInanislandcountries.Duringwinter,S0UthwwhmedngcoldSUrges,mwhfiedbytheSST,affectthepressure,tempethe,andwindfieldsneartheInaritimecontinent,andsomeInayeveninIluencetheS0uthernHdrispheremonsoon(Davids0netal.,1983).msuniqUegeOpophyoftheSCS…     

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

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

NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE INTERANNUAL OSCILLATION OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

A two and a half layer oceanic model of wind-driven, thermodynamical general circulation is appliedto study the interannual oscillation of sea surface temperature (SST) in the South China Sea (SCS). Themodel consists of two active layers: the upper mixed layer (UML) and the seasonal thermocline, with themotionless abyss beneath them. The governing equations which include momentum, continuity and sea.temperature for each active layer, can describe the physics of Boussinseq approximation, reduced gravityand equatorial β-plane. The formulas for the heat flux at the surface and at the interface between twoactive layers are designed on the Haney scheme. The entrainment and detrainment at the bottom of theUML induces vertical transport of mass,momentum and heat, and couples of dynamic andthermodynamic effect.Using leap-frog integrating scheme and the Arakawa-C grid the model is forced bya time-dependent wind anomaly stress pattern obtained from category analysis of COADS. The numerical results indicate that t     

海面温度对南海台风强度的影响

【目的】分析海面温度(sea surface temperature,SST)对南海台风强度的影响。【方法】以南海为研究区域,以中国气象局热带气旋资料中心热带气旋最佳路径数据集为基础,利用Savitzky-Golay卷积平滑算法和多项式插值算法将台风数据进行插值,对强化值和SST值在南海区域的网格单元进行平均,建立模型并对其做回归分析,分析台风强度强化程度与SST模型之间的关系,以及检验模型残差的分布。通过数据提供的台风轨迹的增强率,来检验SST对台风强度变化的影响。【结果】建立台风强化值与SST之间的回归模式,平均而言,平均SST每增加1℃,台风强度强化度增加12.5%。该模型具有统计学意义,即台风高强度强化值与高海温值相关。【结论】本研究建立的统计模型对南海台风强度的预报有较好的指示效果。     

Long term sea level change and water mass balance in the South China Sea

Sea level anomalies observed by altimeter during the 1993–2006 period, thermosteric sea level anomalies estimated by using subsurface temperature data produced by Ishii and SODA reanalysis data, tide gauge records and HOAPS freshwater flux data were analyzed to investigate the long term sea level change and the water mass balance in the South China Sea. The altimeter-observed sea level showed a rising rate of (3.5±0.9) mm yr-1 during the period 1993–2006, but this figure was considered to have been highly d...     

SEAWATER FLUX OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

The South China Sea water can be divided according to depth into three boxes by the pycnoclineand a sill.Using a box model with matter balance,the net seawater fluxes were calculated to be317.9×10~4 m~3/s in box Ⅰ for the upper homogeneous layer outflowing to the adjoining oceans;67×10~4 m~3/s in box Ⅲ for the water entering the basin;240×10~4 m~3/s in box Ⅱ for water entering theSouth China Sea.The upward speed of basin water was calculated to be 8.4×10~(-5) cm/s and that ofseawater flowing up along the pycnocline was calculated to be 8.9×10~(-5) cm/s.     

Water masses in the South China Sea and water exchange between the Pacific and the South China Sea

Water masses in the South China Sea (SCS) were identified and analyzed with the data collected in the summer and winter of 1998. The distributions of temperature and salinity near the Bashi Channel (the Luzon Strait) were analyzed by using the data obtained in July and December of 1997. Based on the results from the data collected in the winter of 1998, waters in the open sea areas of the SCS were divided into six water masses: the Surface Water Mass of the SCS (S), the Subsurface Water Mass of the SCS (U), the Subsurface-Intermediate Water Mass of the SCS (UI), the Intermediate Water Mass of the SCS (I), the Deep Water Mass of the SCS (D) and the Bottom Water Mass of the SCS(B). For the summer of 1998, the Kuroshio Surface Water Mass (KS) and the Kuroshio Subsurface Water Mass (KU) were also identified in the SCS. But no Kuroshio water was found to pass the 119.5°E meridian and enter the SCS in the time of winter observations. The Sulu Sea Water (SSW) intruded into the SCS through the Mindoro Channel between 50–75 m in the summer of 1998. However, the data obtained in the summer and winter of 1997 indicated that water from the Pacific had entered the SCS through the northern part of the Luzon Strait in these seasons, but water from the SCS had entered the Pacific through the southern part of the Strait. These phenomena might correlate with the 1998 El-Niño event.     

Measurement of single-fish target strength in the South China Sea

We measured the target strength (TS) of three commercial fish species: whitespotted spinefoot (Siganus canaliculatus), black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii), and creek red bream (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), in the South China Sea. The TS of caged or tethered fish (n=76 total) was measured using a Simrad EY60 portable scientific echosounder at 120 kHz. We evaluated the relationship between TS and total length (TL, cm) for the three species. This is the first attempt to use split-beam acoustics to measure single-fish TS in the South China Sea by Chinese researchers. Our results will improve the accuracy and precision of acoustic abundance estimates of commercially important species and further the development of underwater acoustic survey techniques in fisheries in the South China Sea.     

Numerical simulation of wave field in the South China Sea using WAVEWATCH III

Wave fi elds of the South China Sea(SCS) from 1976 to 2005 were simulated using WAVEWATCH III by inputting high-resolution reanalysis wind fi eld datasets assimilated from several meteorological data sources. Comparisons of wave heights between WAVEWATCH III and TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter and buoy data show a good agreement. Our results show seasonal variation of wave direction as follows: 1. During the summer monsoon(April–September), waves from south occur from April through September in the southern SCS region, which prevail taking about 40% of the time; 2. During the winter monsoon(December–March), waves from northeast prevail throughout the SCS for 56% of the period; 3. The dominant wave direction in SCS is NE. The seasonal variation of wave height H s in SCS shows that in spring, H s ≥1 m in the central SCS region and is less than 1 m in other areas. In summer, H s is higher than in spring. During September–November, infl uenced by tropical cyclones, H s is mostly higher than 1 m. East of Hainan Island, H s 2 m. In winter, H s reaches its maximum value infl uenced by the north-east monsoon, and heights over 2 m are found over a large part of SCS. Finally, we calculated the extreme wave parameters in SCS and found that the extreme wind speed and wave height for the 100-year return period for SCS peaked at 45 m/s and 19 m, respectively, SE of Hainan Island and decreased from north to south.