Winter counter-wind currents off the southeastern China coast: A review

This review covers the discovery and studies of the year-round northeastward currents off the southeastern China coast, paying special attention to its upwind characteristic in winter, mainly focusing on work by Chinese oceanographers. This current system is a prominent and unique phenomenon in the shelf circulation of the world ocean. The general features of the current system are summarized. The evidence for the existence and the variation of the three parts of the currents—the South China Sea Warm Current, the Taiwan Strait Warm Current and the Taiwan Warm Current—are separately elucidated. The formation mechanisms of the current as a whole are explained using dynamic analysis and numerical simulation results. Some suggestions for further studies are also made.