Numerical Study of Water and Suspended Matter Exchange Between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

INTRODUCTIONTheYellowSeaandtheEastChinaSea (ECS)aremarginalseasofthenorthwestPacificandhaveexpansivecontinentalshelves .TheuniqueandstrikingfeaturesoftheYellowSeaandtheECSarethattheyhavestrongtidalcurrent;aresubjecttostrongmonsooninfluence ;andreceiveinflowfromthebiggestriverinChina ,theChangjiangRiver ;andthatthefamouswesternboundarycurrent,theKuroshio ,passesthroughtheECS ,withitsbranchesintrudingupwardintothecontinentalshelfareas.Generallyspeaking ,thewaterexchangecapacityofthe…

Numerical study of water and suspended matter exchange between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

POM was used to study the monthly mean circulation in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. The calculated results showed almost all major characteristics of the circulation system. The calculated circulation system and observational data were used to determine the sediment concentration, volume transport, heat flux and suspended matter flux between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. The conclusions obtained were that the volume and heat are transported northward through the 32°N section during each season; that in winter and autumn, total suspended matter is transported southward, and is larger in winter than in autumn. The reason is that the Yellow Sea Coastal Current is strong and always contains more suspend matter in winter and autumn. The seasonal suspended matter exchange between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are 0.58×10⁷ tons in spring, 2.81×10⁷ tons in summer, −2.60×10⁷ tons in autumn and −3.40×10⁷ tons in winter. Net flux of suspended matter from the Yellow Sea to the East China Sea is 2.61×10⁷ tons every year. Project No. KZCX2-207 supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences and No. 496-36210 supported by NSFC.