Abstract
CTD data on standard levels collected during July and December in 1998 and the cubic spline interpolating method were used to study the characteristics of the transition layer temperature and salinity. The thermocline undergoes remarkable seasonal variation in the South China Sea (SCS), and especially in the region of the north shelf where the thermocline disappears in December. The thermocline is stronger and thicker in July than in December. There is no obvious seasonal variation in the halocline. Due to the upper Ekman transport caused by monsoon over the SCS, the thermocline slopes upward in July and downward in December from east to west in the northern SCS. The characteristics of the thermocline and halocline are influenced by local eddies in the SCS. The Zhujiang diluted flow influences significantly the SCS shelf's halocline.
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Project No. 49906001 supported by the NSFC; the CTD data were provided by ‘Monsoon Experiments in South China Sea’ Project (G1999043805).
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Peiliang, L., Juncheng, Z., Lei, L. et al. Characteristics of the transition layer in the South China Sea in 1998. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 21, 27–33 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02842758
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02842758