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Surface inflow into the South China Sea through the Luzon Strait in winter

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Abstract

We studied the driving force of the Kuroshio intrusion into the South China Sea (SCS) during the winter monsoon, using satellite-tracked drifters entering the Luzon Strait (LS) through the Balintany and Babuyan Channels from the Philippine Sea. Most drifters passing through the Babuyan Channel in winter entered the interior SCS without a significant change in velocity. However, half of the drifters passing through the Balintany Channel entered the SCS at ∼30 cm/s, which was faster than when they entered the LS. The other half continued moving northwestward into the Kuroshio and returned to the North Pacific. Quantitative analyses, using surface climatological wind and sea surface height anomaly (SSHa) data explained both the difference in velocity of drifters between the two channels and their acceleration through the Balintany Channel. The results suggest that the positive meridional gradient of sea surface height in the Luzon Strait, caused by the pileup of seawater driven by the Northeast monsoon, as well as Ekman flow, contribute to the Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS through the Babuyan and Balintany Channels. The former may be the main driving force.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical and Environmental Oceanography, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Jingsong Guo  (郭景松)

  2. Laboratory of Marine Science and Numerical Modeling, The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Jingsong Guo  (郭景松), Xianyao Chen  (陈显尧), Binghuo Guo  (郭炳火), Fangli Qiao  (乔方利) & Yeli Yuan  (袁业立)

  3. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, San Diego, California, USA

    Janet Sprintall

Authors
  1. Jingsong Guo  (郭景松)
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  2. Xianyao Chen  (陈显尧)
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  3. Janet Sprintall
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  4. Binghuo Guo  (郭炳火)
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  5. Fangli Qiao  (乔方利)
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  6. Yeli Yuan  (袁业立)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xianyao Chen  (陈显尧).

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (Nos. 2007CB816002, 2005CB422303), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40776018, 41176029)

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Guo, J., Chen, X., Sprintall, J. et al. Surface inflow into the South China Sea through the Luzon Strait in winter. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 30, 163–168 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-012-1056-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-012-1056-4

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