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Three dimensional diagnostic study of the circulation in the South China Sea during winter 1998

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Abstract

On the basis of hydrographic data obtained from 28 November to 27 December, 1998, the three-dimensional structure of circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) is computed using a three-dimensional diagnostic model. The combination of sea surface height anomaly from altimeter data and numerical results provides a consistent circulation pattern for the SCS, and main circulation features can be summarized as follows: in the northern SCS there are a cold and cyclonic circulation C1 with two cores C1-1 and C1-2 northwest of Luzon and an anticyclonic eddy (W1) near Dongsha Islands. In the central SCS there is a stronger cyclonic circulation C2 with two cores C2-1 and C2-2 east of Vietnam and a weaker anticyclonic eddy W2 northwest of Palawan Island. A stronger coastal southward jet presents west of the eddy C2 and turns to the southeast in the region southwest of eddy C2-2, and it then turns to flow eastward in the region south of eddy C2-2. In the southern SCS there are a weak cyclonic eddy C3 northwest of Borneo and an anti-cyclonic circulation W3 in the subsurface layer. The net westward volume transport through section CD at 119.125°E from 18.975° to 21.725°N is about 10.3 × 106 m3s−1 in the layer above 400 m level. The most important dynamic mechanism generating the circulation in the SCS is a joint effect of the baroclinicity and relief (JEBAR), and the second dynamical mechanism is an interaction between the wind stress and relief (IBWSR). The strong upwelling occurs off northwest Luzon.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    Guanghong Liao, Yaochu Yuan & Xiaohua Xu

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  1. Guanghong Liao
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  2. Yaochu Yuan
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  3. Xiaohua Xu
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Correspondence to Guanghong Liao.

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Liao, G., Yuan, Y. & Xu, X. Three dimensional diagnostic study of the circulation in the South China Sea during winter 1998. J Oceanogr 64, 803–814 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-008-0067-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-008-0067-4

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