Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Coupled seasonal variability in the South China Sea

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Oceanography Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study documents the relationship between seasonal variations in sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation in the South China Sea (SCS) region. There are strong interactions between the atmosphere and ocean in the seasonal variations of SST and precipitation. During the transition to warm and cold seasons, the SST tendency is primarily contributed by net heat flux dominated by shortwave radiation and latent heat flux with a complementary contribution from ocean advection and upwelling. The contribution of wind-driven oceanic processes depends on the region and is more important in the northern SCS than in the southern SCS. During warm and cold seasons, local SST forcing contributes to regional precipitation by modulating the atmospheric stability and lower-level moisture convergence. The SST difference between the SCS and the western North Pacific influences the convection over the SCS through its modulation of the circulation pattern.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler RF, Huffman GJ, Chang A, Ferraro R, Xie P, Janowiak J, Rudolf B, Schneider U, Curtis S, Bolvin D, Gruber A, Susskind J, Arkin P, Nelkin E (2003) The version 2 Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) monthly precipitation analysis (1979–present). J Hydrometeor 4:1147–1167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centurioni LR, Niiler PN, Lee DK (2009) Near-surface circulation in the South China Sea during the winter monsoon. Geophys Res Lett 36:L06605. doi:10.1029/2008GL037076

  • Chen W (2002) Impacts of El Niño and La Niña on the cycle of the East Asian winter and summer monsoon. Chin J Atmos Sci 26(5):595–610

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen W, Graf HF, Huang RH (2000) The interannual variability of East Asian winter monsoon and its relation to the summer monsoon. Adv Atmos Sci 17:48–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen JM, Chang CP, Li T (2003) Annual cycle of the South China Sea surface temperature using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. J Meteor Soc Japan 81(4):879–884

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu PC, Edmons NL, Fan CW (1999) Dynamical mechanisms for the South China Sea seasonal circulation and thermohaline variabilities. J Phys Oceanogr 29:2971–2989

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delworth TL, Rosati A, Stouffer RJ et al (2006) GFDL’s CM2 global coupled climate models. Part I: formulation and simulation characteristics. J Clim 19(5):643–674

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffies SM, Harrison MJ, Pacanowski RC, Rosati A (2004) A technical guide to MOM4. GFDL Ocean Group technical report no. 5. NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, p 342

  • Hu JY, Kavamura H, Hong HS, Qi YQ (2000) A review on the currents in the South China Sea: seasonal circulation, South China Sea warm current and Kuroshio intrusion. J Oceanogr 56(6):607–624

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huffman GJ, Adler RF, Bolvin DT, Gu G (2009) Improving the global precipitation record: GPCP version 2.1. Geophys Res Lett 36:L17808. doi:10.1029/2009GL040000

  • Kanamitsu M, Ebisuzaki W, Woollen J, Yang SK, Hnilo JJ, Fiorino M, Potter GL (2002) NCEP-DOE AMIP-II reanalysis (R-2). Bull Am Meteorol Soc 83:1631–1643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lestari RK, Watanabe M, Kimoto M (2011) Role of air–sea coupling in the interannual variability of the South China Sea summer monsoon. J Meteorol Soc Jpn 89A:283–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin PF, Liu HL, Zhang XH (2007) Sensitivity of the upper ocean temperature and circulation in the equatorial Pacific to solar radiation penetration due to phytoplankton. Adv Atmos Sci 24(5):765–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindzen RS, Nigam S (1987) On the role of sea surface temperature gradients in forcing low-level winds and convergence in the tropics. J Atmos Sci 44:2418–2436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu WT, Xie XS (1999) Spacebased observations of the seasonal changes of South Asian monsoons and oceanic responses. Geophys Res Lett 26(10):1473–1476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu QY, Yang HJ, Liu ZY (2001a) Seasonal feature of the Sverdrup circulation in the South China Sea. Prog Nat Sci 11(3):202–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Z, Yang H, Liu Q (2001b) Regional dynamics of seasonal variability in the South China Sea. J Phys Oceanogr 31:272–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu QY, Jiang X, Xie SP, Liu WT (2004) A gap in the Indo-Pacific warm pool over the South China Sea in boreal winter: seasonal development and interannual variability. J Geophys Res 109:C07012. doi:10.1029/2003JC002179

  • Paulson CA, Simpson JJ (1977) Irradiance measurements in the upper ocean. J Phys Oceanogr 7:952–956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu TD (2001) Role of ocean dynamics in determining the mean seasonal cycle of the South China Sea surface temperature. J Geophys Res 106(C4):6943–6955

    Google Scholar 

  • Qu TD, Du Y, Gan JP, Wang DX (2007) Mean seasonal cycle of isothermal depth in the South China Sea. J Geophys Res 112:C02020. doi:10.1029/2006JC003583

  • Reynolds RW, Rayner NA, Smith TM, Stokes DC, Wang W (2002) An improved in situ and satellite SST analysis for climate. J Clim 15:1609–1625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roxy M, Tanimoto Y (2007) Role of SST over the Indian Ocean in influencing the intraseasonal variability of the Indian summer monsoon. J Meteorol Soc Jpn Ser II 85(3):349–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw PT, Chao SY (1994) Surface circulation in the South China Sea. Deep Sea Res Part I 41:1663–1683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twigt DJ, De Goede ED, Schrama EJO, Gerritsen H (2007) Analysis and modeling of the seasonal South China Sea temperature cycle using remote sensing. Ocean Dyn 57:467–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Varikoden H, Samah AA, Babu CA (2010) The cold tongue in the South China Sea during boreal winter and its interaction with the atmosphere. Adv Atmos Sci 27(2):265–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang DX, Qin ZH, Zhou FX (1997) Study on air–sea interaction on the interannual time-scale in the South China Sea. Acta Meteorol Sinica 55(1):33–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu R (2002) Processes for the northeastward advance of the summer monsoon over the western North Pacific. J Meteorol Soc Jpn 80(1):67–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu R (2010) Subseasonal variability during the South China Sea summer monsoon onset. Clim Dyn 34(5):629–642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu R, Wang B (2001) Multi-stage onset of the summer monsoon over the western North Pacific. Clim Dyn 17(4):277–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu R, Kirtman BP, Pegion K (2006) Local air–sea relationship in observations and model simulations. J Clim 19:4914–4932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyrtki K (1961) Physical oceanography of the Southeast Asian waters. Naga report, vol. 2. Scientific results of marine investigations of the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand 1959–1961. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, p 195

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie SP, Xie Q, Wang D, Liu WT (2003) Summer upwelling in the South China Sea and its role in regional climate variations. J Geophys Res 108:3261. doi:10.1029/2003JC001867

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie SP, Chang CH, Xie Q, Wang DX (2007) Intraseasonal variability in the summer South China Sea: wind jet, cold filament, and recirculations. J Geophys Res 112:C10008. doi:10.1029/2007JC004238

  • Yu L, Jin X, Weller RA (2008) Multidecade global flux datasets from the Objectively Analyzed Air–sea Fluxes (OAFlux) Project: latent and sensible heat fluxes, ocean evaporation, and related surface meteorological variables. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, OAFlux Project technical report OA-2008-01. Woods Hole, Massachusetts, pp 64

  • Zhang Y, Rossow WB, Lacis AA, Oinas V, Mishchenko MI (2004) Calculation of radiative fluxes from the surface to top of atmosphere based on ISCCP and other global data sets: refinement of the radiative transfer model and the input data. J Geophys Res 109:D19105. doi:10.1029/2003JD00445

Download references

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support of direct grants from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2021090 and 2021105) and CUHK RGC Project No. 403612.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Zhuoqi He

  2. Institute of Space and Earth Information Science and Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Renguang Wu

Authors
  1. Zhuoqi He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Renguang Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renguang Wu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

He, Z., Wu, R. Coupled seasonal variability in the South China Sea. J Oceanogr 69, 57–69 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-012-0157-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-012-0157-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation