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Impact of the South China Sea throughflow on the pacific low-latitude western boundary current: A numerical study for seasonal and interannual time scales

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Abstract

Prior studies have revealed that, as a part of the Pacific tropical gyre, the South China Sea throughflow (SCSTF) is strongly influenced by the Pacific low-latitude western boundary current (LLWBC). In this study, ocean general circulation model (OGCM) experiments with and without connection to the South China Sea (SCS) were performed to investigate the impact of the SCSTF on the Pacific LLWBC. These model experiments show that if the SCS is blocked, seasonal variability of the Kuroshio and Mindanao Current becomes stronger, and the meridional migration of the North Equatorial Current (NEC) bifurcation latitude is enhanced. Both in seasonal and interannual time scales, stronger Luzon Strait transport (LST) induces a stronger Kuroshio transport combined with a southward shift of the NEC bifurcation, which is unfavorable for a further increase of the LST; a weaker LST induces a weaker Kuroshio transport and a northward shifting NEC bifurcation, which is also unfavorable for the continuous decrease of the LST.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China

    Weiwen Wang  (王伟文), Dongxiao Wang  (王东晓), Qinyan Liu  (刘钦燕) & Chao Li  (李 超)

  2. Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Weiwen Wang  (王伟文) & Wen Zhou  (周 文)

  3. State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Yongqiang Yu  (俞永强) & Chao Li  (李 超)

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  1. Weiwen Wang  (王伟文)
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  2. Dongxiao Wang  (王东晓)
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  3. Wen Zhou  (周 文)
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  4. Qinyan Liu  (刘钦燕)
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Correspondence to Dongxiao Wang  (王东晓).

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Wang, W., Wang, D., Zhou, W. et al. Impact of the South China Sea throughflow on the pacific low-latitude western boundary current: A numerical study for seasonal and interannual time scales. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 28, 1367–1376 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-011-0142-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-011-0142-4

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