Abstract
The trajectories of 110 satellite-tracked surface drifters from 1989 to 2007 were analyzed to elucidate near-surface circulation in the Taiwan Strait. Although the summer circulation observed generally agrees with previous studies, several aspects of the winter circulation were revealed by the analyses. Unlike many earlier studies, which have suggested that a northward (southward) current prevails in the eastern (western) part of the Taiwan Strait during the northeast monsoon season, this study shows that almost all winter drifters that entered the Taiwan Strait eventually moved southward. Inside the Taiwan Strait, northward moving tracks can only be found in the Penghu Channel. After passing the Penghu Channel, the drifters were blocked by the northeast monsoon wind and the Yun-Chang Rise, and turned southward. None of the drifters flowed persistently northward through the Taiwan Strait in winter. In the southern Taiwan Strait, three typical patterns of circulation were observed for the winter trajectories—the “throughflow” pattern that enters the South China Sea flowing westward along the slope; the loop current pattern that circulates anticyclonically and returns to the Kuroshio; and the blocked intrusion pattern that penetrates into the Taiwan Strait through the Penghu Channel.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology under the National Basic Research Program (contract no. 2009CB421205, 2011CB403502), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (contract no. 40806014) and the Chinese Offshore Investigation and Assessment Project (contract no. 908-ZC-I-01) for financially supporting this research. C. T. A. Chen acknowledges the National Science Council of Taiwan (contract nos NSC 97-2621-M-110-002 and NSC 96-2621-Z-110-002) and the Aim for the Top University Program for their support. Thanks to the three anonymous reviewers for constructive comments. Ted Knoy is appreciated for his editorial assistance.
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Qiu, Y., Li, L., Chen, CT.A. et al. Currents in the Taiwan Strait as observed by surface drifters. J Oceanogr 67, 395–404 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-011-0033-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-011-0033-4