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Intrusion of the Kuroshio into the South China Sea, in September 2008

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Abstract

Using widespread conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) data in the Philippine Sea and northern South China Sea near the Luzon Strait together with altimeter data, we identified an intrusion of water from the Kuroshio into the South China Sea (SCS) through the Luzon Strait in September 2008. The Kuroshio water obviously intruded into the SCS from 20 to 21°N, and existed mainly in the upper 300 m. The intrusion water extended as far west as 117°E, then looped around in an anticyclonic eddy and returned to the Philippine Sea further north. The dynamics of the Kuroshio intrusion are discussed using a 1.5-layer nonlinear shallow-water reduced-gravity model. The analysis suggests that the strong cyclonic eddy to the east of the Kuroshio in September 2008 was of benefit to the intrusion event.

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Acknowledgments

The altimeter data were obtained from the AVISO website. The wind product was downloaded from https://doi.org/podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/DATA_CATALOG/quikscatinfo.html. This work is supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX1-YW-12), National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB403500), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41006013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academic of Science, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Gengxin Chen, Po Hu & Yijun Hou

  2. State Key Laboratory of Oceanography in the Tropics, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academic of Science, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou, 510301, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Gengxin Chen & Xiaoqing Chu

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  1. Gengxin Chen
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  2. Po Hu
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  3. Yijun Hou
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  4. Xiaoqing Chu
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Correspondence to Po Hu.

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Chen, G., Hu, P., Hou, Y. et al. Intrusion of the Kuroshio into the South China Sea, in September 2008. J Oceanogr 67, 439–448 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-011-0047-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-011-0047-y

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