Jianyu Hu

A Review on the Currents in the South China Sea: Seasonal Circulation, South China Sea Warm Current and Kuroshio Intrusion

Researches on the currents in the South China Sea (SCS) and the interaction between the SCS and its adjacent seas are reviewed. Overall seasonal circulation in the SCS is cyclonic in winter and anticyclonic in summer with a few stable eddies. The seasonal circulation is mostly driven by monsoon winds, and is related to water exchange between the SCS and the East China Sea through the Taiwan Strait, and between the SCS and the Kuroshio through the Luzon Strait. Seasonal characteristics of the South China Sea Warm Current in the northern SCS and the Kuroshio intrusion to the SCS are summarized in terms of the interaction between the SCS and its adjacent seas.

Observed three-dimensional structure of a cold eddy in the southwestern South China Sea

National Basic Research Program of China [2009CB421208]; Natural Science Foundation of China [40821063, 40521003]; Programme of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities [B07034]; Research Grants Council of Hong Kong [CERG 601009]

3≈6 Months Variation of Sea Surface Height in the South China Sea and Its Adjacent Ocean

Sea surface height (SSH) variations with a period of 3≈6 months (SSH36 variations) in the South China Sea (SCS) and its adjacent ocean are intensively investigated using six years of TOPEX/POSEIDON-derived SSH data. The results show that there appears higher energy of SSH36 variations in the east of the Luzon Strait and in some areas of the SCS, both of which are correlated with each other. The SSH36 variations usually propagate westward in the subtropical region of the northern Pacific Ocean and turn northward in the east of the Luzon Strait while they sometimes propagate into the SCS through the Luzon Strait with the phase speed of about 11–12 cm/s, which may be considered as Rossby waves. It can be inferred that the SSH36 variations are strongly associated with current structures and eddies in the SCS because of their significant intensiveness. The SSH variations with the period of 6 months are more dominant than those with the other periods in the SCS.

Relative contributions of local wind and topography to the coastal upwelling intensity in the northern South China Sea

Ministry of Science and Technology of China [2011CB403504]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [41006011, 41006012]; South China Sea Institute of Oceanology [SQ201001]; Recruitment Program of Global Experts

Coastal upwelling in summer 2000 in the northeastern South China Sea

Using a combination of hydrographic, tide-gauge, near-bottom mooring, and satellite observations; and a numerical circulation model, we investigate the coastal upwelling in the northeastern South China Sea (NSCS) off the coast of Fujian and Guangdong Provinces, China, in the summer of 2000. Subsurface upwelling phenomenon exists mainly near the bottom boundary in the whole region investigated. It is closely related to the coastal sea level fluctuations, which are evidently modulated by both the local wind-forcing and the large-scale circulation. The northeastward interior flow following the bathymetry is accelerated by the drop of coastal sea level and leads to onshore transport and subsequent cooling in the bottom boundary layer (BBL) over the shelf west of Shantou. To the east of Shantou, the near-bottom flow veers more eastward, parallel to the coastline, and transports the nearshore cold water mass farther to the southern Fujian coast. The cross-shelf advected cold water does not always penetrate through the stratification and reach the surface. The local wind exhibits considerable synoptic variability. The decrease in sea surface temperature (SST) is mostly significant near Dongshan-Shantou, intermittent in time and intensifies preferably during weather events that bring southwesterly alongshore wind. To the west a freshwater tongue originating from the Pearl River forms a barrier layer, which results in high surface temperature in the freshwater plume. The observational evidences and modeled results shown in this study provide important information for further understanding the ecological effects associated with the upwelling processes in the NSCS.

Progress on upwelling studies in the China seas

East Asian marginal seas surrounding China exhibit rich ocean upwelling, mostly in response to the southwesterly summer monsoon. Upwelling in the China seas, namely, the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Bohai Sea, has become increasingly important because the potential changes in the upwelling may have dramatic ecosystem, socioeconomic, and climate impacts. This paper reviews the progress of upwelling studies in the China seas since the year 2000, by presenting the principal characteristics and new understanding of 12 major upwelling regions in the China seas. Upwelling exhibits long-term variability at intraseasonal to multi-decadal scales as well as short-term variability frequently caused by tropical cyclones. It is also associated with the El Nino Southern Oscillation, local environmental variation, and biogeochemical factors. The coastal upwelling around Hainan Island and the upwelling or cold dome northeast of Taiwan Island are specifically highlighted because they have attracted great interest for decades. This paper summarizes upwelling mechanisms in terms of wind, topography, tide, stratification, and background flow, with applications mostly to the China seas. Finally, we propose some topics for future upwelling research, i.e., potential intensification of coastal upwelling under global climate change, downwelling, intrusion of upwelling into coastal embayments, and the influence of upwelling on fishery and biogeochemical processes.

Dynamics of wind-driven upwelling off the northeastern coast of Hainan Island

Both observational and reanalysis sea surface temperature data reveal that upwelling occurs frequently off the northeastern coast of Hainan Island (downstream of the change in topography off Tongluo Cape), which cannot be attributed to the along-shelf wind alone. To identify dynamics of the upwelling, we conduct a numerical experiment using an idealized topography that is simplified from the actual topography off the eastern and northeastern coasts of Hainan Island. The result indicates that the upwelling downstream of the change in topography is associated with onshore cross-isobath transport. Analysis of the vertically integrated momentum balance shows that the upwelling-linked onshore transport is primarily intensified by the along-isobath barotropic pressure gradient force (PGT), but is weakened by the along-isobath baroclinic pressure gradient force (PGC). The along-isobath PGT is linked to the advection of relative vorticity, the bottom stress curl and the gradient of momentum flux in vorticity equation. On the other hand, the PGC-related process is diagnosed by potential vorticity (PV) balance. Similar to the negative PV term from wind stress, the negative PV terms of the joint effect of baroclinicity and relief and the baroclinic bottom pressure torque weaken the upwelling-linked onshore transport downstream of the change in topography. The onshore transport is enhanced by the positive PV from bottom stress. In addition, the cross-isobath forces play an important role in upwelling intensification in the shallow nearshore region.

Quantifying internally generated and externally forced climate signals at regional scales in CMIP5 models

The Earths climate evolves because of both internal variability and external forcings. Using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models, here we quantify the ratio of externally forced variance to total variance on interannual and longer time scales for regional surface air temperature (SAT) and sea level, which depends on the relative strength of externally forced signal compared to internal variability. The highest ratios are found in tropical areas for SAT but at high latitudes for sea level over the historical period when ocean dynamics and global mean thermosteric contributions are considered. Averaged globally, the ratios over a fixed time interval (e.g., 30 years) are projected to increase during the 21st century under the business-as-usual scenario (RCP8.5). In contrast, under two mitigation scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP4.5), the ratio declines sharply by the end of the 21st century for SAT, but only declines slightly or stabilizes for sea level, indicating a slower response of sea level to climate mitigation.

Generation sites of internal solitary waves in the southern Taiwan Strait revealed by MODIS true-colour image observations

Based on 12 years (2000–2011) of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) true-colour images, statistical characteristics of internal solitary waves (ISWs) in the southern Taiwan Strait were studied. Two types of ISWs with a distinct scale of wave crest length and geographic distributions were identified: Type-I waves have larger wave crest lengths and span a large area from the southern Taiwan Strait to the northern South China Sea, while Type-II waves have smaller wave crest lengths and appear only at the southeastern corner of the Taiwan Strait. Further analyses based on an empirical model of ISW propagation and on the calculations of the depth-integrated internal tide-generating body force suggested that Type-I waves mainly originate from the Luzon Strait, while Type-II waves are locally generated at the shelf break in the southeastern corner of the Taiwan Strait.

Upper ocean near-inertial response to 1998 Typhoon Faith in the South China Sea

During the South China Sea monsoon experiment (SCSMEX), three autonomous temperature line acquisition system (ATLAS) buoys with acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were moored in the South China Sea to measure temperature, salinity and current velocity. Typhoon Faith passed through about 250 km south to one of the mooring buoys located at 12°58.5′N, 114°24.5′E from December 11 to 14, 1998. The data analysis indicates that the typhoon winds induce a great increase in the kinetic energy at near-inertial frequencies with two maxima in the mixed layer and thermocline. The near-inertial oscillations were observed at the upper 270 m in the wake of Typhoon Faith. The oscillations were originally excited in the sea surface layer and propagated downward. The amplitudes of the oscillations decrease with depth except in the thermocline. The near-inertial oscillation signals are also remarkable in temperature and salinity fields.