Yeqiang Shu

Meridional overturning circulation in the South China Sea envisioned from the high-resolution global reanalysis data GLBa0.08

The pattern of meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the South China Sea (SCS) is studied using a numerical Lagrangian tracing method with the HYCOM+NCODA Global 1/12 degrees Analysis (GLBa0.08) data. The SCS MOC has a sandwich structure, which consists of a layer of stronger clockwise circulation above 500 m depth, a counterclockwise layer in the mid layer between 500 and 1000 m depth, and a weaker clockwise layer below 1000 m. The deep (below 1000 m depth) clockwise layer is divided into three cells, namely, the deep southern MOC cell, DSMOC; the deep middle MOC cell, DMMOC; and the unclosed deep northern MOC cell, DNMOC. The inflow through the Luzon Strait is the main source for the SCS MOCs. The upper layer Luzon Strait inflow dominates the upper SCS MOC structure but has relatively less contribution to the DNMOC, whereas the deep layer Luzon Strait inflow mainly influences the DNMOC and it mostly rises near 18 degrees N. The inflow through the Taiwan Strait mainly contributes to the upper layer MOC. Moreover, inflows from the Mindoro and Karimata straits contribute negatively to the upper MOC but play a significant role on the DSMOC. The backward integration of Lagrangian trajectories further validates that the SCS deep water comes not only from the deep inflow but also from the entrainment of the middle and upper layer inflow through the Luzon Strait. In the SCS basin, there are three northwest-southeast tilted zones where tracers upwell, which correspond to the three deep MOC cells. One possible mechanism for these upwelling zones is the interaction between the continental slope-trapped waves and the westward planetary Rossby waves.

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.

Thermal variations in the South China Sea associated with the eastern and central Pacific El Nino events and their mechanisms

In this study, we investigate the interannual variability of the sea surface temperature (SST) in the South China Sea (SCS) associated with two types of El Nino, namely, the eastern Pacific (EP) El Nino and the central Pacific (CP) El Nino. First, double warm peaks can occur during both types of El Nino events in the SCS. However, the strong warm basin mode can only develop in the EP El Nino, while the warm semibasin mode exists during the CP El Nino. Associated with an anomalous positive (negative) net surface heat flux in the EP (CP) El Nino, along with a shallower thermocline with weaker (stronger) northeasterly wind anomalies, the SST anomalies become warmer (cooler) in the developing autumn. Over the background of cooling SST in autumn of CP El Nino, therefore, only a weak warming can occur in the subsequent years, which is limited in the western boundary area under the forcing of warm ocean advection. Second, the SST oscillation periods are different in these two types of El Nino. The SST evolution in the EP El Nino is negative-positive with a quasi-biennial oscillation, but that in the CP El Nino is positive-negative-positive-negative with an annual oscillation. It seems that the double cooling in the CP El Nino is phase-locked to the late autumn season.

Contrasting dynamic characteristics of shear turbulence and Langmuir circulation in the surface mixed layer

Large eddy simulation (LES) is used to investigate contrasting dynamic characteristics of shear turbulence (ST) and Langmuir circulation (LC) in the surface mixed layer (SML). ST is usually induced by wind forcing in SML. LC can be driven by wave-current interaction that includes the roles of wind, wave and vortex forcing. The LES results show that LC suppresses the horizontal velocity and greatly modifies the downwind velocity profile, but increases the vertical velocity. The strong downwelling jets of LC accelerate and increase the downward transport of energy as compared to ST. The vertical eddy viscosity Km of L is much larger than that of ST. Strong mixing induced by LC has two locations. They are located in the 2δs–3δs (Stokes depth scale) and the lower layer of the SML, respectively. Its value and position change periodically with time. In contrast, maximum Km induced by ST is located in the middle depth of the SML. The turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) generated by LC is larger than that by ST. The differences in vertical distributions of TKE and Km are evident. Therefore, the parameterization of LC cannot be solely based on TKE. For deep SML, the convection of large-scale eddies in LC plays a main role in downward transport of energy and LC can induce stronger velocity shear (S2) near the SML base. In addition, the large-scale eddies and S2 induced by LC is changing all the time, which needs to be fully considered in the parameterization of LC.

Observed deep energetic eddies by seamount wake.

Despite numerous surface eddies are observed in the ocean, deep eddies (a type of eddies which have no footprints at the sea surface) are much less reported in the literature due to the scarcity of their observation. In this letter, from recently collected current and temperature data by mooring arrays, a deep energetic and baroclinic eddy is detected in the northwestern South China Sea (SCS) with its intensity, size, polarity and structure being characterized. It remarkably deepens isotherm at deep layers by the amplitude of ~120 m and induces a maximal velocity amplitude about 0.18 m/s, which is far larger than the median velocity (0.02 m/s). The deep eddy is generated in a wake when a steering flow in the upper layer passes a seamount, induced by a surface cyclonic eddy. More observations suggest that the deep eddy should not be an episode in the area. Deep eddies significantly increase the velocity intensity and enhance the mixing in the deep ocean, also have potential implication for deep-sea sediments transport.

Marine Vehicle Sensor Network Architecture and Protocol Designs for Ocean Observation

The micro-scale and meso-scale ocean dynamic processes which are nonlinear and have large variability, have a significant impact on the fisheries, natural resources, and marine climatology. A rapid, refined and sophisticated observation system is therefore needed in marine scientific research. The maneuverability and controllability of mobile sensor platforms make them a preferred choice to establish ocean observing networks, compared to the static sensor observing platform. In this study, marine vehicles are utilized as the nodes of mobile sensor networks for coverage sampling of a regional ocean area and ocean feature tracking. A synoptic analysis about marine vehicle dynamic control, multi vehicles mission assignment and path planning methods, and ocean feature tracking and observing techniques is given. Combined with the observation plan in the South China Sea, we provide an overview of the mobile sensor networks established with marine vehicles, and the corresponding simulation results.

Observed evidence of the anomalous South China Sea western boundary current during the summers of 2010 and 2011

Seven years of directly measured current data from a mooring in the Xisha area of the South China Sea (SCS), together with shipboard ADCP and satellite data, have shown the western boundary current (WBC) anomaly and its vertical structure during the summers of 2010 and 2011. The observed WBC presented obvious year-to-year variability, especially in the summer. Overall, the summer mean velocity at the mooring site over 7-year (2007-2013) was northeastward. The moored ADCP showed that the northeastward velocity was particularly strong in the summer of 2010, but the increase was confined in the upper 120 m. In contrast, the northeastward current disappeared throughout the observed depth range (from 50 to 450 m) in the summer of 2011. Even at the deepest observed position, the monthly velocity anomalies reached 14 cm s(-1) westward and 12 cm s(-1) southward in the zonal and meridional directions, respectively. Both the Vietnam offshore current (VOC) and double gyres in the western SCS disappeared and the southern anticyclonic gyre expanded to strengthened the northward WBC in the summer of 2010. However, in summer of 2011, the VOC intensified, and the northern cyclonic gyre enlarged with its northern edge reaching 18 degrees N, slightly north of mooring site, which weakened the northeastward WBC. The observed SCS circulation anomalies during 2010 and 2011 were mainly induced by the basin-scale wind field anomalies associated with the 2009/2010 El Nino and 2010/2011 La Nina.

Persistent and energetic bottom-trapped topographic Rossby waves observed in the southern South China Sea.

Energetic fluctuations with periods of 9–14 days below a depth of 1400 m were observed in the southern South China Sea (SCS) from 5 years of direct measurements. We interpreted such fluctuations as topographic Rossby waves (TRWs) because they obey the dispersion relation. The TRWs persisted from May 24, 2009 to August 23, 2013, and their bottom current speed with a maximum of ~10 cm/s was one order of magnitude greater than the mean current and comparable to the tidal currents near the bottom. The bottom-trapped TRWs had an approximate trapping depth of 325 m and reference wavelength of ~82 km, which were likely excited by eddies above. Upper layer current speed that peaked approximately every 2 months could offer the energy sources for the persistent TRWs in the southern SCS. Energetic bottom-trapped TRWs may have a comparable role in deep circulation to tides in areas with complex topography.

Decadal variation and trends in subsurface salinity from 1960 to 2012 in the northern South China Sea

Observations suggest that subsurface waters in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) exhibited substantial low-frequency variability, with a striking decadal change in the southern limit of the 34.6-psu isohaline. Long-term freshening of the subsurface waters started in 1960, was followed by salinification from 1975, and freshening occurred again from 1993 to 2012. The linear trends were –0.0076, 0.0100, and –0.0078 psu/yr, respectively. An analysis of the subsurface salinity budget reveals that the main underlying contributors to subsurface salinity are horizontal advection and vertical entrainment. In particular, advection driven by the Luzon Strait transport and vertical entrainment from the mixed layer are the key factors controlling variations on subsurface salinity. Diagnosis of the salinity budget further suggests that entrainment from the mixed layer played a more important role in the freshening periods than in the salinifying period.