The structure and variability of the currents in the Luzon Strait during spring of 2002 are studied, based on the current measurements at the average position of the mooring station (20°49′57"N, 120°48′12"E) from March 17 to April 15, 2002, satellite geostrophic currents in the Luzon Strait, and the spectral analyses, using the maximum entropy method. The subtidal currents at the mooring station show decreased amplitudes downward with an anti-cyclonic rotation, suggesting that the currents enter and exit the South China Sea in the upper and intermediate layers, respectively. The vertical structure of the currents in the Luzon Strait suggests strongly the sandwiched structure of the LST, even though the bottom part of the profile is not resolved by the observational grid. The spectral analyses show the following periods of significant spectral peaks: (1) the tidal currents variability in the vertical direction; (2) the period about 4-6 d for the two cases of frequency f >0 and f<0 at the 200 and 500 m levels, but at the 800 m level only for the case of f >0; (3) The fluctuation in the period range is about 2-3 days for the two cases of f >0 and f<0 at the 200, 500 and 800 m levels, namely the Luzon Strait currents exhibit significant synoptical variability throughout the water column up to 800 m deep. Both direct current measurements and in situ hydrographic and satellite survey suggest no Kuroshio loop current in the Luzon Strait during the spring of 2002.
The hydrography, wind, Argos and Argo measurements in the areas surrounding Luzon Strait were collected. Based on the hydrographic data obtained during September 1994, the improved Princeton Ocean Model using a generalized topography-following coordinate system together with a modified inverse method was applied to study the circulation in September. Observations and the diagnostic simulation produce a consistent circulation pattern, and the main dynamical features can be summarized as follows. (1) The Kuroshio has two branches with the main Kuroshio existing above 800 m depth and the western part existing above 400 m depth. The western branch of the Kuroshio leaves the main current near 20.5°N, then flows northwestward through Luzon Strait and finally flows out of the northern boundary southwest of Taiwan, consistent with the trajectory of Argos drifters. (2) The non-linear term is important and cannot be neglected in the momentum equations in the northern part of Luzon Strait under the baroclinicity field. Using non-linear dynamics, the westward intrusion of the Kuroshio into the northern part of Luzon Strait is more curved than when using linear dynamics. However, the non-linear term is smaller and so negligible around Luzon Strait under the homogeneous density field. (3) In the area from 117°E to 119°E and from 20.2°N to 21.7°N, an anticyclonic eddy appears east of Dongsha Islands. (4) At depths above 400 m, the circulation is mainly dominated by the basin-scale cyclonic gyre. (5) In the computational domain west of 121°E, the circulation below 800 m is mainly dominated by the basin-scale anticyclonic gyre. (6) The South China Sea water flows eastward across Luzon Strait in the middle layers, then turns cyclonically, finally flowing northward into the region east of Taiwan Island, which is qualitatively in agreement with the trajectories of Argo floats at about 1000 m depth in the area east of 121°E. KEYWORDS three-dimensional non-linear diagnostic simulation; modified inverse method; Argo and Argos observations; Kuroshio Intrusion through Luzon Strait; dynamical mechanism
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