[1] The high-resolution, unstructured grid Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) was used to examine the physical mechanisms that cause current separation and upwelling over the southeast shelf of Vietnam in the South China Sea (SCS). Process-oriented experiments suggest that the southwesterly monsoon wind is a key physical mechanism for upwelling in that area but not a prerequisite to cause current separation. With no wind forcing, current separation in summer can occur as a result of the encounter of a southward along-shelf coastal current from the north and northeastward buoyancy-driven and stratified tidal-rectified currents from the southwest. The southward current can be traced upstream to the Hong River in the Gulf of Tonkin. This current is dominated by semigeostrophic dynamics and is mostly confined to the narrow shelf along the northern Vietnamese coast. The northeastward currents are generated by tidal rectification and are intensified by the Mekong River discharge and southwesterly monsoon wind forcing. The dynamics controlling this current are fully nonlinear, with significant contributions from advection and vertical turbulent mixing. Upwelling in the current separation zone can be produced by a spatially uniform constant wind field and can be explained using simple wind-induced Ekman transport theory. This finding differs from previous theory in which the regional dipole wind stress curl is claimed as a key mechanism for current separation and upwelling in this coastal region. Our SCS FVCOM, driven by the wind stress, river discharge, and tides, is capable of reproducing the location and tongue-like offshore distribution of temperature as those seen in satellite-derived sea surface temperature imagery.

Shoreline continuously adapts to changing multi-scale wave forcing. This study investigates the shoreline evolution of tropical beaches exposed to monsoon events and storms with a case study in Vietnam, facing the South China Sea, over the particularly active 2013-2014 season, including the Cat-5 Haiyan typhoon. Our continuous video observations show for the first time that long-lasting monsoon events have more persistent impact (longer beach recovery phase) than typhoons. Using a shoreline equilibrium model, we estimate that the seasonal shoreline behavior is driven by the envelope of intra-seasonal events rather than monthly-averaged waves. Finally, the study suggests that the interplay between intra-seasonal event intensity and duration on the one hand and recovery conditions on the other might be of key significance. Their evolution in a variable or changing climate should be considered.

Although coastal morphology results essentially from underwater sediment transports, the evolution of underwater beach profiles along the diverse coastlines of the world is still poorly documented. Bathymetry inversion from shore-based video cameras set forth a more systematic evaluation and is becoming more commonly used. However, there are limitations to this profiling method that are insufficiently assessed, undermining confidence in operational applications. In this paper, we investigate the daily evolution of a low tide terrace (LTT) in Nha Trang beach, Vietnam, under strong seasonal forcing: from weak wind waves during summer monsoon to moderate waves during winter monsoon. A new error estimation for depth inversion is presented based on tidal evaluation. The method compares video-based estimate and direct measurement of tidal amplitudes to provide a quality criterion. It reveals three types of errors, the main one being a deep water error associated with physical limits—loss of celerity-bathymetry relationship in deep water. This error is dependent on wave period and thus has a strong seasonal pattern in Vietnam. It is generally detrimental to depth inversion where wind waves are dominant (in summer here). On the contrary, the second error type is larger for larger waves and is located at breakpoint, altering wave detection. The last error type is due to nonlinear effects and wave setup in shallow water. After removing the faulty data, we finally present the first reliable three-year time-series of a beach profile in Nha Trang, Vietnam. A main result is the overall stability demonstrated for the LTT beach, with rapid exchange of sediment between the terrace and the upper beach during typhoons, monsoon events or seasonal cycles. These tropical environments may provide faster beach recovery compared with mid-latitude configurations.

[1] Moored current measurements were made at one mooring site in the northern Gulf of Tonkin for about 1 year during [1988][1989]. Analyses were performed to examine characteristics and variability of tidal and subtidal flows. Rotary spectra showed two peaks at diurnal and semidiurnal periods, with higher diurnal energy. Complex demodulations of diurnal and semidiurnal tidal currents indicated that the tidal current magnitudes varied significantly with seasons: more energetic in the stratified summer than in the vertically well-mixed winter. The observed subtidal currents were highly correlated with the surface wind in winter but not in summer; challenging the conceptual summertime anticyclonic circulation pattern derived using wind-driven homogenous circulation theory. The computed currents from a global ocean model were in good agreement with the observed currents. Similar to the current observations, the model-computed flow patterns were consistent with the conceptual wind-driven circulation pattern in winter but opposite in summer. Process-oriented experiments suggest that the summertime cyclonic circulation in the northern Gulf of Tonkin forms as a result of the combination of stratified wind-driven circulation and tidal-rectified inflow from Qiongzhou Strait. The interaction between the southwest monsoon and buoyancy-driven flow from Hong River can significantly intensify the cyclonic circulation near the surface, but its contribution to the vertically averaged flow of the cyclonic circulation is limited.

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Due to its differences from the Hoabinhian and Bacsonian cultures, the "Da But culture" has been generally accepted as a separate entity by most researchers. Through June 2002, a total of eight Dabutian sites were known. These include a series of sites with similar cultural components, including Go Trung, Con Co Ngua, Ban Thuy and Lang Cong, as well as Da But itself. Researchers can recognize a Dabutian site through its distinctive pottery, polished stone tools, and a unique adaptation to coastal swamp and lake areas. These distinctions separate the Da But culture from the earlier Hoabinhian and Bacsonian cultures.

Wastewater from tapioca processing factory containing high COD (11,077-19,083 mg/l), SS (4,180-7,600 mg/l) and low pH (4.33-5.60) still causes heavy pollution to receiving water in South Vietnam. Closing the water circuit in the tapioca industries represents a very attractive option for eliminating pollution problems and the reuse of treated wastewater and solid wastes. The investigated and presently occasionally already implemented system consists of primary sedimentation tank, anaerobic treatment using UASB-reactors, aeration tanks using attached growth reactor and oxidation ponds system. Under laboratory conditions, organic loading rates applied in UASB-reactors are up to 40,35 kg COD/m3.d with treatment efficiency of 90-95%, reducing the COD concentration from up to 13,449 mg/l to 624-780 mg/l. The final effluent COD (sol.) after treatment in the pond system operated at hydraulic retention time of 12-20 days is lower than 10 mg/l. This effluent is suited very well either for use in agriculture or in the factory.

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