Numerical investigation of the South China Sea deep circulation

Tang, Shengquan; Chen, Xueen; Zhi, Zeng; Liu, Xin

doi:10.1007/s13131-021-1879-y

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The exchange flow at Luzon Strait exhibits a 3‐layer and sandwich‐like structure, with an eastward outflow in the intermediate layer being sandwiched by westward inflows in both top and bottom layers (Fang et al., 2009; Gan et al., 2016; Qu et al., 2006; Tian et al., 2006; Wei et al., 2016; Yuan, 2002; Zhu et al., 2019). The exchange flow at 120.75°E across Luzon Strait indeed exhibits a 3‐layer structure in ECCO4 as shown in Figures 1d and 1e.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind‐Driven Seasonal Variability of Deep‐Water Overflow From the Pacific Ocean to the South China Sea

Chen,

Yang,

et al. 2024

Geophysical Research Letters

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The South China Sea (SCS) is a semi‐enclosed marginal sea linked to the broader oceans via various geographically constrained channels. Beneath the main thermocline depth, Luzon Strait is the only conduit for water‐mass exchanges. Observations indicate a substantial seasonal variability in the inflow transport of deep water from the Pacific Ocean. This study aims to identify and examine key drivers for such seasonal changes. It is found that seasonal variability of the deep‐water transport into the SCS is primarily driven by surface wind stress. An imbalance in wind‐driven exchanges of surface water between the SCS and external seas demands compensational transports in subsurface layers so that the net volume transport into the SCS is conserved, resulting in seasonal variations in deep‐water overflow. Changes in Karimata Strait exert a particularly influential impact on deep‐water inflow, likely due to its unique position as the sole connecting channel across the Equator.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind‐Driven Seasonal Variability of Deep‐Water Overflow From the Pacific Ocean to the South China Sea

Chen,

Yang,

et al. 2024

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…As shown in Figures 4a–4c, the deep intrusion descended in the northern part, which gradually deepened the deep cyclonic circulation thus the deep cyclonic circulation in the SCS basin was deeper than the intrusion through the LS. The deep intrusion from the northern basin and the upwelling inside the basin acted as the source and sink (Figure 4d) to drive the deep cyclonic circulation (Pedlosky, 1992; Stommel & Arons, 1959; A. Wang et al., 2018; Yuan, 2002). Under the continuity constraint and geostrophic balance, the mean vertical motions can be understood as (Cai & Gan, 2021):

\overline{w}(z)=-{\nabla }_{h}\cdot \int \nolimits_{-H}^{z}{\overline{\overrightarrow{V}}}_{h}\mathrm{d}\mathrm{z}\approx -{\nabla }_{h}\cdot \int \nolimits_{-H}^{z}{\overline{\overrightarrow{V}}}_{\mathrm{h\_}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{o}}\,\mathrm{d}\mathrm{z}\approx \stackrel{{\mathrm{C}\mathrm{G}\mathrm{T}}_{b}}{\overbrace{-\left({\overline{v}}_{\mathrm{b\_}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{o}}{H}_{y}+{\overline{u}}_{\mathrm{b\_}\mathrm{g}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{o}}{H}_{x}\right)}}

where H is the depth of the bottom topography and

\_\mathrm{g}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{o}

represents the geostrophic component of the horizontal current.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The deep intrusion from the northern basin and the upwelling inside the basin acted as the source and sink (Figure 4d) to drive the deep cyclonic circulation (Pedlosky, 1992;Stommel & Arons, 1959;A. Wang et al, 2018;Yuan, 2002). Under the continuity constraint and geostrophic balance, the mean vertical motions can be understood as (Cai & Gan, 2021):…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of the Layered Circulation in South China Sea With the Mixing Stimulated Exchanging Current Through Luzon Strait

2023

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The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest marginal sea in the tropics. It has a deep central basin (∼4,000 m) surrounded by a steep slope, and connects to the western Pacific Ocean through the deep (∼2,500 m) Luzon Strait (LS) (Figure 1a). The complex topography and powerful internal waves (Alford et al., 2010(Alford et al., , 2015 in the SCS largely intensify the turbulent mixing intensity (Klymak et al., 2011;Niwa & Hibiya, 2004;Tian et al., 2009). The turbulent mixing rate in the SCS has been observed to be several orders of magnitude larger than that in the adjacent Pacific Ocean (Tian et al., 2009;X. Wang et al., 2017;Yang et al., 2016), thus affects its hydrographic properties. Owing to the contrasting hydrographic properties and the intrusion of Kuroshio from the adjacent open ocean, the layered exchanging current through the LS, and subsequently, basin-wide layered circulation along the slope of the SCS are stimulated (Gan et al., 2022). Both field observations and numerical simulations

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“…Moreover, he identified a hysteresis of the nonlinear system: for exactly the same parameters, there may exist different flow states, depending on prior evolutions. A wealth of studies have confirmed the hysteresis and investigated the controlling mechanisms (Gan et al., 2006; Hou et al., 2017; Wu et al., 2016; Yuan, 2002; Yuan et al., 2014). Recently, these paths, that is, the leaping, leaking and looping paths, of a jet through a lateral gap have been observed in laboratory experiments (Pierini et al., 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Kuroshio Intrusion Into the South China Sea at Luzon Strait Can Be Remotely Influenced by the Downstream Intrusion Into the East China Sea

2023

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The intrusion of Kuroshio into the South China Sea through Luzon Strait has been of enormous interest in western boundary current studies. Here we show that this intrusion can be remotely influenced by the downstream intrusion of the Kuroshio northeast of Taiwan into the East China Sea, at a lead time of about 220 days. This remarkable finding is first revealed by a quantitative causality analysis which is rigorously established from first principles in physics; it is originally motivated by the observation of a wake southeast of Taiwan, whose influence on the loop current, also revealed by causality analysis, is traced downstream to the Kuroshio intrusion into the East China Sea. Further analysis suggests that the two important Kuroshio intrusions are connected via a coastal trapped wave mode with a period of 1.5 years propagating southward along the eastern Taiwan coast, as supported by both theoretical and numerical models. Upon approaching the Luzon Strait, its negative (positive) phase functions to intensify (reduce) the loop current. At a speed of 1.37 km day−1, the mode takes about 220 days for the disturbances northeast of Taiwan to travel along the coast to Luzon Strait, leading to the same time delay for the downstream‐upstream causal relation.

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Numerical investigation of the South China Sea deep circulation

Cited by 8 publications

References 36 publications

Wind‐Driven Seasonal Variability of Deep‐Water Overflow From the Pacific Ocean to the South China Sea

Wind‐Driven Seasonal Variability of Deep‐Water Overflow From the Pacific Ocean to the South China Sea

Formation of the Layered Circulation in South China Sea With the Mixing Stimulated Exchanging Current Through Luzon Strait

The Kuroshio Intrusion Into the South China Sea at Luzon Strait Can Be Remotely Influenced by the Downstream Intrusion Into the East China Sea

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