Westward shift of the Yellow Sea warm salty tongue

Abstract

[1] The accumulated in situ hydrographic survey as well as the satellite observed sea surface temperature (SST) show consistent westward shifting of the Yellow Sea Warm Salty Tongue (YSWST) in winter. A 2-D thermal model is used to show the westward shifting of the YSWST due to cooling and advection. The MITgcm is applied to simulate the circulation in the Yellow and East China Seas. Under the northern monsoon wind in winter, the sea surface height (SSH) is adjusted to have a ridge in the channel and a trough in the 50-70 m iso-bath in the Yellow Sea. The barotropic transport of SSH and baroclinic transport of horizontal density gradient play the major role for the shifting of the YSWST, while the Ekman wind drift plays a minor role.

Effects of the Yellow Sea Warm Current on the winter temperature distribution in a numerical model

“…At the time of proofreading, it came to our attention that Huang et al [2005] has reached a similar conclusion based on theoretical and modeling results. The YSWC transports warm and saline water brought by the anticyclonic Cheju Warm Current (CWC) ] into the southwestern YS, which has a very important positive influence on temperature variation.…”

Circulations associated with cold pools in the Bohai Sea on the Chinese continental shelf

“…The COADS includes net heat flux (Q), shortwave radiation, surface freshwater flux, and wind stress. This data set has the advantage of having a relatively long reference period, which is important for the climatological mean, and has also been validated by modeling studies for the eastern Chinese seas (Huang et al, 2005;Zhou et al, 2009;Zhou et al, 2015). Thermal feedback was introduced to correct heat flux with bulk formulas (Marchesiello et al, 2001).…”

Winter heat budget in the Huanghai Sea and the effect from Huanghai Warm Current (Yellow Sea Warm Current)

“…5c). The cause of this shift has been discussed by previous authors (e.g., Tang et al, 2001;Huang et al, 2005), and is the subject of a separate study.…”

“…However, Riedlinger and Jacobs (2000) reported that the Kuroshio and the Taiwan Warm Current could intrude into the HS, advecting warm waters into the HS. Huang et al (2005) pointed out that both surface cooling and advection of the current play an important role in the formation of the tongue in the winter. Ma et al (2006) concluded that the bathymetric effect was a large contributor in forming the temperature gradient, while the HWC was also an important factor in determining the warm tongue's structure and position.…”