A study of the circulation in the northern South China Sea (SCS) is carried out with the aid of a three-dimensional, high-resolution regional ocean model. One control and two sensitivity experiments are performed to qualitatively investigate the effects of surface wind forcing, Kuroshio intrusion, and bottom topographic influence on the circulation in the northern SCS. The model results show that a branch of the Kuroshio in the upper layer can intrude into the SCS and have direct influence on the circulation over the continental shelf break in the northern SCS. There are strong southward pressure gradients along a zonal belt largely seaward of the continental slope. The pressure gradients are opposite in the southern and northern parts of the Luzon Strait, indicating inflow and outflow through the strait, respectively. The sensitivity experiments suggest that the Kuroshio intrusion is responsible for generating the imposed pressure head along the shelf break and has no obvious seasonal variations. The lateral forcing through the Luzon Strait and Taiwan Strait can induce the southwestward slope current and the northeastward SCS Warm Current in the northern SCS. Without the lateral forcing, there is no high-pressure-gradient zonal belt seaward of the continental slope. The wind forcing mainly causes the seasonal variation of the circulation in the SCS. The wind-induced water pile-up results in the southward high pressure gradient along the northwestern boundary of the basin. Without the blocking of the plateau around Dongsha Islands, the intruded Kuroshio tends to extend northwest and the SCS branch of the Kuroshio becomes wider and stronger. The analyses presented here are qualitative in nature but should lead to a better understanding of the oceanic responses in the northern SCS to these external influence factors.
The progress in marine meteorology research achieved by scientists in China during the four-year period from 2003 to 2006 is summarized under four categories: marine disaster study, typhoon over the ocean, ocean-atmosphere monitoring technology, and ocean-atmosphere forecasting technology. Compared to the previous four years, many more first-hand datasets have been obtained and more scientific issues have been addressed. In particular, many contributions have been made by young scientists. A brief statement on the research strategy of marine meteorology in China for the coming years is given at the end.
The winter counter-wind current (also named the South China Sea Warm Current (SCSWC)) in the northern South China Sea (SCS) has been known well for decades, but its mass and momentum origination have not be quantitatively evaluated before. In this paper, the high resolution three-dimensional ocean circulation model is adopted to reproduce the circulation in the northern SCS. The diagnostic analyses are performed to investigate the momentum budget in the northern SCS continental shelf/slope and the momentum propulsion of the SCSWC. It is indicated that the across-shelf pressure gradient and the across-shelf transport are responsible for the formation of the SCSWC, while the along-shelf pressure gradient is balanced by the surface stress, bottom stress, and Coriolis force. The magnitude of the terms in the along-shelf momentum equation is smaller than that in the across-shelf one. The analysis on the momentum budget in the northern SCS will benefit the marine environmental prediction in the future.
