The effects of typhoon intrusion on the Guangdong coastal upwelling system were investigated on the basis of in situ CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) cruise observations and especially upward-looking ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profil- ers) measurements obtained from a comprehensive survey of the Guangdong coastal region carried out by the Chinese Off-shore Investigation and Assessment Project in the summer of 2006. It was found that northeastward geostrophic advection driven by the summer monsoon has a significant near-seabed onshore component adjacent to Shantou, which in conjunction with upper-level offshore Ekman flow, constitutes the canonical Guangdong coastal upwelling system. Further analyses suggested that the Guangdong coastal upwelling system is sensitive to subtle changes in the typhoon intensity and migration pathway. On one hand, as a typhoon approaches from north of the upwelling system (e.g. Typhoon 0604 (Bilis) and Typhoon 0605 (Kaemi)) in the early phase of intrusion, the enhanced southwesterly leads to exceptional enhancement of the onshore flow; i.e., enhanced upwelling. Afterward, irrespective of the forced ocean responses resulting from the stronger local winds (Typhoon 0604) or the moderate typhoon-induced inertial oscillations (Typhoon 0605), the situation is not conducive to sustaining a stable, persistent upwelling system. On the other hand, when there is typhoon intrusion south of the upwelling system (e.g. Typhoon 0606 (Prapiroon)), the favorable southwesterly tends to be substituted by an anomalous northeasterly, which destroys the traditional coastal upwelling pattern. However, the canonical upwelling system tends to recover within 1-2 days of the typhoon passing.
PAN AiJunGUO XiaoGangXU JinDianHUANG JiangWAN XiaoFang
