Summer Monsoon and Annual Variability of Sea Surface Slope and Their Effects on Alongshore Current near Qingdao

Based on the monthly mean sea level data obtained from 3 years’ (1999— 2001) tide-gauge measurements, the annual variability of the sea level near Qingdao and Jiaozhou Bay is studied and discussed in this paper. Results show that the sea surface height at all the tide gauges becomes higher in summer than that in winter, with an obvious seasonal variability. Furthermore the sea surface height measured at a short distance outside the bay is lower than that in the bay, showing a sea surface slope downward from north to south. The reasons for the formation of the slope are explained as well. The dynamic action of the summer monsoon and the sea surface slope, and their effects on the monthly mean current are studied by means of dynamics principles. The importance of the summer monsoon and the pressure gradient generated by the sea surface slope, with their effects on the alongshore current, is pointed out and emphasized in this paper.