Seasonal variation of the shape and location of the Luzon cold eddy

Using observational data from multiple satellites,we studied seasonal variations of the shape and location of the Luzon cold eddy(LCE)northwest of Luzon Island.The shape and location of the LCE have obvious seasonal variations.The LCE occurs,develops,and disappears from December to April of the next year.During this period,the shape of the LCE changed from a flat ellipse to a circular ellipse,and the change in shape can be reflected by the increase of the ellipticity of the LCE from 0.16 to 0.82.The latitude of center location of the LCE changes from 17.4°N to 19°N,and the change in latitude can reach 1.6°.Further study showed that seasonal variation of the northeast monsoon intensity leads to the change in the shape and location of the LCE.The seasonal variation of the LCE shape can significantly alter the spatial distribution of the thermal front and chlorophyll a northwest of the Luzon Island by geostrophic advection.

A subsurface intensity index of the cold eddy in the East China Sea

The Cold Eddy in the East China Sea(CEECS) is located about 150 km southwest of Cheju Island.This region experiences a complex current system under the influences of the Yellow Sea Warm Current(YSWC),the Yellow Sea Coastal Current(YSCC),and the northward Kuroshio residual.To identify the strength of the CEECS,a simple subsurface intensity index is developed.Because the CEECS can be traced by temperature minimum,the intensity index is determined by the difference in sea temperature averaged across cores within and surrounding the region.Based on SODA,the CEECS subsurface intensity index time series can be calculated,with which the inter-annual variation of the CEECS is analyzed.

Strengthening effect of super typhoon Rammasun(2014)on upwelling and cold eddies in the South China Sea

Typhoon is one of the frequent natural disasters in coastal regions of China.As shown in many studies,the impact of typhoons on the South China Sea(SCS)should not be overlooked.Super typhoon Rammasun(2014)was studied that formed in the northwestern Pacific,passed through the SCS,then landed in the Leizhou Peninsula.Remote sensing data and model products were used to analyze the spatiotemporal variations of the cold eddies,upwelling,sea surface temperature,mixed layer depth,rainfall,sea surface salinity,suspended sediment concentration,and surface-level anomaly.Results confirm the constant presence of upwelling and cold eddies in the southeast of Hainan(north of the Zhongsha Islands)and the southeast of Vietnam in July.In addition,we found the strengthening effect of super typhoon Rammasun on the upwelling and cold eddies in the SCS.The major reasons for the continuous decrease in sea surface temperature and the slow regaining of seawater temperature were the enhanced upwelling and vertical mixing caused by the typhoon.The increasing of the surface runoff in the Indochina Peninsula was mainly affected by the typhoon,with some contribution for the southeast of Vietnam’s cold eddy and upwelling.

Long-term variability of the sharp thermocline in the Yellow and East China Seas

Based on observed temperature data since the 1950s, long-term variability of the summer sharp thermocline in the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass （YSCWM） and East China Sea Cold Eddy （ECSCE） areas is examined. Relationships between the thermocline and atmospheric and oceanic forcing were investigated using multiyear wind, Kuroshio discharge and air temperature data. Results show that： 1） In the YSCWM area, thermocline strength shows about 4-year and 16-year period oscillations. There is high correlation between summer thermocline strength and local atmospheric temperature in summer and the previous winter; 2） In the ECSCE area, interannual oscillation of thermocline strength with about a 4-year period （stronger in El Nifio years） is strongly correlated with that of local wind stress. A transition from weak to strong thermocline during the mid 1970s is consistent with a 1976/1977 climate shift and Kuroshio volume transport; 3） Long-term changes of the thermocline in both regions are mainly determined by deep layer water, especially on the decadal timescale. However, surface water can modify the thermocline on an interannual timescale in the YSCWM area.

Living coccolithophores in the western Pacific Ocean with mesoscale eddies

Living coccolithophores(LCs)are regarded as a group of calcifiers and play important roles in global carbon cycle.This study used microscopic observations of LCs in the western Pacific Ocean to investigate their community structure and biodiversity,especially to test whether local physical traits(mesoscale eddies)could explain their biogeographic distributions during autumn of 2017.The coccolithophore calcite inventory based on carbon-volume transformation was estimated in this study.A total of 28 taxa of coccospheres and 19 types of coccoliths were identified from 161 samples.Gephyrocapsa oceanica was the most predominant species in all the coccolithophore community,followed by Florisphaera profunda,Emiliania huxleyi,Umbilicosphaera sibogae,Gladiolithusflabellatus and Umbellosphaera tenuis.The abundance of coccospheres and coccoliths ranged from 0 to 26.8×10^(3)cells/L and from 0 to 138.5×10^(3)coccoliths/L,averaged at 4.2×10^(3)cells/L and 10.9×10^(3)coccoliths/L,respectively.This study indicated that coccolithophore community in the survey area can be clustered into four groups.Three ecological niches of coccolithophores were characterized by their vertical profiles and multivariate statistical analysis.Coccolithophore abundance and species composition were remarkably different among warm-eddy region,G.oceanica dominated warm-eddy region,while F.profunda dominated warm-eddy and none-eddy region.The average values of estimated particulate inorganic carbon,particulate organic carbon were0.197μg/L and 0.140μg/L,respectively.The current field study widened the dataset of coccolithophores in western Pacific Ocean.