Spatiotemporal variations of parameters of internal solitary waves in the northern South China Sea

The dynamic parameters for internal solitary waves(ISWs)derived from the extended Korteweg-de Vries(eKdV)equation play an important role in the understanding and prediction of ISWs.The spatiotemporal variations of the dynamic parameters of the ISWs in the northern South China Sea(SCS)were studied based on the reanalysis of long-term temperature and salinity datasets.The results for spectrum analysis show that there are definite geographical differences for the periodic variation of the parameters:in shallow water,all parameters vary with a wave period of one year,while in deep water wave components of the parameters at other frequencies exist.Using wavelet analysis,the wavelet power spectral densities in deep water exhibited an inter-annual variation pattern.For example,the wave component of the dispersion coefficient with a wave period of about half a year reached its power peak once every two years.Based on previous work,this inter-annual variation pattern was deduced to be caused by dynamic processes.In further work on the regulatory mechanisms,empirical orthogonal function(EOF)decomposition was performed.It was found that the modes of the dispersion coefficient have different geographical distributions,explaining the reason why the wave components in different frequencies appeared in different locations.The numerical simulation results confirm that the variations in the parameters of the ISWs derived from the eKdV equation could affect the waveforms significantly because of changes in the polarity of the ISWs.Therefore,the periodic variations of the dynamic parameters are related to the geographical location because of dynamic processes operating.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS DATA OF AIR-SEA TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE AND ITS VARIATION ACROSS SOUTH CHINA SEA IN THE PAST 35 YEARS

Using the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set(ICOADS) and ERA-Interim data, spatial distributions of air-sea temperature difference(ASTD) in the South China Sea(SCS) for the past 35 years are compared,and variations of spatial and temporal distributions of ASTD in this region are addressed using empirical orthogonal function decomposition and wavelet analysis methods. The results indicate that both ICOADS and ERA-Interim data can reflect actual distribution characteristics of ASTD in the SCS, but values of ASTD from the ERA-Interim data are smaller than those of the ICOADS data in the same region. In addition, the ASTD characteristics from the ERA-Interim data are not obvious inshore. A seesaw-type, north-south distribution of ASTD is dominant in the SCS; i.e., a positive peak in the south is associated with a negative peak in the north in November, and a negative peak in the south is accompanied by a positive peak in the north during April and May. Interannual ASTD variations in summer or autumn are decreasing. There is a seesaw-type distribution of ASTD between Beibu Bay and most of the SCS in summer, and the center of large values is in the Nansha Islands area in autumn. The ASTD in the SCS has a strong quasi-3a oscillation period in all seasons, and a quasi-11 a period in winter and spring. The ASTD is positively correlated with the Nio3.4 index in summer and autumn but negatively correlated in spring and winter.

A STUDY OF DYNAMIC SYSTEM ESTABLISHMENT IN EOF-CONTINUATION PHASE SPACE

For the EOF decomposition continuation phase space, the least square method is applied under the condition of orthogonal basis to find coefficients of all quadratic nonlinear terms of a state evo- lution equation such that a dynamic system that indicates the evolution features of a weather/cli- mate system in a limited area can be formulated. The scheme is compared with that for phase space continuation by time series drift. Results show that the dynamic system established in terms of the present method is likely to give more precise and realistic description of evolution of the weather/ climate system.