Tide gauge data are used to investigate sea level variability offthe northwest coast of the South China Sea （SCS） in 2012, and a significant sea level elevation with a magnitude approaching 79 mm is observed. Analys...Tide gauge data are used to investigate sea level variability offthe northwest coast of the South China Sea （SCS） in 2012, and a significant sea level elevation with a magnitude approaching 79 mm is observed. Analysis suggests that an abnormal sea surface heat flux and freshwater flux may have contributed to this abnormal rise in sea level, together with the remote influence of an ENSO event. Further investigation shows that the event was dominated by the positive freshwater flux, where large volumes of water entered the ocean, and a maximum is centered to the south of Guangdong province, China. Simultaneously, a positive anomalous heat flux occurred in the northwestern part of the SCS, which is considered to have made a positive contribution to the high local sea level elevation. In addition to the heat flux, the ENSO event also had a significant effect on the event, where the La Nifia-induced northwest Pacific cyclone contributed to sea level rise over the northwestern SCS through dynamic and thermodynamic interactions.展开更多
As is well-known, Nansha Islands in the South China Sea(SCS) are of important strategic position and invaluable ecological value. Therefore, many attentions are paid to either the political and legal aspects of expose...As is well-known, Nansha Islands in the South China Sea(SCS) are of important strategic position and invaluable ecological value. Therefore, many attentions are paid to either the political and legal aspects of exposed features that matter in the maritime delimitation, or the physical and geographical characteristics of coral reefs that are the predominant structures of these islands. However, it seems that they consistently lose the connection of sciences and humanities in the research of Nansha Islands in the SCS. In this study, we carry out a combinative research, based on remote sensing data using satellite imagery analysis together with historical materials using literature investigation, so as to reconsider to the geographical characteristics of Nansha Islands from a standpoint of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS). After thoroughly appraising the statuses of these newly formed sand cays, several high tide features of Nansha Islands are identified. By means of the comparison of satellite images coupled with reference to nautical charting and sailing directions during different time periods, we can conclude that the statuses of these high tide features formed on reef platforms are relatively stable due to the growth of reef-building organisms although their migration patterns are subject to external disturbances, and hence the cursory judgment pursuant to the relevant provisions of the UNCLOS about whether a coral reef belongs to a low tide elevation only based on outdated references or ex parte evidences is not reliable. Moreover, it is accordingly justified to improve further development and perfection of the maritime legislation by eliminating such ambiguities with the growth of coral reefs and the evolution of sand cays being both taken into account.展开更多
基金jointly funded by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2017YFC1405100)the Basic Scientific Fund for National Public Research Institutes of China(No.2017S02)+3 种基金the Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction Program(Nos.GASI-IPOVAI-03,GASI-IPOVAI-02,GASI-02-IND-STSaut,and GASI-02-IND-STSwin)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2017M612166)the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association Project(No.DY135-E2-4-02)the NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers(No.U1406404)
文摘Tide gauge data are used to investigate sea level variability offthe northwest coast of the South China Sea （SCS） in 2012, and a significant sea level elevation with a magnitude approaching 79 mm is observed. Analysis suggests that an abnormal sea surface heat flux and freshwater flux may have contributed to this abnormal rise in sea level, together with the remote influence of an ENSO event. Further investigation shows that the event was dominated by the positive freshwater flux, where large volumes of water entered the ocean, and a maximum is centered to the south of Guangdong province, China. Simultaneously, a positive anomalous heat flux occurred in the northwestern part of the SCS, which is considered to have made a positive contribution to the high local sea level elevation. In addition to the heat flux, the ENSO event also had a significant effect on the event, where the La Nifia-induced northwest Pacific cyclone contributed to sea level rise over the northwestern SCS through dynamic and thermodynamic interactions.
基金Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,No.XDA13010401
文摘As is well-known, Nansha Islands in the South China Sea(SCS) are of important strategic position and invaluable ecological value. Therefore, many attentions are paid to either the political and legal aspects of exposed features that matter in the maritime delimitation, or the physical and geographical characteristics of coral reefs that are the predominant structures of these islands. However, it seems that they consistently lose the connection of sciences and humanities in the research of Nansha Islands in the SCS. In this study, we carry out a combinative research, based on remote sensing data using satellite imagery analysis together with historical materials using literature investigation, so as to reconsider to the geographical characteristics of Nansha Islands from a standpoint of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS). After thoroughly appraising the statuses of these newly formed sand cays, several high tide features of Nansha Islands are identified. By means of the comparison of satellite images coupled with reference to nautical charting and sailing directions during different time periods, we can conclude that the statuses of these high tide features formed on reef platforms are relatively stable due to the growth of reef-building organisms although their migration patterns are subject to external disturbances, and hence the cursory judgment pursuant to the relevant provisions of the UNCLOS about whether a coral reef belongs to a low tide elevation only based on outdated references or ex parte evidences is not reliable. Moreover, it is accordingly justified to improve further development and perfection of the maritime legislation by eliminating such ambiguities with the growth of coral reefs and the evolution of sand cays being both taken into account.
