An Observational Analysis of the Relationship Between Wind and the Expansion of the Changjiang River Diluted Water during Summer

This paper presents an analysis of the impact of wind on the transport of the Changiiang River Diluted Water （CRDW） in August by using the salinity data col- lected on two zonal sections near Cheju-do. Based on the climatological mean conditions and four extreme events, the analysis indicates that wind-induced Ekman transport plays an important role in the extension of the CRDW. The strong northeastward Ekman transport induced by southeasterly wind in 1996, 2003, 2004, and 2006 pushes the core of the CRDW to the sea adjacent to Cheju-do. A comparison of the wind variation before observation among these four extreme events indicates that the expan- sion pattern of the CRDW is primarily changed by synop- tic variation with tirnescales of days to weeks, such as during a typhoon. The weak eastward extension of the CRDW in 2004, accompanied with a relatively strong southerly wind, implies that the oceanographic state （e.g., the depth of halocline） may strongly affect the impact of wind on the extension of the CRDW.

Turning mechanism problems of the Changjiang River diluted water

Some main ideas about the turning of the Changjiang River diluted water (CDW) and their deficiencies are reviewed in this paper. According to a large number of observation data it is pointed out that the turning phenomena of the CDW are related not only to the discharge of the Changjiang River but also to the sea surface slope and wind stress curl in the southeast coast of China. Exsistence of the sea surface slope reflects essentially the effect of the Taiwan Warm Currc (TWC) on the turning of the CDW.

Observational characteristics and dynamic mechanism of low-salinity water lens for the offshore detachment of the Changjiang River diluted water in August 2006

The Changjiang River diluted water(CDW)spreads into the East China Sea(ECS)primarily in a plume pattern,although in some years,low-salinity water lenses(LSWLs)detach from the main body of the CDW.In-situ observations indicate that in August 2006,a LSWL detached from the main body of the CDW near the river mouth.In this paper,the effects of winds,tides,baroclinity and upwelling on LSWLs are explored with a threedimensional model.The results show that:(1)winds play a crucial role in these detachment events because windinduced northerly Eulerian residual currents impose an uneven force on the CDW and cut it off,thus forming a LSWL;(2)upwelling carries high-salinity water from the lower layer to the upper layer,truncating the low-salinity water tongue vertically,which is conducive to the detachment and maintenance of LSWLs;and(3)upwelling during the evolution of a LSWL is caused by the combined effects of winds and tides.The influences of windinduced upwelling are mainly near the shore,whereas the upwelling along the 30 m isobath is predominantly affected by tides,with the effect increasing from neap tide to spring tide.

A numerical study of summertime expansion pattern of Changjiang (Yangtze) River diluted water

Observations show that during summer especially in August, the northward expansion of the Changjiang（Yangtze） River diluted water （CRDW） is blocked in the vicinity of the Changjiang Estuary. To explain this phenomenon, Princeton ocean model （POM） is applied to simulate the summertime expansion pattern of CRDW. Numerical experiments show that to the north of the Changjiang Estuary, a tide-induced temperature front of a cold water centered at （34°N, I22.5°E） plays the key role in determining the expansion pattern of CRDW. This front splits the CRDW into two parts： the main part expands northeastward, and the other small part expands northwestward off the coast of Jiangsu Province, China.

Numerical investigation of the control factors driving Zhe-Min Coastal Current

During the northeast monsoon season,Zhe-Min Coastal Current(ZMCC)travels along the Chinese mainland coast and carries fresh,cold,and eutrophic water.ZMCC is significantly important for the hydrodynamic processes and marine ecosystems along its path.Thus,this bottom-trapped plume deserves to be further discussed in terms of the major driving factor,for which different opinions exist.For this purpose,in this study,a high resolution Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model(SCHISM)is established and validated.High correlation coefficients exist between along-shelf wind speeds and seasonal variations of both ZMCC volume transport and the freshwater signal.These coefficients imply that the wind is important in regulating ZMCC.However,for similar annual mean ZMCC volume transports,the extreme south boundaries of Zhe-Min Coastal Water(ZMCW)are different among different years.This difference is attracting attention and is explored in this study.According to the low wind/discharge experiment,it was found that although the volume transport of ZMCC is more sensitive to the variation of local wind speeds,the carried freshwater is limited by the Changjiang River discharge,which ultimately determines the south boundary of ZMCW.The momentum analysis at transects I and II shows that,for driving ZMCC,the along-shore wind forcing is as important as the buoyancy forcing.Note that this conclusion is supported by a zero-discharge experiment.It was also found that the buoyancy forcing varies with respect to time and space,which is due to variations of the discharge of Changjiang River.In addition,a particle tracking experiment shows that the substance carried by the Changjiang River diluted water would distribute along the Zhe-Min coastal region during the northeast monsoon season and it may escape due to the wind relaxation.

Simulation and analysis on seasonal variability of average salinity in the Yellow Sea

The CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth) data collected by six China-Korea joint cruises during 1996-1998 and the climatological data suggest that the seasonal variability of average salinity in the Yellow Sea (Sa) presents a general sinusoid pattern. To study the mechanism of the variability, annual cycles of Sa were simulated and a theoretical analysis based on the governing equations was reported.Three main factors are responsible for the variability: the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC), the Changji-ang (Yangtze) River diluted water (YRDW) and the evaporation minus precipitation (E-P). From December to the next May, the variability of Sa is mainly controlled by the salt transportation of the YSWC. But in early July, the YSWC is overtaken and replaced by the YRDW which then becomes the most important controller in summer. From late September to November, the E-P gradually took the lead. The mass exchange north of the 37癗 line is not significant.