An overview of 10-year observation of the South China Sea branch of the Pacific to Indian Ocean throughflow at the Karimata Strait

Besides the Indonesian throughflow(ITF), the South China Sea throughflow(SCSTF) also contributes to the water transport from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. However, this South China Sea(SCS) branch at the Karimata Strait is poorly observed until 2007, even though its importance has been suggested by numerical studies for decades. In this paper, we review the nearly 10-year field measurement in the Karimata Strait by the execution of the projects of "SCS-Indonesian Seas Transport/Exchange(SITE) and Impacts on Seasonal Fish Migration" and "The Transport, Internal Waves and Mixing in the Indonesian Throughflow regions(TIMIT) and Impacts on Marine Ecosystem", which extend the observations from the western Indonesian seas to the east to include the main channels of the ITF, is introduced. Some major achievements from these projects are summarized.

Observations of the Karimata Strait througflow from December 2007 to November 2008

In order to quantitatively estimate the volume and property transports between the South China Sea and Indonesian Seas via the Karimata Strait, two trawi-resistant bottom mounts, with ADCPs embedded, were deployed in the strait to measure the velocity profile as part of the South China Sea-Indonesian Seas trans- port/exchange （SITE） program. A pair of surface and bottom acoustic modems was employed to transfer the measured velocity without recovering the mooring. The advantage and problems of the instruments in this field work are reported and discussed. The field observations confirm the existence of the South Chi- na Sea branch of Indonesian throughflow via the Karimata Strait with a stronger southward flow in boreal winter and weaker southward bottom flow in boreal summer, beneath the upper layer northward （reversal） flow. The estimate of the averaged volume, heat and freshwater transports from December 2007 to March 2008 （winter） is （-2.7±1.1）×10^6 m^3/s, （-0.30±0.11） PW, 2008 （summer） is （1.2±0.6）×10^6 m^3/s, （0.14±0.03） PW, （-0.18±0.07） × 106 m3/s and from May to September （0.12±0.04）×10^6 m^3/s and for the entire record from December 2007 to October 2008 is （-0.5±1.9）×10^6 m^3/s, （-0.05±0.22） PW, （-0.01±0.15）×10^6 m^3/s （nega- tive/positive represents southward/northward transport）, respectively. The existence of southward bottom flow in boreal summer implies that the downward sea surface slope from north to south as found by Fang et al. （2010） for winter is a year-round phenomenon.

Seasonal variation of water transport through the Karimata Strait

Four trawl-resistant bottom mounts, with acoustic Doppler current profilers(ADCPs) embedded, were deployed in the Karimata Strait from November 2008 to June 2015 as part of the South China Sea-Indonesian Seas Transport/Exchange and Impact on Seasonal Fish Migration(SITE) Program, to estimate the volume and property transport between the South China Sea and Indonesian seas via the strait. The observed current data reveal that the volume transport through the Karimata Strait exhibits significant seasonal variation. The winteraveraged(from December to February) transport is –1.99 Sv(1 Sv=1×10~6 m^3/s), while in the boreal summer(from June to August), the average transport is 0.69 Sv. Moreover, the average transport from January 2009 to December2014 is –0.74 Sv(the positive/negative value indicates northward/southward transport). May and September are the transition period. In May, the currents in the Karimata Strait turn northward, consistent with the local monsoon. In September, the southeasterly trade wind is still present over the strait, driving surface water northward, whereas the bottom flow reverses direction, possibly because of the pressure gradient across the strait from north to south.

A Note on the South China Sea Shallow Interocean Circulation

The existing estimates of the volume transport from the Pacific Ocean to the South China Sea are summarized, showing an annual mean westward transport, with the Taiwan Strait outflow subtracted, of 3.5±2.0 Sv （1 Sv=-0^6 ma s^-1）. Results of a global ocean circulation model show an annual mean transport of 3.9 Sv from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean through the South China Sea. The boreal winter transport is larger and exhibits a South China Sea branch of the Pacific-to-Indian Ocean throughflow, which originates from the western Philippine Sea toward the Indonesian Seas through the South China Sea, as well as through the Karimata and Mindoro Straits. The southwestward current near the continental slope of the northern South China Sea is shown to be a combination of this branch and the interior circulation gyre. This winter branch can be confirmed by trajectories of satellite-tracked drifters, which clearly show a flow from the Luzon Strait to the Karimata Strait in winter. In summer, the flow in the Karimata Strait is reversed. Numerical model results indicate that the Pacific water can enter the South China Sea and exit toward the Sulu Sea, but no observational evidence is available. The roles of the throughiiow branch in the circulation, water properties and air-sea exchange of the South China Sea, and in enhancing and regulating the volume transport and reducing the heat transport of the Indonesian Throughflow, are discussed.

卡里马塔海峡贯穿流与印尼贯穿流的相互作用

卡里马塔海峡贯穿流将中国南海的低盐水输运到爪哇海,与印度尼西亚贯穿流(印尼贯穿流)携带的西太平洋高盐水在印度尼西亚海(印尼海)交汇,二者通过混合、浮力强迫等过程相互作用。这改变了印度尼西亚海的水体热盐性质,影响局地海气交换和热带太平洋-印度洋之间的热盐交换。依据卡里马塔海峡、龙目海峡和望加锡海峡的实测表层海流数据,采用被动示踪法和数值模拟诊断实验,分析并研究了2支海流在季节尺度上的相关关系及其相互作用。观测结果表明,卡里马塔海峡贯穿流与印尼贯穿流的表层流季节变化存在负相关,且超前1个月达到相关系数最大值,其中印尼贯穿流下游的龙目海峡表层流与卡里马塔海峡贯穿流关系更密切。被动示踪结果显示,卡里马塔海峡释放的示踪粒子主要向南流入爪哇海,然后经巽他海峡、龙目海峡及班达海方向流出,但很难进入到望加锡海峡北部;望加锡海峡释放的表层示踪粒子主要经龙目海峡和班达海流入印度洋,但无法进入到爪哇海及卡里马塔海峡。数值诊断实验结果表明,卡里马塔海峡贯穿流在冬季阻挡了印尼贯穿流表层海水的南下,从而使其表层流产生明显的季节变化;而望加锡海峡贯穿流对卡里马塔海峡贯穿流的影响较小。在季节尺度上,卡里马塔海峡贯穿流对印尼贯穿流尤其是表层流,有着重要影响,但印尼贯穿流对卡里马塔海峡贯穿流的影响较小。