Cross-shelf transport induced by coastal trapped waves along the coast of East China Sea

Cross-shelf transport is important due to its role in the transport of nutrients, larvae, sediments, and pollutants. The role of coastal trapped waves(CTWs) and their contribution to the cross-shelf transport is presently unknown. The impact of wind-driven CTWs on the structure of the cross-shelf currents and transport is investigated in the East China Sea(ECS) starting from theory. The cross-shelf currents are divided into four terms: the geostrophic balance(GB) term, the second-order wave(SOW) term, the bottom friction(BF) term and Ekman(EK) term, as well as three modes: the Kelvin wave(KW) mode, the first shelf wave(SW1) mode and the second shelf wave(SW2) mode. Comparison among these decompositions shows that(1) for the four terms, the effect of the GB and EK terms is continual, while that of the BF term is confi ned to 60–240 km of fshore, and the contribution of the SOW term can be ignored;(2) for the three modes, the KW and SW1 modes are dominant in cross-shelf transport. The results show that the total cross-shelf transport travels onshore under idealized wind stress on the order of 10^(-1), and it increases along the cross-shelf direction and peaks about-0.73 Sv at the continental shelf margin. With the increase of linear bottom friction coeffi cient, the cross-shelf transport declines with distance with the slope becoming more uniform.

Responses of the Zhe-Min coastal current adjacent to Pingtan Island to the wintertime monsoon relaxation in 2006 and its mechanism

In conjunction with synchronous remotely sensed winds and sea surface temperature （SST）, the spatiotemporal features of the Zhe-Min coastal current （ZMCC）, especially responses of the ZMCC adjacent to Pingtan Island （PT） to the wintertime mon- soon relaxation in 2006 and corresponding mechanism are investigated based on the field observations. In situ data are ac- quired from Conductivity-Temperature-Depth （CTD） cruise and Bottom-Mounted Moorings （BMM）, which are conducted during a comprehensive survey for the Chinese Offshore Investigation and Assessment Project in winter 2006. It is revealed that the ZMCC is well mixed vertically in winter 2006. The ZMCC （〈14℃） recedes during the relaxation of the wintertime monsoon and is accompanied by the enhanced northward shift of the warm, saline Taiwan Strait Mixed Water （TSMW, higher than 14~C and is constituted by the Taiwan Strait Warm Water and the Kuroshio Branch Water）. And greatly enhanced south- ward intrusion of the ZMCC can be detected when the wintertime monsoon restores. Correspondingly, the thermal interface bounded by the ZMCC and the TSMW moves in the northwest/southeast direction, leading to periodic warm/cold reversals of the near-seabed temperature adjacent to the PT. By EOF （Empirical Orthogonal Function） analysis of the large-scale wind fields and wavelet power spectrum analysis of the water level, ocean current and the near-seabed temperature, responses of the ZMCC off the PT to wintertime monsoon relaxation are suggested to be attributed mainly to the southward propagating coast- ally trapped waves triggered by the impeding atmospheric fronts. As a result, ocean current and near-seabed temperature demonstrate significant quasi-5 d and quasi-10 d subtidal oscillations. By contrast, the onshore/offshore water accumulation resulted from Ekman advection driven by the local winds has minor contributions.