Internal tides in the northern South China Sea from 20-day in-situ mooring observations in 1998

20-day in-situ ADCP current and CTD data are used to investigate the characteristics and energy of the internal tides in the northern South China Sea （NSCS）. The results show that the O1, K1, M2 and S2 constituents of internal tides are energetic and diurnal constituents （O1 and K1） are dominating. In the observational period, the current vectors of these four constituents all rotate clockwise and the maximum semi-major axe of internal tidal ellipses is more than 14 cm/s. The variation of ocean temperature shows that the internal tides present obvious quasi-diurnal oscillation and the average amplitude reaches 50 m. Furthermore, these internal tides carry high energy and appear to be intermittent. The maximum values of KE （PE） during the observational period are up to 2 （3.5） k J/m^2 for diurnal internal tides, and up to 1 （1.5） k J/m^2 for semidiurnal internal tides.

Current observation and analysis based on mooring systems in the Andaman Sea

The basic structure and intraseasonal evolution of currents in the southeastern Andaman Sea was analyzed based on data collected in 2017 from two subsurface moorings(C1 and C5).Periodic variation in the upper ocean currents of the Andaman Sea was investigated by combining observational and satellite data.Mooring observations show that rapid changes of current speed and direction occurred in May and June,with a significant increase in current velocity at the C1 mooring.In the second half of the year,southward flow dominated at the C1 mooring,and alternating northward and southward flows were evident at the C5 mooring during the same period but the northward flow prevailed in boreal winter.In addition,analysis of the power spectra of the upper currents revealed that the tidal period at both moorings is primarily semidiurnal with weaker energy than that of the low-frequency currents.The upper ocean currents at the C1 and C5 moorings exhibited intraseasonal variation of 30-60 d and 120 d,while the zonal current at the C1 mooring exhibited a notable period of approximately 180 d.Further analysis indicated that the variability of currents in the Andaman Sea is influenced primarily by equatorial Kelvin waves and Rossby wave packets.Moreover,our results suggest that equatorial Kelvin waves from the eastern Indian Ocean entered the Andaman Sea in the form of Wyrtki Jets and propagated primarily along two distinct pathways during the observation period.In addition to coastal boundary Kelvin waves,it was found that a branch of the Wyrtki Jet that directly enters the Andaman Sea and flows northward along the slope of the continental shelf,and reflected Rossby wave packets by topography.

Intraseasonal variability of the Kuroshio observed via mooring at 18°N

Insufficient observations near the origin of the Kuroshio have led to incomplete understanding of the intraseasonal variability(ISV)of the Kuroshio.Direct measurements of the Kuroshio velocity were performed with an array of three profiler moorings(122.7°E,123°E,and 123.3°E)along 18°N from January 2018 to February 2020.The ISV of the Kuroshio at 18°N was investigated based on a combination of mooring observations and global high-resolution HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model reanalysis data.The estimated time-averaged transport in the upper 350 m across the observation transect was 6.5±2.6 Sv(1.0 Sv=10^(6)m^(3)/s).Two significant ISV peaks at 50-60 and~100 d were recognized in the power spectra of the meridional velocity and transport.Further analysis indicated that the ISV at 50-60 d was caused by westward-propagating eddies at average propagation speed of~13 cm/s and wavelength of~635 km.Another ISV peak at~100 d was mainly caused by northward-propagating eddies generated in the North Equatorial Current region.Further investigation indicated that the ISV of the Kuroshio at 18°N is dominated by meridional transport,rather than by the zonal migration of the Kuroshio main axis.Our findings provide a better understanding of the ISV of the Kuroshio east of Luzon Island.

Mooring observed mode-2 internal solitary waves in the northern South China Sea

The mode-2 internal solitary waves(ISWs)generated by mode-2 internal tide(IT)are identified by mooring observations in the northern South China Sea(SCS)from 2016 to 2017.Two mode-2 ISWs with a re-appearance period of 24.9 h observed on 29 and 30 July 2016 are characterized by type-b ISWs.They occurred when the isotherms compressed obviously in the vertical direction.Modal decomposition of IT horizontal currents shows that the vertical compression of the isotherms is mainly caused by diurnal mode-2 IT.The analysis of the role of the density stratification reveals that a deeper and thinner pycnocline is favorable for generation of mode-2 ISWs rather than pycnocline intensity.By comparing the mode-2 nonlinear,dispersion coefficients and the Ursell numbers calculated based on the stratification associated with different kinds of ITs with the observation results,it is shown that the diurnal mode-2 IT plays a crucial role in the generation of the mode-2 ISWs.When the diurnal mode-2 IT interacts with the semidiurnal IT and causes a deeper and thinner pycnocline,the mode-2 ISWs are easily excited.

Tide-induced Lagrangian residual velocity and dynamic analysis based on field observations in the inner Xiangshan Bay,China

In the Xiangshan Bay at the east coast of China,coastal marine pollution is conspicuous and severe in recent years.As transport of the pollutants is closely related to the coastal circulation,there is a great practical significance to investigate the circulation in this area.In this work,the surface pattern and vertical profiles of Lagrangian residual velocity(LRV)were studied based on field observation data from the inner Xiangshan Bay.By tracking GPS-GPRS drifters’trajectories,the surface LRV pattern is going out in the central deep trough and flowing inwards near the shoreside.Combined with data from two mooring stations,vertical profiles of LRV is flowing out at surface and flowing in at the bottom,consistent with the gravitational circulation induced by baroclinic effects at the estuary.However,according to the diagnostic analysis,the main mechanism driving the residual current is barotropic rather than baroclinic.The LRV equation is controlled by the tidally-averaged barotropic pressure gradient force,tidal body force and tidally-averaged turbulent stress,while the tidallyaveraged baroclinic pressure gradient force is one order of magnitude less than other forces.Additionally,the tidally mean eddy viscosity coefficient which is used in the expression of tidally-averaged turbulent stress might be not adequate and requires further studies.

Variations of temperature, salinity and current in the southern tidal passage of the Hangzhou Bay, China

Field surveys covering a spring-neap tidal period were conducted to investigate the characteristics of tidal dynamics within a curved channel in the southern Hangzhou Bay, China. The channel has a maximum depth of more than 100 m with an average tidal range of 2.5 m, serving as the main tidal passage in the southern part of the Hangzhou Bay. Water salinity, temperature and velocity data were collected from the ship-based transects and mooring measurements. During flood tide, the tidal current intrudes into the Hangzhou Bay through the northern side of the channel with a maximum velocity of about 2 m/s, while retreats through the southern side during ebb tide with a maximum velocity of 1.8 m/s. Due to the pressure, density gradients, the Coriolis force and centrifugal effect, a lateral exchange flow is generated as the tidal current relaxes from flood to ebb. Salinity and temperature data show that the water in the channel is weakly stratified during both spring and neap tides in summer time.However, mixing in the middle region will be enhanced by the lateral circulation. Mooring data indicate that the temperature and salinity are varying at a frequency similar to tidal current but higher than sea level oscillation.Our results support the hypothesis that the high frequency salinity and temperature variations could be generated by combination of the tidal current and the lateral exchanging flow.

Observation of the abyssal western boundary current in the Philippine Sea

Mooring observations were conducted from July 16, 2011 to March 30, 2012 east of Mindanao, Philippines （127°2.8＇E, 8°0.3＇N） to observe the abyssal current at about 5 600 m deep and 500 m above the ocean bottom. Several features were revealed： 1） the observed abyssal current was highly variable with standard deviations of 57.3 mrn/s and 34.0 ram/s, larger than the mean values of-31.9 and 16.6 mm/s for the zonal and meridional components, respectively; 2） low-frequency current longer than 6 days exhibited strong seasonal variation, flowing southeastward （mean flow direction of 119.0° clockwise from north） before about October 1, 2011 and northwestward （mean flow direction of 60.5° counter-clockwise from north） thereafter; 3） the high-frequency flow bands were dominated by tidal currents O1, K1, M2, and S2, and near-inertial currents, whose frequencies were higher than the local inertial frequency. The two diurnal tidal constituents were much stronger than the two semidiumal ones. This study provides for the first time an observational insight into the abyssal western boundary current east of Mindanao based on long-term observations at one site. It is meaningful for further research into the deep and abyssal circulation over the whole Philippine Sea and the 3D structure of the westem boundary current system in this region. More observational and high-resolution model studies are needed to examine the spatial structure and temporal variation of the abyssal current over a much larger space and longer period, their relation to the upper-layer circulation, and the underlying dynamics.