Assimilated Tidal Results of Tide Gauge and TOPEX/POSEIDON Data over the China Seas Using a Variational Adjoint Approach with a Nonlinear Numerical Model

In order to obtain an accurate tide description in the China Seas, the 2-dimensional nonlinear numerical Princeton Ocean Model （POM） is employed to incorporate in situ tidal measurements both from tide gauges and TOPEX/POSEIDON （T/P） derived datasets by means of the variational adjoint approach in such a way that unknown internal model parameters, bottom topography, friction coefficients and open boundary conditions, for example, are adjusted during the process. The numerical model is used as a forward model. After the along-track T/P data are processed, two classical methods, i.e. harmonic and response analysis, are implemented to estimate the tide from such datasets with a domain covering the model area extending from 0° to 41°N in latitude and from 99°E to 142°E in longitude. And the results of these two methods are compared and interpreted. The numerical simulation is performed for 16 major constituents. In the data assimilation experiments, three types of unknown parameters （water depth, bottom friction and tidal open boundary conditions in the model equations） are chosen as control variables. Among the various types of data assimilation experiments, the calibration of water depth brings the most promising results. By comparing the results with selected tide gauge data, the average absolute errors are decreased from 7.9 cm to 6.8 cm for amplitude and from 13.0° to 9.0° for phase with respect to the semidiurnal tide M2 constituent, which is the largest tidal constituent in the model area. After the data assimilation experiment is performed, the comparison between model results and tide gauge observation for water levels shows that the RMS errors decrease by 9 cm for a total of 14 stations, mostly selected along the coast of China's Mainland, when a one-month period is considered, and the correlation coefficients improve for most tidal stations among these stations.

Sea surface height anomaly and geostrophic circulation variations in the South China Sea from TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry

The sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) and geostrophic circulation in the South ChinaSea (SCS) are studied using TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimetry data. The SSHA, which is obtained after tidal correction based on the tidal results from T/P data, is predominated by seasonal alternating monsoons. The results reveal that the SSHA in the central part of the SCS is positive in spring and summer, but negative in autumn and winter. It is also found that the SSHA in the SCS can be approached with the sum of tidal constituents SA and SSA. The geostrophic circulations in the SCS are calculated according to sea surface dynamic topography, which is the sum of SSHA and mean sea surface height. It is suggested that the circulation in the upper layer of the SCS is generally cyclonic and notably western intensified during autumn and winter, while the western intensification is weak during spring and summer. It is also indicated that the Kuroshio intrudes into the northeastern SCS throuth the Luzon Strait in winter. But there is no indication of Kuroshio intruding into the SCS in summer.

Effect of Sea Level Variation on Tidal Characteristic Values for the East China Sea

Tidal waves in the East China Sea are simulated numerically with POM(Princeton Ocean Model) model for normal mean sea level, 30 cm higher, 60 cm higher, and 100 cm higher, respectively, and the simulated result is compared with the harmonic analysis result of hourly sea level data from 19 tide gauges for more than 19 years. It is indicated that the long-term mean sea level variation affects notably tidal waves in this region. Generally, the tidal amplitude increases when the mean sea level rises, but this relationship may be inverse for some sea areas. The maximal variation of tidal amplitude takes place in the zones near the Fujian coast and the Zhejiang coast, rather than the shallowest Bohai Sea. The maximum increase of M2 amplitude can exceed about 15 cm corresponding to the 60 cm rise of the mean sea level along the Fujian coast. The other regions with large variations of tidal amplitude are those along the Jiangsu coast, the south-east coast of Shandong, and the south-east coast of Dalian. The propagation of tidal waves is also related to mean sea level variation, and the tidal phase-lag decreases generally when the mean sea level rises. Almost all the regions where the tidal phase-lag increases with rising mean sea level are close to amphidromic points, meanwhile the spatial area of such regions is very small. Because the influence of mean sea level variation upon tidal waves is spatially marked, such spatial effect should be considered in calculation of the tidal characteristic value and engineering water level. In the region where the amplitudes of the major tidal constituents increase, the probable maximum high water level becomes higher, the probable maximum low water level becomes lower, and both design water level andcheck water level increase obviously. For example, the design water level at Xiamen increases by 13.5 cm due to the variation of tidal waves when the mean sea level rises 60 cm, the total increase of design water level being 73.5 cm.

Features of eddy kinetic energy and variations of upper circulation in the South China Sea

The features of eddy kinetic energy (EKE) and the variations of upper circulation in theSouth China Sea (SCS) are discussed in this paper using geostrophic currents estimated from Maps of Sea Level Anomalies of the TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry data. A high EKE center is identified in the southeast of Vietnam coast with the highest energy level 1 400 cm2 ·s^(-2) in both summer and autumn. This high EKE center is caused by the instability of the current axis leaving the coast of Vietnam in summer and the transition of seasonal circulation patterns in autumn. There exists another high EKE region in the northeastern SCS, southwest to Taiwan Island in winter. This high EKE region is generated from the eddy activities caused by the Kuroshio intrusion and accumulates more than one third of the annual EKE, which confirms that the eddies are most active in winter. The transition of upper circulation patterns is also evidenced by the directions of the major axises of velocity variance ellipses between 10?and 14.5°N, which supports the model results reported before.

TIDAL FEATURES IN THE CHINA SEAS AND THEIR ADJACENT SEA AREAS AS DERIVED FROM TOPEX/POSEIDON ALTIMETER DATA

Some important tidal features of 8 major tidal constituents ( M 2, S 2, K 1, O 1, P 1, Sa, N 2 and K 2 ) in the China Seas and their adjacent sea areas were obtained using six years’ TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data. The results showed that the obtained co tidal and co range charts for these major tidal constituents agreed well with those of previous researches using observational data from coastal tidal gauge stations and numerical models.

Validation of Sea Level Data in the East Asian Marginal Seas: Comparison between TOPEX/POSEIDON Altimeter and In-Situ Tide Gauges

In an effort to assess the reliability of satellite altimeter systems, the authors conduct a comparative analysis of sea level data that were collected from the TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimeter and 10 tide gauges (TG) near the satellite passing ground tracks. The analysis is made using datasets collected from marginal sea regions surrounding the Korean Peninsula at T/P cycles of 2 to 230, which correspond to October 1992 to December 1998. Proper treatment of tidal errors is a very critical step in data processing because the study area has very strong tide. When the T/P data are processed, the procedures of Park and Gamberoni (1995) are adapted to reduce errors associated with the tide. When the T/P data are processed in this way, the alias periods of M2, S2, and K1 constituents are found to be 62.1, 58.7, and 173 days repectively. The compatibility of the T/P and TG datasets are examined at various filtering periods. The results indicate that the low-frequency signals of the T/P data can be interpreted more safely with longer filtering periods (such as up to the maximum selected value of 200 days). When RMS errors for the 200-day low-pass filter period are compared with all 10 tidal stations, the values span the range of 2.8 to 6.7 cm. The results of a correlation analysis for this filtering period also show a strong agreement between the T/P and TG datasets across all stations investigated (e.g.,p- values consistently less than 0.001). Hence according to the analysis, the conclusion is made that the analysis of surface sea level using satellite altimeter data can be made safely with reasonably extended filtering periods such as 200 days.

Multi-scale wavelet analysis of TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter significant wave height in eastern China seas

The multi-scale characteristics of wave significant height （Hs） in eastern China seas were revealed by multi-scale wavelet analysis. In order to understand the relation between wave and wind, the TOPEX/Poseidon measurements of Hs and wind speed were analyzed. The result showed that Hs and wind speed change in multi-scale at one-, two-month, half-, one- and two-year cycles. But in a larger time scale, the variations in Hs and wind speed are different. Hs has a five-year cycle similar to the cycle of ENSO variation, while the wind speed has no such cycle. In the time domain, the correlation between Hs and ENSO is unclear.

Reassessing the contributions of terrestrial waters to sea level variations in the South China Sea and its response to alternating ENSO events

Regional sea level variability is linked to regional terrestrial water and the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO).This study assessed the relationships between the sea level variations in the South China Sea(SCS)and ENSO,the impact of terrestrial water storage(TWS)on non-steric sea level(NSSL),and the contributions of steric sea level(SSL)and NSSL to sea level anomaly(SLA),respectively.From 2003 to 2015,the SLAs exhibited a long-term trend of 6.65±0.78 mm/yr,which was primarily attributed to the SSLs.Additionally,during 2003-2015,ENSO events alternating with varying intensities might also be responsible for the unusually high SLA trend.Compared to the SSLs,the NSSLs contributed the seasonal signals to the SLAs,while the NSSLs changes were largely explained by the TWS in the Mekong River Basin at the seasonal scale and in the Pearl River Basin and Red River Basin at other time scales.In contrast to the TWS,the contributions of precipitation and evapotranspiration were relatively minor.A negative correlation between the sea level variations and ENSO was also found,with cross-correlation coefficients between the oceanic Ni?o index and SLAs/SSLs/NSSLs of -0.36/-0.37/-0.62 with lags of 2/3/2 months,respectively.These findings systematically reassessed the contributions of different components to the sea level variations.This study provided a benchmark for in-depth analysis of the impacts of terrestrial water and other potential causes on sea level rise in the SCS.

Sea level variability in East China Sea and its response to ENSO

Sea level variability in the East China Sea （ECS） was examined based primarily on the analysis of TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry data and tide gauge data as well as numerical simulation with the Princeton ocean model （POM）. It is concluded that the inter-annual sea level variation in the ECS is negatively correlated with the ENSO index, and that the impact is more apparent in the southern area than in the northern area. Both data analysis and numerical model results also show that the sea level was lower during the typical E1 Niflo period of 1997 to 1998. E1 Nifio also causes the decrease of the annual sea level variation range in the ECS. This phenomenon is especially evident in the southern ECS. The impacts of wind stress and ocean circulation on the sea level variation in the ECS are also discussed in this paper. It is found that the wind stress most strongly affecting the sea level was in the directions of 70° and 20° south of east,, respectively, over the northern and southern areas of the ECS. The northwest wind is particularly strong when E1 Nifio occurs, and sea water is transported southeastward, which lowers the sea level in the southern ECS. The sea level variation in the southern ECS is also significantly affected by the strengthening of the Kuroshio. During the strengthening period of the Kuroshio, the sea level in the ECS usually drops, while the sea level rises when the Kuroshio weakens.

Detection of cyclonic eddy generated by looping tropical cyclone in the northern South China Sea: a case study

A case study on the cyclonic eddy generated by the tropical cyclone looping over the northern South China Sea (NSCS) is presented, using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data and AVHRR sea surface temperature (SST) data. Three cases relating to the tropical cyclone events (Typhoon Kai-Tak in July 2000, Tropical Storm Russ in June 1994 and Tropical Storm Maria in August-September 2000) over the NSCS have been analyzed. For each looping tropical cyclone case, the cyclonic eddy with an obvious sea level depression appears in the sea area where the tropical cyclone takes a loop form, and lasts for about 2 weeks with a slight variation in location. The cold core with the SST difference greater than 2℃against its surrounding areas is also observed by the satellite-derived SST data.

Sim ulation of barotropic and baroclinic tides in the South China Sea

The four leading tidal constituents M2, S2, K1 and O1 in the South China Sea are simulated by using POM. The model is forced with tide-generating potential and four leading tidal constituents at the open boundary. In order to simulate more exactly, TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data are assimilated into the model and the open boundary is optimized. The computed co-tidal charts for M2 and K1 constituents are generally consistent with previous results in this region. The numerical simulation shows that energetic internal tides are generated over the bottom topography such as the Dongsha Islands, the Xisha Islands, the Zhongsha Islands, the Nansha Islands and the Luzon Strait.

Climate Variabilities of Sea Level around the Korean Peninsula

In order to study the climate variabilities of the sea level around the Korean Peninsula, tidal data observed at local stations in Korea were compared against those obtained using TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimetric sea level data. In the course of our study, the amount of sea level rise was estimated using the tidal data from 9 stations selected by an anomaly coherency analysis. The results indicated that the sea level has risen by 0.28 cm yr-1 around the Korean Peninsula over the past two decades. The extent of such a rise is about two times higher than that of the global increase (0.1-0.2 cm yr-1). However, because most global warming effects occurred mainly over mid- and high-latitudes, this level of change appears to be realistic. According to the spectral analysis (at a spectral window of k=2, k is the number of subdivisions), the decadal band of sea level variability is computed at 30% of the energy. Its spectral peak is found at 12.8 years. In the interannual band, the predominant sea level variability is in the 1.4-1.9-year band, with a sharp peak at 1.6 years. A secondary peak, although marginal, has a period of 2.2 years. Based on our estimates of sea level height from Topex/Poseidon, the quasi-biennial periodicity of 1.6 years is the representative interannual sea level variability in the seas adjacent to Korea. Trends vary greatly according to the geographical location, from a maximum of 1.0 cm yr-1 (the southern sector of the East Sea) to a minimum of 0.17 cm yr-1 (the northern sector of the East Sea). This is fairly consistent with the qualitative description already given with reference to the global map. As an analogue to the pattern seen in Korea, that of the Yellow Sea reveals practically the same trend as that of the adjacent seas (0.56 cm yr-1). However, in the case of TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) data, there is no clear evidence of a linkage between the interannual sea level variability around the Korean Peninsula and ENSO.

由TOPEX/Poseidon和Jason-1/2探测的1993—2012中国海海平面时空变化

海平面变化是社会经济发展和科学研究的重要内容.利用1993年1月至2012年12月共20年的TOPEX/Poseidon、Jason-1和Jason-2卫星测高数据,研究中国海海平面的时空变化.首先通过三颗卫星伴飞阶段数据得到三颗卫星之间的逐点海面高系统偏差,进行逐点海面高改正,建立了20年的中国海海面高异常时间序列.分析了中国海海面高异常空间分布,给出了1月到12月月均平均海平面异常的空间变化规律.分析了中国海海面高异常的时变规律,分别给出了年、季度和月的海面上升速率.利用小波分析研究了中国海海面高异常周期变化规律,分别给出了渤海、黄海、东海和南海的海面高变化周期.讨论了ENSO对海面高异常的影响.

南海TOPEX/POSEIDON高度计资料的正交响应法潮汐分析

根据Munk等提出的响应法 (ResponseMethod)和Groves等 ( 1 975 )的正交响应方法(OrthogonalizedConvolutionMethod)的思想 ,利用正交潮响应法对 2 4 8个周期超过 6年的南中国海的TOPEX/POSEIDON卫星高度计资料进行潮波分析。在分析中引入全日潮族和半日潮族 ,并利用正交潮函数 (OrthotideFunction)分析出了 3个主要的全日分潮 (K1 、O1 、P1 )和 3个主要半日分潮 (M2 、S2 、N2 ) ,并给出了K1 、O1 、M2 、S2 的等振幅线和同潮时图 ,结果与其他学者的主要结果符合得很好。通过与整个海区 5 3个验潮站的主要全日分潮K1 分潮和主要半日分潮M2 分潮的比较 ,K1 分潮的振幅和迟角的平均绝对误差分别为 4.73cm和 1 1 .6°,而M2 分潮的分别为 1 1 .91cm和 2 8.4°,优于Mazzega( 1 994)的结果。

利用TOPEX/Poseidon卫星高度计资料提取黄海、东海潮汐信息的研究

为了更好地利用卫星测高数据分析黄海和东海的潮汐特性 ,对 1 993— 1 999年期间的TOPEX/Poseidon测高数据进行了质量控制和共线平差处理。在此基础上 ,在黄海、东海选取了 1 738个测高点 ,用最小二乘拟合法计算出 1 2个分潮的调和常数。计算得出的M2 和m1分潮的调和常数 ,在交叉点评估的内符精度振幅分别为 2 4cm和 0 8cm ,迟角分别为 2 3°和2 5°。测高点与附近验潮站的这两个分潮结果相比 ,振幅的均方根误差小于 4cm ,而迟角相差较大。这可能与验潮站的地理环境因素有关。用卫星测高数据算得的调和常数绘制的主要分潮特性图与现有常规观测得到的相应图进行了比较 ,在外海深水区两者符合较好 ;近岸由于卫星测高误差较大 ,所以两者符合差。

TOPEX/POSEIDON高度计浅海潮汐混淆的初步分析

根据对卫星轨道特征和观测结果的分析，对TOPEX／POSEIDON（简称T／P）星载高度计在我国近海的潮致混淆现象进行了初步研究．分析表明，在浅海区T／P高度计的观测结果存在很强的潮致高频混淆．NASA分发的地球物理记录中所提供的潮汐订正值虽适用于大洋，但不能有效地除去浅海潮汐．虽然如此，T／P潮致混淆的主要频段的周期小于90d，因而可以通过滤波方法提取周期较长的海面高度季节信号，从而用于季节环流（如南海季风环流）的研究．采用FFT／IFFT方法滤波试验的结果显示，T／P的海面高度观测结果有很高的精度，滤波处理后的海面高度距平变化和地面潮位观测结果一致性良好，上、下行轨道交叉处相邻测点间的标准偏差在3cm左右，可满足南海环流研究的需要．

用TOPEX/Poseidon资料研究南海潮汐和海面高度季节变化

采用引入差比关系法对南海TOPEX/Poseidon卫星高度计资料进行了潮汐分析;根据所得潮汐调和常数对卫星高度计测得的海面高度进行潮汐订正,进而得到南海各季节的海面高度距平。结果表明,南海冬、夏季季风强盛期海面高度距平位相相反,南海中部夏季为正距平,且有2个正距平中心;冬季为负距平,且有2个负距平中心。春、秋季是不同的季风过渡期,海面高度距平分布也明显不同:南海中部春季为正距平,且只有1个正距平中心;秋季为负距平,且只有1个负距平中心。研究表明,长周期分潮Sa和Ssa的叠加值可以很好地逼近南海海面高度距平。根据平均海面和海面高度距平得到了合成的海面高度和地转流场,发现南海表层地转流总体上是气旋式的;秋、冬季表层环流的西向强化十分明显,春、夏季较弱;冬季黑潮通过吕宋海峡进入南海北部,夏季基本上没有进入南海。

中国近海TOPEX/Poseidon卫星测高海平面变化的CPCA分析

用复主成分分析方法 ,对中国近海 TOPEX/ Poseidon卫星 6年的测高海平面变化资料进行了分析 ,给出了中国南海、黄海和东海的海平面变化的空间和时间分布特征。利用小波方法分析了主要主成分时间变化序列的时——频特征。分析结果表明 ,主要主成分的空间分布特征与海洋环流相对应 ;南海、黄海和东海的海平面变化存在显著的年际和 2个月的非稳态振荡信号 ;南海具有较明显的半年周期信号 ,而黄海和东海的半年周期信号不明显。

由TOPEX/Poseidon和验潮站监测香港海平面变化

利用TOPEX／Poseidon卫星测高资料和验潮站资料计算了1994～2000年香港邻近海域的年均和季均海平面变化。结果表明，两种数据得到的海平面变化过程具有很好的同步性，但由T／P卫星测高资料得到的绝对海平面上升速率为7．73mm／a，比由验潮站数据得到的12．18mm／a相对海平面上升速率低4．45mm／a。对比同时期香港验潮站处的陆地沉陷速率表明，卫星测高数据与验潮站数据推出的验潮站陆地垂直运动速率，可以用来验证和估算验潮站处的地面升降运动。

中国近海TOPEX／POSEIDON卫星测高数据处理的初步结果

本文分析处理了ＴＯＰＥＸ／ＰＯＳＥＩＤＯＮ卫星１～８２周期的测高数据。重新计算了逆气压改正数；利用共线法计算的ＴＯＰＥＸ和ＰＯＳＥＩＤＯＮ之间相对偏差估值为１９．９±１ｃｍ；将编辑后的海面高与Ｂａｓｉｃ和ＲａＰＰ计算的平均海面高进行比较，发现二者之间存在明显的系统偏差。