The spatiotemporal variation of the wind-induced near-inertial energy flux in the mixed layer of the South China Sea

On the basis of the QSCAT/NCEP blended wind data and simple ocean data assimilation （SODA）, the wind-induced near-inertial energy flux （NIEF） in the mixed layer of the South China Sea （SCS） is estimated by a slab model, and the model results are verified by observational data near the Xisha Islands in the SCS. Then, the spatial and temporal variations of the NIEF in the SCS are analyzed. It is found that, the monthly mean NIEF exhibits obvious spatial and temporal variabilities, i.e., it is large west of Luzon Island all the year, east of the Indo-China Peninsula all the year except in spring, and in the northern SCS from May to Septem- ber. The large monthly mean NIEF in the first two zones may be affected by the large local wind stress curl whilst that in the last zone is probably due to the shallow mixed layer depth. Moreover, the monthly mean NIEF is relatively large in summer and autumn due to the passage of typhoons. The spatial mean NIEF in the mixed layer of the SCS is estimated to be about 1.25 mW/m2 and the total wind energy input from wind is approximately 4.4 GW. Furthermore, the interannual variability of the spatial monthly mean NIEF and the Nifio3.4 index are negatively correlated.

Seasonal variability of the wind-generated near-inertial energy flux in the South China Sea

After validated by the in-situ observation, the slab model is used to study the wind-generated near-inertial energy flux(NIEF) in the South China Sea(SCS) based on satellite-observed wind data, and its dependence on calculation methods and threshold criteria of the mixed layer depth(MLD) is investigated. Results illustrate that the total amount of NIEF in the SCS could be doubled if different threshold criteria of MLD are adopted. The NIEF calculated by the iteration and spectral solutions can lead to a discrepancy of 2.5 GW(1 GW=1×109 W). Results also indicate that the NIEF exhibits spatial and temporal variations, which are significant in the boreal autumn,and in the southern part of the SCS. Typhoons are an important generator of NIEF in the SCS, which could account for approximately 30% of the annual mean NIEF. In addition, deepening of the MLD due to strong winds could lead to a decrease of NIEF by approximately by 10%. We re-estimate the annual mean NIEF in the SCS,which is(10±4) GW and much larger than those reported in previous studies.

Dynamic features of near-inertial oscillations in the Northwestern Pacific derived from mooring observations from^2015 to 2018

Near-inertial oscillation is an important physical process transferring surface wind energy into deep ocean.We investigated the near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE)variability using acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements from a mooring array deployed in the tropical western Pacific Ocean along 130°E at 8.5°N,11°N,12.6°N,15°N,and 17.5°N from September 2015 to January 2018.Spatial features,decay timescales,and significant seasonal variability of the observed NIKE were described.At the mooring sites of 17.5°N,15°N,and 12.6°N,the NIKE peaks occurred in boreal autumn and the NIKE troughs were observed in boreal spring.By contrast,the NIKE at 11°N and 8.5°N showed peaks in winter and troughs in summer.Tropical cyclones and strong wind events played an important role in the emergence of high-NIKE events and explained the seasonality and latitudinal characteristics of the observed NIKE.

A comprehensive review of miniatured wind energy harvesters

Following the current rapid development of the Internet of Things(IoT)and wireless condition monitoring systems,energy harvesters which use ambient energy have become a key part of achieving an energy-autonomous system.Miniature wind energy harvesters have attracted widespread attention because of their great potential of power density as well as the rich availability of wind energy in many possible areas of application.This article provides readers with a glimpse into the state-of-the-art of miniature wind energy harvesters.The crucial factors for them to achieve high working efficiency under lower operational wind speed excitation are analyzed.Various potential energy coupling mechanisms are discussed in detail.Design approaches for broadening operational wind-speed-range given a variety of energy coupling mechanisms are also presented,as observed in the literature.Performance enhancement mechanisms including hydrodynamic configuration optimization,and non-linear vibration pick-up structure are reviewed.Conclusions are drawn and the outlook for each coupling mechanisms is presented.

Tropical storm-forced near-inertial energy dissipation in the southeast continental shelf region of Hainan Island

Near-inertial motion is an important dynamic process in the upper ocean and plays a significant role in mass, heat, and energy transport across the thermocline. In this study, the dissipation of wind-induced near-inertial energy in the thermocline is investigated by using observation data collected in July and August 2005 during the tropical storm Washi by a moored system at(19°35′N, 112°E) in the continental shelf region off Hainan Island. In the observation period, the near-inertial part dominated the observed ocean kinetic energy and about 80% of the near-inertial energy dissipated in the upper layer. Extremely strong turbulent mixing induced by near-inertial wave was observed in the thermocline, where the turbulent energy dissipation rate increased by two orders of magnitude above the background level. It is found that the energy loss of near-inertial waves in the thermocline is mainly in the large-scales. This is different from the previous hypothesis based on "Kolmogorov cascade" turbulence theory that the kinetic energy is dissipated mainly by small-scale motions.

The variation of turbulent diapycnal mixing at 18°N in the South China Sea stirred by wind stress

The spatial and temporal variations of turbulent diapycnal mixing along 18°N in the South China Sea （SCS） are estimated by a fine-scale parameterization method based on strain, which is obtained from CTD measurements in yearly September from 2004 to 2010. The section mean diffusivity can reach -10-4 m^2/s, which is an order of magnitude larger than the value in the open ocean. Both internal tides and wind-generated near-inertial internal waves play an important role in furnishing the diapycnal mixing here. The former dominates the diapycnal mixing in the deep ocean and makes nonnegligible contribution in the upper ocean, leading to enhanced diapycnal mixing throughout the water column over rough topography, in contrast, the influence of the wind-induced near- inertial internal wave is mainly confined to the upper ocean. Over both flat and rough bathymetries, the diapycnal diffusivity has a growth trend from 2005 to 2010 in the upper 700 m, which results from the increase of wind work on the near-inertial motions.

Upper ocean near-inertial response to the passage of two sequential typhoons in the northwestern South China Sea

Fifty-seven days of moored current records are examined, focusing on the sequential passage of Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae separated by 5 days in the northwestern South China Sea. Both typhoons generated strong near-inertial waves(NIW) as detected by a moored array, with the near-inertial velocity to the right of the typhoon path significantly larger than to the left. The estimated vertical phase and group velocities of the NIW induced by Typhoon Nesat are 0.2 cm s^(-1) and 0.85 m h^(-1), respectively,corresponding to a vertical wavelength of 350 m. Both the vertical phase and group velocities of the NIW induced by Typhoon Nalgae are lower than those of Typhoon Nesat, with the corresponding vertical wavelength only one-half that of Nesat. The threshold values of induced near-inertial kinetic energy(NIKE) of 5 J m^(-3) reach water depths of 300 and 200 m for Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae, respectively, illustrating that the NIKE induced by Typhoon Nesat dissipated less with depth. Obvious blueshifts in the induced NIW frequencies are also detected. The frequency of NIW induced by Typhoon Nesat significantly increases at water depths of 100–150 m because of Doppler shifting, but decreases significantly at water depths of 100–150 m for Nalgae because of the greater influence of the background vorticity during the passage of Typhoon Nalgae.

Energy distributions of the large-scale horizontal currents caused by wind in the baroclinic ocean

Ocean current data for nearly 3 months in the South China Sea (SCS), combined with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis wind data, are analyzed. The results indicate that the wind en-ergy enters the upper mixed layer in a wide continuous frequency band. In addition, the interac-tion between the low-frequency wind anomaly and the low-frequency current anomaly is the most ‘effective’ way for the energy input from the wind to the upper ocean. However, only the inertial and the near inertial energy propagate downwards through the upper mixed layer. The down-ward-propagating energy is distributed into the barotropic currents, the baroclinic currents and each mode of the baroclinic currents following the normal distributions. The energy change ratios between the barotropic motion to the baroclinic motion induced by the wind present a normal distribution of N (0.0242, 0.3947). The energy change ratios of the first 4 baroclinic modes to the whole baroclinic currents also follow the normal distributions. The first baroclinic mode follows N (0.2628, 0.1872), the second N (0.1979, 0.1504), the third N (0.1331, 0.1633), and the fourth N (0.0650, 0.1540), respectively.