Seasonal variability of sea surface height in the South China Sea observed with TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data

Ho, Chung-Ru; Zheng, Quanan; Soong, Yin S.; Kuo, Nan-Jung; Hu, Jianhua

doi:10.1029/2000jc900001

Cited by 121 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The [58]. monsoon influences the sea surface height (SSH) through baroclinic Rossby waves [14,60], and the characteristics of the meso-scale eddies could be indentified through the change of SSH anomaly [61,62]. Two regions of strong meso-scale eddies exist in the SCS: one along the SCSWBC, and the other across the central SCS from southwest to northeast [58].…”

Section: Interaction Between Scswbc and Eddiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress of regional oceanography study associated with western boundary current in the South China Sea

et al. 2013

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Recent progress of physical oceanography in the South China Sea (SCS) associated with the western boundary current (WBC) and eddies is reviewed in this paper. It includes Argo observations of the WBC, eddy detection in the WBC based on satellite images, cross-continental shelf exchange in the WBC, eddy-current interaction, interannual variability of the WBC, air-sea interaction, the SCS throughflow (SCSTF), among others. The WBC in the SCS is strong, and its structure, variability and dynamic processes on seasonal and interannual time scales are yet to be fully understood. In this paper, we summarize progresses on the variability of the WBC, eddy-current interaction, air-sea interaction, and the SCSTF achieved in the past few years. Firstly, using the drifting buoy observations, we point out that the WBC becomes stronger and narrower after it reaches the central Vietnam coast. The possible mechanisms influencing the ocean circulation in the northern SCS are discussed, and the dynamic mechanisms that induce the countercurrent in the region of northern branch of WBC in winter are also studied quantitatively using momentum balance. The geostropic component of the WBC was diagnosed using the ship observation along 18°N, and we found that the WBC changed significantly on interannual time scale. Secondly, using the ship observations, two anti-cyclonic eddies in the winter of 2003/2004 in the northern SCS, and three anti-cyclonic eddies in the summer of 2007 along 18°N were studied. The results show that the two anti-cyclonic eddies can propagate southwestward along the continental shelf at the speed of first Rossby wave (~0.1 m s 1 ) in winter, and the interaction between the three anti-cyclonic eddies in summer and the WBC in the SCS is preliminarily revealed. Eddies on the continental shelf of northern SCS propagated southeastward with a maximum speed of 0.09 m s 1 , and those to the east of Vietnam coast had the largest kinetic energy, both of which imply strong interaction between eddy activity and WBC in the SCS. Thirdly, strong intraseasonal variability (ISV) of sea surface temperature (SST) near the WBC regions was found, and the ISV signal of SST in winter weakens the ISV signal of latent heat flux by 20%. Fourthly, the long-term change of SCSTF volume transport and its connection with the ocean circulation in the Pacific were discussed.South China Sea, western boundary current, eddy, eddy-current interaction, intraseasonal variability, South China Sea thoughflow Citation:Wang D X, Liu Q Y, Xie Q, et al. Progress of regional oceanography study associated with western boundary current in

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Section: Interaction Between Scswbc and Eddiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress of regional oceanography study associated with western boundary current in the South China Sea

et al. 2013

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“…On the other hand, as a tropical Pacific marginal sea, the SCS exhibits remarkable interannual variability. Thorough investigations on the seasonal variability have been made previously [e.g., Chu et al, 1997;Ho et al, 2000a;Liang et al, 2000], the present study will concentrate on the interannual variability through analyzing the satellite-observed surface wind (SW) over ocean, sea surface height (SSH) and sea surface temperature (SST) in the ocean in the recent decade (1993 -2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends and interannual variability of the South China Sea surface winds, surface height, and surface temperature in the recent decade

et al. 2006

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[1] Trends and interannual variability of the surface winds (SW), sea surface height (SSH), and sea surface temperature (SST) of the South China Sea (SCS) in 1993-2003 are analyzed using monthly products from satellite observations. Time series are smoothed with a 12-month running mean filter. The east and north components of the SW, SSH, and SST have linear trends of 0.53 ± 0.35 ms À1 decade À1 , À0.04 ± 0.17 ms À1 decade À1 , 6.7 ± 2.7 cm decade À1 , and 0.50 ± 0.26 K decade À1 , respectively. The sea level rising rate and sea surface warming rate are significantly higher than the corresponding global rates. An Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis is performed to evaluate the interannual variability. Results show that the first EOF of the SW is characterized by a basin-wide anticyclonic pattern. The corresponding time coefficient function (TCF) correlates with the Nino3.4 index at the 99% confidence level, with a lag of 3 months. The first EOF of the SSH is characterized by a low sea level along the eastern boundary. The corresponding TCF correlates with the Nino3.4 at the 99% level, with a lag of 2 months. The first EOF of the SST is characterized by a basin-wide warming with the highest anomalies in the north deep basin. The corresponding TCF correlates with the Nino3.4 index at the 95% level, with a lag of 8 months. Based on the EOF analysis, the ENSO-associated correlation patterns of the SW, SSH, and SST are presented.

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“…Even though satellite data are less accurate in the nearshore than tide gauge records, they have unmatched coverage in the open sea where tide gauges are not installed. Several studies on sea level anomalies have been carried out using altimetry in the SCS in the context of regional scale oceanographic processes (Hwang and Chen 2000;Shaw et al 1999;Ho et al 2000;Liu et al 2001a, b;Fang et al 2006;Cheng and Qi 2007;Rong et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Storm surges in the Singapore Strait due to winds in the South China Sea

et al. 2012

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Among the semi-enclosed basins of the world ocean, the South China Sea (SCS) is unique in its configuration as it lies under the main southwest-northeast pathway of the seasonal monsoons. The northeast (NE) monsoon (November-February) and southwest (SW) monsoon (June-August) dominate the large-scale sea level dynamics of the SCS. Sunda Shelf at the southwest part of SCS tends to amplify Sea Level Anomalies (SLAs) generated by winds over the sea. The entire region, bounded by Gulf of Thailand on the north, Karimata Strait on the south, east cost of Peninsular Malaysia on the west, and break of Sunda Shelf on the east, could experience positive or negative SLAs depending on the wind direction and speed. Strong sea level surges during NE monsoon, if coincide with spring tide, usually lead to coastal floods in the region. To understand the phenomena, we analyzed the wind-driven sea level anomalies focusing on Singapore Strait (SS), laying at the most southwest point of the region. An analysis of Tanjong Pagar tide gauge data in the SS, as well as satellite altimetry and reanalyzed wind in the region, reveals that the wind over central part of SCS is arguably the most important factor determining the observed variability of SLAs at hourly to monthly scales. Climatological SLAs in SS are found to be positive, and of the order of 30 cm during NE monsoon, but negative, and of the order of 20 cm during SW monsoon. The largest anomalies are associated with intensified winds during NE monsoon, with historical highs exceeding 50 cm. At the hourly and daily timescales, SLA magnitude is correlated with the NE wind speed over central part of SCS with an average time lag of 36-42 h. An exact solution is derived by approximating the elongated SCS shape with one-dimensional two-step channel. The solution is utilized to derive simple model connecting SLAs in SS with the wind speeds over central part of SCS. Due to delay of P. Tkalich (&)

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Seasonal variability of sea surface height in the South China Sea observed with TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data

Cited by 121 publications

References 22 publications

Progress of regional oceanography study associated with western boundary current in the South China Sea

Progress of regional oceanography study associated with western boundary current in the South China Sea

Trends and interannual variability of the South China Sea surface winds, surface height, and surface temperature in the recent decade

Storm surges in the Singapore Strait due to winds in the South China Sea

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