Mooring observed intraseasonal oscillations in the central South China Sea during summer monsoon season
Jan, S.; Chang, M.-H.; Yang, Y.J.; Sui, C.-H.; Cheng, Y.-H.; Yeh, Y.-Y.; Lee, C.-W. (2021). Mooring observed intraseasonal oscillations in the central South China Sea during summer monsoon season. NPG Scientific Reports 11(1): 13685. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93219-3
In: Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2045-2322; e-ISSN 2045-2322, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Jan, S.
- Chang, M.-H.
- Yang, Y.J.
- Sui, C.-H.
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- Cheng, Y.-H.
- Yeh, Y.-Y.
- Lee, C.-W.
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| Abstract |
The South China Sea (SCS) is a high biodiversity region in the world ocean, supports abundant marine resources to the peripheral nations, and affects weather/climate in southeast Asia. A better understanding of its circulation is important to better prediction and management of the SCS. Here we reveal sizable intraseasonal oscillations at period ~ 50 days between May and November 2017 in the acoustic Doppler current profiler observed velocity in the central SCS. Satellite observed wind and sea level data together with a process-oriented numerical experiment suggest that the oscillations were caused by locally-generated and remotely-penetrated westward-propagating Rossby waves. The summer southwesterly monsoon strengthening/weakening and the resultant Ekman pumping velocity and shoreward Ekman transport increase/decrease and consequent coastal sea level rise/fall off the west coast of Palawan create westward-propagating Rossby waves causing velocity oscillations in the central SCS. Besides the local generation, Rossby waves with sea level anomaly > 0.2 m propagating from the Pacific through the Sulu Sea into the SCS could contribute to the intraseasonal velocity oscillations in the central SCS. |
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