| South China Sea (SCS), the largest marginal sea in the West Pacific Ocean, is separated from adjacent oceans by a chain of islands. It contains a broad shallow shelf on the south, extending along the Vietnamese-Chinese coast to the Taiwan Strait on the north, a deep basin in the center, and a dangerous ground near Nansha with numerous reef islands over the southeast. The Kuroshio, originating from the North Equatorial Currents, flows northward as a western boundary current east of Luzon and Taiwan. The Luzon Strait is the principal passage through which the Pacificwater enters the SCS; therefore the mass transport through the Luzon Strait is critical in determining the characteristics of SCS waters. The SCS circulation and thermohaine structure are under influence of the monsoon winds, surface fluxes, and lateral transport especially the Kuroshio intrusion. The effects of forcing mechanisms on the SCS circulation and thermohaline structure are investigated observationally and numerically. In this talk we will discuss seasonal and interannual variability of themohaline structure, seasonal circulation at the isopycnal surface, Kuroshio intrusion, SCS response to typhoon, formation of multi-eddy structure, and formation of SCS thermal front. |
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