Title: Oceanic Fronts in the Northern South China Sea
Abstract: Regional Oceanography of the South China Sea, pp. 379-402 (2020) No Access14: Oceanic Fronts in the Northern South China SeaQuran Wu, Hongyang Lin, and Jianyu HuQuran WuState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, ChinaNational Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, Reading, UK, Hongyang LinState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China, and Jianyu HuState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, Chinahttps://doi.org/10.1142/9789811206917_0014Cited by:0 PreviousNext AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsRecommend to Library ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Abstract: A front is a narrow transition zone that separates water masses of distinct properties. It is a common feature in marginal seas and world oceans, and has important implications for marine ecosystems. Northern South China Sea (NSCS) features a long front band spanning from the Hainan Island to the Taiwan Strait. Substantial progress has been made regarding the investigations into this front band since the 2000s. Representative studies are reviewed in this chapter. Starting from the southern end, it is found that both Chl-a and SST fronts are observed around the Hainan Island, with the former being strongly affected by tidal mixing. Moving to the center of the front band, a statistical modeling approach reveals that SST fronts of 10–50 km width separate water masses that differ in temperature at 3.5–4.5°C along the Guangdong coast. The northern part of the front band is occupied by fronts in the Taiwan Strait with distinctive seasonality. During winter, coastal water and intrusion of open ocean water interleave each other in the center of the strait, resulting in complex geometry of frontal features. During summer, SST fronts are identified in the Taiwan Bank, the Pearl River plume extension region, and the coastal upwelling region southwest of the strait. Their surface temperature and salinity signatures are examined using in situ observations. FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Regional Oceanography of the South China SeaMetrics History PDF download
Publication Year: 2020
Publication Date: 2020-06-30
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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