An introduction to the South China Sea throughflow: Its dynamics, variability, and application for climate

Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans

Volumn 47, Issue 1-3, 2009, Pages 3-14

  Qu, Tangdong ^a   Song, Y Tony ^b   Yamagata, Toshio ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII   (United States)

^b CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO   (Japan)

Author keywords

Asian climate; Indonesian throughflow; South China Sea throughflow; Western boundary current

Indexed keywords

ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE; DYNAMICS; SEAWATER;

ASIAN CLIMATE; INDONESIAN THROUGHFLOW; PACIFIC OCEANS; SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES; SOUTH CHINA SEA THROUGHFLOW; TAIWAN STRAITS; WESTERN BOUNDARY CURRENT;

OCEAN CURRENTS;

ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS; OUTFLOW; SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE; SIMULATION; THROUGHFLOW; WESTERN BOUNDARY CURRENT;

ASIA; EURASIA; INDIAN OCEAN; INDIAN OCEAN (TROPICAL); LUZON STRAIT; PACIFIC OCEAN; SOUTH CHINA SEA;

EID: 60849133007     PISSN: 03770265     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2008.05.001     Document Type: Review

References (91)

1. Annamalai H., Murtugudde R., Potemra J., Xie S.P., Liu P., and Wang B. Coupled dynamics over the Indian Ocean: spring initiation of the Zonal Mode. Deep-Sea Res. II 50 (2003) 2305-2330
2. Ashok K., Guan Z., and Yamagata T. Impact of the Indian Ocean dipole on the relationship between Indian Ocean monsoon rainfall and ENSO. Geophys. Res. Lett. 28 (2001) 4499-4502
3. Broecker W.S., Patzert W.C., Toggweiler J.R., and Stuive M. Hydrography, chemistry, and radioisotopes in the southeast Asian basins. J. Geophys. Res. 91 (1986) 14,345-14,354
4. Caruso M.J., Gawarkiewicz G.G., and Beardsley R. Interannual variability of the Kuroshio intrusion in the South China Sea. J. Oceanogr. 62 (2006) 559-575
5. Chao S.-Y., Shaw P.T., and Wu S.Y. Deep water ventilation in the South China Sea. Deep-Sea Res. I. 43 4 (1996) 445-466
6. Chen C.-T., and Huang M.H. A mid-depth front separating the South China Sea water and the Philippine Sea water. J. Oceanogr. 52 (1996) 17-25
7. Chen C.-T., Wang S.L., Wang B.J., and Pai S.C. Nutrients budgets for the South China Sea basin. Mar. Chem. 75 (2001) 281-300
8. Chu P.C., and Chang C.P. South China Sea warm pool in boreal spring. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 14 (1997) 195-206
9. Chu P., and Li R. South China Sea isopycnal-surface circulation. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 30 (2000) 1438-2419
10. Chu P.C., Lu S., and Chen Y. Temporal and spatial variabilities of the South China Sea surface temperature anomaly. J. Geophys. Res. 102 (1997) 20937-20955
11. Du Y., Qu T., Meyers G., Masumoto Y., and Sasaki H. Seasonal heat budget in the mixed layer of the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean in a high-resolution global general circulation model. J. Geophys. Res. 110 (2005) C04012 10.1029/2004JC002845
12. Fang G., Wei Z., Choi B.-H., Wang K., Fang Y., and Li W. Interbasin freshwater, heat, and salt transport through the boundaries of the East and South China Seas from a variable-grid global ocean circulation model. Sci. China 46 (2003) 149-161
13. Fang G., Susanto D., Soesilo I., Zheng Q., Qiao F., and Wei Z. A note on the South China Sea shallow interocean circulation. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 22 (2005) 945-954
14. Frische A., and Quadfasel D. Hydrography of the Sulu Sea. In: Rangin C., Silver E., von Breymann M.T., et al. (Eds). Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports, 124. College Station, TX (1990) 101-104
15. Gan J., Li H., Curchitser E.N., and Haidvogel D.B. Modeling South China Sea circulation: response to seasonal forcing regimes. J. Geophys. Res. 111 (2006) C06034 10.1029/2005JC003298
16. Godfrey J.S. A Sverdrup model of the depth-integrated flow for the world ocean allowing for island circulations. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 45 (1989) 89-112
17. Gordon A.L. Interocean exchange of thermocline water. J. Geophys. Res. 91 (1986) 5037-5046
18. Gordon A.L., Susanto R.D., and Vranes K. Cool Indonesian throughflow as a consequence of restricted surface layer flow. Nature 425 (2003) 824-828
19. Guan B., and Fang G. Winter counter-wind currents off the Southeastern China coast: a review. J. Oceanogr. 62 (2006) 1-24
20. Guo Z. Wintertime South China Sea warm current and the westward current on its right. Trop. Oceanol. 4 (1985) 1-9 (in Chinese with English abstract)
21. Ho C.-R., Zheng Q., Kuo N.-J., Tsai C.-H., and Huang N.E. Observation of the Kuroshio intrusion region in the South China Sea from AVHRR data. Int. J. Remote Sens. 25 (2004) 4583-4591
22. Hsueh Y., and Zhong L. A pressure-driven South China Sea warm current. J. Geophys. Res. 109 (2004) C09014 10.1029/2004JC002374
23. Hu J., Kawamura H., Hong H., and Qi Y. A review on the currents in the South China Sea: seasonal circulation, South China Sea warm current, and Kuroshio intrusion. J. Oceanogr. 56 (2000) 607-624
24. Kim Y.Y., Qu T., Jensen T., Miyama T., Kang H.W., Mitsudera H., and Ishida A. Seasonal and interannual variations of the NEC bifurcation in a high-resolution OGCM. J. Geophys. Res. 109 (2004) 3040 10.1029/2003JC002013
25. Lebedev K.V., and Yaremchuk M.I. A diagnostic study of the Indonesian throughflow. J. Geophys. Res. 105 (2000) 11,243-11,258
26. Li L., and Qu T. Thermohaline circulation in the Deep South China Sea basin as inferred from oxygen distributions. J. Geophys. Res. 111 (2006) C05017
27. Li L., Nowlin W.D., and Su J. Anticyclonic rings from the Kuroshio in the South China Sea. Deep-Sea Res. I 45 (1998) 1469-1482
28. Liu C.-T., and Liu R.-J. The deep current in the Bashi channel. Acta Oceanogr. Taiwan. 20 (1988) 107-116
29. Liu Q., Jiang X., Xie S.-P., and Liu W.T. A gap in the Indo-Pacific warm pool over the South China Sea in boreal winter: seasonal development and interannual variability. J. Geophys. Res. 109 (2004) C07012 10.1029/2003JC002179
30. Lukas R., Yamagata T., and McCreary J.P. Pacific low-latitude western boundary currents and the Indonesian throughflow. J. Geophys. Res. 101 (1996) 12209-12216
31. McBride J.L., Haylock M.R., and Nichols N. Relationships between the Maritime Continent heat source and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon. J. Clim. 16 (2003) 2905-2914
32. Metzger E.J., and Hurlburt H.E. Coupled dynamics of the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. J. Geophys. Res. 101 (1996) 12331-12352
33. Metzger E.J., and Hurlburt H.E. The nondeterministic nature of Kuroshio penetration and eddy shedding in the South China Sea. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 31 (2001) 1712-1732
34. Neale R.B., and Slingo J.M. The Maritime Continent and its role in the global climate: a GCM study. J. Clim. 16 (2003) 834-848
35. Nitani H. In: Stommel H., and Yoshida K. (Eds). Beginning of the Kuroshio, in Kuroshio: Its Physical Aspects of the Japan Current (1972), University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA 129-163
36. Oberhuber, J.M., 1988. An atlas based on the "COADS" data set: The budgets of heat, buoyancy and turbulent kinetic energy at the surface of the global ocean, Rep. 15, Max Planck Inst. fur Meteorol., Hamburg, Germany.
37. Ose T., Song Y., and Kitoh A. Sea surface temperature in the South China Sea: an index for the Asian monsoon and ENSO system. J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. 75 (1997) 1091-1107
38. Qiu B., and Lukas R. Seasonal and interannual variability of the North Equatorial Current, the Mindanao Current, and the Kuroshio along the Pacific western boundary. J. Geophys. Res. 101 (1996) 12315-12330
39. Qiu D., Yang T., and Guo Z. A westward current in the northeastern part of the South China Sea. Trop. Oceanol. 33 (1984) 65-73 (in Chinese with English abstract)
40. Qu T. Upper layer circulation in the South China Sea. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 30 (2000) 1450-1460
41. Qu T. Role of ocean dynamics in determining the mean seasonal cycle of the South China Sea surface temperature. J. Geophys. Res. 106 (2001) 6943-6955
42. Qu T., and Lukas R. The bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current in the Pacific. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 33 (2003) 5-18
43. Qu T., Kagimoto T., and Yamagata T. A subsurface countercurrent along the east coast of Luzon. Deep-Sea Res. I 44 (1997) 413-423
44. Qu T., Mitsudera H., and Yamagata T. On the western boundary currents in the Philippine Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 103 (1998) 7537-7548
45. Qu T., Mitsudera H., and Yamagata T. A climatology of the circulation and water mass distribution near the Philippine coast. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 29 (1999) 1488-1505
46. Qu T., Mitsudera H., and Yamagata T. Intrusion of the North Pacific waters into the South China Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 105 (2000) 6415-6424
47. Qu T., Kim Y.Y., Yaremchuk M., Tozuka T., Ishida A., and Yamagata T. Can Luzon strait transport play a role in conveying the impact of ENSO to the South China Sea?. J. Clim. 17 18 (2004) 3643-3656
48. Qu T., Du Y., Meyers G., Ishida A., and Wang D. Connecting the tropical Pacific with Indian Ocean through South China Sea. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32 (2005) L24609 10.1029/2005GL024698
49. Qu T., Girton G., and Whitehead J. Deepwater overflow through Luzon strait. J. Geophys. Res. 111 (2006) C01002 10.1029/2005JC003139
50. Qu T., Du Y., and Sasaki H. South China Sea throughflow: a heat and freshwater conveyor. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33 (2006) L23617 10.1029/2006GL028350
51. Qu T., Du Y., Gan J., and Wang D. Mean seasonal cycle of isothermal depth in the South China Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 112 (2007) C02020 10.1029/2006JC003583
52. Quadfasel D., Kudrass H., and Frische A. Deep-water renewal by turbidity currents in the Sulu Sea. Nature 348 (1990) 320-322
53. Ramage C.S. Role of a tropical "Maritime Continent" in the atmospheric circulation. Mon. Weather Rev. 96 (1968) 365-370
54. Reid J.L., and Arthur R.S. Interpretation of maps of geopotential anomaly for the deep Pacific Ocean. J. Mar. Res. 33 Suppl. (1975) 37-52
55. Saji N.H., Goswami B.N., Vinayachandran P.N., and Yamagata T. A dipole mode in the tropical Indian Ocean. Nature 401 (1999) 360-363
56. Shaw P.-T. The intrusion of water masses into the sea southwest of Taiwan. J. Geophys. Res. 94 (1989) 18213-18226
57. Shaw P.-T. Seasonal variation of the intrusion of the Philippine sea water into the South China Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 96 (1991) 821-827
58. Shaw P.-T., Chao S.-Y., and Fu L.-L. Sea surface height variations in the South China Sea from satellite altimetry. Oceanol. Acta 22 (1999) 1-17
59. Sheremet V. Hysteresis of a western boundary current leaping across a gap. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 31 (2001) 1247-1259
60. Song Y.T. Estimation of interbasin transport using ocean bottom pressure: theory and model for Asian marginal seas. J. Geophys. Res. 111 (2006) C11S19 10.1029/2005JC003189
61. Su J. Overview of the South China Sea circulation and its influence on the coastal physical oceanography outside of the Pearl River Estuary. Cont. Shelf Res. 24 (2004) 1745-1760
62. Susanto R.D., and Gorden A.L. Velocity and transport of the Makassar strait throughflow. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 110 (2005) C01005 10.1029/2004JC002425
63. Tian J., Yang Q., Liang X., Hu D., Wang F., and Qu T. The observation of Luzon strait transport. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33 (2006) L19607 10.1029/2006GL026272
64. Tomita T., and Yasunari T. Role of the northeast winter monsoon in the biennial oscillation of the ENSO/monsoon system. J. Meteor. Soc. Jpn. 74 (1996) 399-413
65. Toole J.M., Millard R.C., Wang Z., and Pu S. Observations of the Pacific North Equatorial Current bifurcation at the Philippine coast. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 20 (1990) 307-318
66. Tozuka T., Qu T., and Yamagata T. Effect of South China Sea throughflow on the Makassar strait throughflow. Res. Lett. 34 (2007) L12612 10.1029/2007GL030420
67. Vranes K., Gordon A.L., and Ffield A. The heat transport of the Indonesian throughflow and implications for the Indian Ocean heat budget. Deep-Sea Res. 40 (2002) 1391-1410
68. Wajsowicz R.C. The circulation of the depth-integrated flow around an island with application to the Indonesian throughflow. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 23 (1993) 1470-1484
69. Wang J. Observation of abyssal flows in the Northern South China Sea. Acta Oceanogr. Taiwan. 16 (1986) 36-45
70. Wang W., and Wang C. Formation and decady of the spring warm pool in the South China Sea. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33 (2006) L02615 10.1029/2005GL025097
71. Wang B., Wu R., and Fu X. Pacific-East Asian teleconnection: how does ENSO affect East Asian climate?. J. Clim. 13 (2000) 1517-1536
72. Wang Q., Liu Q., Hu R., and Xie Q. A possible role of the South China Sea in ENSO cycle. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 21 (2002) 217-226
73. Wang C., Wang W., Wang D., and Wang Q. Interannual variability of the South China Sea associated with El Nino. J. Geophys. Res. 111 (2006) C03023 10.1029/2005JC003333
74. Wang D., Liu Q., Huang R., Du Y., and Qu T. Interannual variability of the South China Sea throughflow inferred from wind data and an ocean data assimilation product. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33 (2006) L14605 10.1029/2006GL026316
75. Wang B., et al., this issue.
76. Wu C.-R., and Chang C.-W.J. Interannual variability of the South China Sea in a data assimilation model. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32 (2005) L17611 10.1029/2005GL023798
77. Wu C.-R., and Chiang T.-L. Mesoscale eddies in the northern South China Sea. Deep-Sea Res. II 54 (2007) 1575-1588
78. Wu C.-R., Shaw P.-T., and chao S.-Y. Assimilating altimetric data into a South China Sea model. J. Geophys. Res. 104 (1999) 29987-30005
79. Wyrtki, K., 1961. Physical oceanography of the southeast Asian waters, Naga Report 2, Scripps Inst. of Oceanogr., La Jolla, CA, 195 pp.
80. Xie S.-P., Xie Q., Wang D., and Liu W.T. Summer upwelling in the South China Sea and its role in regional climate variations. J. Geophys. Res. 108 (2003) 3261 10.1029/2003JC001867
81. Xie S.-P., Chang C.-S., Xie Q., and Wang D. Intraseasonal variability in the summer South China Sea: the wind jet, cold filament, and recirculations. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans 112 (2007) 10.1029/2007JC004238
82. Xue H., Chai F., Pettigrew N., Xu D., Shi M., and Xu J. Kuroshio intrusion and the circulation in the South China Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 109 (2004) C02017 10.1029/2002JC001724
83. Yamagata T., and Masumoto Y. A simple ocean-atmosphere coupled model of the origin of a warm ENSO event. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London 329 (1989) 225-236
84. Yaremchuk M., and Qu T. Seasonal variability of the circulation near the Philippine coast. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 34 (2004) 844-855
85. Yu L., and Weller R.A. Objectively Analyzed air-sea heat Fluxes for the global ice-free oceans (1981-2005). Bull. Am. Meteor. Soc. 88 (2007) 527-539
86. Yu Z., Shen S., McCreary J.P., Yaremchuk M., and Furue R. South China Sea throughflow as evidenced by satellite images and numerical experiments. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34 (2007) L01601 10.1029/2006GL028103
87. Yu Z., McCreary J.P., Yaremchuk M., and Furue R. Subsurface salinity balance in the South China Sea. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 38 (2008) 527-539
88. Yuan D. A numerical study of the South China Sea deep circulation and its relation to the Luzon strait transport. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 21 (2002) 187-202
89. Yuan D., Han W., and Hu D. Surface Kuroshio path in the Luzon strait area derived from satellite remote sensing data. J. Geophys. Res. 111 (2006) C11007 10.1029/2005JC003412
90. Yuan Y., Liao G., and Xu X. Three dimensional diagnostic modeling study of the South China Sea circulation before onset of summer monsoon 1998. J. Oceanogr. 63 (2007) 77-100
91. Zhang R., Sumi A., and Kimoto M. Impact of El Nino on the East Asian monsoon: a diagnostic study of the '86/87 and '91/92 events. J. Meteor. Soc. Jpn. 74 (1996) 49-62