Watermass Transformation Processes and Quantification in the South China Sea

Abstract

We propose a new examination of watermass transformation processes in the S. China Sea.The focus is on the class of oceanographic variability that is poorly constrained in models including eddies, vortices and filaments, and their interactions with smaller-scale phenomena such as internal waves. This work will be focused on the region south and west of Taiwan. In this region, the Kuroshio Branch Current feeds warm-salty water through the Luzon Strait. As the Current meanders into the Luzon Strait, it sheds eddies and filaments, which in turn interact with the local wind forcing. This combination of eddies, filaments, and wind lead to an active submesoscale cascade. Slightly further to the west is Dongsha Reef, where internal waves and eddies collide to produce a field rich in turbulence and biological productivity

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Sep 23, 2016
Source ID
N000141612584

Entities

People

  • Louis St. Laurent

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers