Seasonal Circulation of the Vietanmese Shelf and Slope
Abstract
The Vietnamese East Sea is a complex body of water that is impacted by a variety of forcing on multiple temporal scales. During the" SW monsoon, the interaction between strong wind forcing and the Mekong River outflow influences stratification and circulation on a"" basin-wide scale. During the NE monsoon, a 2000-km long boundary current links the inflow of Kuroshio water at Luzon Straits to the"" shelf and slope off Vietnam, also impacting the stratification and circulation on a basin-wide scale. The dynamics of this seasonal"" variation are not well understood, and the resulting transport and fate of fresh water are largely uncharacterized. We propose to e""stablish glider-based endurance lines of observations, repeating sections of the 1961-1962 NAGA expedition. Gliders will be provisio""ned to measure hydrography, currents and bio-optical properties. Glider sampling will focus on the central Vietnamese shelf where th"ere is a confluence of strong wind and buoyancy forcing in the summer (SW monsoon) and a region of maximal boundary current flow in the winter (NE monsoon). The glider-based endurance observations will resolve the seasonal cycle and transitions from summer to win"ter monsoon conditions, and repeating the NAGA expedition will provide a large-scale characterization of the Vietnamese East Sea and" climate-relevant time scales.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712839
Entities
People
- R. Kipp Shearman
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Oregon State University
- United States Navy