English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Water masses and their variability play vital roles in regulating ocean circulation, material exchanges and biogeochemical processes. However, there is still a lack of quantitative analysis of water mass distributions in coastal waters of the South China Sea. Here, two oceanographic cruise observations in April and May 2016 are used to quantify water mass distributions, pathways and mixture, and their intraseasonal variability off western Guangdong during the spring monsoon transition. Temperature and salinity observations qualitatively reveal that there are three types of water masses: the Pearl River diluted water (PRDW, salinity (S) = 22 psu, potential temperature (θ) = 25 °C), the South China Sea surface water (SCSSW, S = 34 psu, θ = 28 °C) and the South China Sea subsurface water mass (SCSSUW, S = 34.5 psu, θ = 17 °C). Their relative contributions and intraseasonal variability are quantified using the Optimum Multiparameter (OMP) method. The PRDW is largely confined to the upper 10 m layer in shallow nearshore waters (depths  90% near the Pearl River Estuary. The SCSSW mainly dominates the rest of the surface layer above 20 m, with a contribution &gt;50% in offshore regions. The layer below 20 m is primarily composed of ~60% SCSSW and ~40% SCSSUW. A comparison between the two different observations suggests that the PRDW tends to expand southwestward and the SCSSUW spreads offshore, whereas the SCSSW moves landward and is situated underneath the surface fresh PRDW. These characteristics are very likely associated with the wind transition from weak southeasterly in April to strong northeasterly in May, which enhances the southwestward coastal current and the onshore surface Ekman transport from offshore waters.

Optimum Multiparameter Analysis of Water Mass Structure off Western Guangdong during Spring Monsoon Transition