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Interannual variability of the eastward current in the western S outh C hina S ea associated with the summer A sian monsoon
Author(s) -
Chen Changlin,
Wang Guihua
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1002/2014jc010309
Subject(s) - geology , climatology , current (fluid) , zonal and meridional , anomaly (physics) , boundary current , monsoon , oceanography , altimeter , ocean current , geodesy , physics , condensed matter physics
The interannual variability of the eastward current in the western South China Sea (SCS) during the summer of 1993–2012 is examined with satellite altimeter data and Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) model output. It is found that the meridional location of the eastward current displays apparent interannual variability. The core of the eastward current shifts between 10.7°N and 17.6°N with a standard deviation of 1.6°. Results from Sverdrup theory and ROMS experiments demonstrate a close dynamic linkage between the north‐south migration of the eastward current and the SCS summer monsoon anomaly on the interannual time scale. When the summer monsoon has southwesterly (northeasterly) anomaly, the eastward current moves southward (northward). With the southward (northward) shift of the eastward current, the summer cold filament in the SCS moves southward (northward) as well.