Numerical Simulation Study on the Seasonal Variations of Ocean Circulations in the South China Sea
XU Ting
CAO Yong-gang
Abstract：The seasonal variations of the circulations at different depth in the South China Sea are numerically simulated based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM).The results show that the surface and the upper circulations in the South China Sea are affected by the monsoon.Driven by the southwest monsoon in summer,the surface circulation in the South China Sea shows a strong anticyclonic structure in the south and becomes a weak cyclonic circulation in the north.When driven by the northeast monsoon in winter,the surface circulation shows a cyclonic structure and strengthens obviously the western boundary current that flows southward along the coast of Vietnam.Spring and autumn are the monsoon switching period in the South China Sea.The circulation characteristics corresponding to this period show a transitional flow pattern between the winter and the summer circulations,with the flow velocity being weaker than those in winter and summer.The seasonal variations of the circulation at 200 m depth in the South China Sea are similar to those of the surface circulation.At the water depth of 500 m and 1 000 m in the South China Sea,many mesoscale whirlpools occur and the flow field there becomes also more disordered.
Keywords：POM modelcirculations in the South China Seavertical structuremonsoon
Publication Date：2017-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2026-05-22(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：10( 62-71 )