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The South Atlantic subtropical underwater (STUW) is a high-salinity water mass formed by subduction within the subtropical gyre. It is a major component of the subtropical cell and affects stratification in the downstream direction due to its high salinity characteristics. Understanding the interannual variability in STUW subduction is essential for quantifying the impact of subtropical variability on the tropical Atlantic. Using the output from the ocean state estimate of the Consortium for Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), this study investigates the interannual variability in STUW subduction from 1992 to 2016. We find that heat fluxes, wind stress, and wind stress curl cause interannual variability in the subduction rate. Heat fluxes over the subduction area modulate the sea surface buoyancy and regulate the mixed layer depth (MLD) during its deepening and shoaling phases. Additionally, the wind stress curl and zonal wind stress can modulate the size of the subduction area by regulating the probability of particles entrained into the mixed layer within 1 year of tracing. This analysis evaluates the influence of subtropical wind patterns on the South Atlantic subsurface high-salinity water mass, highlighting the impact of heat and wind on the interannual changes in the oceanic component of the hydrological cycle.

Using observational temperature profiles, this study reveals that eddy-induced oceanic vertical temperature anomalies are geographically varying in the South China Sea (SCS). The maximum anomalies are more intensified in the central and south SCS. Due to ocean stratification, the eddy available potential energy (EAPE) can more comprehensively reflect the eddy effect on the ocean vertical structure. The EAPE within a composite eddy is the highest in the northern region and lowest in the southeastern region. The geographical variation of vertical anomalies induced by eddies is because of the combination effect of the ocean stratification, the background energy (available potential energy and barotropic kinetic energy), and the energy conversion rate. The anomalies induced by cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies might be asymmetrical in the same region. For example, in the regions to the west of Luzon Island and in the central west SCS, the temperature anomalies and EAPE within a composite cyclonic eddy are significantly larger than those within an anticyclonic eddy. This variation is owing to the different oceanic stratification along the tracks of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies.

This study focuses on different evolutions of the low-level atmospheric circulations between eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño and central Pacific-II (CP-II) El Niño. The western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) originates from the northern South China Sea for EP El Niño, and moves to the western North Pacific (WNP) afterward. Compared with EP El Niño, the origin of the WNPAC is farther west during CP-II El Niño, with the center over the Indochina Peninsula. Moreover, the WNPAC shows a weaker eastward shift. Such discrepancies are attributed to different evolutions of the cyclonic response over the WNP, which can suppress the convection in the western flank of the anomalous cyclone. The eastward retreat of the anomalous cyclone is significant for EP El Niño, but less evident for CP-II El Niño. These discrepancies are related to zonal evolutions of the increased precipitation over the equatorial Pacific. Following the southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), the deep-convection region extends eastward along the equator, reinforcing the atmospheric response to the eastern Pacific warming in EP El Niño. For CP-II El Niño, the atmospheric response is insignificant over the eastern Pacific without warming. Moreover, the meridional migration of the ITCZ can modulate zonal variations of the easterly trade wind and specific humidity as well. Due to the combined effects of the climatological background and atmospheric anomalies, the specific humidity–induced and wind-induced moist enthalpy advection contribute to different shifts of the precipitation center.

The 9th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition was carried out from 20 July to 26 September 2018. The expedition was successful in undertaking multidisciplinary comprehensive surveys in the fields of physical oceanography, marine meteorology, sea ice, marine chemistry, marine biology, marine ecology, geology, and geophysics in the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, Chukchi Plateau, Mendeleev Ridge, and Canada Basin. This paper gives an overview of the main achievements of this expedition and highlights the scientific achievements.

Numerous oceanic mesoscale eddies occur in the South China Sea (SCS). The present study employs eight automatic eddy detection algorithms to identify these mesoscale eddies and compares the results. Eddy probabilities and areas detected by various algorithms differ substantially. Most regions of the SCS with a high discrepancy of eddy probabilities are those with few mesoscale eddies, except for the area west of the Luzon Strait, the area west of Luzon Island between 12° and 17°N, and the southernmost end of the SCS basin. They are primarily caused by strong interference, noncircular eddy shapes, and gentle sea level anomaly (SLA) gradients, respectively. The SLA, winding angle, and hybrid methods can easily detect the mesoscale eddies with wavelike features. The Okubo–Weiss (OW) and the spatially smoothed OW methods better identify grouping phenomena of mesoscale eddies in the SCS. Suggestions are presented on choosing suitable algorithms for studying mesoscale eddies in the SCS. No single algorithm is perfect for all research purposes. For different studies, the most suitable algorithm is different.

The South China Sea (SCS) is a semi-enclosed ocean basin, with its sole deepwater renewal channel in the northeast, the Luzon Strait, connected to the northwestern Pacific. The circulation in the SCS is endowed with a distinctive multi-layer structure, which is influenced by the seasonally reversing Southeast Asian monsoon at the surface, modulated Kuroshio intrusion in the upper layer, and enhanced diapycnal mixing and persistent Luzon Strait deepwater overflow in the deep layer. After being diapycnally mixed by energetic internal tides, internal waves, and mesoscale eddies, waters entering the SCS in the upper and deep layers through the Luzon Strait are returned to the northwestern Pacific in the intermediate layer. This inflow-outflow-inflow structure in vertical induces net inflows of potential vorticity in the upper and deep layers and a net outflow of potential vorticity in the intermediate layer of the Luzon Strait, which are believed to be closely related with the circulation structure in the SCS. A sandwiched circulation in the SCS, namely, anticyclonic in the intermediate layer and cyclonic in the upper and deeper layers, was recently reported, but controversial issues still remain on its spatial pattern and temporal variability. To ascertain this sandwiched circulation and reveal its driving mechanism is of much scientific interest to the on-going discussion on the SCS circulation and its role in regional climate. Different from previous review articles focusing on eddies or circulation in a specific layer or area, we overview the full-depth circulation of the SCS layer-by-layer and outline its possible forcing mechanisms, and furthermore, provide perspectives for further investigation.

Besides the Indonesian throughflow (ITF), the South China Sea throughflow (SCSTF) also contributes to the water transport from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. However, this South China Sea (SCS) branch at the Karimata Strait is poorly observed until 2007, even though its importance has been suggested by numerical studies for decades. In this paper, we review the nearly 10-year field measurement in the Karimata Strait by the execution of the projects of “SCS-Indonesian Seas Transport/Exchange (SITE) and Impacts on Seasonal Fish Migration” and “The Transport, Internal Waves and Mixing in the Indonesian Throughflow regions (TIMIT) and Impacts on Marine Ecosystem”, which extend the observations from the western Indonesian seas to the east to include the main channels of the ITF, is introduced. Some major achievements from these projects are summarized.

Four trawl-resistant bottom mounts, with acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) embedded, were deployed in the Karimata Strait from November 2008 to June 2015 as part of the South China Sea-Indonesian Seas Transport/Exchange and Impact on Seasonal Fish Migration (SITE) Program, to estimate the volume and property transport between the South China Sea and Indonesian seas via the strait. The observed current data reveal that the volume transport through the Karimata Strait exhibits significant seasonal variation. The winteraveraged (from December to February) transport is–1.99 Sv (1 Sv=1×106 m3/s), while in the boreal summer (from June to August), the average transport is 0.69 Sv. Moreover, the average transport from January 2009 to December 2014 is–0.74 Sv (the positive/negative value indicates northward/southward transport). May and September are the transition period. In May, the currents in the Karimata Strait turn northward, consistent with the local monsoon. In September, the southeasterly trade wind is still present over the strait, driving surface water northward, whereas the bottom flow reverses direction, possibly because of the pressure gradient across the strait from north to south.

The Island Rule, derived from the Sverdrup theory, is widely used to estimate and analyze water transport through a strait. Previous studies presented single- or multi-island rules with either lateral or bottom friction. In this paper, an analytical model of wind-driven circulation is assumed based on linear dynamics. Considering both lateral and bottom friction, the analytic solutions of the transport streamfunction around the islands are derived and the volume transport through the channel is presented. The results are similar to those of Wajsowicz, but the frictional constants represent different values. The analytic solution shows that the relationship between the lateral frictional and bottom frictional dissipation is complex in terms of the frictional constants. To understand the interaction between the two friction types, lateral and bottom friction values were randomly chosen on a barotropic beta plane. The result shows an approximately linear relationship between the lateral and bottom friction in consisting of the combined frictional constants. We studied the effect of the channel width on the transport through the channel. The results show that the friction enhances the flow under some widths, which is similar to the flow behavior when only the lateral friction is considered. We also compared the transport through the channel at different depths and founded that the deeper the water, the smaller the transport reduction ratio when the horizontal eddy viscosity coefficient and the bottom drag coefficient remained constants. To further present the combined role of lateral frictional and bottom frictional dissipation, we compared our model with the model of Wajsowicz for two islands, where only the lateral or bottom friction were considered, with different channel widths. The results showed that the effect of the lateral friction is greater than the bottom friction when the channel is narrow, especially in the Munk boundary layer thickness. When the channel is much wider than the Munk boundary layer thickness, the role of the bottom friction is greater than that of the lateral friction. The model was applied to the Indonesian throughflow and yielded a reduction of approximately 20% in the transport.

Through analysis of the results of a verified high-fidelity numerical model, the intra-seasonal variations (ISVs) in the depth of the 22°C isotherm (D22) in the South China Sea (SCS) basin are investigated. The results show that the ISVs in the D22 exhibit distinct seasonality in the SCS. The ISVs in the D22 are quite significant, especially within a band along the northwestern boundary of the basin and at the southern end of the basin during boreal winter. In these areas, the ratio of the standard deviations (STDs) of intra-seasonal band to the STDs of total data could exceed 0.6. Although the ISVs in the D22 are detectable in the area affected by the Vietnam Offshore Current during boreal summer and autumn, these variations are sometimes overwhelmed by oscillations with other frequencies. An analysis of the causes of the ISVs in the D22 in the SCS indicates that sea surface fluxes and wind stirring are not the dominant external driving mechanisms of the phenomena described above. The ISVs in the D22 are thought to be induced mainly by the thermodynamic adjustment of the ocean itself and the associated instabilities. The energy of the northern and southern bands that display strong ISVs in the D22 may be derived from eddy kinetic energy, rather than eddy available potential energy. The diversity of the propagation of the ISVs in the D22 is very conspicuous within these two bands.

A 72-h fine-resolution atmosphere-wave-ocean coupled forecasting system was developed for the South China Sea and its adjacent seas. The forecasting model domain covers from from 15°S to 45°N in latitude and 99°E to 135°E in longitude including the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Indonesian seas. To get precise initial conditions for the coupled forecasting model, the forecasting system conducts a 24-h hindcast simulation with data assimilation before forecasting. The Ensemble Adjustment Kalman Filter (EAKF) data assimilation method was adopted for the wave model MASNUM with assimilating Jason-2 significant wave height (SWH) data. The EAKF data assimilation method was also introduced to the ROMS model with assimilating sea surface temperature (SST), mean absolute dynamic topography (MADT) and Argo profiles data. To improve simulation of the structure of temperature and salinity, the vertical mixing scheme of the ocean model was improved by considering the surface wave induced vertical mixing and internal wave induced vertical mixing. The wave and current models were integrated from January 2014 to October 2015 driven by the ECMWF reanalysis 6 hourly mean dataset with data assimilation. Then the coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean forecasting system was carried out 14 months operational running since November 2015. The forecasting outputs include atmospheric forecast products, wave forecast products and ocean forecast products. A series of observation data are used to evaluate the coupled forecasting results, including the wind, SHW, ocean temperature and velocity. The forecasting results are in good agreement with observation data. The prediction practice for more than one year indicates that the coupled forecasting system performs stably and predict relatively accurate, which can support the shipping safety, the fisheries and the oil exploitation.

The southern coast of Java is known as one of the most productive fishing grounds for tuna, feeding by nutrient-rich water along the coast caused by the subsurface water upwelling. This primary productivity can be evidenced by the high sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration (SSC). Based on satellite remote sensing products, we investigate the multi-scale variability in SSC along the Sumatra-Java coast. The results show that seasonal variability of SSCs is primarily due to monsoon-driven upwelling and rainfall in the Indian Ocean and Indonesian seas sides of the Sumatra and Java Islands, respectively. Local Ekman pumping plays a secondary role, while rainfall input to the ocean has little effect. Coastally trapped Kelvin waves and mesoscale eddies are responsible for the intraseasonal SSC anomalies in regions along the south coast of Java and off the Sunda and Lombok Straits, respectively. The interannual variability in SSC is caused by the anomalous upwelling related to the Indian Ocean Dipole. There was a weak increasing trend of ~0.1–0.2 mg/m3 per decade, above the global averaged trend, which may be related to enhanced local Ekman pumping. These analyses provide an overall description of SSC variations based on satellite observations; however, further investigations based on in situ observations are needed to achieve better quantification.

The variability in sea surface salinity (SSS) on different time scales plays an important role in associated oceanic or climate processes. In this study, we compare the SSS on sub-annual, annual, and interannual time scales among ten datasets, including in situ-based and satellite-based SSS products over 2011–2018. Furthermore, the dominant mode on different time scales is compared using the empirical orthogonal function (EOF). Our results show that the largest spread of ten products occurs on the sub-annual time scale. High correlation coefficients (0.6~0.95) are found in the global mean annual and interannual SSSs between individual products and the ensemble mean. Furthermore, this study shows good agreement among the ten datasets in representing the dominant mode of SSS on the annual and interannual time scales. This analysis provides information on the consistency and discrepancy of datasets to guide future use, such as improvements to ocean data assimilation and the quality of satellite-based data.

The green tides caused by Ulva prolifera have become a recurrent phenomenon in Yellow Sea, China. Investigating the factors governing the biomass of green tides is important for developing management strategies. In this study, an U. prolifera growth model was combined with a hydrodynamic model. This biophysical model can reasonably reproduce the spatiotemporal variation of the green tides in 2012. Among three zones (northern, central, and southern-zones) of Porphyra mariculture region, the northern and central zones were more important in controlling the bloom intensity, and the central zone was the key area in controlling the amount of biomass landed on beaches. Due to the limitation of temperature and nutrients, an earlier or postponed facility recycling might effectively reduce the magnitude of green tides in 2012. This study provides useful information for mitigation of green tides and management of Porphyra mariculture.

The tide-induced mixing plays an important role in the regulation of ocean circulation. Numerical simulation of continental shelf circulation is found to exhibit an unreasonable vertical thermohaline structure without consideration of tide effects. In this study, we establish a harmonic analyzed parameterization of tide-induced (HAT) mixing, by which means to derive time-depended function of mixing coefficient based on harmonic analysis of the vertical mixing coefficient. By employing HAT mixing parameterization scheme, a series of numerical experiments are conducted for the Yellow Sea. Numerical results show that an ocean circulation model with the HAT mixing involved is capable of reproducing the reasonable thermohaline structure of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass, similar to structures produced by explicit tidal forcing on the open boundary. The advantage of the HAT method is its faster computation time, compared with models that directly resolve explicit tidal motion. The HAT parameterization for the tide-induced mixing has potential to improve both the accuracy and efficiency of ocean circulation and climate models.

Sunda Strait is the outflow strait of the South China Sea branch of the Pacific to Indian Ocean Throughflow. The annual mean volume transport through the Sunda Strait is around 0.25 Sv from the Java Sea to the eastern Indian Ocean, only 2.5% of the IndonesianThroughflow, and thus has been ignored by previous investigations. However, the Nutrient concentrations in the Sunda Strait and its vicinity are found highly related to the water transport through the Sunda Strait. Particularly, our observation shows significant intraseasonal variability (ISV) of currents at period around 25–45 days in the Sunda Strait. Both remote and local wind forcing contribute to the ISVs in the Sunda Strait. The intraseasonal oscillation of sea surface wind in the central Indian Ocean drives upwelling/downwelling equatorial Kelvin waves to propagate along the equator and subsequently along the Sumatra-Java coasts, resulting in negative/positive sea level anomalies in the south of the Sunda Strait. The local intraseasonal sea surface wind anomalies also tend to induce negative/positive sea level anomalies in the south of the Sunda Strait by offshore/onshore Ekman transport while there are upwelling/downwelling events. The ensuring sea level gradient associated with the sea level anomalies in the south of the Sunda Strait induces intraseasonal outflow (from Indian Ocean to Java Sea) and inflow (from Java Sea to Indian Ocean) through the strait. Analyses also show that the chlorophyll-a concentrations in the south of the Sunda Strait are lower/higher during the inflow/outflow period of the ISV events in March through May. The mechanism attributes to both the nutrient-rich water transported by the intraseasonal flow in the Sunda Strait and by the upwelling and Ekman transport driven by the local sea surface wind anomalies.

Using velocity profiles observed by bottom-mounted ADCPs, we identified strong intraseasonal variability in the Sunda Strait throughflow. This intraseasonal variability, with typical periods of 20–40 days and the strongest energy occurring in the boreal spring, can reverse the Sunda Strait throughflow. Further analysis showed this intraseasonal variability to be closely related to local zonal wind and the sea level gradient along the strait. These observations confirm for the first time the existence of Kelvin-wave-like signals in the Sunda Strait, propagating from the equatorial Indian Ocean. This study also provides new insights into the effects of Kelvin waves on the Sunda Strait throughflow.

This study analyzes temperature and salinity products from the U.S. Navy Generalized Digital Environment Model. To avoid the fictitious assumption of no-motion reference level, a P-vector inverse method is employed to derive geostrophic velocity. Line integral of geostrophic velocity shows evidence for the existence of a sandwiched circulation in the South China Sea (SCS), i.e., cyclonic circulation in the subsurface and deep layers and anticyclonic in the intermediate layer. To reveal the factors responsible for the sandwiched circulation, we derive the potential vorticity equation based on a four-and-a-half-layer quasi-geostrophic model and apply theoretical potential vorticity constraint to density layers. The result shows that the sandwiched circulation is largely induced by planetary potential vorticity flux through lateral boundaries, mainly the Luzon Strait. This dynamical mechanism lies in the fact that the net potential vorticity inflow in the subsurface and deep layers leads to a positive layer-average vorticity in the SCS basin, yielding vortex stretching and a cyclonic basin-wide circulation. On the contrary, the net potential vorticity outflow in the intermediate layer induces a negative layer-average vorticity, generating an anticyclonic basin-wide circulation in the SCS. Furthermore, by illustrating different consequence from depth/density layers, we clarify that density layers are essential for applying theoretical potential vorticity constraint to the isolated deep SCS basin.

On the basis of the latest version of a U.S. Navy generalized digital environment model (GDEM-V3.0) and World Ocean Atlas (WOA13), the hydraulic theory is revisited and applied to the Luzon Strait, providing a fresh look at the deepwater overflow there. The result reveals that: (1) the persistent density difference between two sides of the Luzon Strait sustains an all year round deepwater overflow from the western Pacific to the South China Sea (SCS); (2) the seasonal variability of the deepwater overflow is influenced not only by changes in the density difference between two sides of the Luzon Strait, but also by changes in its upstream layer thickness; (3) the deepwater overflow in the Luzon Strait shows a weak semiannual variability; (4) the seasonal mean circulation pattern in the SCS deep basin does not synchronously respond to the seasonality of the deepwater overflow in the Luzon Strait. Moreover, the deepwater overflow reaches its seasonal maximum in December (based on GDEM-V3.0) or in fall (October–December, based on the WOA13), accompanied by the lowest temperature of the year on the Pacific side of the Luzon Strait. The seasonal variability of the deepwater overflow is consistent with the existing longest (3.5 a) continuous observation along the major deepwater passage of the Luzon Strait.

The coherent and incoherent features of internal tides (ITs) in the north South China Sea (SCS) are investigated based on observations and numerical simulations. The 11-month (from May 2011 to March 2012) moored current observations indicate that coherent semidiurnal ITs are obviously amplified, which can be attributed to the interference of ITs. Interference enhances coherent motions of semidiurnal ITs, but weakens those of diurnal ITs. Moreover, observations also show that semidiurnal ITs are more incoherent than diurnal ITs. Variations of vertical stratification and surface tide forcing can hardly affect the incoherence of ITs. The increase of incoherent signal is largely due to the influence of mesoscale eddies. Mesoscale eddies affect both amplitude and phase of ITs, making them more incoherent. Mesoscale eddies not only increase the intensity of background currents, but also induce horizontal variations of density. Variations of horizontal density and the influence of background currents lead to the increase of incoherent signals. And semidiural ITs are more sensitive to the influence of mesoscale eddies, making them more incoherent than diurnal counterparts. Incoherent ITs, which induce strong current shear, play essential roles in cascading tidal energy to small-scale motions, and contribute to turbulent mixing eventually. The findings help to better understand ITs and may offer reference for the improvement of parameterization of ocean turbulent mixing in the northern SCS.

Algal blooms caused by Prorocentrum donghaiense occurred frequently in the East China Sea (ECS) during spring in recent years. In this study, a coupled biophysical model was used to hindcast a massive P. donghaiense bloom that occurred in 2005 and to determine the factors influencing bloom initiation and development. The model comprised the Regional Ocean Modeling System tailored for the ECS that utilized a multi-nested configuration and a population dynamics model for P. donghaiense. Comparisons between simulations and observations revealed that the biological model is capable of reproducing the characteristics of P. donghaiense growth under different irradiances and phosphorus limitation scenarios. The variation of intracellular phosphorus and the effects of P. donghaiense on ambient nutrients conditions were also reproduced. The biophysical model hindcasted the hydrodynamics and spatiotemporal distributions of the P. donghaiense bloom reasonably well. Bloom development was consistent with observations reported in earlier studies. The results demonstrate the capability of the model in capturing subsurface incubation during bloom initiation. Then model’s hindcast solutions were further used to diagnose the factors controlling the vertical distribution. Phosphate appeared to be one of the factors controlling the subsurface incubation, whereas surface wind fields played an important role in determining P. donghaiense distribution. The results highlight the importance of nutrient-limitation as a mechanism in the formation of P. donghaiense subsurface layers and the dispersing of P. donghaiense blooms. This coupled biophysical model should be improved and used to investigate P. donghaiense blooms occurring in different scenarios.

In the East China Sea (ECS), the succession of causative species responsible for blooms is a recurrent phenomenon during the spring, which changes from diatoms to dinoflagellates. Observations from space and in situ cruises captured this pattern of succession during spring of 2005. In this study, we coupled two biological models, which were developed previously for Skeletonema costatum and Prorocentrum donghaiense, into a circulation model tailored for the ECS. The coupled biophysical model was used to hindcast the blooms and to test the hypothesis proposed in earlier studies that phosphate (PO4 3–) is the first-order decider of the succession. The coupled model successfully reproduced the hydrodynamics (as described in a companion paper by Sun et al.①, the spatiotemporal distribution of the chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration, and the species succession reasonably well. By analyzing the effects of different factors on the surface Chl a distribution, we confirmed that the offshore boundaries of the blooms were confined by PO4 3–. In addition, we suggest that surface wind fields may modulate the horizontal distribution of blooms. Thus, during the dispersal of blooms, surface winds coupled with PO4 3– may control the succession of blooms in the ECS. The proposed coupled model provides a benchmark to facilitate future improvements by including more size classes for organisms, multiple nutrient schemes, and additional processes.

The South China Sea (SCS) and the Java Sea (JS) are connected through the Karimata Strait, Gaspar Strait, and the southern Natuna Sea, where the tides are often used as open boundary condition for tidal simulation in the SCS or Indonesian seas. Tides, tidal currents, and tidal energy fluxes of the principle constituents K1, O1, Q1, M2, S2, and N2 at five stations in this area have been analyzed using in situ observational data. The results show that the diurnal tides are the dominant constituents in the entire study area. The constituent K1 has the largest amplitude, exceeding 50 cm, whereas the amplitudes of M2 are smaller than 5 cm at all stations. The amplitudes of S2 may exceed M2 in the Karimata and Gaspar straits. Tidal currents are mostly of rectilinear type in this area. The semi-major axes lengths of the diurnal tidal current ellipses are about 10 cm s−1, and those of the semidiurnal tidal currents are smaller than 5 cm s−1. The diurnal tidal energy flows from the SCS to the JS. The semidiurnal tidal energy flows from the SCS to the JS through the Karimata Strait and the eastern part of the southern Natuna Sea but flows in the opposite direction in the Gaspar Strait and the western part of the southern Natuna Sea. Harmonic analysis of sea level and current observation also suggest that the study area is located in the antinodal band of the diurnal tidal waves, and in the nodal band of the semidiurnal tidal waves. Comparisons show that the existing models are basically consistent with the observational results, but further improvements are necessary.

The predictability of marine ecosystem dynamics models is one of the most vital factors to limit their practical applications, of which the stability is the fundamental condition. In order to discuss the stability and Hopf bifurcation of marine ecosystem dynamics models, an approach based on a theorem termed dimension reduction was proposed and further applied in the mass-conservative nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton-detritus (NPZD) model in this paper. Results showed that the nonsingular equilibrium point of NPZD model was analytically stable in use of the dimension reduction theorem and the Hopf bifurcation might occur when model parameters changed along the threshold values. The analytical results of the NPZD model were further verified by numerical simulation in this study. It can be concluded that this approach based on the dimension reduction theorem is well applicable to the theoretical analysis of a kind of stability problems and Hopf bifurcation of massconservative systems.

It is well known that discrete advection schemes can induce spurious numerical mixing in numerical models. In the present study, an offline method is applied to several idealized lock-exchange simulations and a realistic model simulation of BYECS (Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea) to estimate the magnitude of numerical mixing. Numerical mixing is defined as the tracer variance dissipation rate induced by the discretization of advection schemes, and the offline method is achieved through diagnosing the residual of the tracer variance balance equation in terms of model output data. The offline method is demonstrated to be appropriate to estimate the volume (or depth) and temporally averaged numerical mixing when the model output data capture typical flow timescales. In both of the lock-exchange and BYECS simulations, the spatial distributions of numerical and explicit physical mixing of salinity correspond to the distributions of horizontal and vertical salinity gradients, respectively. In the lock-exchange simulations, explicit physical mixing depresses the magnitude of numerical mixing through reducing the horizontal salinity gradients at the heading fronts. In the BYECS simulations, numerical mixing of salinity inside the Changjiang River plume region is stronger during spring tides than neap tides.

In this study, we develop a variable-grid global ocean general circulation model (OGCM) with a fine grid (1/6)° covering the area from 20°S–50°N and from 99°–150°E, and use the model to investigate the isopycnal surface circulation in the South China Sea (SCS). The simulated results show four layer structures in vertical: the surface and subsurface circulation of the SCS are characterized by the monsoon driven circulation, with basin-scaled cyclonic gyre in winter and anti-cyclonic gyre in summer. The intermediate layer circulation is opposite to the upper layer, showing anti-cyclonic gyre in winter but cyclonic gyre in summer. The circulation in the deep layer is much weaker in spring and summer, with the maximum velocity speed below 0.6 cm/s. In fall and winter, the SCS deep layer circulation shows strong east boundary current along the west coast of Philippine with the velocity speed at 1.5 m/s, which flows southward in fall and northward in winter. The results have also revealed a fourlayer vertical structure of water exchange through the Luzon Strait. The dynamics of the intermediate and deep circulation are attributed to the monsoon driving and the Luzon Strait transport forcing.

An oil spill forecast system for offshore China was developed based on Visual C++. The oil spill forecast system includes an ocean environmental forecast model and an oil spill model. The ocean environmental forecast model was designed to include timesaving methods, and comprised a parametrical wind wave forecast model and a sea surface current forecast model. The oil spill model was based on the “particle method” and fulfills the prediction of oil particle behavior by considering the drifting, evaporation and emulsification processes. A specific database was embedded into the oil spill forecast system, which contained fundamental information, such as the properties of oil, reserve of emergency equipment and distribution of marine petroleum platform. The oil spill forecast system was successfully applied as part of an oil spill emergency exercise, and provides an operational service in the Research and Development Center for Offshore Oil Safety and Environmental Technology.