Model-based estimate of the heat budget in the East China Sea.

Liu, Na, Eden, Carsten, Dietze, Heiner , Wu, Dexing and Lin, Xiaopei (2010) Model-based estimate of the heat budget in the East China Sea. Open Access Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 115 (C8). C08026. DOI 10.1029/2009JC005869.

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Abstract

Using a global ocean model with regionally focused high resolution (1/10°) in the East China Sea (ECS), we studied the oceanic heat budget in the ECS. The modeled sea surface height variability and eddy kinetic energy are consistent with those derived from satellite altimetry. Significant levels of eddy kinetic energy are found east of the Ryukyu Islands and east of Taiwan, where the short-term variability is spawned by active mesoscale eddies coalescing with the circulation. Furthermore, the simulated vertical cross-stream structure of the Kuroshio (along the Pollution Nagasaki line) and the volume transport through each channel in the ECS are in good agreement with the observational estimates. The time-averaged temperature fluxes across the Taiwan Strait (TWS), Tsushima Strait (TSS), and the 200 m isobath between Taiwan and Japan are 0.20 PW, 0.21 PW, and 0.05 PW, respectively. The residual heat flux of 0.04 PW into the ECS is balanced by the surface heat loss. The eddy temperature flux across the 200 m isobath is 0.005 PW, which accounts for 11.2% of the total temperature flux. The Kuroshio onshore temperature flux has two major sources: the Kuroshio intrusion northeast of Taiwan and southwest of Kyushu. The Ekman temperature flux induced by the wind stress in the ECS shows the same seasonal cycle and amplitude as the onshore temperature flux, with a maximum in autumn and a minimum in summer. We conclude that the Ekman temperature flux dominates the seasonal cycle of Kuroshio onshore flux.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Biogeochemistry; East China Sea; oceanic heat budget; Kuroshio
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-BM Biogeochemical Modeling
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-TM Theory and Modeling
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union)
Date Deposited: 13 Dec 2010 11:04
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2018 12:45
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/10461

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