Relative contributions of local wind and topography to the coastal upwelling intensity in the northern South China Sea

• Published in: Journal of geophysical research. Oceans 2014-04, Vol.119 (4), p.2550-2567
• Main Authors: Wang, Dongxiao, Shu, Yeqiang, Xue, Huijie, Hu, Jianyu, Chen, Ju, Zhuang, Wei, Zu, TingTing, Xu, Jindian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bottom currents; China; Coastal currents; Friction; Geophysics; local wind-driven upwelling; Marine; northern South China Sea; Ocean currents; Offshore; Offshore engineering; topographically induced upwelling; Topography; Transport; Upwelling; Warm water; Wind
• ISSN: 2169-9275; 2169-9291
• DOI: 10.1002/2013JC009172

Topographically induced upwelling caused by the interaction between large‐scale currents and topography was observed during four cruises in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) when the upwelling favorable wind retreated. Using a high‐resolution version of the Princeton Ocean Model, we investigate relative contributions of local wind and topography to the upwelling intensity in the NSCS. The results show that the topographically induced upwelling is sensitive to alongshore large‐scale currents, which have an important contribution to the upwelling intensity. The topographically induced upwelling is comparable with the wind‐driven upwelling at surface and has a stronger contribution to the upwelling intensity than the local wind does at bottom in the near‐shore shelf region. The widened shelf to the southwest of Shanwei and west of the Taiwan Banks intensifies the bottom friction, especially off Shantou, which is a key factor for topographically induced upwelling in terms of bottom Ekman transport and Ekman pumping. The local upwelling favorable wind enhances the bottom friction as well as net onshore transport along the 50 m isobath, whereas it has less influence along the 30 m isobath. This implies the local wind is more important in upwelling intensity in the offshore region than in the nearshore region. The contribution of local upwelling favorable wind on upwelling intensity is comparable with that of topography along the 50 m isobath. The effects of local upwelling favorable wind on upwelling intensity are twofold: on one hand, the wind transports surface warm water offshore, and as a compensation of mass the bottom current transports cold water onshore; on the other hand, the wind enhances the coastal current, and the bottom friction in turn increases the topographically induced upwelling intensity. Key Points Report the upwelling during summer monsoon retreats Relative contributions of wind and topography to upwelling intensity How the bottom friction affects the upwelling intensity