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A dataset of drifting buoys from the Marine Environmental Data Service of Canada was analyzed to map surface circulation of the Pacific. More information of the surface circulation than that acquired before was reported in this paper, showing clear and strong western boundary currents, equatorial currents, and subtropical gyres in the North and South Pacific regions in velocity field, with a more systematic structure in the North Pacific.

The existing estimates of the volume transport from the Pacific Ocean to the South China Sea are summarized, showing an annual mean westward transport, with the Taiwan Strait outflow subtracted, of 3.5±2.0 Sv (1 Sv=106 m3 s−1). Results of a global ocean circulation model show an annual mean transport of 3.9 Sv from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean through the South China Sea. The boreal winter transport is larger and exhibits a South China Sea branch of the Pacific-to-Indian Ocean throughflow, which originates from the western Philippine Sea toward the Indonesian Seas through the South China Sea, as well as through the Karimata and Mindoro Straits. The southwestward current near the continental slope of the northern South China Sea is shown to be a combination of this branch and the interior circulation gyre. This winter branch can be confirmed by trajectories of satellite-tracked drifters, which clearly show a flow from the Luzon Strait to the Karimata Strait in winter. In summer, the flow in the Karimata Strait is reversed. Numerical model results indicate that the Pacific water can enter the South China Sea and exit toward the Sulu Sea, but no observational evidence is available. The roles of the throughflow branch in the circulation, water properties and air-sea exchange of the South China Sea, and in enhancing and regulating the volume transport and reducing the heat transport of the Indonesian Throughflow, are discussed.

A fine-grid model (1/6°) covering the South China Sea (SCS), East China Sea and Japan/East Sea, which is embedded into a coarse-grid (3°) global model, was established to study the SCS circulation. In the present paper, we report the model-produced monthly and annual mean transport stream functions and sea surface heights(SSH) and their anomalies of the SCS. Comparison to the TOPEX/Poseidon data shows that the model-produced monthly sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) are in good agreement with altimeter measurements. Based on the results, the circulation of the SCS, especially the upper layer circulation, is discussed. In the surface layer, the western Philippine Sea water intrudes into the SCS through the Luzon Strait in autumn, winter and spring, but not in summer. However, as far as the whole water column is concerned, the water intrudes into the SCS through the Luzon Strait all the year round. This indicates that in summer the water still intrudes into the SCS in the subsurface and intermediate layers. The area near the northern continental slope of the SCS is dominated by a cyclonic circulation all the year round. The SCS Southern Anticyclonic Gyre, SE Vietnam Off-Shore Current in summertime and SCS Southern Cyclonic Gyre in wintertime are reproduced reasonably. The difference between the monthly averaged SSH and SSHA is significant, indicating the importance of the mean SSH in the SCS circulation.

This numerical study of the Bohai Sea wintertime circulation by means of a two dimensional barotropic model with resolution of 1/24° in longitude and latitude showed that the Bohai Sea wintertime circulation is dominated by local monsoon winds. The major current components include the Bohai Warm Current, the North Shandong Coastal Current, and the Liaodong Gyre. The Bohai Warm Current originates from the Yellow Sea Warm Current at the northern part of Bohai Strait, meanders westwards and finally enters the northern part of Bohai Bay. The North Shandong Coastal Current flows along the southwest shore of Bohai Bay and Laizhou Bay and exits from the Bohai Sea through the south Bohai Strait. The anticyclonic Liaodong Gyre is located in the north of Liaodong Bay. A pair of eddies and the small scale Jinzhou Gyre are found between the Bohai Warm Current and the Liaodong Gyre. The computed volume transport for both the Bohai Warm Current and North Shandong Coastal Current is about 0.03 Sv (1 Sv=1×106 m3/s). The numerical experiments showed that the combined effect of local monsoon winds and bottom topography dominate the formation of the circulation pattern. The Coriolis force and the wind stress curl are of certain importance. The beta effect, the momentum advection and the open boundary condition have little influence on the circulation pattern.

The layered model in Part I was used to simulate the internal tide in a stratified, two layer, and rectangular sea area with step-like topography. The internal tide current velocities of the upper and lower layers and the interfacial elevations were computed and the effect of the upper layer water depth and density difference were studied. Numerical experiments verified that the model can correctly simulate internal tides. The model was also applied to the northwestern part of the South China Sea to simulate the internal tides there with real topography. The distributions of internal tide amplitude in interfaces were delineated.