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Mechanism Analysis of the Strong Coastal Current Zone and Abrupt Strong–Current Phenomena in Spring and Summer in the Yangjiang Sea Area of Western Guangdong in the Northwest of the South China Sea

Authors :
Yizhan Chen
Yonggang Cao
Yanqing Feng
Yuan Ma
Shihao Luo
Weiping Wang
Yongzhong Ouyang
Yuqiang Liu
Changjian Liu
Shizhi Liao
Zhijian Xiao
Source :
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol 11, Iss 5, p 999 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

Residual current analysis of multiple stations’ periodic observational data for sea currents, and multiple voyages, multiple seasons from 2018 to 2022, revealed the existence of a strong southwest current zone, 20–30 m underwater and within the coastal current area of Yangjiang, western Guangdong, in the northwest region of the South China Sea. The velocity of the residual currents in the strong–current zone was 38.2–100.3 cm/s. Observational data for wind, sea currents, salinity and tide from multiple coastal stations in the spring (from March 2019 to May 2019) and summer (from June 2019 to August 2019) of 2019 demonstrated the existence of abrupt strong currents in the coastal current sea area of Yangjiang, western Guangdong. Analyses of continuous sequence hydro meteorological data for the Yangjiang area indicated that wind stress was the main factor determining the direction of sea currents; increases in the near-shore water level produce a westward geostrophic current and a wind current in the shallow sea area; their joint effect was the key factor determining the velocity of the coastal current in this sea area. In spring and summer, when Pearl River runoff into the sea reaches a peak, and under the action of the northeast wind, the water level on the west coast of Guangdong rose. This created a barotropic pressure–gradient force from the shore to the outer sea, generating a southwestward geostrophic current in the same direction as the wind-driven current. The joint action of the wind-driven and geostrophic currents then generated a sudden southwestward coastal current.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20771312
Volume :
11
Issue :
5
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.9078b9de3a404f318c42ce4a17827d4f
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11050999