The topography effect on the sudden deceleration of the mesoscale eddy propagation speed around the Dongsha Islands in northern South China Sea

Authors

  • Yang Yang South China Sea Marine Engineering and Environment Institute of State Oceanic Administration, Guangzhou 510300, China
  • Tao Xing MLR Key Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, Guangzhou 510300, China
  • Yinxia Wang South China Sea Marine Engineering and Environment Institute of State Oceanic Administration, Guangzhou 510300, China
  • Junpeng Sui National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China
  • Junhui Lei Lyuliang Meteorological Administration, Shanxi 033000, China
  • Weidong Zhou State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (LTO), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
  • Qiang Wang State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (LTO), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
  • Lijun Qu Network Management Center, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong 266109, China
  • Dandan Sui State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (LTO), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China

Keywords:

slowdown of the propagation speed, topography gradient

Abstract

Based on satellite altimeter data, it was found that the mesoscale eddy propagates along the continental slope in northern South China Sea. When the mesoscale eddy passed the Dongsha Islands, the propagation speed clearly slowed down. Additionally, the radius increased and strength decreased when the mesoscale eddy touched the Dongsha Islands. Using the analytic expression for the speed of the center of an isolated eddy, it was found that the sudden slowdown of the zonal propagation speed was accompanied by the sudden decrease of the meridional topography gradient, which was the main reason for the slowdown of the propagation speed.

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Published

2016-07-02

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 3 (2016): Marine environments and dynamic processes in the northern South China Sea

Section

Research article

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