Near-surface circulation in the South China Sea during the winter monsoon

Abstract

[1] Original velocity measurements at 15 m depth from Surface Velocity Program drifters are used to calculate the circulation in the South China Sea during the Winter Monsoon. The Ekman currents are computed with a new method and subtracted from drifter's velocity to calculate the residual circulation, which is approximately in geostrophic balance. The Ekman flow is nearly zonal and comparable to the zonal geostrophic flow in the northern basin. The geostrophic flow is cyclonic and extends into the southern Luzon Strait. Strong jets occur south of Hainan, off Vietnam and, to the south, off peninsular Malaysia. The Vietnam jet is concentrated inshore of the 200 m isobath, with mean speeds in excess of 1 m s-1. The onshore Ekman transport and pumping velocity computed from the wind stress curl offer a qualitative explanation of the existence and behavior of such jets. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.