Current observations in the southern Yellow Sea in summer

Abstract

Current data from three moored Acoustic Doppler Profilers (ADPs) deployed in the southern Yellow Sea at sites A (124.17°E, 34.82°N), B (122.82°E, 35.65°N) in summer 2001 and site C (120.85°E, 34.99°N) in summer 2003 were analyzed in this paper. Features of the tidal and residual currents were studied with rotary spectral and cross-spectral methods. Main achievements were as follows: 1) Tides dominated the currents. At sites A and B, the semidiurnal tidal current was basically homogeneous in the whole depth, taking a clockwise rotation at site A, and near-rectilinear counterclockwise rotation at site B; while the diurnal tidal current was strong and clockwise near the surface, but decreased and turned counterclockwise with depth; at site C, semidiurnal tidal current dominated and diurnal current took the second, both of which were counterclockwise and vertically homogeneous. Inertial motion contributed to the clockwise component of diurnal fluctuations; 2) The 3–5d fluctuation of residual current was found at site C and attributed to the response of current to meridional wind, with a lag time of approximately 1.8d; 3) Mean residual flows at sites A and B in 2001 probably suggested an anticyclonic inner circulation in the middle of the southern Yellow Sea in summer.