Interconnection between the Southern South China Sea and the Java Sea through the Karimata Strait

Poh Heng Kok,Nur Hidayah Roseli,Sarath Wijeratne,Fariz Syafiq Mohamad Ali,Mohd Fadzil Akhir,Charitha Pattiaratchi

doi:10.3390/jmse9101040

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the interconnection between the southern South China Sea (SSCS) and Java Sea (JS) by simulating seasonal circulations and associated transports using the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS). The seasonal circulation was predominantly driven by monsoonal wind stress and water exchanges between the SSCS and the JS. During the boreal winter, cooler and saltier waters from the SSCS were advected into the JS, while during the boreal summer, cooler waters from the JS were advected into the SSCS, with the advection of fresher water onto the Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast in the SSCS being the new finding provided by this study. The various water transports were driven southward into the JS during the boreal winter and northward into the SSCS during the boreal summer. The various water transports estimated by ROMS peaked in May during the inflow months from the JS into the SSCS, which was attributed to the simulated anticyclonic eddy in the SSCS, which differed from previous studies that peaked between June and August. The annual mean volume, freshwater, heat, and salt transports were 0.96 Sv, 0.04 Sv, 0.10 PW, and 0.03 × 109 kg s−1, respectively, directed from the SSCS into the JS.

Highlights

Accepted: 4 September 2021The southern South China Sea (SSCS) and the Java Sea (JS) are water bodies of the Southeast Asia Maritime Continent, located at the confluence of the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans (Figure 1)
The SCS is influenced by the southwest monsoon, where the southwesterly wind prevails over the SCS, while in the boreal winter, the SCS is influenced by the northeast monsoon, where the northeasterly wind prevails over the SCS [3,4]
The wind stress intensity gradually declined and and changed direction as it passed over the Karimata Strait and the JS, becoming northchanged direction as it passed over the Karimata Strait and the JS, becoming northwesterly

Summary

Introduction

The southern South China Sea (SSCS) and the Java Sea (JS) are water bodies of the Southeast Asia Maritime Continent, located at the confluence of the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans (Figure 1). The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the largest marginal seas in the western Pacific, positioned between 0–25◦ N and 99–122◦ E with an average depth of approximately 2000 m. The SCS is influenced by the southwest monsoon, where the southwesterly wind prevails over the SCS, while in the boreal winter, the SCS is influenced by the northeast monsoon, where the northeasterly wind prevails over the SCS [3,4]. The southeasterly wind prevails over the JS throughout the boreal summer, while during the northwest monsoon, the winds are reversed to the northwesterly and prevail throughout the boreal winter [5,6]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion