Abstract
AbstractThis study aims to examine the modulation effects of mesoscale eddies on sea surface wave fields in the South China Sea using data measured by a wave spectrometer named Surface Wave Investigation and Monitoring onboard the China‐France Ocean Satellite from July 2019 to August 2021. The statistical results show that the significant wave heights (SWHs) decrease (increase) from inside to outside of warm (cold) eddies, while the wavelengths have minimum values at the eddy edge in all cases. In cases of strong warm eddies, the maximum variations in SWH, wavelength, and wave direction caused by mesoscale eddy modulation reach up to 18%, 24%, and 28.4°, respectively. The eddy modulation on wave parameters is stronger at low sea states. The correlation analysis reveals that the wave parameter variations across eddies result from the eddy current shear and the direction difference between the eddy current and the waves. The dynamic analysis indicates that the deformation term of the eddy current is a dominant term affecting the SWH at the eddy edge, and the eddy current divergence and its product with wave direction determine the wavelength variation. The eddy vorticity deflects the wave direction by approximately 2°–3°, and the wave‐eddy angle and eddy‐modulated wind variation also contribute to the wave direction variation. The background current‐wave interaction is negligible in the eddy cases studied.
Published Version
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