Response of the Changjiang diluted water around Jeju Island to external forcings: A modeling study of 2002 and 2006

Abstract

The Changjiang diluted water (CDW) around Jeju Island between 2002 and 2006 in response to external forcings, such as wind, tidal forcing and low river discharge, is studied using a three-dimensional model. The model results suggest that wind largely determines spatial differences of CDW and the freshwater export toward Jeju Island between two years. In 2006, when northwestward wind blows during mid June to mid August, the wind-induced Ekman flow causes a broad northeastward extension of CDW and carries a significant amount of freshwater northeastward Jeju Island in August. On the other hand, in 2002 northward wind during mid July to early August drives the CDW to the southwest of Jeju Island, and thereafter the CDW is mainly advected northeastward along the Cheju Current during mid August when the wind becomes weak. Therefore, the amount of freshwater around Jeju Island increases in September, not in August. The response to tidal forcing shows that tide-induced vertical mixing tends to enhance a meander of CDW around Changjiang Bank and shift the CDW flowing into the Yellow Sea southeastward toward Jeju Island. As a result, the amount of freshwater toward Jeju Island becomes larger than that in no-tides case. The summer low river discharge as a flood control scenario has little influence on the spatial behavior of CDW around Jeju Island although the discharge contributes to the amount of freshwater around Jeju Island.