Review of the circulation in the Beibu Gulf, South China Sea

Abstract

Although Beibu Gulf holds a significant geographical location and is rich in fishery resources, it has attracted only limited attention from researchers in recent decades. This study summarizes the conclusions based on the observations and model results regarding the circulation and cold water mass in the Beibu Gulf to provide a reference for further research. Affected by wind and density gradient, the spring circulation may be gulf-scale cyclonic and nested with an enclosed cyclonic gyre in the northern gulf and unclosed cyclonic gyre in the southern gulf. Meanwhile, the mechanisms of summer circulation remain controversial. Along with the results of a new numerical model, historical observations suggest that summer circulation is cyclonic and anticyclonic in the northern and southern gulfs, respectively. The northern and southern gulfs are mainly influenced by wind stress curl and South China Sea current, respectively. Similarly, although different views regarding the structure of winter circulation have been presented, a large amount of evidence supports the existence of two cyclonic gyres in the northern and southern gulfs. In addition, a southwestward current off the northwestern coast of Hainan Island is present. The circulation structure in the fall is similar to that in winter. However, the cyclonic gyre in the southern Gulf has a greater tendency to intrude northwards into the Beibu Gulf in fall than in winter, and the currents off the coast of Vietnam and the northwestern coast of Hainan Island are weaker in fall than those in winter. Most studies indicate that winter boreal circulation is driven by the monsoon wind. The most recent observations and model results suggest that the current in the Qiongzhou Strait (QS) is eastward on certain days in the boreal summer and is affected by the difference between the sea levels of the two ends of the QS and tidal rectification. Correspondingly, the volume transport is approximately −0.1Sv (minus sign represents westward) in spring and from −0.1 to −0.4Sv in boreal winter. By contrast, the volume transport in summer remains controversial. The cold water mass in the Beibu Gulf is generated locally in spring, matures in summer, and disappears in fall. Heat flux and wind dominate the formation of the cold water mass, and tidal mixing and topographic effects influence the variations in the cold water mass.