Seasonal and Spatial Features of Barotropic and Baroclinic Tides in the Northwestern South China Sea

Abstract

AbstractSeven seasonal moorings distributed over the shelf and slope east of Hainan Island and south of western Guangdong Province are used to investigate the seasonal characteristics of barotropic and baroclinic tides in the northwestern South China Sea (NWSCS). The barotropic K1 current intensified during summer over the shelf sites. The diurnal baroclinic tides are much more prominent than the semidiurnal tides at each mooring site. Over the continental shelf, accompanied by large phase speeds and wavelengths, baroclinic tides are significantly enhanced in summer whereas they decrease to minimum values in winter when the water column is vertically well mixed, suggesting the key role of seasonal stratification in modulating the seasonal variation of baroclinic tide. To aid in elucidating these observations, a circulation‐tide coupled model covering the whole South China Sea (SCS) is set up for baroclinic tidal energetics in the NWSCS. Comparisons with moorings, tidal gauges, altimeters, and so on show that the model reasonably predicts the barotropic and baroclinic tides and seasonal upper circulations in the SCS and NWSCS. The model results present significant summer intensification of barotropic K1 energy in the NWSCS, which is in accordance with the observed summer‐enhanced barotropic K1 current. Strong baroclinic tides are reproduced over the summer shelf, which is related to intense stratification. The slope south of Hainan Island is a major local generation source for diurnal baroclinic tides that radiate southeastward approximately 500 km away. Both the Xisha Islands and Shenhu‐Yitong shoals act as baroclinic tidal energy sink subregions.