Tidal current classification insights for search, rescue and recovery operations in the Yellow and East China Seas and Korea Strait

Abstract

We investigated spatial relationships between barotropic tidal currents and tides (i.e., tidal elevations) in the tidally predominant Yellow and East China Seas and Korea Strait (YESKS) continental shelf region to understand which tidal current and tide (TCE) characteristics underpin essential insights for maritime search, rescue and recovery operations. As baseline information for such operations, tidal current types were classified using FES2014 model TCE harmonic constant data and phase lag relationships for the predominant M2 constituent, to determine maximum flood currents. In terms of surface current spatial variation, the M2 currents were classified into three types: standing, progressive, and mixed tidal waves. In addition to these horizontal patterns, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) records from three stations on the west coast of Korea during summertime 2007 and wintertime 2015 were harmonically analyzed to reveal the vertical structure of M2 constituent tidal currents, including ellipse parameter gradients. M2 tidal current types were found to vary through the water column, with the maximum tidal current delayed by up to 40° (∼1.4 h) in near surface waters compared to bottom waters. M2 tidal current types also varied vertically, with changes in its ellipse phase: for example, from a near-surface mixed tidal wave to a standing tidal wave near the seabed. Finally, to explore other TCE conditions relevant to rescue and recovery operations, distributions of the age of the tide and of the tidal current ellipse were compared, with results exhibiting similar distributions for both parameters, including >1.5 days in the Yellow Sea and <1.5 days in Korea Strait. In conclusion, as demonstrated by the spatially and vertically complex tidal current type patterns found in the YESKS, detailed three dimensional understandings of TCE processes are needed to successfully support maritime search, rescue and recovery operations in this and other regions.