Abstract
Abstract. The South China Sea (SCS) and the Java Sea (JS) are connected through the Karimata Strait, Gaspar Strait, and the southern Natuna Sea, where the tides are often used as open boundary condition for tidal simulation in the SCS or Indonesian seas. Tides, tidal currents, and tidal energy fluxes of the principle constituents K1, O1, Q1, M2, S2, and N2 at five stations in this area have been analyzed using in situ observational data. The results show that the diurnal tides are the dominant constituents in the entire study area. The constituent K1 has the largest amplitude, exceeding 50 cm, whereas the amplitudes of M2 are smaller than 5 cm at all stations. The amplitudes of S2 may exceed M2 in the Karimata and Gaspar straits. Tidal currents are mostly of rectilinear type in this area. The semi-major axes lengths of the diurnal tidal current ellipses are about 10 cm s−1, and those of the semidiurnal tidal currents are smaller than 5 cm s−1. The diurnal tidal energy flows from the SCS to the JS. The semidiurnal tidal energy flows from the SCS to the JS through the Karimata Strait and the eastern part of the southern Natuna Sea but flows in the opposite direction in the Gaspar Strait and the western part of the southern Natuna Sea. Harmonic analysis of sea level and current observation also suggest that the study area is located in the antinodal band of the diurnal tidal waves, and in the nodal band of the semidiurnal tidal waves. Comparisons show that the existing models are basically consistent with the observational results, but further improvements are necessary.
Highlights
The tidal system in the Indonesian seas is the most complex one in the world, due to its rugged bottom topography, complicated coastline, and the interference of tidal waves propagating from the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea (SCS)
The phase lags of the semidiurnal tides dramatically increase from the eastern segment of Section A to Section B2, and from Section B1 to the western segment of Section A. These results suggest that the study area is located in the antinodal band of the diurnal tidal waves but in the nodal band of the semidiurnal tidal waves
The sea level and current data obtained at five stations along three sections between the SCS and Java Sea (JS) are analyzed to reveal the characteristics of tides and tidal currents in this region
Summary
The tidal system in the Indonesian seas is the most complex one in the world, due to its rugged bottom topography, complicated coastline, and the interference of tidal waves propagating from the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea (SCS). Wei et al.: Tidal characteristics in the area between the SCS and JS viding the cotidal charts and tidal currents for M2 and K1 constituents in the Indonesian seas Their results are further reported by Ray et al (2005), showing that there are three types of tides in the Indonesian seas: semidiurnal tides dominated but with significant diurnal inequality in the eastern Indonesian seas and the adjoining region of the Pacific Ocean; mixed diurnal tides in the region west of 118◦ E; and diurnal tides west of the Kalimantan Island. The junction area between the SCS and the JS, comprising the southern Natuna Sea, the Karimata Strait, and the Gaspar Strait, is a throat connecting the SCS and the Indonesian seas (Fig. 1) This area is the convergent region of tidal waves that propagate from the SCS or the JS (Hatayama et al, 1996). The volume, heat, and freshwater transports between the SCS and the Indonesian seas have been previously reported by Fang
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