Abstract
A three-dimensional Regional Ocean Modelling System is used to study the tidal characteristics and their dynamics in the Sunda Shelf of the southern South China Sea. In this model, the outer domain is set with a 25 km resolution and the inner one, with a 9 km resolution. Calculations are performed on the inner domain. The model is forced at the sea surface by climatological monthly mean wind stress, freshwater (evaporation minus precipitation), and heat fluxes. Momentum and tracers (such as temperature and salinity) are prescribed in addition to the tidal heights and currents extracted from the Oregon State University TOPEX/Poseidon Global Inverse Solution (TPXO7.2) at the open boundaries. The results are validated against observed tidal amplitudes and phases at 19 locations. Results show that the mean average power energy spectrum (in unit m2/s/cph) for diurnal tides at the southern end of the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia is approximately 43% greater than that in the East Malaysia region located in northern Borneo. In contrast, for the region of northern Borneo the semidiurnal power energy spectrum is approximately 25% greater than that in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This implies that diurnal tides are dominant along the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia while both diurnal and semidiurnal tides dominate almost equally in coastal East Malaysia. Furthermore, the diurnal tidal energy flux is found to be 60% greater than that of the semidiurnal tides in the southern South China Sea. Based on these model analyses, the significant tidal mixing frontal areas are located primarily off Sarawak coast as indicated by high chlorophyll-a concentrations in the area.
Highlights
The South China Sea (SCS) is a semi-enclosed tropical sea, located between several land-masses that include Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, the Philippines and East Asia
Results of the simulated tides in the Continental Shelf Area of the southern South China Sea (SSCS) from a 3D, one-way nested regional ocean modelling system indicate that the modelled tides compare well with the observations at 19 tidal stations
Existence of high tidal elevation at the southern tip of the East Coast of the Peninsular Malaysia (ECPM) and East Malaysia reflect the significant role of tides in these regions
Summary
The South China Sea (SCS) is a semi-enclosed tropical sea, located between several land-masses that include Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, the Philippines and East Asia. The root mean square error (RMSE) differences in terms of amplitude and phase from global inverse tide model (TPXO7.2) and ROMS are computed with respect to those from tidal gauges (Table 1). There is an additional need to accurately reproduce the stratification and baroclinicity of SSCS due to its error sensitivity towards bathymetry and model resolution The estimated amplitudes and phases from the simulated model for the semidiurnal (M2 and S2) and diurnal (K1 and O1) tidal constituents are compared against the corresponding values observed from the TGs (Figs 4 and 5).
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