Water Exchange across Isobaths over the Continental Shelf of the East China Sea

Abstract

AbstractOnshore and offshore currents and the associated volume transport across three isobaths (50, 100, and 200 m) over the continental shelf of the East China Sea were examined using daily reanalysis data in 1993–2012. After being averaged along the isobaths, the velocities across 100 and 50 m are onshore in the bottom layer but offshore in the surface layer. In contrast, those across the 200-m isobath are onshore in the surface and bottom layers but without a clear direction in the midlayer, suggesting a three-layer structure. The surface offshore current across the 100-m isobath mainly arises from the Taiwan Strait Current, while the surface onshore current across the 200-m isobath mainly arises from the Kuroshio, both of which converge in the area between the 100- and 200-m isobaths and flow toward the Tsushima Strait. The control of bottom Ekman dynamics on the onshore bottom currents is important at the 100-m isobath, partly important at the 200-m isobath, and slightly important at the 50-m isobath. The seasonal variations of onshore and offshore currents in the surface layers across the three isobaths are likely caused by local winds, the Taiwan Strait Current, and the Changjiang discharge, while those in midlayer across the 200-m isobath demonstrate a strong geostrophic control and can be interpreted from a traditional viewpoint on the Kuroshio intrusion over the entire water column across the shelf slope. The close connection of bottom onshore currents across the three isobaths suggests that the bottom layer is an important pathway for water exchange of shelf water and the open sea.