This study investigates the wind energy input, an important source of mechanical energy, in the coastal seas east of China. Using the wind field from the high-resolution sea surface meteorology dataset in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea, we studied the wind energy input through surface ageostrophic currents and surface waves. Using a simple analytical formula for the Ekman Spiral with time- dependent wind, the wind energy input through ageostrophic currents was estimated at -22 GW averaged from 1960 to 2007, and through use of an empirical formula, the wind energy input through surface waves was estimated at -169 GW. We also examined the seasonal variation and long-term tendency of mechanical energy from wind stress, and found that the wind energy input to the East China Sea decreased before the 1980s, and then subsequently increased, which is contrary to what has been found for the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. More complicated physical processes and varying diffusivity need to be taken into account in future studies.
