The Cold Eddy in the East China Sea(CEECS) is located about 150 km southwest of Cheju Island.This region experiences a complex current system under the influences of the Yellow Sea Warm Current(YSWC),the Yellow Sea Coastal Current(YSCC),and the northward Kuroshio residual.To identify the strength of the CEECS,a simple subsurface intensity index is developed.Because the CEECS can be traced by temperature minimum,the intensity index is determined by the difference in sea temperature averaged across cores within and surrounding the region.Based on SODA,the CEECS subsurface intensity index time series can be calculated,with which the inter-annual variation of the CEECS is analyzed.
The first regional mapping of the averaged turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate <εp> in the upper pycnocline of the northern South China Sea is presented and discussed.At φ=20°N and to the north of this latitude,<εp> appears to be more than two times larger than that to the south of 20°N.It is suggested that this asymmetry is associated with the predominant northwestward propagation and dissipation of the internal waves originated in the Luzon Strait area.An approximately linear relationship between <εp> and the available potential energy of the waves P IW,suggests a characteristic time of the P IW dissipation of about 6 h.
