A genuine geostrophic small amplitude wave solution is deduced for the first time from the general form of linear fluid dynamic equations with the f-plane approximation, where the horizontal component of angular velocity of the earth rotation is taken into account. The Coriolis- induced stress obtained from this solution consists of lateral and reverse component, while its first order approximation is reduced to the result of Hasselmann or Xu Zhigang. Accordingly, combining the Coriolis-induced wave stress with the virtual wave stress proposed by Longuet-Higgins, the ratio of total wave-induced stress to wind stress on the sea surface is es- timated, through which the importance of the wave-induced stress is emphasized in the study of the currents in the seas around China, especially in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea.
Mechanical energy input to the oceans is one of the most important factors controlling the oceanic general circulation. The atmosphere trans- ports mechanical energy to the oceans primarily through wind stress, plus changes of the sea level pressure (the so-called atmospheric loading). The rate of mechanical energy transfer into the ocean due to atmospheric loading is calculated, based on TOPEX/POSEIDON data over ten-year period (1993 -2002). The rate of total energy input for the world oceans is estimated at 0.04TW (1TW=1012Watt), and most of this energy input is concentrated in the Southern Oceans and the Storm Tracks in the Northern Hemisphere. This energy input varied greatly with time, and the amplitude of the interannual variability over the past ten years is about 15%.
