Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1): 62-74.doi: 10.11978/2021015CSTR: 32234.14.2021015

• Marine Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Bottom turbulent mixing of continental slope - deep sea basin in northeastern South China Sea based on high-resolution temperature observation

LI Yang1,5(), HUANG Pengqi1,5, LU Yuanzheng1,2, QU Ling1,2, GUO Shuangxi1,2,4,5, CEN Xianrong1,2, ZHOU Shengqi1,2,4,5(), ZHANG Jiazheng2,3, QIU Xuelin2,3,5   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Guangzhou 510301, China
    2. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology of Chinese Academy of Sciences (South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Guangzhou 510301, China
    4. Institute of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Guangzhou 510301, China
    5. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2021-02-05 Revised:2021-04-13 Online:2022-01-10 Published:2021-04-16
  • Contact: ZHOU Shengqi E-mail:liyang18@mails.ucas.ac.cn;sqzhou@scsio.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(91952106);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41776033);National Natural Science Foundation of China(42006196);Science and Technology Foundation of Guangzhou(201904010312);Science and Technology Foundation of Guangzhou(201804020056)

Abstract:

The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the marginal seas with strong turbulent mixing. More attention was paid on turbulent mixing in the upper and middle layers than that in the bottom layer in previous studies of the SCS. Based on the temperature data obtained in the northeastern SCS with high-resolution records at 0.5 m above the seafloor at 22 stations for about 4.4 days in May 2019, we analyzed the time variation characteristics of bottom-water temperature with ocean depth varying from 2216 to 3200 m, and discuss the influence of topographic roughness and internal tides on bottom turbulent mixing. The analysis results show that the bottom temperature fluctuation at each station is 10-4~10-3℃, the trend of temperature variation is different from that of barotropic tide elevation, the temperature variation is affected by baroclinic process, mainly modulated by the diurnal and semi-diurnal tides at most stations. The magnitude of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate at the bottom of the continental slope-deep basin transition zone and the deep basin is 10-10~10-9m2∙s-3, and turbulent diffusivity is 10-4~10-3 m2∙s-1. The results, however, cannot reveal the significant positive correlation between the intensity of bottom turbulence mixing and topographic roughness. The spatial distribution of bottom turbulent dissipation is in accord with the north-south asymmetry of internal tides in the deep basin west of the Luzon Strait.

Key words: bottom temperature, turbulent mixing, internal tide, turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, turbulent diffusivity, northeastern South China Sea

CLC Number: 

  • P731.26