Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 63-76.doi: 10.11978/2022210CSTR: 32234.14.2022210

• Marine Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Comparative analysis of mesoscale eddy evolution during life cycle in marginal sea and open ocean: South China Sea and Kuroshio Extension

ZHANG Zhisheng1,2(), XIE Lingling1,2,3(), LI Junyi1,2,3, LI Qiang1,2,3   

  1. 1. Laboratory of Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction, College of Oceanology and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
    2. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Climate, Resource and Environment in Continental Shelf Sea and Deep Ocean, Zhanjiang 524088, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Space Ocean Remote Sensing and Application, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100081, China
  • Received:2022-10-05 Revised:2022-12-18 Online:2023-07-10 Published:2022-12-22
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(42276019); National Natural Science Foundation of China(41706025); Guangdong Provincial College Innovation Team Project(2019KCXTF021); the First-class Discipline Plan of Guangdong Province(080503032101); the First-class Discipline Plan of Guangdong Province(231420003)

Abstract:

Using the AVISO (archiving validation and interpretation of satellite oceanographic) eddy trajectories atlas product from 1993 to 2020, this study comparatively analyzes the characteristics and evolution patterns of mesoscale eddies during eddy life span in the South China Sea (SCS), a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, and the Kuroshio Extension (KE), an open ocean. The results show that there is significant seasonal variation in the eddy characteristics in the SCS, with opposite polarity probability distribution of cyclonic eddies (CEs) and anticyclonic eddies (AEs) in winter and summer, while the distribution in KE has no seasonal variation. The AEs are stronger than CEs in summer in the SCS, while CEs are stronger than AE in the KE both in winter and summer. During the eddy life span, the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) exhibits asymmetrical growth, stable and decay stages both in the SCS and KE. The eddy growth stage in the SCS is shorter than the decay stage, while the decay stage is shorter in the KE. The change rate of EKE during life span has larger values in summer than that in winter in the SCS, but has 1.5 times larger in winter in the KE. The mean propagation velocity curves shown that the AEs move northwestward and then southwestward in the SCS with average zonal speed of 3.3 cm·s-1, while in the KE, CEs move southwestward and AEs move northwestward in the whole life span, with average zonal speed of 1.3 cm·s-1, which is slower than that in the SCS. There is a significant negative correlation between the eddy propagation velocity and the EKE in the eddy life cycle in both regions.

Key words: South China Sea, Kuroshio Extension, mesoscale eddies, eddy kinetic energy