Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2011, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (3): 9-15.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2011.03.009cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2011.03.009

• Marine hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Double eddy structure of the winter Luzon Cold Eddy based on satellite altimeter data

SUN Cheng-xue, LIU Qin-yu   

  1. Physical Oceanography Lab., Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction and Climate Lab., Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
  • Received:2009-11-17 Revised:2010-07-07 Online:2011-07-18 Published:2011-07-20

Abstract:

The Luzon Cold Eddy is one of the most important eddies in the South China Sea. Using the high-resolution satel- lite altimeter data, the authors found that the Luzon Cold eddy may be consisted of two cyclonic eddies: one is located to the west of the Luzon Island (LCE1) and the other is to the northwest of the Luzon Island (LCE2). Using the correlation analysis and power spectrum analysis, the relative contributions of wind stress and the Kuroshio are estimated respectively. It is shown that LCE1 only appears in winter and has a close relation with the local wind stress curl west of the Luzon Island; LCE2 shows intraseasonal variation and appears on the west side of the Kuroshio in the Luzon strait during the whole year and therefore could be caused by the Kuroshio.

Key words: Luzon Clod Eddy , South China Sea , wind stress , Kuroshio