Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2012, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (6): 41-47.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2012.06.007cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2012.06.007

• Marine meteorology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatial patterns in seasonal variability of sea surface wind over the South China Sea and its adjacent ocean

L? Ke-wei, HU Jian-yu, YANG Xiao-yi   

  1. College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
  • Received:2011-04-15 Revised:2011-11-12 Online:2012-12-01 Published:2013-02-06

Abstract: Monthly Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) wind data are employed to study the spatial patterns in seasonal variability of sea surface wind over the South China Sea and its adjacent ocean. The results of vector empirical orthogonal function method indicate that the sea surface wind is dominated by seasonal variability due to the monsoon, including the annual cycle and the semi-annual cycle. In addition, the impact of monsoon differs spatially. Variance of zonal or meridional wind exhibits different spatial pattern, with the maximum value to the south and east of Annam Cordillera, respectively. In contrast to the meridional wind, the zonal wind shows a large spatial variation, with its annual cycle variance decreasing from 80% in the south to 10% in the north and the semi-annual cycle dominating the southern part of the East China Sea. Five representative sea areas are chosen to compare with each other; these results show that the form of annual variation also experiences pronounced spatial dependence.

Key words: South China Sea, sea surface wind, vector empirical orthogonal function, seasonality, spatial pattern

CLC Number: 

  • P732.15