Abstract: A Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM) that assimilated tidal gauge data was used to study the tidal energy flux and dissipation in the Northwest Pacific, including the China seas, the Japan Sea (JS) and the Sea of Okhotsk (SO). Most of the tidal energy in the Northwest Pacific is transmitted to the East China Sea (ECS), the South China Sea (SCS)and the SO. The semi-diurnal tidal energy transported into the ECS is three times larger than that transported into the SCS; whilst the diurnal tidal energy transported into the SCS is five times of that transported into the ECS. In the waters east of China, 64.3% of M₂ semi-diurnal tidal energy is dissipated in the ECS,32.4% in the Yellow Sea (YS), and only 3.2% in the Bohai Sea (BS). For K₁ diurnal tide, 48.2%, 31.4% and 7.1% of the tidal energy are dissipated in the ECS, the YS and the BS, respectively. Among the tidal energy transported into the SCS, 32.7% of M₂ and 38.3% of K₁ are dissipated in the northern region, 23.9% of M₂ is transported into and dissipated in the Taiwan Strait, and the rest enters the southern SCS. Little tidal energy is transported from the Pacific Ocean into the JS. The dissipation of diurnal tidal energy in the SO doubles that of the semi-diurnal tidal energy.

Key words: Northwest Pacific, China seas, tidal energy flux, tidal energy dissipation, Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model(FVCOM)