Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2020, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (6): 1-17.doi: 10.11978/YG2020001CSTR: 32234.14.YG2020001

• Review •     Next Articles

Thoughts on the key scientific issues of Shiptime Sharing Project/Open Cruise in the South China Sea—From the perspective of multi-scale ocean dynamics

DU Yan1,2,3(), CHEN Ju1,3, JING Zhiyou1,3, WANG Xiangpeng1,2, CHEN Gengxin1,3, XU Chi1,3, CHU Xiaoqing1,3, CHEN Zhiwu1,3, XU Jie1,3, SHI Zhen1,3, TANG Shilin1,3, HE Yunkai1, LIANG Yun1,2, SHI Ping1,3   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (South China Sea Institute of Oceanology & Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Guangzhou 510301, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou 511458, China
  • Received:2020-04-08 Revised:2020-06-15 Online:2020-11-10 Published:2020-06-22
  • Contact: DU Yan E-mail:duyan@scsio.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41525019);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41521005);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41830538);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41776040);National Natural Science Foundation of China(NORC2018-07);National Natural Science Foundation of China(NORC2019-07);National Natural Science Foundation of China(NORC2020-07);Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA19060501);Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA13010404);Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA15020901);Chinese Academy of Sciences(133244KYSB20190031);Chinese Academy of Sciences(ZDRW-XH-2019-2);Chinese Academy of Sciences(ISEE2018PY06);State Oceanic Administration of China(GASI-IPOVAI-02);Southern Laboratory of Ocean Science and Engineering(GML2019ZD0303);Southern Laboratory of Ocean Science and Engineering(GML2019ZD0306);Southern Laboratory of Ocean Science and Engineering(2019BT02H594)

Abstract:

The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest marginal sea in the western Pacific Ocean, connected with the western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean through a series of straits. Multi-scale dynamic processes of ocean circulation and their environmental effects on marine biology and ecology have been a focus of SCS regional oceanography research. Since the first national marine census at the end of the 1950s, China has kept on increasing its support on marine research, especially on the construction of marine scientific observation platforms on research vessels. Entering the New Millennium, the main marine research institutes and universities in China, which operate research vessels, organized and supported Open Cruise for domestic scientists without charging for the shiptime. As a milestone, the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) set up a Shiptime Sharing Project to support the Open Cruise since 2009, which has further promoted communications and cooperations among the domestic ocean research communities. Many important achievements have been made in the SCS regional oceanography. From the perspective of multi-scale ocean dynamics, we briefly review the history of ocean observations in the SCS and summarize the research progresses of key scientific issues in the SCS in recent years, including the water exchange between the SCS and western Pacific Ocean, the mesoscale and sub-mesoscale processes, the multi-scale interaction and its ecological environmental effects, among others. We also share some thoughts and prospects on observations and scientific investigations in the SCS in the future.

Key words: South China Sea, ocean observation, multi-scale ocean dynamics, water exchange, mesoscale and sub-mesoscale processes, ecological effect

CLC Number: 

  • P722.7