Data of wind field of satellite scatterometer, height abnormality of altimeter and sea surface temperature of radiometer were used to analyze the seasonal variations of monsoon, circulation and surface temperature in South China Sea as well as the interaction among monsoon, circulation and heat radiation. It is proved from long time series data that South China Sea is prevailed with northeast monsoon in winter and there are two stable or one merged cyclonic circulations. In summer, southwest monsoon prevails and the seasonal circulation is consisted of two stable anticyclonic circulations, while the contours of surface temperature is in northeast-southwest direction corresponding with the direction of monsoon either in winter or summer, in addition there is a cold water tongue in sea areas south to Indo-Chinese Peninsula. There is significant resonant relationship among the fields of sea surface height, temperature and the wind field of monsoon in South China Sea in periods of annual scale, it can be concluded that the stable and strong monsoon is one of the major driving forces for circulation and sea surface heat exchange in South China Sea.

Date Published: 8 May 2003
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 4892, Ocean Remote Sensing and Applications, (8 May 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.511973

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4892:
Ocean Remote Sensing and Applications
Robert J. Frouin; Yeli Yuan; Hiroshi Kawamura, Editor(s)