Diagnostics of coherent eddy transport in the South China Sea based on satellite observations

Liu, Tongya, He, Yinghui, Zhai, Xiaoming and Liu, Xiaohui (2022) Diagnostics of coherent eddy transport in the South China Sea based on satellite observations. Remote Sensing, 14 (7). ISSN 2072-4292

Preview

PDF (remotesensing-14-01690) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (8MB) | Preview

Abstract

The large discrepancy between Eulerian and Lagrangian work motivates us to examine the leakage of Eulerian eddies and quantify the contribution of coherent eddy transport in the South China Sea (SCS). In this study, Lagrangian particles with a resolution of 1/32° are advected by surface geostrophic currents derived from satellite observations spanning 23 years, and two types of methods are employed to identify sea surface height (SSH) eddies and Lagrangian coherent structures. SSH eddies are proven to be highly leaky during their lifetimes, with more than 80% of the original water leaking out of the eddy interior. As a result of zonal and meridional eddy propagation, the leaked water exhibits a spatial pattern of asymmetry relative to the eddy center. The degree of eddy leakage is found to be independent of several eddy parameters including the nonlinearity parameter U/c, which has been commonly used to assess eddy coherency. Finally, the Lagrangian coherent structures in the SCS are diagnosed and the associated coherent eddy diffusivity is calculated. It is found that coherent eddies contribute to less than 5% of the total eddy material transport in both zonal and meridional directions. These findings suggest that previous studies based on the Eulerian framework significantly overestimate the contribution of coherent eddy transport in the SCS.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2022 14:30
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2022 17:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/84274
DOI:	10.3390/rs14071690

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item