Enhanced Cross‐Shelf Exchange by the Eddies Associated With Plume Front
Abstract Broadened width of high chlorophyll concentration band with wavy structures, patches, and filaments are often observed along the western coastal next to the Pearl River Estuary over the northern South China Sea shelf during the transition period from winter to summer monsoon. Whereas, there is no such wide band in other seasons. By using a high‐resolution numerical model, we reveal that the complex structure and wider band of high coastal chlorophyll concentration results from the smaller scale eddies (about 20–50 km in diameter) associated with buoyant plume‐induced salinity front and density fronts, which are roughly along the 30 and 50 m isobaths, respectively. Two trains of eddies are formed along the fronts by the baroclinic instability triggered by frequently alternating winds over the fronts during the period of monsoon transition. The influences of these two trains of eddies are extended in the cross‐shelf direction by their interactions, and they can temporally enhance the cross‐shelf flow and material exchange. They serve as an efficient pathway to link the inner shelf toward the continental slope.
Authors
- Zhongya Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4733-9047)
- Lixin Qu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2956-8949)
- Tingting Zu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6623-1125)
- Lin Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9705-494X)
- Robert D. Hetland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9531-2119)
- Caijing Huang
- Dongxiao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8778-2188)
Institutions
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- University of Macau (MO)
- Ministry of Natural Resources (CN)
- Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (CN)
- Institute of Oceanology (CN)
- South China Sea Institute Of Oceanology (CN)
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (CN)
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (CN)
- City University of Macau (MO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans
- Published
- 2024-11-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024jc021160
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.44
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences