Observation of the abyssal western boundary current in the Philippine Sea  

作　　者：翟方国 王庆业 胡敦欣 郭小钢 

机构地区：[1]Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration [2]Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

出　　处：《Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology》2014年第5期1188-1197,共10页中国海洋湖沼学报（英文版）

基　　金：Supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2013M530331);the Project of State Strategic Program of Global Change(No.2013CB956202)

摘　　要：Mooring observations were conducted from July 16, 2011 to March 30, 2012 east of Mindanao, Philippines （127°2.8＇E, 8°0.3＇N） to observe the abyssal current at about 5 600 m deep and 500 m above the ocean bottom. Several features were revealed： 1） the observed abyssal current was highly variable with standard deviations of 57.3 mrn/s and 34.0 ram/s, larger than the mean values of-31.9 and 16.6 mm/s for the zonal and meridional components, respectively; 2） low-frequency current longer than 6 days exhibited strong seasonal variation, flowing southeastward （mean flow direction of 119.0° clockwise from north） before about October 1, 2011 and northwestward （mean flow direction of 60.5° counter-clockwise from north） thereafter; 3） the high-frequency flow bands were dominated by tidal currents O1, K1, M2, and S2, and near-inertial currents, whose frequencies were higher than the local inertial frequency. The two diurnal tidal constituents were much stronger than the two semidiumal ones. This study provides for the first time an observational insight into the abyssal western boundary current east of Mindanao based on long-term observations at one site. It is meaningful for further research into the deep and abyssal circulation over the whole Philippine Sea and the 3D structure of the westem boundary current system in this region. More observational and high-resolution model studies are needed to examine the spatial structure and temporal variation of the abyssal current over a much larger space and longer period, their relation to the upper-layer circulation, and the underlying dynamics.Mooring observations were conducted from July 16, 2011 to March 30, 2012 east of Mindanao, Philippines(127°2.8′E, 8°0.3′N) to observe the abyssal current at about 5600 m deep and 500 m above the ocean bottom. Several features were revealed: 1) the observed abyssal current was highly variable with standard deviations of 57.3 mm/s and 34.0 mm/s, larger than the mean values of-31.9 and 16.6 mm/s for the zonal and meridional components, respectively; 2) low-frequency current longer than 6 days exhibited strong seasonal variation, flowing southeastward(mean flow direction of 119.0° clockwise from north) before about October 1, 2011 and northwestward(mean flow direction of 60.5° counter-clockwise from north) thereafter; 3) the high-frequency flow bands were dominated by tidal currents O 1, K 1, M 2, and S 2, and near-inertial currents, whose frequencies were higher than the local inertial frequency. The two diurnal tidal constituents were much stronger than the two semidiurnal ones. This study provides for the first time an observational insight into the abyssal western boundary current east of Mindanao based on long-term observations at one site. It is meaningful for further research into the deep and abyssal circulation over the whole Philippine Sea and the 3D structure of the western boundary current system in this region. More observational and high-resolution model studies are needed to examine the spatial structure and temporal variation of the abyssal current over a much larger space and longer period, their relation to the upper-layer circulation, and the underlying dynamics.

关 键 词：abyssal current Philippine Sea mooring observation 

分 类 号：P714.3[天文地球—海洋科学]