Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-335-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-335-2016
Research article
 | 
01 Mar 2016
Research article |  | 01 Mar 2016

On the near-inertial variations of meridional overturning circulation in the South China Sea

Jingen Xiao, Qiang Xie, Dongxiao Wang, Lei Yang, Yeqiang Shu, Changjian Liu, Ju Chen, Jinglong Yao, and Gengxin Chen

Abstract. We examine near-inertial variability of the meridional overturning circulation in the South China Sea (SCSMOC) using a global 1 / 12° ocean reanalysis. Based on wavelet analysis and power spectrum, we suggest that deep SCSMOC has a significant near-inertial band. The maximum amplitude of the near-inertial signal in the SCSMOC is nearly 4 Sv. The spatial structure of the signal features regularly alternating counterclockwise and clockwise overturning cells. It is also found that the near-inertial signal of SCSMOC mainly originates from the region near the Luzon Strait and propagates equatorward at a speed of 1–3 m s−1. Further analyses suggest that the near-inertial signal in the SCSMOC is triggered by high-frequency wind variability near the Luzon Strait, where geostrophic shear always exists due to Kuroshio intrusion.

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Short summary
We examine near-inertial variability of the meridional overturning circulation in the South China Sea (SCSMOC) using a global 1 / 12° ocean reanalysis. Based on wavelet analysis and power spectrum, we suggest that deep SCSMOC has a significant near-inertial band. The maximum amplitude of the near-inertial signal in the SCSMOC is nearly 4 Sv. The spatial structure of the signal features regularly alternating counterclockwise and clockwise overturning cells.