Decadal variation and trend of the upper layer salinity in the South China Sea from 1960 to 2010

Wenjing ZHANG; Weiqiang WANG; Huibin XING

doi:10.1007/s00343-021-1161-3

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Decadal variation and trend of the upper layer salinity in the South China Sea from 1960 to 2010

Physics | Updated：2023-05-20

- Decadal variation and trend of the upper layer salinity in the South China Sea from 1960 to 2010
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 40, Issue 4, Pages: 1333-1348(2022)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
  2.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  3.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
  4.South China Sea Information Center, State Oceanic Administration, Guangzhou 510301, China
  5.South China Sea Marine Prediction Center, State Oceanic Administration, Guangzhou 510310, China
- Author bio：
  
  Weiqiang WANG, E-mail: weiqiang.wang@scsio.ac.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-021-1161-3
  CLC：
- Received：14 May 2021，
  
  Accepted：07 June 2021，
  
  Online First：21 July 2021，
  
  Published：2022-07
- Accepted：
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Wenjing ZHANG, Weiqiang WANG, Huibin XING. Decadal variation and trend of the upper layer salinity in the South China Sea from 1960 to 2010[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2022, 40(4): 1333-1348.
DOI：

Wenjing ZHANG, Weiqiang WANG, Huibin XING. Decadal variation and trend of the upper layer salinity in the South China Sea from 1960 to 2010[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2022, 40(4): 1333-1348. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-021-1161-3.

摘要

Abstract

Ocean salinity is an essential measurable indicator of water cycle and plays a crucial role in regulating ocean and climate change. Using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) reanalysis product

substantial decadal variability of the salinity in the upper layer of the South China Sea (SCS) from 1960 to 2010 was examined. Results show that a decadal variation of the upper layer salinity is clear. The upper layer (100 m) waters are found to freshen from 1960

become saltier during 1975 to 1995

and freshen again from 1995 to 2010. The strongest anomalies appear in the northeastern

northern

and northwestern regions in the three periods

respectively. The salinity variation trends become weaker below the upper layer

except the salinification trend in the northern SCS extends to at least 300 m during the salinification period. Diagnosis of the salinity budget over the top 100 m shows that during the first freshening period horizontal advection

vertical advection

and surface freshwater forcing all contribute to salinity freshening

and horizontal advection is relatively larger. The contribution of horizontal advection and surface freshwater forcing to the positive salinity anomaly is comparable

while the vertical advection is the secondary factor in the salinification period. Horizontal advection

especially zonal advection

plays a crucial role during the second freshening period. Moreover

horizontal advection is more important than that in the first freshening period. In addition

the contribution of horizontal advection is mainly in zonal direction controlled by Kuroshio intrusion. Further analysis shows the upper-layer salinity variations have a Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)-like signal

with freshening during the negative PDO years

and salinification during the positive PDO years. PDO mainly influences the upper-layer salinity changes through both atmospheric bridge and oceanic bridge.

关键词

Keywords

references

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