Study of the propagation direction of the internal waves in the South China Sea using satellite images

• Published in: Acta oceanologica Sinica Vol. 32; no. 5; pp. 42 - 50
• Main Authors: Wang, Juan, Huang, Weigen, Yang, Jingsong, Zhang, Huaguo, Zheng, Gang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg The Chinese Society of Oceanography 01.05.2013; Springer Nature B.V; College of Information Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography,State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China%State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography,State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China
• Subjects: Climatology; Coral reefs; Deep sea; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecology; Engineering Fluid Dynamics; Environmental Chemistry; General circulation models; Inertia; Internal waves; Investigations; Islands; Marine; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Oceanography; Propagation; SAR (radar); Satellite imagery; Satellites; Shelving; Synthetic aperture radar; Turbulence; Vertical shear; Wave diffraction; Wave propagation; Waves; 中国南海; 传播方向; 内波; 南海东北部; 南海西北部; 卫星图像; 合成孔径雷达; 垂直切变; South China Sea; China; Luzon; Asia, Mekong R; ISEW, Borneo, Kalimantan; ISEW, China, People's Rep., Dongsha Is; ISEW, Pacific, Luzon Strait; ISEW, South China Sea; South China Sea; remote sensing; internal wave propagation; satellite images
• ISSN: 0253-505X; 1869-1099
• DOI: 10.1007/s13131-013-0312-6

Internal wave propagation carries considerable vertical shear which can lead to turbulence and mixing. Based on the analysis of more than 2 500 synthetic aperture radar （SAR） and optical satellite images, the in- ternal wave propagation in the whole South China Sea was investigated systematically. The results show that （1） in the northeastern South China Sea, most internal waves propagate westward from the Luzon Strait and are diffracted by coral reefs near the Dongsha Islands. Some impinge onto the shelf and a few are reflected; （2） in the northwestern South China Sea, most internal waves are generated at the shelf and propagate northwestward or westward to the coast; （3） in the western South China Sea, most internal waves propagate westward to the Vietnamese coast, except a few propagate southward to the deep sea; and （4） in the southern South China Sea, most internal waves propagate southwestward to the coast. Some prop- agate southeastward to the coast of Kalimantan Island, and a few propagate southeastward because of the influence of the Mekon~ River.