Numerical simulation of sediment transport in coastal waves and wave-induced currents

Owing to lack of observational data and accurate definition, it is difficult to distinguish the Kuroshio intrusion water from the Pacific Ocean into the South China Sea (SCS). By using a passive tracer to identify the Kuroshio water based on an observation-validated three-dimensional numerical model MITgcm, the spatio-temporal variation of the Kuroshio intrusion water into the SCS has been investigated. Our result shows the Kuroshio intrusion is of distinct seasonal variation in both horizontal and vertical directions. In winter, the intruding Kuroshio water reaches the farthest, almost occupying the area from 18°N to 23°N and 114°E to 121°E, with a small branch flowing towards the Taiwan Strait. The intrusion region of the Kuroshio water decreases with depth gradually. However, in summer, the Kuroshio water is confined to the east of 118°E without any branch reaching the Taiwan Strait; meanwhile the intrusion region of the Kuroshio water increases from the surface to the depth about 205 m, then it decreases with depth. The estimated annual mean of Kuroshio Intrusion Transport (KIT) via the Luzon Strait is westward to the SCS in an amount of -3.86×10⁶ m³/s, which is larger than the annual mean of Luzon Strait Transport (LST) of -3.15×10⁶ m³/s. The KIT above 250 m accounts for 60%-80% of the LST throughout the entire water column. By analyzing interannual variation of the Kuroshio intrusion from the year 2003 to 2012, we find that the Kuroshio branch flowing into the Taiwan Strait is the weaker in winter of La Ni.a years than those in El Niño and normal years, which may be attributed to the wind stress curl off the southeast China then. Furthermore, the KIT correlates the Niño 3.4 index from 2003 to 2012 with a correlation coefficient of 0.41, which is lower than that of the LST with the Niño 3.4 index, i.e., 0.78.