Simulation of the seasonal thermal structure in the Bohai Sea

The seasonal thermal structure in the Bohai Sea are examined with a three-dimensional boroclinic primitive equation model for shelf sea.The evolution of the seasonal thermal stratification is well simulated.The stratification appears early in April, first in the area off Qinhuangdao and it is well developed in the middle of May.It intensifies with synoptic and neap-spring fluctuations throughout the summer and reaches its maximum in the middle of July.Eventually, it is destroyed at the end of September.There are cold water belts between well-mixed and stratified regions.They are loGated on the mixed side of tidal fronts, and coincide with the isolines for a temperature difference of 1-2℃ between surface and bottom.The sea surface temperature (SST) distribution shows local maxima at the head of three bays and to the south of Qinhuangdao during the summer.The Bohai Sea responds to the variability in the atmospheric forcing and in tides with the synoptic and neap-spring variations of SST, as well as in the stratification and in variable positions of tidal fronts.