A three-dimensional model study on ocean dynamic response to traveling cyclone over the Huanghai Sea

On the basis of numerical simulation of the mean circulation and relevant thermal-salinity fields in June with a three-dimensional ocean model (ECOM-si),the model outputs are used as first guess of initial fields for numerical integration of the model equations and the numerical results are applied to investigating the dynamical responses of the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea (HECS) in the course of a weak land-to-sea cyclone's passage over the Huanghai Sea on 15~16 June 1999.Predominance of the dynamic impact of cyclone over the thermal one in June in the HECS is justified using observations and model simulations.The cyclone and its surrounding weather system,i.e.,subtropical high ridge to its south could influence current and thermal fields in the Bohai Sea,the Huanghai Sea and the northern East China Sea even though the intensity of cyclone was rather weak.The response of oceanic currents to the wind stresses driven by the cyclone and its southern subtropical high were strongly characterized by the wind driit with its extent of equivalent scale of cyclone in the horizontal and of Ekman layer in the vertical.The sea response at a given site was closely related to the transient local wind speed and direction,especially was sensitive to the local wind direction,which is demonstrated at three points locating at the southern and western Huanghai Sea and the northern East China Sea.So the sea responses at locations differed considerably from one another.Current responded to the wind stress in a simple way:directly to the wind-driven current and subsequent gradient current and slope current,etc.,whereas sea temperature responded to the wind stress in two ways:directly to the cyclone-induced cooling and indirectly to water movements both in the horizontal and the vertical by the cyclone's wind stress.So the sea temperature variation under the influence of cyclone was more complicate than the current.The HECS in response to the cyclone and its ambient weather system was likely to be a fast process and such a response could last at least for more than 1 d.Current increased with the duration of wind stress exerted on the surface and decreased with the increasing depth.Affected by the cyclone,the maximum sea surface temperature decreased by almost 1.6℃ during the 24 h cyclone.