The influence of Typhoon “Hongxia” on the intrusion of the Kuroshio
current into the South China Sea
Abstract
This paper uses the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport
(COAWST) model to analyze the impact of typhoon “Hongxia” on the
velocity and position movement of the Kuroshio axis, the impact of
typhoons on the Kuroshio intrusion into South China Sea (SCS), the
corresponding water, heat, and salt fluxes, and the impact of Kuroshio
water in the northeastern SCS. When typhoon “Hongxia” passed, the
Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS was the most significant at 21°N
latitude. In the vertical direction, the Kuroshio intrusion was
strongest in the subsurface layer, leading to the most significant
changes in temperature and salinity in the northeastern part of the SCS
in the subsurface layer. Under the influence of the southeastern monsoon
in summer, a large amount of low-salinity water accumulates at the
surface of the northeastern part of the SCS, and Kuroshio intrusive
water remains in the bottom and middle portions of the subsurface layer.
The westward deviation of the Kuroshio axis caused by the typhoon
displays a certain lag compared with the hot and salty water intrusion
into the SCS approximately 7 d later. The impact of the typhoon on the
Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS lasts for 20 d. The typhoon caused
increases in the water, heat, and salt fluxes associated with the
Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS, and the contribution of the typhoon to
these fluxes was as high as 40%. Under typhoon conditions, the maximum
Kuroshio intrusion flux reached more than twice that before the typhoon.