A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea

Abstract Lens-shaped structures within thermocline potentially play a significant role in subsurface transport of mass, heat, and salt in the global ocean. Whilst such structures have been documented in many oceanic regions, none has been observed in the China Seas. This study reports on observation...

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Autores principales:	Hongyang Lin, Jianyu Hu, Zhiyu Liu, Igor M. Belkin, Zhenyu Sun, Jia Zhu
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5a6200c010c74836b4c171031ed8543b
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5a6200c010c74836b4c171031ed8543b2021-12-02T16:06:22ZA peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea10.1038/s41598-017-00593-y2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/5a6200c010c74836b4c171031ed8543b2017-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00593-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Lens-shaped structures within thermocline potentially play a significant role in subsurface transport of mass, heat, and salt in the global ocean. Whilst such structures have been documented in many oceanic regions, none has been observed in the China Seas. This study reports on observations of a lens-shaped structure within thermocline in the southwestern South China Sea in September 2007. This structure had a maximum thickness of approximately 60 m and a horizontal extent exceeding 220 km. This lens was peculiar in that its size is larger than most similar structures documented in the literature. The lens core was characterized by well-mixed water with higher temperature (~28.8 °C), lower salinity (~33.3) and lower potential vorticity (PV) compared to the surrounding waters. Based on an ocean reanalysis, possible generation mechanism of the lens is explored by examining the evolution of surface and subsurface thermohaline properties, and an analysis of vertical PV flux. The lens was likely generated by a mixture of the local mixed-layer water and the water from the coastal jet separation site.Hongyang LinJianyu HuZhiyu LiuIgor M. BelkinZhenyu SunJia ZhuNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Hongyang Lin Jianyu Hu Zhiyu Liu Igor M. Belkin Zhenyu Sun Jia Zhu A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea
description	Abstract Lens-shaped structures within thermocline potentially play a significant role in subsurface transport of mass, heat, and salt in the global ocean. Whilst such structures have been documented in many oceanic regions, none has been observed in the China Seas. This study reports on observations of a lens-shaped structure within thermocline in the southwestern South China Sea in September 2007. This structure had a maximum thickness of approximately 60 m and a horizontal extent exceeding 220 km. This lens was peculiar in that its size is larger than most similar structures documented in the literature. The lens core was characterized by well-mixed water with higher temperature (~28.8 °C), lower salinity (~33.3) and lower potential vorticity (PV) compared to the surrounding waters. Based on an ocean reanalysis, possible generation mechanism of the lens is explored by examining the evolution of surface and subsurface thermohaline properties, and an analysis of vertical PV flux. The lens was likely generated by a mixture of the local mixed-layer water and the water from the coastal jet separation site.
format	article
author	Hongyang Lin Jianyu Hu Zhiyu Liu Igor M. Belkin Zhenyu Sun Jia Zhu
author_facet	Hongyang Lin Jianyu Hu Zhiyu Liu Igor M. Belkin Zhenyu Sun Jia Zhu
author_sort	Hongyang Lin
title	A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea
title_short	A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea
title_full	A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea
title_fullStr	A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea
title_full_unstemmed	A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea
title_sort	peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the south china sea
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/5a6200c010c74836b4c171031ed8543b
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A peculiar lens-shaped structure observed in the South China Sea

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