Ocean variability and heat fluxes in the south China sea associated with the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation

Date

2022-04

Authors

Nieva Tamasiunas, Mariana Carolina
Shinoda, Toshiaki
Pei, Suyang

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Abstract

The Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation (BSISO) is one of the most intense subseasonal atmospheric variations in the tropics. It is characterized by northward propagation over the northern Indian Ocean and western North Pacific, unlike the eastward propagating boreal winter Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). Previous studies indicate that the BSISO generates prominent anomalous surface winds and air-sea fluxes, particularly over the South China Sea (SCS). This study investigates the intraseasonal variability of the upper ocean in the SCS using satellite observations and high-resolution (1/12°) ocean reanalysis. Composite evolutions of Sea Surface Temperature, Salinity and Height (SST, SSS, SSH), and near surface currents associated with BSISO are constructed. Consistent with previous results, large intraseasonal SST variability associated with the BSISO is evident over the entire SCS in the satellite derived SSTs, which agrees well with those derived from high-resolution ocean reanalysis. In addition, the composite analysis of ocean reanalysis reveals prominent variability near the coast which is not well resolved by the satellite data. These include significant SST variability along the west coast of the Philippines and northwest coast of Borneo, which are associated with anomalous surface currents along the coasts. The subsurface variability associated with these SST anomalies is further discussed based on the analysis of ocean reanalysis.

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Attribution 4.0 International

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