Summer Upwelling in the Northern Continental Shelf of the South China Sea

Summer upwelling system in the northern continental shelf of the South China Sea (NCSCS) is investigated with the Pathfinder, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Sea Surface Temperature (SST), and a three-dimensional, baroclinic, non-linear, numerical model forced by QuikSCAT winds. The AVHRR observation and modelling results have shown the upwelling is a regular phenomenon during summer in the NCSCS. Continental shelf upwelling characteristics are clearly found in the surface and subsurface water, such as low temperature, high salinity and high potential density. They respectively locate in the east of the Hainan Island, the east of the Leizhou Peninsula and the southeast of the Zhanjiang Bay (Qiongdong Upwelling), and the inshore areas from the Shantou Coast to the Nanri Islands of Fujian Coast (Yuedong Upwelling). The centra of the upwelling are mostly located in 111°10′E、19°45′N between the Qinglan Bay and the Qizhou Archipelagoes of eastern Hainan Island, 110°15′E、18°25′N near the Lingshui Bay, 116°45′E、22°50′N of the Shantou Coast and 118°E、23°40′N near the Taiwan Shoal. It is also found that the upwelling areas and centra from modelling results are in agreement with the AVHRR SST