Response of upper ocean cooling off northeastern Taiwan to typhoon passages

Zhe Wen Zheng*, Quanan Zheng, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, Yi Chun Kuo, Ting Kuang Yeh

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A comprehensive investigation of the typhoon induced upper ocean processes and responses off northeastern Taiwan was conducted. Using the Regional Ocean Modeling System, the upper ocean responses of all typhoons striking Taiwan between 2005 and 2013 were simulated. In addition to Kuroshio intrusion, the present study demonstrates another important mechanism of typhoon induced near-inertial currents over the continental shelf of East China Sea, which can also trigger a distinct cooling (through entrainment mixing) within this region. Results indicate that the processes of typhoon inducing distinct cooling off northeastern Taiwan are conditional phenomena (only ∼12% of typhoons passing Taiwan triggered extreme cooling there). Subsequently, by executing a series of sensitivity experiments and systematic analyses on the behaviors and background conditions of all those typhoon cases, key criteria determining the occurrences of cooling through both mechanisms were elucidated. Occurrences of cooling through the Kuroshio intrusion mechanism are determined mainly by the strength of the local wind over northeastern Taiwan. A distinct cooling triggered by enhanced near-inertial currents is shown to be associated with the process of wind-current resonance. Both processes of Kuroshio intrusion and enhanced near-inertial currents are dominated by wind forcing rather than upper oceanic conditions. Based on the recent findings on the possible dynamic linkage between sea surface temperature near northeast Taiwan and local weather systems, the results elucidated in this study lay the foundation for further improvement in the regional weather prediction surrounding northeast Taiwan.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)105-118
Number of pages14
JournalOcean Modelling
Volume115
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017 Jul

Keywords

  • Continental shelf
  • Kuroshio intrusion
  • Regional ocean modeling system
  • Typhoons
  • Upwelling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science (miscellaneous)
  • Oceanography
  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Atmospheric Science

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