Abstract
The spatio-temporal variability modes of the sea surface height in the South China Sea (SCS-SSH) are obtained using the Cyclostationary Empirical Orthogonal Function (CSEOF) method, and their relationships to the Pacific basin scale oscillations are examined. The first CSEOF mode of the SCS-SSH is a strongly phase-locked annual cycle that is modulated by a slowly varying principal component (PC); the strength of this annual cycle becomes reduced during El Niño events (at largest by 30% off in 1997/98) and enhanced during La Niña events. The second mode is a low frequency oscillation nearly on decadal time scale, with its spatial structure exhibiting an obscure month-dependence; the corresponding PC is highly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index. Five independent oscillations in the Pacific are isolated by using the independent component (IC) analysis (ICA) method, and their effects on the SCS-SSH are examined. It is revealed that the pure ENSO mode (which resembles the east Pacific ENSO) has little effect on the low frequency variability of the SCS-SSH while the ENSO reddening mode (which resembles the central Pacific ENSO) has clear effect. As the ENSO reddening mode is an important constituent of the PDO, this explains why the PDO is more important than ENSO in modulating the low frequency variability of SCS-SSH. Meridional saddle like oscillation mode, the Kuroshio extension warming mode, and the equatorial cooling mode are also successfully detected by the ICA, but they have little effect on the low frequency variability of the SCS-SSH. Further analyses suggest the Pacific oscillations are probably influencing the variability of the SCS-SSH in ways that are different from that of the sea surface temperature (SST) in the SCS.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Aires F, Rossow W B, Chédin A. 2002. Rotation of EOFs by the independent component analysis: toward a solution of the mixing problem in the decomposition of geophysical time series. J Atmos Sci, 59: 111–123
Alexander M A, Bladé I, Newman M, et al. 2002. The atmospheric bridge: the Influence of ENSO teleconnections on air-sea interaction over the global oceans. J Climate, 15: 2205–2231
Ashok K, Behera S K, Rao S A, et al. 2007. El Niño Modoki and its possible teleconnection. J Geophys Res, 112: C11007, doi: 10.1029/2006JC003798
Cane M A, Clement A C, Kaplan A, et al. 1997. Twentieth-century sea surface temperature trends. Science, 275: 957–960
Chao S Y, Shaw P T, Wu S Y. 1996. El Niño modulation of the South China Sea circulation. Progress in Oceanography, 38: 51–93
Deser C, Phillips A S, and Alexander M A. 2010. Twentieth century tropical sea surface temperature trends revisited, Geophys Res Lett, 37: L10701, doi: 10.1029/2010GL043321
Fang Guohong, Chen Haiying, Wei Zexun, et al. 2006. Trends and interannual variability of the South China Sea surface winds, surface height, and surface temperature in the recent decade. J Geophys Res, 111: C11S16, doi: 10.1029/2005JC003276
Hannachi A, Unkel S, Trendafilov N T, et al. 2009. Independent component analysis of climate data: a new look at EOF rotation. J Climate, 22: 2797–2812
Hansen J, Ruedy R, Sato M, et al. 2010. Global surface temperature change. Rev Geophys, 48: RG4004, doi: 10.1029/2010RG000345
Ho C R, Zheng Quanan, Soong Y S, et al. 2000. Seasonal variability of sea surface height in the South China Sea observed with TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data. J Geophys Res, 105(C6): 13981–13990
Hu Jianyu, Kawamura H, Hong Huasheng, et al. 2000. A review on the currents in the South China Sea: Seasonal circulation, South China Sea warm current and Kuroshio intrusion. J Oceanogr, 56: 607–624
Hyvärinen A, Oja E. 2000. Independent component analysis: algorithms and applications. Neural networks, 13(4): 411–430
Kao H Y, Yu Jin-Yi. 2009. Contrasting eastern-Pacific and central-Pacific types of ENSO. J Climate, 22: 615–632
Kim K Y, Chung C. 2001. On the evolution of the annual cycle in the tropical Pacific. Journal of Climate, 14: 991–994
Kim K Y, North G R. 1997. EOFs of harmonizable cyclostationary processes. J Atmos Sci, 54: 2416–2427
Kim K Y, Wu Qigang. 1999. A comparison study of EOF techniques: Analysis of nonstationary data with periodic statistics. J Climate, 12: 185–199
Kug J S, Jin Fei-Fei, An S I. 2009. Two types of El Niño events: cold tongue El Niño and warm pool El Niño. J Climate, 22: 1499–1515
Lau N C, Nath M J. 1996. The role of the “Atmospheric Bridge” in linking tropical Pacific ENSO events to extratropical SST anomalies. J Climate, 9: 2036–2057
Liu Qinyan, Feng Ming, Wang Dongxiao. 2011. ENSO-induced interannual variability in the southeastern South China Sea. J Oceanogr, 67: 127–133
Mantua N J, Hare S R, Zhang Yuan, et al. 1997. A Pacific interdecadal climate oscillation with impacts on salmon production. Bull Am Meteorol Soc, 78(6): 1069–1079
Meyers S D, O’Brien J J, Thelin E. 1999. Reconstruction of monthly SST in the Tropical Pacific Ocean during 1868–1993 using adaptive climate basis functions. Mon Wea Rev, 127: 1599–1612
Newman M, Compo G P, Alexander M A. 2003. ENSO-forced variability of the Pacific decadal oscillation. J Climate, 16(23): 3853–3857
North G R. 1984. Empirical orthogonal functions and normal modes. J Atmos Sci, 41(5): 879–887
Qiu Bo, Lukas R. 1996. Seasonal and interannual variability of the North Equatorial Current, the Mindanao Current and the Kuroshio along the Pacific western boundary. J Geophys Res, 101(C5): 12315–12330
Qiu Fuwen, Fang Wendong, Fang Yue, et al. 2012. Anomalous oceanic characteristics in the South China Sea associated with the large-scale forcing during 2006–2009. Journal of Marine Systems, 100–101: 9–18
Qu Tangdong, Kim Y Y, Yaremchuk M, et al. 2004. Can Luzon Strait transport play a role in conveying the impact of ENSO to the South China Sea?. J Climate, 17: 3644–3657
Rayner N A, Parker D E, Horton E B, et al. 2003. Global analyses of sea surface temperature, sea ice, and night marine air temperature since the late nineteenth century. J Geophys Res, 108(D14), 4407, doi: 10.1029/2002JD002670
Su Jilan. 2004. Overview of the South China Sea circulation and its influence on the coastal physical oceanography outside the Pearl River Estuary. Continental Shelf Research, 24: 1745–1760
Wang Bin, An S I. 2005. A method for detecting season-dependent modes of climate variability: S-EOF analysis. Geophys Res Lett, 32: L15710, doi: 10.1029/2005GL022709
Wang Dongxiao, Liu Qinyan, Huang Rui-Xin, et al. 2006. Interannual variability of the South China Sea throughflow inferred from wind data and an ocean data assimilation product. Geophys Res Lett, 33: L14605, doi: 10.1029/2006GL026316
Wu C R. 2013. Interannual modulation of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the low-latitude western North Pacific. Progress in Oceanography, 110: 49–58
Wu C R, Shaw P T, Chao S Y. 1998. Seasonal and interannual variations in the velocity field of the South China Sea. J Oceanogr, 54: 361–372
Wu Lixin, Cai Wenju, Zhang Liping, et al. 2012. Enhanced warming over the global subtropical western boundary currents. Nature Climate Change, 2: 161–166
Zhang Rong-Hua, Levitus S. 1997. Structure and cycle of decadal variability of upper-ocean temperature in the North Pacific. J Climate, 10: 710–727
Zhang Rong-Hua, Rothstein L M, Busalacchi A J. 1998. Origin of upper-ocean warming and El Niño change on decadal scales in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Nature, 391: 879–883
Zhang Wenjun, Li Jianping, Zhao Xia. 2010. Sea surface temperature cooling mode in the Pacific cold tongue. J Geophys Res, 115: C12042, doi: 10.1029/2010JC006501
Zhang Xuebin, Church J A. 2012. Sea level trends, interannual and decadal variability in the Pacific Ocean. Geophys Res Lett, 39: L21701, doi: 10.1029/2012GL053240
Zhang Yuan, Wallace J M, Battisti D S. 1997. ENSO-like interdecadal variability: 1900–93. J Climate, 10: 1004–1020
Zheng Zhe-Wen, Ho C R, Kuo N J. 2007. Mechanism of weakening of west Luzon eddy during La Niña years. Geophys Res Lett, 34: L11604, doi: 10.1029/2007GL030058
Zhou Jian, Li Peiliang, Yu Haili. 2012. Characteristics and mechanisms of sea surface height in the South China Sea. Global and Planetary Change, 88–89: 20–31
Zhu Jieshun, Huang Bohua, Wu Zhaohua. 2012. The role of ocean dynamics in the interaction between the Atlantic meridional and equatorial modes. J Climate, 25: 3583–3598
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 91128204, 41321004, 41475101 and 41421005; the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China under contract No. 2013CB430302; the Natural Science Foundation of China- Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers under contract No. U1406401; the Strategic Priority Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences under contract Nos XDA11010301 and XDA11010104.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pei, Y., Zhang, RH., Zhang, X. et al. Variability of sea surface height in the South China Sea and its relationship to Pacific oscillations. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 34, 80–92 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0773-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0773-x