Wang
Guihua
Wang
Guihua
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ArticleHow significant is submarine groundwater discharge and its associated dissolved inorganic carbon in a river-dominated shelf system?(Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2012-05-22) Liu, Q. ; Dai, Minhan ; Chen, W. ; Huh, C.-A. ; Wang, Guihua ; Li, Q. ; Charette, Matthew A.In order to assess the role of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and its impact on the carbonate system on the northern South China Sea (NSCS) shelf, we measured seawater concentrations of four radium isotopes 223,224,226,228Ra along with carbonate system parameters in June–July, 2008. Complementary groundwater sampling was conducted in coastal areas in December 2008 and October 2010 to constrain the groundwater end-members. The distribution of Ra isotopes in the NSCS was largely controlled by the Pearl River plume and coastal upwelling. Long-lived Ra isotopes (228Ra and 226Ra) were enriched in the river plume but low in the offshore surface water and subsurface water/upwelling zone. In contrast, short-lived Ra isotopes (224Ra and 223Ra) were elevated in the subsurface water/upwelling zone as well as in the river plume but depleted in the offshore surface water. In order to quantify SGD, we adopted two independent mathematical approaches. Using a three end-member mixing model with total alkalinity (TAlk) and Ra isotopes, we derived a SGD flux into the NSCS shelf of 2.3–3.7 × 108 m3 day−1. Our second approach involved a simple mass balance of 228Ra and 226Ra and resulted in a first order but consistent SGD flux estimate of 2.2–3.7 × 108 m3 day−1. These fluxes were equivalent to 12–21 % of the Pearl River discharge, but the source of the SGD was mostly recirculated seawater. Despite the relatively small SGD volume flow compared to the river, the associated material fluxes were substantial given their elevated concentrations of dissolved inorganic solutes. In this case, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) flux through SGD was 153–347 × 109 mol yr−1, or ~23–53 % of the riverine DIC export flux. Our estimates of the groundwater-derived phosphate flux ranged 3–68 × 107 mol yr−1, which may be responsible for new production on the shelf up to 0.3–6.3 mmol C m−2 d−1. This rate of new production would at most consume 11 % of the DIC contribution delivered by SGD. Hence, SGD may play an important role in the carbon balance over the NSCS shelf.
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ArticleDeep South China Sea circulation(American Geophysical Union, 2011-03-01) Wang, Guihua ; Xie, Shang-Ping ; Qu, Tangdong ; Huang, Rui XinThe analysis of an updated monthly climatology of observed temperature and salinity from the U.S. Navy Generalized Digital Environment Model reveals a basin-scale cyclonic circulation over the deep South China Sea (SCS). The cyclonic circulation lies from about 2400 m to the bottom. The boundary current transport of the cyclonic circulation is around 3.0 Sv. Our results suggest that the cyclonic circulation is mainly forced by the Luzon overflow, with bottom topography playing an important role. The structures of potential temperature, salinity, and potential density in the deep SCS are consistent with the existence of the cyclonic circulation. Specifically, low salinity water is found in the interior region west of Luzon Island, and surrounded by saline Pacific water in boundary current regions to the north, west and southwest. Our results show the potential density distribution and the corresponding cyclonic circulation in deep SCS are primarily controlled by salinity variations in the deep basin.
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ArticleInterdecadal variability of the eastward current in the South China Sea associated with the summer Asian monsoon(American Meteorological Society, 2010-11-15) Wang, Guihua ; Wang, Chunzai ; Huang, Rui XinBased on the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) dataset and three types of Sverdrup streamfunction, an interdecadal variability of the eastward current in the middle South China Sea (SCS) during summer is identified. Both the pattern and strength of the summer Asian monsoon wind stress curl over the SCS contribute to the interdecadal variability of this current. From 1960 to 1979, the monsoon intensified and the zero wind stress curl line shifted southward. Both the core of positive wind stress curl in the northern SCS and the negative curl in the southern SCS moved southward and thus induced a southward shift of both the southern anticyclonic and northern cyclonic gyres, resulting in a southward displacement of the eastward current associated with these two gyres. In the meantime, the southern (northern) SCS anticyclonic (cyclonic) ocean gyre weakened (strengthened) and therefore also induced the southward shift of the eastward current near the intergyre boundary. In contrast, the eastward current shifted northward from 1980 to 1998 because the monsoon relaxed and the zero wind stress curl line shifted northward. After 1998, the eastward jet moved southward again as the zero wind stress curl line shifted southward and the SCS monsoon strengthened. The eastward current identified from the baroclinic streamfunction moved about 1.7° more southward than that from the barotropic streamfunction, indicating that the meridional position of the eastward current is depth dependent.
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ArticleRobust warming pattern of global subtropical oceans and its mechanism(American Meteorological Society, 2015-11-01) Wang, Guihua ; Xie, Shang-Ping ; Huang, Rui Xin ; Chen, ChanglinThe subsurface ocean response to anthropogenic climate forcing remains poorly characterized. From the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), a robust response of the lower thermocline is identified, where the warming is considerably weaker in the subtropics than in the tropics and high latitudes. The lower thermocline change is inversely proportional to the thermocline depth in the present climatology. Ocean general circulation model (OGCM) experiments show that sea surface warming is the dominant forcing for the subtropical gyre change in contrast to natural variability for which wind dominates, and the ocean response is insensitive to the spatial pattern of surface warming. An analysis based on a ventilated thermocline model shows that the pattern of the lower thermocline change can be interpreted in terms of the dynamic response to the strengthened stratification and downward heat mixing. Consequently, the subtropical gyres become intensified at the surface but weakened in the lower thermcline, consistent with results from CMIP experiments.
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ArticleThe effects of thermohaline circulation on wind-driven circulation in the South China Sea(American Meteorological Society, 2012-12) Wang, Guihua ; Huang, Rui Xin ; Su, Jilan ; Chen, DakeThe dynamic influence of thermohaline circulation on wind-driven circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) is studied using a simple reduced gravity model, in which the upwelling driven by mixing in the abyssal ocean is treated in terms of an upward pumping distributed at the base of the upper layer. Because of the strong upwelling of deep water, the cyclonic gyre in the northern SCS is weakened, but the anticyclonic gyre in the southern SCS is intensified in summer, while cyclonic gyres in both the southern and northern SCS are weakened in winter. For all seasons, the dynamic influence of thermohaline circulation on wind-driven circulation is larger in the northern SCS than in the southern SCS. Analysis suggests that the upwelling associated with the thermohaline circulation in the deep ocean plays a crucial role in regulating the wind-driven circulation in the upper ocean.