Increasing deep-water overflow from the Pacific into the South China Sea revealed by mooring observations

Chun Zhou, Xin Xiao, Wei Zhao (), Jiayan Yang, Xiaodong Huang, Shoude Guan, Zhiwei Zhang and Jiwei Tian ()
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Chun Zhou: Ocean University of China
Xin Xiao: Ocean University of China
Wei Zhao: Ocean University of China
Jiayan Yang: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Xiaodong Huang: Ocean University of China
Shoude Guan: Ocean University of China
Zhiwei Zhang: Ocean University of China
Jiwei Tian: Ocean University of China

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Cold and dense water from the North Pacific Ocean that spills through the Luzon Strait, the only deep conduit between the South China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific Ocean, renews deep-water mass, modulates hydrographic and biogeochemical cycles, and drives abyssal and overturning circulations in the SCS. The variability of this key oceanic process, however, has been poorly studied, mainly due to a lack of sustained observations. A comprehensive observational program that started in 2009 has provided 12 years of continuous time series of velocity and volume transport within the Luzon Strait. Here we show the observation-based assessment of decadal trends of deep-water transport through this vital passage. With the estimated 12-year mean volume transport of the deep-water overflow into the SCS of 0.84 ± 0.39 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s−1), a significant linear upward trend of 9% is revealed during this period. This is consistent with long-term changes in satellite-observed ocean bottom pressure. The results of this study may have broad implications for the overturning circulations and biogeochemical processes, including carbon cycles in this region.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37767-4

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