%A Jia ZHU, Jianyu HU, Zhiyu LIU %T On summer stratification and tidal mixing in the Taiwan Strait %0 Journal Article %D 0 %J Front. Earth Sci. %J Frontiers of Earth Science %@ 2095-0195 %R 10.1007/s11707-013-0355-1 %P 141-150 %V %N %U {https://journal.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-013-0355-1 %8 2013-06-05 %X

On continental shelves, a front that separates the sea into well-mixed and stratified zones is usually formed in warm seasons due to spatial variations of tidal mixing. In this paper, using eight years of in situ hydrographic observations, satellite images of sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration, and results of a tidal model, we investigate summer stratification in the Taiwan Strait and its dependence on tidal mixing, upwelling, and river diluted water plumes. In most regions of the strait the dominant role of tidal mixing in determining the thermohaline structure is confirmed by the correlation between the two; there are some regions, however, where thermohaline structure varies in different ways owing to significant influences of upwelling and river diluted water plumes. The well-mixed regions are mainly distributed on the Taiwan Bank and in the offshore regions off the Dongshan Island, Nanao Island, and Pingtan Island, while the northern and central Taiwan Strait and the region south of the Taiwan Bank are stratified. The critical Simpson-Hunter parameter for the region is estimated to be 1.78.