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- Title
Observed Water Exchange Between the South China Sea and Java Sea Through Karimata Strait.
- Authors
Xu, T. F.; Wei, Z. X.; Susanto, R. D.; Li, S. J.; Wang, Y. G.; Wang, Y.; Xu, X. Q.; Agustiadi, T.; Trenggono, M.; Sulistyo, B.; Setiawan, A.; Kuswardani, A.; Fang, G. H.
- Abstract
Volume, heat and freshwater transports from the South China Sea (SCS) to the Java Sea through the Karimata Strait are estimated based on direct measurements of current, temperature, salinity, and satellite observations. Subject to strong seasonal variability, the volume, heat, freshwater transports are -1.98 ± 0.23 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3/s), -209.68 ± 15.19 TW (1 TW = 1012 W), -99.87 ± 15.11 mSv (1 mSv = 10-3 Sv) in boreal winter, and 0.47 ± 0.20 Sv, 61.06 ± 15.46 TW, 31.67 ± 8.76 mSv in boreal summer, respectively (negative transport defined from SCS to Java Sea). The annual mean volume, heat and freshwater transports are -0.78 ± 0.12 Sv, -77.31 ± 4.99 TW, and -30.87 ± 6.15 mSv, respectively. The freshwater transport through Karimata Strait is as large as 42% of rainfall input to the entire Indonesian seas in boreal winter, thereby modulating the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) through the "freshwater plug" effect in the Makassar Strait. The interannual variability of the transports is not significantly correlated to the Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño-Southern Oscillation. There is a significant decreasing trend of volume and heat transports from the SCS to Java Sea over the period of 1997-2015, with a reduction of 0.26 Sv and 15 TW, respectively. The freshwater transport decreases 12.29 mSv by 2016 compared with that in 2009, equivalent to 33.2%-49.72% of the annual mean freshwater transport during 2009-2016. This decreasing trend would play contradictory roles in the decadal trend of ITF transport by building a "freshwater plug" in the southern Makassar Strait and a 'buoyant plume' in the Indo-Australian Basin, respectively. Plain Language Summary Our previous studies revealed that the transport of heat and freshwater from the South China Sea (SCS) to the Java Sea by the Karimata Throughflow plays a role in balancing the heat and salt budgets in the SCS and modulating the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) within the Makassar Strait. The early estimations were based on observations less than 1 year. In this study, ten-year records of direct measurements and satellite observations are used to calculate the volume, heat and freshwater transports of the Karimata Throughflow from 1993 to 2017. The updated climatological transports corroborate our previous estimation. The interannual variability of the Karimata Throughflow is not well correlated with either the Indian Ocean Dipole or El Niño-Southern Oscillation. The results also reveal significant decreasing trend of volume, heat and freshwater transports from the SCS to the Java Sea over the 1997-2015 period. The importance of the decreasing trends lies in the fact that it may modulate ITF by dual factors: first, the "freshwater plug" may be less effective in inhibiting water transport of the ITF in Makassar Strait; second, the "salinity effect" that suggests freshening of the buoyant plume in the Indo-Australian Basin favoring the enhancement of ITF would be depressed.
- Subjects
JAVA Sea (Indonesia); HEAT flux; FRESH water; OCEAN currents; SEAWATER salinity
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, 2021, Vol 126, Issue 2, p1
- ISSN
2169-9275
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2020JC016608