| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣海洋大學 === 海洋環境資訊系 === 102 === Ship observations in the central South China Sea (SCS) had been sparse due to the long distance from the land, i.e. very long ship time needed. In the recent year, the observations become feasible after the establishment of a new Taiwanese 3000-ton R/V Ocean Research V (OR5). Therefore, the hydrography and currents in the central SCS (an area of 300 x 200 km) were investigated using XBT and shipboard ADCP equipped aboard the OR5, from May 16 to June 1 2013, to improve our understanding to the ocean environment in this region. Combining model output of HYCOM, our observation revealed a nearly complete anti-cyclonic eddy, occupying ~90% area, and the edge of the two other eddies. The horizontal scale, vertical extent and magnitude of sea level anomaly are ~200 km, ~150 m and ~5 cm, respectively. All the above properties are significantly smaller than that observed in the Western Pacific. There’s no obvious propagation. The warm core of the anti-cyclonic eddy appeared in 50-150 m, where the thermocline is located at, but the warm water appeared in the western flank of the eddy. It suggested that the thermal influence of an eddy in the SCS could be only in the thermocline. The thermal variations in the mixed layer, i.e. upper 50 m, could be dominated (or aligned) by the atmospheric conditions.
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