Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Patterns Of Upper Layer Circulation Variability In The South China Sea From Satellite Altimetry Using The Self-Organizing Map, Yonggang Liu, Robert H. Weisberg, Yaochu Yuan

Yonggang Liu

Patterns of the South China Sea (SCS) circulation variability are extracted from merged satellite altimetry data from October 1992 through August 2004 by using the self-organizing map (SOM). The annual cycle, seasonal and inter-annual variations of the SCS surface circulation are identified through the evolution of the characteristic circulation patterns. The annual cycle of the SCS gener- al circulation patterns is described as a change between two opposite basin-scale SW-NE oriented gyres embedded with eddies: low sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) (cyclonic) in winter and high SSHA (anticyclonic) in summer half year. The transition starts from July--August (January--February) with a …