Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Interannual-to-decadal variability and trends of sea level in the South China Sea

  • Published:
Climate Dynamics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Interannual-to-decadal variability and trends of sea level in the South China Sea (SCS) are studied using altimetric data during 1993–2012 and reconstructed sea level data from 1950–2009. The interannual variability shows a strong seasonality. Surface wind anomalies associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation explain the sea-level anomaly pattern in the interior SCS, while Rossby waves radiated from the eastern boundary dominate the sea-level variability in the eastern SCS. Decadal variability of sea level in the SCS follows that in the western tropical Pacific, with large variance found west of Luzon Island. Local atmospheric forcing makes a negative contribution to decadal variability in the central SCS, and Rossby waves radiated from the eastern boundary appear to be important. During 1993–2012, decadal sea level averaged in the SCS is significantly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) (r = −0.96). The decadal variability associated with the PDO accounts for most part of sea-level trends in the SCS in the last two decades.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Chang CWJ, Hsu HH, Wu CR, Sheu WJ (2008) Interannual mode of sea level in the South China Sea and the roles of El Niño and El Niño Modoki. Geophys Res Lett 35:L03601. doi:10.1029/2007GL032562

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen X, Qiu B, Cheng X, Qi Y, Du Y (2015) Intraseasonal variability of Pacific-originated sea level anomaly around the Philippine Archipelago. J Oceanogr. doi:10.1007/s10872-015-0281-9

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng X, Qi Y (2007) Trends of sea level variations in the South China Sea from merged altimetry data. Global Planet Change 57:371–382. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2007.01.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng X, Qi Y, Zhou W (2008) Trends of sea level variations in the Indo-Pacific warm pool. Global Planet Change 63:57–66. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Church JA, White NJ (2006) A 20th century acceleration in global sea-level rise. Geophys Res Lett 33:L01602. doi:10.1029/2005GL024826

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai A, Fyfe JC, Xie SP, Dai X (2015) Decadal modulation of global surface temperature by internal climate variability. Nature Clim Chang. doi:10.1038/nclimate2605

    Google Scholar 

  • Dee DP et al (2011) The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system. Quart J Roy Meteor Soc 137:553–597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dibarboure G, Lauret O, Mertz F, Rosmorduc V, Maheu C (2008) SSALTO/DUACS user handbook: (M)SLA and (M)ADT near‐real time and delayed time products, Rep. CLS‐DOS‐NT‐06.034, pp39 Aviso Altimetry, Ramonville St. Agne, France

  • Du Y, Qu T (2010) Three inflow pathways of the Indonesian throughflow as seen from the simple ocean data assimilation. Dyn Atmos Oceans 50(2):233–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du Y, Xie SP (2008) Role of atmospheric adjustments in the tropical Indian Ocean warming during the 20th century in climate models. Geophys Res Lett 35:L08712. doi:10.1029/2008GL033631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du Y, Yang L, Xie SP (2011) Tropical Indian Ocean influence on Northwest Pacific tropical cyclones in summer following strong El Nino. J Clim 24:315–322. doi:10.1175/2010JCLI3890.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang G, Chen H, Wei Z, Wang Y, Wang X, Li C (2006) Trends and interannual variability of the South China Sea surface winds, surface height, and surface temperature in the recent decade. J Geophys Res 111:C11S16. doi:10.1029/2005JC003276

    Google Scholar 

  • Fu LL, Qiu B (2002) Low-frequency variability of the North Pacific Ocean: the roles of boundary- and wind-driven baroclinic Rossby waves. J Geophys Res 107(C12):3220. doi:10.1029/2001JC001131

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL, Huber BA, Metzger EJ, Susanto RD, Hurlburt HE, Adi TR (2012) South China Sea throughflow impact on the Indonesian throughflow. Geophys Res Lett 39:L11602. doi:10.1029/2012GL052021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamlington BD, Leben RR, Nerem RS, Han W, Kim KY (2011) Reconstructing sea level using cyclostationary empirical orthogonal functions. J Geophys Res 116:C12015. doi:10.1029/2011JC007529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han W, Meehl GA, Hu A, Alexander MA, Yamagata T, Yuan D, Ishii M, Pegion PP, Zheng J, Hamlington BD, Quan XW, Leben RR (2013) Intensification of decadal and multi-decadal sea level variability in the western tropical Pacific during recent decades. Clim Dyn. doi:10.1007/s00382-013-195-1

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishii M, Kimoto M (2009) Reevaluation of historical ocean heat content variations with time-varying XBT and MBT depth bias corrections. J Oceanogr 65:287–299. doi:10.1007/s10872-009-0027-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishii M, Kimoto M, Sakamoto K, Iwasaki SI (2006) Steric sea level changes estimated from historical subsurface temperature and salinity analyses. J Oceanogr 62(2):155–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jing Z, Qi Y, Du Y (2011) Upwelling in the continental shelf of northern South China Sea associated with 1997–1998 El Niño. J Geophys Res 116:C02033. doi:10.1029/2010JC006598

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosaka Y, Xie SP (2013) Recent global-warming hiatus tied to equatorial Pacific surface cooling. Nature 501:403–407. doi:10.1038/nature12534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau NC, Wang B (2005) Monsoon-ENSO interactions. In: The global monsoon system: research and forecast, Geneva, Switzerland, WMO, WMO/TD No. 1266, TMRP Report No. 70, 299–309

  • Lee T, McPhaden MJ (2008) Decadal phase change in large-scale sea level and winds in the Indo-Pacific region at the end of the 20th century. Geophys Res Lett 35:L01605. doi:10.1029/2007GL032419

    Google Scholar 

  • Leuliette EW, Willis JK (2011) Balancing the sea level budget. Oceanography 24(2):122–129. doi:10.5670/oceanog.2011.32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li L, Xu J, Cai R (2002) Trends of sea level rise in the South China Sea during the 1990s: an altimetry result. Chin Sci Bull 47(7):582–585

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Z, Yang H, Liu Q (2001) Regional dynamics of seasonal variability in the South China Sea. J Phys Oceanogr 31:272–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Q, Feng M, Wang D (2011) ENSO-induced interannual variability in the southeastern South China Sea. J Oceanogr 67:127–133. doi:10.1007/s10872-011-0002-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo J, Sasaki W, Masumoto Y (2012) Indian Ocean warming modulates Pacific climate change. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(46):18701–18706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mantua NJ, Hare SR, Zhang Y, Wallace JM, Francis RC (1997) A Pacific interdecadal climate oscillation with impact on salmon production. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 78(6):1069–1079. doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<1069:APICOW>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merrifield MA, Thompson PR, Lander M (2012) Multidecadal sea level anomalies and trends in the western tropical Pacific. Geophys Res Lett 39:L13602. doi:10.1029/2012GL052032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metzger EJ, Hurlburt H (1996) Coupled dynamics of the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. J Geophys Res 101:12331–12352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nidheesh A, Lengaigne M, Vialard J, Unnikrishnan A, Dayan H (2012) Decadal and long-term sea level variability in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. Clim Dyn 41:381–402. doi:10.1007/s00382-012-1463-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng D, Palanisamy H, Cazenave A, Meyssignac B (2013) Interannual sea level variations in the South China Sea Over 1950–2009. Mar Geod 36(2):164–182. doi:10.1080/01490419.2013.771595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu B (2002) Large-scale variability in the midlatitude subtropical and subpolar North Pacific Ocean: observations and causes. J Phys Oceanogr 32:353–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu T (2000) Upper layer circulation in the South China Sea. J Phys Oceanogr 30:1450–1460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu T, Kim YY, Yaremchuk M, Tozuka T, Ishida A, Yamagata T (2004) Can Luzon Strait transport play a role in conveying the impact of ENSO to the South China Sea? J Clim 17:3644–3657. doi:10.1175/1520-0442017<3644:CLSTPA>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu T, Du Y, Sasaki H (2006) South China Sea throughflow: a heat and freshwater conveyor. Geophys Res Lett 33:L23617. doi:10.1029/2006GL028350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rong Z, Liu Y, Zong H, Cheng Y (2007) Interannual sea level variability in the South China Sea and its response to ENSO. Global Planet Change 55:257–272. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.08.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Volkov DL, Larnicol G, Dorandeu J (2007) Improving the quality of satellite altimetry data over continental shelves. J Geophys Res 112:C06020. doi:10.1029/2006JC003765

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, An SI (2005) A method for detecting season-dependent modes of climate variability: S-EOF analysis. Geophys Res Lett 32:L15710. doi:10.1029/2005GL022709

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Wu R, Fu X (2000) Pacific-East Asian teleconnection: how does ENSO affect East Asian climate? J Clim 13:1517–1536. doi:10.1175/1520-0442013<1517:PEATHD>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang G, Chen D, Su J (2006) Generation and life cycle of the dipole in South China Sea summer circulation. J Geophys Res Oceans 111:C06002. doi:10.1029/2005JC003314

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang G, Wang C, Huang RX (2010) Interdecadal variability of the eastward current in the South China Sea associated with the summer Asian monsoon. J Clim 23:6115–6123. doi:10.1175/2010JCLI3607.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang T, Du Y, Zhuang W, Wang J (2015) Connection of sea level variability between Tropical Western Pacific and Southern Indian Ocean during recent two decades. Sci China D. doi:10.1007/s11430-014-5048-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu J (1982) Wind-stress coefficients over sea surface from breeze to hurricane. J Geophys Res 87(12):9704–9706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu CR (2013) Interannual modulation of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the low-latitude western North Pacific. Prog Oceanogr 110:49–58. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2012.12.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu CR, Chang CWJ (2005) Interannual variability of the South China Sea in a data assimilation model. Geophys Res Lett 32:L17611. doi:10.1029/2005GL023798

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie SP, Xie Q, Wang DX (2003) Liu WT (2003) Summer upwelling in the South China Sea and its role in regional climate variations. J Geophys Res Oceans 108:3261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie SP, Hu K, Hafner J, Tokinaga H, Du Y, Huang G, Sampe T (2009) Indian Ocean capacitor effect on Indo-western Pacific climate during the summer following El Nino. J Clim 22(3):730–747. doi:10.1175/2008JCLI2544.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie SP, Du Y, Huang G, Zheng XT, Tokinaga H, Hu K, Liu Q (2010) Decadal shift in El Nino influences on Indo-western Pacific and East Asian climate in the 1970s. J Clim 23(12):3352–3368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang JL, Liu QY, Xie SP, Liu ZY, Wu LX (2007) Impact of the Indian Ocean SST basin mode on the Asian summer monsoon. Geophys Res Lett 34:L02708. doi:10.1029/2006GL028571

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu K, Qu T (2013) Imprint of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on the South China Sea throughflow variability. J Clim 26(24):9797–9805. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00785.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Church JA (2012) Sea level trends, interannual and decadal variability in the Pacific Ocean. Geophys Res Lett 39:L21701. doi:10.1029/2012GL053240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhuang W, Feng M, Du Y, Schiller A, Wang D (2013a) Low-frequency sea level variability in the southern Indian Ocean and its impacts on the oceanic meridional transports. J Geophys Res Oceans 118:1302–1315. doi:10.1002/jgrc.20129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhuang W, Qiu B, Du Y (2013b) Low-frequency western Pacific Ocean sea level and circulation changes due to the connectivity of the Philippine Archipelago. J Geophys Res Oceans 118:6759–6773. doi:10.1002/2013JC009376

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Prof. Julian P. McCreary for editing the revised manuscript. This study benefited from discussions with Profs. Bo Qiu and Fei-fei Jin. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers whose constructive comments helped improve the manuscript. This work was supported by “Strategic Priority Research Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA11010103), the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB955603), the Natural Science Foundation of China (41176023, 41276108, 41230962), and the U.S. National Science Foundation. X.H.C is also sponsored by the “Youth Innovation Promotion Association”, CAS (SQ201204, LTOZZ1202) and China Scholarship Council.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, 510301, Guangzhou, China

    Xuhua Cheng, Yan Du & Xiao Chen

  2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0206, USA

    Shang-Ping Xie

  3. Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

    Shang-Ping Xie

  4. School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Jing Wang & Juan Wang

Authors
  1. Xuhua Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shang-Ping Xie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yan Du
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jing Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xiao Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Juan Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xuhua Cheng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cheng, X., Xie, SP., Du, Y. et al. Interannual-to-decadal variability and trends of sea level in the South China Sea. Clim Dyn 46, 3113–3126 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2756-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2756-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation