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The role of coastal-trapped waves on the 2008 cold disaster in the Taiwan Strait

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Abstract

In early 2008, cold water in the Taiwan Strait (TWS) was moved sequentially by a cross-strait flow and a southward flow to the Penghu Island, causing a cold-related fish kill disaster. Except for the local wind forcing, the coastal-trapped waves (CTWs), intermittently propagating toward the TWS from north in winter, are an additional factor that could impact the flow patterns by changing cross-strait sea-level gradient during the disaster. In the first stage (January 28–February 7), the reach of a large CTW trough induced an additional northward flow, which formed a cyclone after turning around the Zhangyun Ridge. Then, the cyclone led to an additional cross flow, which enhanced an eastward (offshore) movement of cold water. In the second stage (February 7–14), the arrival of a large CTW crest triggered an additional southward flow, which intensified a southward movement of the cold water. Due to the additional eastward and southward movements caused by the CTWs, the cold water could reach Penghu Island inducing a cold disaster.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grant 41476005 from the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), grant U1305231 from both NSFC and Fujian Province, grant 2013CB955704 from the National Basic Research Program of China, and grant 2013BAB04B00 from National Key Technology Support Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Enhui Liao, Xiao-Hai Yan & Yuwu Jiang

  2. College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Enhui Liao & Xiao-Hai Yan

Authors
  1. Enhui Liao
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  2. Xiao-Hai Yan
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  3. Yuwu Jiang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuwu Jiang.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Guoping Gao

Key points

• CTWs induced by remote wind can impact circulation in the Taiwan Strait.

• A CTW trough enhanced cold water offshore transport in the first stage.

• A CTW crest intensified cold water southward intrusion in the second stage.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on the 8th International Workshop on Modeling the Ocean (IWMO), Bologna, Italy, 7-10 June 2016

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Liao, E., Yan, XH. & Jiang, Y. The role of coastal-trapped waves on the 2008 cold disaster in the Taiwan Strait. Ocean Dynamics 67, 611–619 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-017-1042-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-017-1042-7

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