AUTHOR=Tang Guoqin , Deng Zengan , Chen Ru , Xiu Fangrui 

TITLE=Effects of the Kuroshio on internal tides in the Luzon Strait: A model study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.995601

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2022.995601

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=This study uses high-resolution ocean numerical simulations to evaluate the effects of the Kuroshio on internal tides in the South China Sea (SCS), particularly within the Luzon Strait (LS). We focus on the M2 and K1 internal tides in summer and winter, and compare the case with the Kuroshio to that without. The results indicate that the Kuroshio has negligible impact on the generation site of internal tides. Compared to seasonal variability in the total barotropic to baroclinic conversion rate over the LS, the Kuroshio has relatively little influence. However, the Kuroshio flow strongly guides the propagating direction of the internal tides from the LS into the SCS. The Kuroshio also substantially decreases the southward energy fluxes going out of the LS. For both M2 and K1 tides, turning off the Kuroshio leads to a weaker energy exchange between the background shear and internal tides. Turning off the Kuroshio also weakens the divergence of internal tide energy due to the advection of background flow. Thus, our results reveal a non-negligible effect of the Kuroshio on the internal tides in the LS. If one aims to realistically simulate, or better understand, internal tides, these results indicate that one should include realistic oceanic circulation fields.