Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle?
Abstract Ocean circulations are essential for global climate, redistributing heat and water across ocean basins. The Andaman Sea (AS), a key semi‐enclosed sea connecting to the Bay of Bengal, has lacked sufficient observational data to understand its intermediate circulation. Based on advanced reana...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL116135 |
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| author | Shiqiu Peng Hua Zhang Jiawen Liao Rui Xin Huang |
| author_facet | Shiqiu Peng Hua Zhang Jiawen Liao Rui Xin Huang |
| author_sort | Shiqiu Peng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Ocean circulations are essential for global climate, redistributing heat and water across ocean basins. The Andaman Sea (AS), a key semi‐enclosed sea connecting to the Bay of Bengal, has lacked sufficient observational data to understand its intermediate circulation. Based on advanced reanalysis data sets, for the first time, we here report a very interesting natural phenomenon, that is, the basin‐wide intermediate circulation of the AS changes its direction twice yearly between cyclonic and anticyclonic, somewhat like a YOYO being played by a kid. A further insightful analysis based on numerical experiments demonstrates that it is the Kelvin waves propagating from the equatorial Indian Ocean that drive basin‐wide intermediate circulation with a semi‐annual cycle under the constraint law of the potential vorticity conservation. This finding highlights the critical role of equatorial Kelvin waves in driving the AS intermediate circulation, advancing our understanding of circulation dynamics in a marginal sea like the AS. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-013a7a7382f64cbcb0f456342cd9bcd6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-013a7a7382f64cbcb0f456342cd9bcd62025-08-20T03:34:42ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-07-015214n/an/a10.1029/2025GL116135Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle?Shiqiu Peng0Hua Zhang1Jiawen Liao2Rui Xin Huang3State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaDepartment of Physical Oceanography Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole MA USAAbstract Ocean circulations are essential for global climate, redistributing heat and water across ocean basins. The Andaman Sea (AS), a key semi‐enclosed sea connecting to the Bay of Bengal, has lacked sufficient observational data to understand its intermediate circulation. Based on advanced reanalysis data sets, for the first time, we here report a very interesting natural phenomenon, that is, the basin‐wide intermediate circulation of the AS changes its direction twice yearly between cyclonic and anticyclonic, somewhat like a YOYO being played by a kid. A further insightful analysis based on numerical experiments demonstrates that it is the Kelvin waves propagating from the equatorial Indian Ocean that drive basin‐wide intermediate circulation with a semi‐annual cycle under the constraint law of the potential vorticity conservation. This finding highlights the critical role of equatorial Kelvin waves in driving the AS intermediate circulation, advancing our understanding of circulation dynamics in a marginal sea like the AS.https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL116135 |
| spellingShingle | Shiqiu Peng Hua Zhang Jiawen Liao Rui Xin Huang Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle? Geophysical Research Letters |
| title | Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle? |
| title_full | Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle? |
| title_fullStr | Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle? |
| title_short | Can Coastal Kelvin Waves Drive a Basin‐Wide Intermediate Circulation With a Semi‐Annual Cycle? |
| title_sort | can coastal kelvin waves drive a basin wide intermediate circulation with a semi annual cycle |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL116135 |
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