NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Internal Wave Study in the South China Sea Using SARRecently, the internal wave distribution maps in the China Seas have been compiled from hundreds of ERS-1/2, RADARSAT, and Space Shuttle SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images from 1993 to 1999. Based on internal wave distribution map, most of internal waves in the northeast part of South China Sea were propagating westward. The wave crest can be as long as 200 km with amplitude of 100 m due to strong current from the Kuroshio branching out into the South China Sea. Based on the observations from drilling rigs near DongSha Island by Amoco Production Co., the solitons may be generated in a 4 km wide channel between Batan and Sabtang islands in Luzon Strait. The proposed generation mechanism is similar to the lee wave formation from a shallow topography. Both depression and elevation internal waves have been observed in the same RADARSAT ScanSAR image on May 4, 1998 near DongSha Island. Furthermore, depression and elevation internal waves have also been observed by SAR at the same location on the shelf in April and June, 1993 (in different seasons) respectively. Numerical models have been used to interpret their generation mechanism and evolution processes. Based on the SAR images, near DongSha Island, the westward propagating huge internal solitons are often encountered and diffracted/broken by the coral reefs on the shelf. After passing the island, the diffracted waves will re-merge or interact with each other. It has been observed that after the nonlinear wave-wave interaction, the phase of wave packet is shifted and wavelength is also changed. Examples of mesoscale features observed in SAR images, such as fronts, raincells, bathymetry, ship wakes, and oil spills will be presented. Recent mooring measurements in April 1999 near Dongsha Island, future field test ASIAEX (Asian Seas International Acoustics Experiment) planned for April 2001, and some pretest survey data will be discussed in this paper.
Document ID
20010015248
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Liu, Antony K.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Hsu, Ming-Kuang
(National Taiwan Ocean Univ. Keelung, Taiwan, Province of China)
Zukor, Dorothy
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2000
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meeting Information
Meeting: Pacific Ocean Remote Sensing
Location: Goa
Country: India
Start Date: December 5, 2000
End Date: December 8, 2000
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available