Upwelling off Yangtze River estuary in summer

The mechanisms of upwelling off the Yangtze River estuary (YRE) and in the adjacent waters in boreal summer are studied using numerical modeling. First, the persistent feature of this phenomenon is confirmed using cruise observations, satellite sea surface temperature (SST), and SST climatologic data. Then, the MASNUM (Marine Science and Numerical Modeling) wave-tide-circulation coupled numerical model is employed to simulate the upwelling patterns. On the basis of the simulation, a set of numerical experiments are designed to explore the main mechanisms inducing the upwelling. The results suggest that tidal mixing plays a predominant role in inducing the upwelling. In offshore waters, strong tidal mixing results in considerable horizontal density gradient across tidal fronts. Upwelling is induced as a branch of the secondary circulation, which is stimulated by the cross-frontal density gradient. Topography also exerts profound influences on upwelling by steering bottom currents to ascend upward and regulating tidal fronts in both location and intensity. Besides the tides and topography, other dynamical factors also alter the strength of upwelling locally. The Yangtze River discharge (YRD) and Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) account partly for the upwelling off the YRE and near Zhoushan Islands, respectively. The influence of wind on upwelling is small. In the coastal waters near Zhoushan Islands, the wind forcing exerts negative influences on upwelling by weakening the encroachment of TWC onto the continental shelf, which may exceed the positive effects of Ekman pumping.