Some aspects of the flow-topography interactions in the Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait is a shallow channel with complicated topographic variati ons that connects the South China Sea with the East China Sea. Previous hyd rographic and numerical studies have suggested that a distinct feature of t he flow pattern in the strait is the transfer of the vertical stratificatio n of the incoming flow from the south into the horizontal density gradient in the middle of the northern portion of the strait, This work applies a nu merical model with a free surface to examine the influence of a change in t he volume transport on the density distribution in the strait, According to the model results, a reduction in the incoming flow rate will cause a weak ening of the original density gradient. The release of the available potent ial energy associated with the original density gradient causes the current to meander. The model results are consistent with the satellite sea surfac e temperature images on 12 and 17 August, 1998.