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General Session 1: Physical oceanic processes: Dynamics and physical-biological-biogeochemical interactions |
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The Kuroshio intrusion into the South China Sea revealed by radium isotopes
GS1-45-S
Shengyao Sun* , Xiamen University, China
Kuanbo Zhou, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore
Guizhi Wang, Xiamen University, China
Presenter Email: sysun@stu.xmu.edu.cn
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| As a typical western boundary current of the North Pacific gyre, the Kuroshio intrusion into South China Sea (SCS) has a significant impact on the marine biogeochemistry of SCS. However, it is hard to trace the water mass derived from the Kuroshio intrusion. And Ra isotopes can be applied as tracer to study the water masses mixing due to their special geochemical characteristics. We investigated the distribution of 226Ra, 228Ra in the surface water of the northern SCS in May-July of 2014. The surface activity of 228Ra showed a remarkable spatial variation, in the range of 0.67-23.45 dpm/100 L. The lowest 228Ra appeared in the eastern area of Luzon Strait, which is characterized as Kuroshio water. Along the track of Kuroshio intrusion, the activity of 228Ra was increasing due to horizontal mixing with SCS water and Pearl River Plume. The pattern of surface distribution of 226Ra was consistent with 228Ra, which ranged from 4.63 to 9.82 dpm/100 L. We applied the three end member mixing model in Luzon Strait region, and water fraction derived from Kuroshio intrusion was ranged from 5-71% in the norther SCS. It implies that the Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS revealed by Ra isotopes. In addition, we can use this method for further study in seasonal variation of Kuroshio intrusion. |
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