20 / 2023-07-24 15:04:46

Wind energy transfer into the South China Sea

the South China Sea, wind energy, long-term trend

Wind energy is a significant source of mechanical energy that keeps the upper ocean moving. Previous studies have estimated the global inventory of wind energy input into the world oceans. However, the marginal seas,like the South China Sea, are not well covered. To analyze the secular trend of wind energy input in the South China Sea, we used SODA (3.4.2) data from 1980 to 2020 to calculate it. The results show that the mean energy input to the surface and geostrophic currents in the South China Sea are about 9.1 GW and 3.6 GW, respectively; the climatological mean energy into the surface waves in the South China Sea is about 0.17 TW. Wind energy input to the South China Sea declined from 1980 to 2010 and then increased from 2010 to 2020. It has a strong seasonal cycle with its maximum in winter, particularly in the northeast parts of the South China Sea. The strong variability of wind energy input implies a continuous change of the upper layer motion.