On the Circulation Structure and Formation Mechanism of the Cold Water Mass of the Yellow Sea (Ⅰ)——Zero-order Solution and Circulation Structure

A series of studies have been made on the circulation structure and the responsible mechanisms related to the Cold Water Mass of the Yellow Sea. From the present model governing the nonlinear thermally driven circulation in shallow seas, some complete analytical solutions of temperature and velocity components have been obtained in this paper by solving the coupled equations of motion and heat conduction. The results demonstrate that the wind-induced stirring and the tidal mixing are all responsible for the termal structure formation of Cold Water Mass. The computed vertical convection (u-w) develops only within a thin layer (called "a current shell" here) in the vicinity of thermocline while the deeper layer remains almost motionless. This current structure represents well the maintenance mechanisms of thermocline or the Cold Watermass during the summer.