title: Persistent and energetic bottom-trapped topographic Rossby waves observed in the southern South China Sea.
abstract: Energetic fluctuations with periods of 9-14 days below a depth of 1400 m were observed in the southern South China Sea (SCS) from 5 years of direct measurements. We interpreted such fluctuations as topographic Rossby waves (TRWs) because they obey the dispersion relation. The TRWs persisted from May 24, 2009 to August 23, 2013, and their bottom current speed with a maximum of ~10 cm/s was one order of magnitude greater than the mean current and comparable to the tidal currents near the bottom. The bottom-trapped TRWs had an approximate trapping depth of 325 m and reference wavelength of ~82 km, which were likely excited by eddies above. Upper layer current speed that peaked approximately every 2 months could offer the energy sources for the persistent TRWs in the southern SCS. Energetic bottom-trapped TRWs may have a comparable role in deep circulation to tides in areas with complex topography.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA.
authors.forename: Yeqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.|School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA.
authors.forename: Huijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dongxiao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.affiliation: Sanya Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shuqun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rongyu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ju
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yunkai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He