The impacts of mesoscale eddies on the modulation of typhoon-induced oceanic responses are important for understanding ocean dynamics. Satellite observations identified prominent ocean surface temperature and chlorophyll changes over the regions with mesoscale eddies after two sequential typhoons, e.g., Linfa and Nangka, in the South China Sea. The impacts of typhoons on the ocean surface were more prominent within cyclonic eddies than within anticyclonic eddies. The wind speed (translation speed) of Linfa was much larger (slower) than that of Nangka; thus, the changes induced by Linfa were stronger. However, the second typhoon easily generated mixing through the weak stratification induced by the first typhoon and impacted the upper ocean. The strong chlorophyll enhancement induced by Nangka was identified at a cyclonic eddy. Using a combination of reanalysis data, the depth of water origin (DWO) was applied to quantify the depth to which a typhoon’s impact could be exerted. Prominent changes were identified when the DWO reached the depth at which the temperature and nutrients differed from those within the mixed layer. This method can overcome the impacts of cloud coverage when examining a typhoon’s influence with remotely sensed data and offers a quantitative approach to determine the mechanisms responsible for typhoon-induced ocean surface changes.

The northern Andaman Sea (AS) continental shelf is unique due to the diverse marine ecosystem and existences of both hypoxia and internal tides, but limited in situ observations restrict our understanding of the hydrographic dynamic process. Based on the turbidity, mean volumes of backscattering strength (MVBS), we qualitatively studied the mean distribution characteristics and temporal variation in suspended matters on the northern AS continental shelf and their relation to hypoxia and internal tides. The results of both MVBS and turbidity revealed that the suspended matters exhibited a three-layer vertical structure. The upper and lower layers exhibited high values, while the middle layer had low values. The upper boundary of the high-value region in the upper layer descended below the surface to a depth of 30 m after sunrise and returned to the surface after sunset, indicating a diel vertical migration of zooplankton and micronekton. Daytime migration depth was likely constrained by hypoxia’s upper boundary. In the lower layer, three MVBS enhancements and attenuations correlated with vertical upward and downward velocities, respectively, primarily driven by uplift or suppression. We proposed vertical velocity patterns resulted from internal bores, possibly triggered by shoaling semidiurnal internal tides.

The quasi-biweekly oscillation (QBWO) is the second most dominant intraseasonal mode for circulation over the Northwestern Pacific (WNP) during boreal summer. In this study, we investigated how the QBWO modulates tropical cyclone (TC) activities over the WNP from dynamic and thermodynamic perspectives. The propagation of the QBWO can be divided into four phases through empirical orthogonal function analysis of the vorticity at 850 hPa, which was proven to be effective in extracting the QBWO signal. TC generation and landings are significantly enhanced during the active period (phases 1 and 2) relative to the inactive period (phases 3 and 4). Composite analyses show the QBWO could significantly modulate TC activity as it propagates northwestward by changing the atmospheric circulation at both high and low levels. Cumulus convection provides an important link between TCs and the QBWO. The major component of the atmosphere heat source is found to be the latent heat release of convection. The condensation latent heat centers, vertical circulation, and water vapor flux divergence cooperate well during different phases of the QBWO. The vertical profile of the condensation latent heat indicates upper-level heating (cooling) during the active (inactive) phases of the QBWO. Thus, the northwestward propagation of the QBWO can modulate TC activity by affecting the configuration of atmospheric heating over the WNP.