Observed sub-inertial current variability and volume transport over the continental shelf in the northern South China Sea

• The variations of observed sub-inertial currents in four seasons are firstly reported.
• Variability of sub-inertial currents showed significant correlation with the local sea surface winds.
• Volume transports in four seasons through the cross-shelf section are calculated.
• No persistent counter-wind currents were observed during observational periods.

Sub-inertial currents (SICs) over the continental shelf of the northern South China Sea (NSCS) are investigated using the in-situ current observations of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) mooring arrays off the Pearl River Estuary in 2006 and 2007. The survey was carried out in four separate time periods: summer, winter, spring (before the onset of the southwesterly monsoon), and fall (after the establishment of the northeasterly monsoon). The observations showed that the current directions were generally along the shelf, consistent with the directions of monsoonal winds. The currents were also affected by a few of mesoscale eddy events. In summer 2006, the volume transport was northeastward with a mean magnitude of 1.4 Sv through a cross-shelf section from the site of the depth of 135 m to the coast; in winter 2006/2007, spring 2007 and fall 2007, the volume transports were all southwestward with magnitudes of 2.0, 2.1, and 0.9 Sv, respectively, through a cross-shelf section from the site of the depth of 290 m to the coast. The standard deviations of the SICs were generally smaller than the velocities of the mean currents, and the variability of SICs showed significant correlation with the local sea surface winds. No persistent counter-wind currents were observed in the study area during the fall and winter observational periods.