DYNAMICS OF CIRCULATION AND TEMPERATURE-SALINITY STRUCTURES IN CHANGJIANG RIVER MOUTH AND ITS ADJACENT SEA III.THE TEMPERATURE STRUCTURE

We analyzed the outcome of simulation on water temperature in the Changjiang River mouth this study. Water temperature in the Changjiang River mouth and its adjacent sea presented different distribution characteristics in winter, spring, summer, and autumn. In winter, water temperature is low nearshore, high in open sea; vertically uniform nearshore and offshore in the area of gentle slope. The temperature front forms in the areas of steep slope. Water temperature is low in middle and upper layers in open sea and vertically uniform, and high in the bottom layer that slightly stratified. In spring, water temperature is high nearshore and vertically uniform, and low in the open sea that stratified. In the north of the river mouth, water temperature is low in upper layer, and high in bottom layer. To the south of the river mouth, water temperature is low in the surface and bottom layers, high in mid-layer, and the temperature front forms down steep slope to the open sea. As the temperature front surface shifts from steep slope down to the outer sea, water temperature becomes uniform vertically above the front surface, whereas temperature is almost uniform horizontally below the front surface. In summer, water temperature is high in nearshore, low in the open sea. In the shallow areas of the Changjiang River mouth, temperature is uniform in vertical direction. In deep open sea away from the mouth to the north and south, temperature is almost uniform in horizontal direction with generation of stronger thermocline in the surface or subsurface layer. The thermocline intensity weakens rapidly as water deepens. Water temperature is almost uniform and low at deep bottom layer. In autumn, the pattern of water temperature profile is largely the same to the winter's: low nearshore and high off the coast. In the north of the Changjiang mouth nearshore, water temperature is high in surface layer and low in bottom layer, while in the open sea areas, the temperature is in overall uniform in horizontal direction above the bottom layer. The nearshore water temperature is even in vertical direction, while from steep slope to deep sea, water temperature forms a weak front through water column. As the temperature front gradually moves down oceanward, water temperature above the front turns vertically uninform. In the deep-steep areas south of the mouth, water temperature in bottom layer is almost evenly distributed.