Based on field observations carried out in August, 2008, we obtained a set of data on velocity, hydrography, and hydroehemistry in the Luzon Strait, with which the velocity structure of the area, especially in deep channels, was analyzed, and the material fluxes, including water, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients were calculated. The results indicate that a net eastward water flux of 7.0 Sv occurred through the Luzon Strait. The deep layer flux in the southern part, through the deep channel, was westward with a value of 1.9 Sv, which confirms that deep Pacific water flows into the South China Sea via the deep passage in the Luzon Strait. Accordingly, the net flux of dissolved oxygen was 13.2× 10 5 mol/s, and the values for dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphate and silicate were 4.6× 10 4 mol/s, 2.4× 10 3 mol/s, and 8.9×10 4 mol/s, respectively. Detailed descriptions of these material fluxes in the upper layer, the upper-intermediate layer, the lower-intermediate layer, and the deep layer through the Luzon Strait are discussed. These results and interpretations highlight the importance of material exchanges between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
In this paper, we present measurements of velocity, temperature, salinity, and turbulence collected in Prydz Bay, Antarctica, during February, 2005. The dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy （e） and diapycnal diffusivities （Ks） were estimated along a section in front of the Amery Ice Shelf. The dissipation rates and diapycnal diffusivities were spatially non-uniform, with higher values found in the western half of the section where E reached 10.7 W/kg and Kz reached 10.2 mVs, about two and three orders of magnitude higher than those in the open ocean, respectively. In the western half of the section both the dissipation rates and diffusivities showed a high-low-high vertical structure. This vertical structure may have been determined by internal waves in the upper layer, where the ice shelf draft acts as a possible energy source, and by bottom-generated internal waves in the lower layer, where both tides and geostrophic currents are possible energy sources. The intense diapycnal mixing revealed in our observations could contribute to the production of Antarctic Bottom Water in Prydz Bay.
