Numerical Simulation of Currents and Volume Transport in the Malacca Strait and Part of South China Sea

Abstract

The aim of this work is to determine the hydrodynamics of the Malacca Strait (MS) and the southern part of the South China Sea (SCS). The study uses the two-dimensional numerical model with a finite-difference method. The results show that the sea levels in MS and part of SCS are reversed and consistent with assimilation data that derived from Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA). Sea level in northern MS is lower than that in the southern part during January and July. However, the interval of sea level elevation in both January and July appears differently. It is steeper in January than in July. Therefore, the currents and transports during January are stronger than those during July. However, in general, the direction of currents and volume transport of MS flow to the Andaman Sea both in January and July. In SCS, the pattern is relatively the same as in MS; that is, the currents during January are stronger than those during July.