Seasonal variation in surface circulation of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea derived from satellite altimetric data

Seasonal variation in the surface circulation of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea is investigated using altimetric data of TOPEX/POSEIDON and numerical model output. In the Yellow Sea an anticlockwise circulation develops during summer and a clockwise one during winter In the East China Sea an anticlockwise circulation occurs during winter. Such results coincide well with those obtained by the numerical experiment and drifter buoys experiment.