EVIDENCE FOR A COUNTER-WIND CURRENT IN WINTER OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF CHINA

Regarding the current pattern in winter in the near-sea region of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong (including the western and central parts of the Taiwan Strait), oceanographers both at home and abroad had considered unanimously that under the intense influence of the northerly monsoon, the current (not only at the surface but also in the deep and near-bottom layers) flows southwestward with the wind. It was not until the end of the fifties that scientists began to question such a traditional concept.In this paper, based on the results of more than 20 years’ studies on the current patterns of the East China and South China Seas, all kinds of current data available are reanalysed comprehensively. These data include: 1) current measurements at day-night anchored stations, and with mooring buoys, collected mostly from 1959 to 1982 by many Chinese oceanographic and fisheries organizations; 2) current vectors derived from the ship-drift of Japanese naval vessels in the period from 1910 to 1921; and 3) geostrop