Effect of Cylindrically Shaped Atoll on Westward-Propagating Anticyclonic Eddy—A Case Study

Mesoscale anticyclonic eddies occasionally propagate westward across the Dongsha atoll situated on the continental slope in the northern South China Sea (SCS). Satellite observations of this phenomenon are used to identify eddy weakening and deforming. Stronger anticyclonic eddies are weakening within a distance of 30-120 km from the atoll. A weaker anticyclone with an eddy diameter of 120 km, a sea-level slope of 8.3 × 10
^-8
, a Reynolds number of 17, and a slow moving speed (2.5 km/d) in the SCS can be split into two smaller eddies.