Page 6 - The 2019 annual reports of National Academy of Marine Research

much attention. Moreover, Taiwan is surrounded by the sea on all sides. Its special geographical
features render marine power as an advantage for the development of marine economy in Taiwan.
Regarding the potential investigation of marine power, at present Taiwan lacks the long-term
environmental data of the coastal waters in the southeast of Taiwan. There are also very few statistic
model estimations of ocean current potentials. Regarding the width, depth, and seasonal change of
the Kuroshio Current in the waters of eastern Taiwan are still unsettled. Therefore, there is the need
of conducting a long-term observation of Kuroshio Current.

Integrating the results of this project, it is known that the flow velocity of Kuroshio Current is
the strongest at 21 to 23.12 degrees north latitude. The characteristic of Kuroshio Current in the
waters are highly related to seasonal changes. In the summer, it is affected by the southwest
monsoon. Therefore, the flow velocity is higher than that in the winter. The flow velocity can reach
0.7m to 2.4m per second. In the summer, the southwest monsoon will make the coverage of
Kuroshio Current broader. In the winter, it will be up to 0.5m per second, with a more concentrated
flow range. The center of Kuroshio Current’s flow velocity is distributed at 200m below the sea-
level. The distance of the main body of Kuroshio Current as the southeast waters and the coastline,
after analysis, it indicates that it varies from 10km to 75km. Regarding its width, according to the
analysis, it is at least between 140km to 230km.

On the other hand, the water mass with high salinity is distributed at 300m below the sea-level.
Moreover, its flow velocity shows to shift depending on the season. In the summer, the water
mass with high salinity moves away from the east coast of Taiwan. In the winter, it will enter the
waters in eastern Taiwan. In addition, this project also constructs a wave model of the
surrounding waters of Taiwan to provide references for the maintenance of power generation with
Kuroshio Current and the management of the decision making of marine weather safety.

Acoustic release The period of the placement of Acoustic Doppler
Current Profiler (ADCP) (floating on the sea)

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