of our national SCS research programs is stated in Section 3. Similarly, a background of general condition of SCS is provided first. Section 4 provides a summary.
2. Research activities in the East China Sea
KEEP has forged ahead and is presently in its second phase since its initiation in 1989. Around forty scientists, including physical, chemical and biological oceanographers, have been involved in this program. Here, we will report some new findings related to the general circulation pattern as the Kuroshio Current impinging against the shelf break in southern ECS. Before thoroughly into the report, a brief background is presented first.
2.1. Background
At northeast of Taiwan, a sharply curved shelf break is presented along the southern boundary of the ECS. The shelf break runs southwest to northeast from the north tip of Taiwan to about 25°40'N, and then sharply bends running zonally. As the poleward Kuroshio current impinges upon this shelf break, it is disrupted. The circulation pattern becomes very complicated, specially in space. Qiu and Imasato [1990] found a branch current at north of Taiwan by examining the averaged GEK current data and sea surface temperature (SST) data taken by the NOAA-8 satellite. A countercurrent immediately at left side of Kuroshio Current along the shelf break of northeast of Taiwan was observed by Chuang and Wu [1990] and Tang and Yang [1993]. On and west of the countercurrent, a cold water (upwelling) was
