Trends of sea surface wind energy over the South China Sea

Studies on climate change typically consider temperature and precipitation over extended periods but less so the wind. We used the Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) 24-year wind field data set to investigate the trends of wind energy over the South China Sea during 1988–2011. The results reveal a clear trend of increase in wind power density for each of three base statistics (i.e., mean, 90 th percentile and 99 th percentile) in all seasons and for annual means. The trends of wind power density showed obvious temporal and spatial variations. The magnitude of the trends was greatest in winter, intermediate in spring, and smallest in summer and autumn. A greater trend of increase was found in the northern areas of the South China Sea than in southern parts. The magnitude of the annual and seasonal trends over the South China Sea was larger in extreme high events (i.e., 90 th and 99 th percentiles) compared to the mean conditions. Sea surface temperature showed a negative correlation with the variability of wind power density over the majority of the South China Sea in all seasons and annual means, except for winter (41.7%).