Director’s Welcome Message

   The South China Sea (SCS), as China’s “Marine South Gate”, extends over the tropics and subtropics.  Adjacent to Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and other most developed economic region of China, the SCS is not only an important channel for the present Maritime Silk Road trade, but also a national energy reservoir of oil and gas, as well as strategic focus of the country.  In the background of building China into a maritime power and the Belt and Road Initiative, the SCS holds an increasingly important strategic position for international politics, economy, technology, and military.  Therefore, a series of issues regarding the resources, climate, environment, and ecology in the SCS have drawn tremendous international attentions.

   Based on the national strategic goal of developing a maritime power and the Belt and Road Initiative and focusing on the research frontiers of global change, it is our goal to create a scientific and innovative platform for tropical marine environment with international influence.  The State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (LTO) was developed on the basis of the Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Environment Dynamics (LED), Chinese Academy of Sciences.  LTO entered the construction period of  the State Key Laboratories (SKL) in 2011, and passed the construction acceptance in July 2014.  After a rapid period of development, LTO had established three basic research directions: (i) SCS circulation and meso-to-small-scale dynamical processes; (ii) tropical ocean-atmosphere processes and climate effects; and (iii) environmental effects of tropical ocean dynamical processes. LTO adheres to the principles of combining oceanographic and meteorological observations, theoretical analyses, and numerical model studies.  Our scientists have accomplished a series of internationally recognized research in SCS circulation, marine climate and environment of tropical oceans.

   In the coming development period, we will continue to focus on the frontiers of international research based on national strategic needs, utilize the characteristics of the SCS and tropical oceans, continuously strengthen international and regional cooperation in marine high-tech development and talent exchanges, be committed to develop LTO into a top-ranking laboratory of SKL and to make LTO be internationally influential, and lead the direction in the basic and cutting-edge research on the SCS and tropical oceans in China.  This endeavor will provide strong scientific and technological support in many aspects of national marine science and technology, marine environment, and marine ecological civilization.

   We sincerely welcome scientists from home and abroad in the fields of oceanography, climate and environment to visit and join us!

Director of LTO: Chunzai Wang

Email: cwang@scsio.ac.cn

November 22, 2018