Temporal and spatial analysis of SST and thermal fronts in the North East Asia Seas using NOAA/AVHRR data

NOAA/AVHRR data were used to analyze sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and thermal fronts (TFs) in the Korean seas. Temporal and spatial analyses were based on data from 1993 to 2000. Harmonic analysis revealed mean SST distributions of $10{\sim}25^{\circ}C$. Annual amplitudes and phases were $4{\sim}11^{\circ}C$ and $210{\sim}240^{\circ}$, respectively. Inverse distributions of annual amplitudes and phases were found for the study seas, with the exception of the East China Sea, which is affected by the Kuroshio Current. Areas with high amplitudes (large variations in SSTs) showed 'low phases' (early maximum SST); areas with low amplitudes (small variations in SSTs) had 'high phases' (late maximum SST). Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analyses of SSTs revealed a first-mode variance of 97.6%. Annually, greater SST variations occurred closer to the continent. Temporal components of the second mode showed higher values in 1993, 1994, and 1995. These phenomena seemed to the effect of El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$. The Sobel edge detection method (SEDM) delineated four fronts: the Subpolar Front (SPF) separating the northern and southern parts of the East Sea; the Kuroshio Front (KF) in the East China Sea, the South Sea Coastal Front (SSCF) in the South Sea, and a tidal front (TDF) in the West Sea. Thermal fronts generally occurred over steep bathymetric slopes. Annual amplitudes and phases were bounded within these frontal areas. EOF analysis of SST gradient values revealed the temporal and spatial variations in the TFs. The SPF and SSCF were most intense in March and October; the KF was most significant in March and May.