Vertical Temperature Profile in the Yellow Sea according to the Variations of Air Temperature

The vertical temperature profiles of the Yellow Sea in summer are investigated by means of the nine air temperature (AT) patterns which are classified with the AT of winter and summer. The sea surface temperature (SST) is high when the AT of summer is high, and vice versa. The gradient of thermocline in the offshore region is higher than that in the coastal region and is not always favorable with the AT patterns. The relation between sea bottom temperature (SBT) and the AT of winter is favorable when the SBT is averaged in the coastal and offshore stations. In addition, the SST of coastal stations is higher than that of offshore stations because of the strong mixing by the tidal current in the coastal region. The correlation between the AT and the SST of August is favorable (r=0.44-0.69), while the correlation between the AT of February and the SBT of August is not favorable except the stations, A2 (r=0.57) and B2 (r=0.61).