• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.84-91
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• 1996

Heat flux of the East China Sea was estimated with the bulk method, the East China mount based on the marine meteorological data and cloud amount data observed by a satellite. Solar radiation is maximum in May and minimum in December. Its amount decreases gradually southward during the winter half year (from October to March), and increases northward during the summer half year (from April to September) due to the influence of Changma (Baiu) front. The spatial difference of long-wave radiation is relatively small, but its temporal difference is quite large, i.e., the value in February is about two times greater than that in July. The spatial patterns of sensible and latent heat fluxes reflect well the effect of current distribution in this region. The heat loss from the ocean surface is more than $830Wm^{-2}$ in winter, which is five times greater than the net radiation amount during the same period, The annual net heat flux is negative, which means heat loss from the sea surface, in the whole region over the East China Sea. The region with the largest loss of more than $400Wm^{-2}$ in January is observed over the southwestern Kyushu. The annual mean value of solar radiation, long-wave radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes are estimated $187Wm^{-2},\;-52Wm^{-2},\;-30Wm^{-2}\;and\;-137Wm^{-2}$, respectively, consequently the East China Sea losses the energy of $32Wm^{-2}(2.48\times10^{13}W)$. Through the heat exchange between the air and the sea, the heat energy of $0.4\times10^{13}W$ is supplied from the air to the sea in A region (the Yellow Sea), $2.1\times10^{13}W$ in B region (the East China Sea) and $1.7\times10^{13}W$ in C region (the Kuroshio part), respectively.