Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2016, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (5): 1-9.doi: 10.11978/2015141CSTR: 32234.14.2015141

• Marine Hydrography •     Next Articles

Seasonal and interannual variation of thermal fronts off the east coast of Hainan Island and the west coast of Guangdong

CHEN Biao1, WANG Jing1, JING Zhiyou2, LI Min2, 3   

  1. 1. Guangdong Key Laboratory for Urbanization and Geo-simulation, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; 2. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Guangzhou 510301, China; 3. Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ocean Variation and Disaster Prediction (GLOD), Zhanjiang 524088, China;
  • Received:2015-11-24 Online:2016-08-29 Published:2016-09-22
  • Contact: Corresponding author: WANG Jing. E-mail: jwang@scsio.ac.cn
  • About author:英文作者简介
  • Supported by:
    Foundation item: National Natural Science Foundation of China (41276108、41276022、41230962)

Abstract: The seasonal and interannual variation of sea surface temperature (SST) fronts off the east coast of Hainan Island and the west coast of Guangdong are investigated by detecting their intensities and central positions using 8-year (2006-2013) GHRSST data and edge detection methods. Potential mechanisms for their variations are then examined via correlation analysis of sea level anomalies and sea surface winds. The results show that the spatial distribution and intensity of the SST fronts off the east coast of Hainan Island and the west coast of Guangdong have obvious seasonal variation, which is driven primarily by the wind forcing. In summer, the SST fronts are located off the east and south coast of Hainan Island; in winter, they are mostly anchored in the east coast of Hainan Island and the west coast of Guangdong. The intensity of thermal front varies with the seasonal wind forcing, which is the strongest in winter with 3℃•100km-1 and is the weakest in fall with 1.4℃•100km-1; 2.1℃•100km-1 and 1.7℃•100km-1 were recorded in spring and summer, respectively. Besides, the results from the center and intensity of SST fronts show pronounced interannual variability of these fronts off the east coast of Hainan Island and west coast of Guangdong.

Key words: east coast of Hainan Island, west coast of Guangdong, SST front, edge detection, seasonal variation, interannual variation