Long-Term (1982 - 2012) Summertime Sea Surface Temperature Variability in the Taiwan Strait

Abstract

Long-term (1982-2012) advanced very-high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) data collected at a resolution of 0.04° clearly indicated sea surface temperature (SST) warming and variations associated with El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Taiwan Strait (TS) during the summer. From 1982-2012 the spatially averaged warming trend in the TS was 0.057°C y-1. However, during the last 10 years the warming phenomenon appears to have halted and a slight cooling rate (0.03°C y-1) was observed. The monthly SST transition from June-July became increasingly sharp. The first mode (70%) of the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis indicated an SST warming trend. The warming occurred primarily in the eastern strait. The warming slowed down and considerable inter-annual variation occurred in the period after 1994. EOF results applied to the data between 1994-2012 showed that the first EOF mode (55%) revealed a warming pattern, whereas the second EOF mode (12%) revealed a pattern that explained the inter-annual variation in the SST, which was strongly correlated with the wind speed. Strong winds enhanced the upwelling along the China coast, eastern Taiwan Banks (TWB) and southern Peng-Hu Islands, whereas the SST in eastern TS increased because of increased warm water transport from the South China Sea. The inter-annual variation in the southwesterly wind could be affected by both ENSO and the background Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) phase. The strongest upwelling in the TS tended to occur when ENSO and PDO were in phase associated with the southwesterly wind.

Assessing Summertime Primary Production Required in Changed Marine Environments in Upwelling Ecosystems Around the Taiwan Bank

“…In the future, we hope to evaluate the performance of our models through various habitat classification methods. The global trend of sea temperature rise exerts substantial impacts on fisheries and ecosystems [77,90]. Shifts in environmental characteristics under the impacts of climate change mean that some habitats are no longer suitable for certain species; such impacts affect the entire ecosystem.…”

Regime Shifts in the Damage Caused by Tropical Cyclones in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area of China

“…Based on the discussion above, it has been observed that the SST near the Luzon Strait and the northern SCS (NSCS, in the region of 105-120 • E, 10-25 • N) in the highdamage periods was higher than that in the low-damage period. Some researchers report that the interdecadal changes in SST are related to the PDO [63,64]. As an extension, we further investigated the relationship between the PDO and NSCS's SSTs, revealing a weak correlation of only 0.2.…”

Shifts in the Assemblage of Summer Mesopelagic Fish Larvae in the Gaoping Waters of Southwestern Taiwan: A Comparison between El Niño Events and Regular Years

“…In general, key features of composite positive MEI events (warm, El Niño) include: (1) atmosphere interaction and heat exchange. Changes of wind will affect the variability in the sea surface temperature, upper ocean temperature, mixed layer depth, and direction and strength of near surface wind-driven currents directly [58,59].…”

“…The El Niño events have been suggested to cause strong southwesterly winds over the western North Pacific in the summer [60]. According to the empirical orthogonal function analysis on the long-term summertime SST data of the TS during 1982-2012 [59], a warming trend in the TS was observed with the spatially average warming of 0.057 • C y −1 and an interannual variation in the SST was found after 1994, which was strongly correlated with the wind speed of the southwesterly monsoon. Strengthening winds enhanced the upwelling along the China coast, eastern Taiwan Banks, and the region south of Peng-Hu Islands, whereas the SST in eastern TS increased because of the increased transport of warm SCSSC.…”