Wintertime sea surface temperature fronts in the Taiwan Strait

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 33; no. 23; pp. L23603 - n/a
• Main Authors: Chang, Yi, Shimada, Teruhisa, Lee, Ming-An, Lu, Hsueh-Jung, Sakaida, Futoki, Kawamura, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Geophysical Union 01.12.2006; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: China; Climatology; Coastal; Coastal environments; Currents; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Fine structure and microstructure; Fronts and jets; Marine; oceanic front; Oceanography; Physical; Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes; Sea surface temperature; SST; Straits; Taiwan Strait; Winter; Kuroshio; West Pacific; Far East; China; Taiwan; INW, Pacific, Kuroshio Front; ISEW, Pacific, Taiwan Strait; China, People's Rep; Taiwan Strait; SST; oceanic front; satellites; Strait; detection; maps; monthly average; Sea surface temperature; entropy; channels; Winter; Asia; Pacific Ocean; Western boundary current; isobaths
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2006GL027415

We present wintertime variations and distributions of sea surface temperature (SST) fronts in the Taiwan Strait by applying an entropy‐based edge detection method to 10‐year (1996–2005) satellite SST images with grid size of 0.01°. From climatological monthly mean maps of SST gradient magnitude in winter, we identify four significant SST fronts in the Taiwan Strait. The Mainland China Coastal Front is a long frontal band along the 50‐m isobath near the Chinese coast. The sharp Peng‐Chang Front appears along the Peng‐Hu Channel and extends northward around the Chang‐Yuen Ridge. The Taiwan Bank Front evolves in early winter. As the winter progresses, the front becomes broad and moves toward the Chinese coast, connecting to the Mainland China Coastal Front. The Kuroshio Front extends northeastward from the northeastern tip of Taiwan with a semicircle‐shape curving along the 100‐m isobath.