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Abstract

Using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sea surface temperatures (SSTs) at a 1.1-km spatial resolution, we investigated the long-term SST variability in winter in the eastern Taiwan Strait (TS) in 1995~2008. We performed an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of spatial and time series variances for 15-day mean images. The first three modes in the EOF analysis respectively accounted for 25.9%, 16.61% and 4.59% of variances. In the first mode, the spatial amplitude showed positive values in the northeastern TS and negative values south of Chang-Yuen Rise (CYR). This suggests that warmer water occurred south of the CYR and a southwesterly intrusion of cold water extended north of study area. In the second mode, the lowest SSTs appeared over the CYR from the middle of December to the end of January. Results of the EOF analysis revealed heat exchange and the formation of an oceanic front boundary at the CYR in winter. We also found that average SSTs at the CYR were highly and positively correlated with latitudinal variations of 20°C isotherm, implying that variations in SSTs at the CYR could be applied to examine variation in the China Coastal Current in the eastern TS.

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