Changes in Means and Extreme Events of Sea Surface Temperature in the East China Seas Based on Satellite Data from 1982 to 2017

Abstract

Marginal seas are fundamental to humans for their importance in mariculture resources and commerce. Based on the NOAA 0.25 degree daily Optimum Interpolation (OI) sea surface temperature (SST) data set, spatiotemporal changes in mean and extreme SST in the East China Seas (ECSs) were examined for from 1982 to 2017. As a regional average, the annual mean SST has notably increased at a rate of 0.21 ± 0.08 °C per decade. The warming SST during 1982–2017 is probably related to the influence from a recent strengthening and westward extension of the WPSH. There are also notable warming trends in annual minimum and maximum SST. Spatially, the rapid warming of annual mean SSTs are located in the vicinity of the Yangtze Estuary, exceeding 0.2 °C per decade and part of the ECS-Kuroshio. This pattern may be largely affected by the spatial changes of minimum SST. Rapid warming of maximum SST can be found across the region, from the northern East China Sea (ECS) to the Bohai Sea. Since 1982, extreme hot days (EHDs) have undergone an obvious increasing trend, at a rate of 15.2 days per decade. Conversely, extreme cold days (ECDs) have been decreasing. Notably, the largest increase of EHDs appears in the western ECS and the Bohai Sea, which both have rich marine ecosystems. The trend of EHDs has a significant relationship to mean SST, suggesting that there will be a further increase in EHDs under continued warming in the ECSs. These findings emphasize the importance and urgency of strategies which should be planned for the adaptation and mitigation of specific types of extreme hot events in this region.