Long-term comparison of satellite and in-situ sea surface temperatures around the Korean Peninsula

Abstract

Satellite remotely sensed sea surface temperature (SST) was compared with in-situ SST in the seas around the Korean Peninsula from 1984 to 2013. A matchup dataset between satellite and in-situ SSTs was used. The root mean square error (RMSE) between satellite and in-situ SSTs was approximately 1°C in the offshore area and 2~3°C in the coastal area. The satellite SST exhibits a cold bias of 1°C or less in the offshore area and a warm bias of 1~3°C in the coastal area. The satellite SSTs generally agree with the in-situ data in the East/Japan Sea (EJS) better than in the South Sea and the Yellow Sea (YS). The RMSE between the two SSTs in the South Sea (SS) is 1~2°C. In-situ and satellite SST analyses respectively indicate a warming trend of 0.024°C/year and 0.011°C/year for the study period in the seas around the Korean Peninsula. The difference in the long-term trends from the two data sources is mainly due to the difference in the YS. The satellite SST showed a warm bias of 0.5~1.0°C in the early 1980’s and a cold bias of 0.5°C in the early 2010’s, which should be carefully considered in studying long-term trends with satellite SST data.