Relationship between satellite‐observed cold water along the Primorye coast and sea ice in the East Sea (the Sea of Japan)

Abstract

The relationship between cold surface water along the Primorye coast and sea ice in the Tatar Strait of the northern East Sea (the Sea of Japan) is examined by analyzing sea surface temperatures (SST) from NOAA/AVHRR, sea ice concentrations from SSM/I, wind vectors from QuikSCAT, and position data from satellite‐tracked drifting buoys. Relatively low SSTs along the Primorye coast in spring and early summer are attributed to sea ice melted water advected to the southwest as the Liman Cold Current (LCC). Monthly to year‐to‐year variations of SSTs along the Primorye coast in spring and early summer are negatively correlated with those of the sea ice concentration in the Tatar Strait during the previous winter. Translational speeds from the surface drifter and SST anomalies demonstrate that the LCC significantly varies by 2–18 km/day both in space and time.