Sea ice properties in the Bohai Sea measured by MODIS-Aqua: 2. Study of sea ice seasonal and interannual variability

Abstract

During the 2009–2010 winter, the Bohai Sea experienced its most severe sea ice event in four decades, which caused significant economic losses, affected marine transportation and fishery, and impacted the entire marine ecosystem in the region. Measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite from 2002 to 2010 and surface atmosphere temperature (SAT) data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) are used to study and quantify the extreme sea ice event in the 2009–2010 winter and the interannual variability of the regional sea ice properties, as well as the relationship between sea ice and the climate variability in the Bohai Sea. The mean sea ice reflectance from MODIS-Aqua visible and near-infrared wavelengths are 9.33%, 13.26%, and 12.60% in the months of December 2009, January 2010, and February 2010, respectively, compared with the monthly average sea ice reflectance values (from 2002 to 2010) of 9.35%, 11.21%, and 11.41% in the same three winter months. The sea ice monthly average coverages are ~5427, ~27,414, and ~21,156km2 in these three winter months. These values are significantly higher than the averages of monthly sea ice coverage of ~2735, ~11,119, and ~10,287km2 in the Bohai Sea in December, January, and February between 2002 and 2010. Most of the sea ice coverage was located in the northern Bohai Sea. Both the intra-seasonal and interannual sea ice variability in the Bohai Sea is found to be related closely to SAT. The mechanism of anomalous SAT and intense sea ice severity are also discussed and attributed to large-scale climate changes due to the variability of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Siberian High (SH).