Structure and seasonal variability of fronts in the Southeast Indian Ocean along sections from Fremantle, Australia to Antarctic Zhongshan Station

Abstract

Four sections of expendable conductivity-temperature-depth (XCTD) profiles from Fremantle, Australia to Antarctic Zhongshan Station and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer-Aquarius (MODIS-A) sea surface temperature (SST) products were used to study the structure and seasonal variability of Southeast Indian Ocean fronts. Water mass analysis showed that surface water masses in the Southeast Indian Ocean were less salty in March than in November. Compared with November, the subtropical front (STF) moved southward about one degree of latitude in March, whereas seasonal variability of the subantarctic front (SAF) and polar front (PF) locations was not obvious. In March, the saline front moved northward about two degrees of latitude relative to the thermal front in the upper 100 m at the SAF, which was the northern boundary of sub-Antarctic surface water (SASW). Analysis of climatological SST gradients from the satellite data showed that regions of enhanced sea surface temperature (SST) gradients were collocated with frontal locations identified with the XCTD data using water mass criteria. The surface expression of the PF identified by the SST gradient was further south by about one degree of latitude relative to the subsurface expression of the PF identified by the northern boundary of cold water. Citation: Yang W, Gao L B, Li R X, et al. Structure and seasonal variability of fronts in the Southeast Indian Ocean along sections from Fremantle, Australia to Antarctic Zhongshan Station. Adv Polar Sci, 2016, 27: 39-47, doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2016.1.00039