Long-term variability of sea surface temperature in the east China sea: A review

Abstract

The long-term variability of sea surface temperature in the East China Sea was reviewed based mainly on published literatures. Though the quantitative results are not the same, it is generally shown that sea surface temperature is increasing especially in recent years with the rate of increase about 0.03oC/year. Other meaningful results presented in the literatures is that the difference of water properties between layers upper and lower than the thermocline in summer shows an increasing trend both in temperature and salinity, suggesting that the stratification has been intensified. As a mechanism by which to evaluate the wintertime warming trend in the region, the weakening of wind strength, which is related to the variation of sea level pressure and atmospheric circulation in the western North Pacific and northern Asian continent, is suggested in the most of related studies.