Evaluating the impact of sea surface temperature (SST) on spatial distribution of chlorophyll-a concentration in the East China Sea

• Published in: International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation 2018-06, Vol.68, p.252-261
• Main Authors: Ji, Chenxu, Zhang, Yuanzhi, Cheng, Qiuming, Tsou, JinYeu, Jiang, Tingchen, Liang, X. San
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a); DINEOF; MODIS data; Sea surface temperature (SST); The East China Sea (ECS)
• ISSN: 1569-8432; 1872-826X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jag.2018.01.020

•Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and sea surface temperature (SST) in the East China Sea (ECS) experienced a different rise in the period of 2003-2016.•SST and chl-a exhibit a positive correlation in the coastal area in the north of Yangtze River estuary region, but negative the southeast of ECS.•MODIS chl-a and SST were reconstructed by the method of DINEOF to determine their spatial distribution and relationship. In this study, we analyze spatial and temporal sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophylla (Chl-a) concentration in the East China Sea (ECS) during the period 2003–2016. Level 3 (4 km) monthly SST and Chl-a data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Satellite (MODIS-Aqua) were reconstructed using the data interpolation empirical orthogonal function (DINEOF) method and used to evaluated the relationship between the two variables. The approaches employed included correlation analysis, regression analysis, and so forth. Our results show that certain strong oceanic SSTs affect Chl-a concentration, with particularly high correlation seen in the coastal area of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The mean temperature of the high correlated region was 18.67 °C. This finding may suggest that the SST has an important impact on the spatial distribution of Chl-a concentration in the ECS.