interannual and long-term hydrographic changes in the yellow sea during 1977–1998

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Interannual and long-term hydrographic changes in the Yellow Sea during1977–1998

Hao Wei a,n, Jie Shi a, Youyu Lu b, Yuan Peng a

a Key Lab of Physical Oceanography, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, People’s Republic of Chinab Meteorological Research Division, Environment Canada, Dorval, Quebec, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 17 February 2010

Accepted 17 February 2010Available online 26 February 2010

Keywords:

Yellow Sea

Hydrography

Variability

a b s t r a c t

Interannual and long-term changes in water temperature and salinity (T-S) in the Yellow Sea were

examined using seasonal observations made during 1977–1998. The winter and summer seasons are

distinctly different in their stratification conditions. In winter the water column is well mixed and the

dominant feature of the T-S distribution is the warm and saline Yellow Sea Warm Water occupying the

deep region. The winter water temperature has interannual variations, a long-term warming trend, and

distinct cold and warm phases before and after 1986. Changes in the winter water temperature are

driven by the lateral heat input associated with the intrusion by the Yellow Sea Warm Current. Changes

in winter sea-surface salinity correspond to changes in the rate of surface evaporation. In summer the

water column is strongly stratified. Interannual changes in surface temperature are caused by changes

in surface heat flux, while surface salinity changes correlate well with the changes in precipitation. The

summer surface temperature (salinity) tends to be low (high) in El Nino years and increases (decreases)

in the year after El Nino. In summer, changes in the bottom temperature and salinity are not coherent

over the whole region. In the deep region, the summer bottom T-S represent a property of the Yellow

Sea Cold Water, and their interannual changes correspond to T-S changes in the Yellow Sea Warm

Water in winter.

& 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The Yellow Sea (YS) is a shallow marginal sea located betweenthe mainland of China and the Korea Peninsula (Fig. 1). The lineconnecting Chengshantou in the Shandong Peninsula of China andChang San-got of Korean divides the YS into two parts, theNorthern and Southern Yellow Seas. Combined with the adjoiningBohai Sea, the Northern YS is enclosed by land along the west,north, and east boundaries. The Southern YS connects to theJapan/East Sea via the Korea and Tsushima Straits and indirectlyopens to the western Pacific Ocean via the East China Sea in thesouth. The average depth of the YS is 44 m. In the central YS thereis a deep trough with depths of 60–80 m. The depth of the troughdecreases from south to north.

Surface and lateral forcing both play important roles indetermining the climatology and variations in the hydrographicconditions in the YS. The atmospheric conditions in this region arestrongly influenced by the East Asia monsoon. Strong northerlywinds blow over the YS from late November to March, with anaverage speed of approximately 8–9 m/s in January and over

24.5 m/s occasionally associated with cold air breaks. In April thewind direction is variable. In summer the wind is southerly withan average speed of 4–6 m/s. Tropical cyclones such as typhoonsmay pass by and cause wind speeds exceeding 24.5 m/s insummer and fall. At the surface the YS loses more heat in winterthan it gains in summer; and the net annual heat loss at thesurface is compensated for by lateral input associated with watermass exchanges that occur along the southern and easternboundaries. Salinity distribution in the YS is influenced byseasonal changes in precipitation, river runoffs, the intrusion ofwater masses along lateral boundaries, vertical and lateral mixing,and advection by currents (Li, 1999).

Seasonal distributions of hydrographic properties in the YS atdifferent water depths have been mapped out based on in situobservations (Editorial Board for Marine Atlas, 1992). Thepredominant features of the temperature and salinity (T-S)distributions in the YS are the existence of a warm and saltywater mass in the central YS in winter, namely the Yellow SeaWarm Water (YSWW), and in summer a water mass occupyingthe deep trough with temperatures lower than in the surroundingareas, namely the Yellow Sea Cold Water (YSCW). The formationof the YSWW is believed to be related to a northward current,namely the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC); but variousopinions exist regarding the origin and nature of this warm

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Deep-Sea Research II

0967-0645/$ - see front matter & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.02.004

n Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 532 66782269; fax: +86 532 82032364.

E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Wei).

Deep-Sea Research II 57 (2010) 1025–1034

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current (e.g., Su, 1986; Hsueh, 1988; Lie and Cho, 1994; Hsuehand Yuan, 1997; Jacobs et al., 2000; Teague and Jacobs, 2000).

At interannual and longer time scales, changes in the stateof the YS have also been observed. In a recent study, Lin et al.(2005) report changes in hydrographic and major environmental(e.g., biological and chemical) parameters in the YS during the lastquarter of the 20th century. For example, their analysis shows anascending trend in water temperature and a descending trend inthe concentration of the dissolved oxygen, on top of significantchanges in these parameters at interannual time scales. Thewarming trend in sea surface temperature during 1960–1996 isalso discussed by Ning et al. (2010). It remains important toexplore the causes of the hydrographic changes. For example, Li(1991) discusses the possible links between the changes in thetemperature of the YSCW and the Kuroshio meandering and ElNino events. In this study, we further analyze hydrographicobservations from more stations in the YS compared with Linet al. (2005) and explore the links between the hydrographicchanges and climate change events and surface air–sea fluxes.These two topics will be addressed separately in the next twosections.

2. Observed changes in hydrography

The data analyzed in this study were obtained from archivesmaintained by the State Oceanic Administration of China.We obtained ship-based seasonal observations along threesections of the YS, at locations shown in Fig. 1, during the winterand summer of 1977–1998. The observations for the two seasonswere made in February and August, respectively. The two seasonsare distinctly different in terms of forcing, current, and verticaland horizontal T-S distributions and hence were analyzedseparately.

In winter, strong northerly winds cause intense upper-oceanmixing. The water column is well mixed in the shallow regionsand is only weakly stratified in the deep regions toward the

bottom. Changes in T-S at the surface are similar to those at thebottom. Fig. 2 shows the surface temperature and salinity changesin winter, at three locations, A, B, and C. The three locations(shown in Fig. 1) represent the central, northern, andnorthwestern parts of the YS, respectively. Locations A and B arein the ‘‘core’’ of the YSWW and C is near the northern edge of theYSWW intrusion in winter. The southern location A is about 5.0 1Cwarmer and 0.5 psu saltier than the northern station C. Theinterannual variations in T-S at the three locations were similar,with ranges of 2.0 1C for temperature and 1.0 psu for salinity.This suggests that T-S changes over the YS are nearly coherentin winter. The area-averaged T-S were obtained by averagingthe observed values from all the stations along the three sections.The resulting time series are shown in Fig. 3. In additionto interannual variations, the area-averaged winter SST changesclearly show a warming trend over the observational period,at a rate of 0.090 1C/year, determined by performing a linearregression. The 22-year time series may be divided intotwo phases: the cold phase of 1977–1986, with a meantemperature of 3.99 1C, and the warm phase of 1987–1998, witha mean value of 5.19 1C. The warming trend in the area-averagedSST in winter is in close agreement with the warming trendreported by Lin et al. (2005), who applied averaging along thesection at 361N for the period of 1976–2000. Compared withtemperature, the area-averaged sea-surface salinity showssignificant changes at lower frequencies: the 22-year recordcontains three distinct peaks, occurring in 1983, in 1990, and after1994. There is no significant long-term trend in the surfacesalinity changes.

In summer, upper-ocean mixing is weak owing to the reducedwind speed. Except in certain coastal areas with significant tidalmixing, vertical stratification is developed with a sharp thermo-cline appearing at depths between 10 and 30 m. Above 50 mdepth the temperature is significantly higher in summer than inwinter. At depths below 50 m, the bottom water is isolated fromsurface forcing and its temperature remains low. He et al. (1959)suggest that the YSCW occupying the deep trough in summer is

117.00Longitude ( Deg.E )

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Chengshantou

A

B

C

N

Kore

a

Chang San-got

118.00 119.00 120.00 121.00 122.00 123.00 124.00 125.00 126.00 127.00

Fig. 1. Map of the study area. Dashed contours denote bathymetry (in m). Stars are locations with seasonal hydrographic observations. Locations A, B, and C represent the

central, northern, and northwestern parts of the Yellow Sea. Location N is where the surface fluxes from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis were examined.

H. Wei et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 57 (2010) 1025–10341026


the remainder of the YSWW in winter. Guan (1963) identified asignificant correlation between the bottom temperature of theYSCW in summer and the local air temperature in winter. On theother hand, the roles played by dynamic processes are stillimportant in modifying the YSCW. In a recent study, Zhang et al.(2008) reported changes in the YSCW associated with thesouthward displacement of a cold ‘‘tongue’’ from the northeastto the central YS.

Because of stratification in summer, changes in the surface andbottom layers must be discussed separately. Fig. 4 compares thesummer surface T-S changes at locations A, B, and C. The ranges ofthe interannual variation in surface temperature and salinityreach 4.0 1C and 1.5 psu, respectively. The changes in summersurface T-S are generally coherent among the three stations. Fig. 5

shows the area-averaged surface T-S changes. In contrast to thewinter season, the area-averaged summer SST does not showan obvious warming trend over this 22-year period. Applyingaveraging on the stations along the section at 361N, a slight(but statistically insignificant) warming trend, of 0.015 1C/year,is obtained. This rate is considerably lower than 0.081 1C/yearas estimated by Lin et al. (2005) for the period of 1976–2000.The discrepancy between their estimate and ours suggeststhat the summer warming trend may not be statisticallysignificant. Like in winter, the area-averaged surface salinity insummer shows no significant trend over the long term.

Fig. 6 shows the bottom T-S changes at locations A, B, and C insummer. First, at location A, the summer bottom temperature hasa mean value of about 8.5 1C and a range of interannual changes of

1976Year

1.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.55.05.56.06.57.07.58.08.59.09.5

Tem

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ture

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.C)

Station AStation BStation C

Year

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31.60

31.80

32.00

32.20

32.40

32.60

32.80

33.00

Salin

ity


1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Fig. 2. Variations in the sea-surface (A) temperature and (B) salinity in winter, at locations A, B, and C.

H. Wei et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 57 (2010) 1025–1034 1027


2.0 1C. It is about 1.0 1C warmer, but with similar interannualvariability compared with the winter surface (and bottom)temperature at this location. At location B the range of thebottom temperature changes is about 4.0 1C, twice the range ofthe surface temperature changes in winter. At location C, therange of the bottom temperature changes reaches nearly 7.0 1C.The interannual changes in the bottom temperature at the threestations are much less coherent in summer than in winter. Forsalinity, location A is about 0.5 psu saltier in summer than inwinter, and the range of the interannual changes is about 1.5 psu,slightly higher than the range of 1.0 psu in winter. The summerbottom salinity changes at locations B and C are similar. Theirmean values are 32.1 psu, close to the corresponding values inwinter. The interannual changes in bottom salinity at locations Band C have a range of about 0.7 psu, slightly smaller than therange of 1.0 psu in winter.

By averaging the stations along 361N during 1976–2000, Linet al. (2005) obtain a warming trend of 0.048 1C/year for thebottom temperature in summer. This rate is lower than their

estimates of the winter warming trends of 0.067 1C/year atthe bottom and 0.083 1C/year at the surface. At the threelocations, A, B, and C, shown in Fig. 6, the warming trend atthe bottom in summer is not obvious, while at some otherlocations we do see the warming trend. Because the bottomT-S changes in summer are not coherent over the YS, we didnot attempt to quantify the area-averaged bottom T-S changes.

3. Linking the hydrographic changes with large-scale forcing

Large-scale atmospheric variability in the Pacific sector isdominated by the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) at decadal timescales and by the El Nino southern oscillation (ENSO) atinterannual time scales. During the 22-year period analyzed inthis study, the PDO was mainly in its positive phase and at thesame time a few strong ENSO events occurred. Fig. 7 shows theMultivariate ENSO Index (MEI) based on the application ofstatistical analysis to the observed atmosphere and ocean

1976Year

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ity


1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Fig. 3. Variations in the area-averaged sea-surface (A) temperature and (B) salinity in winter.



parameters over the tropical Pacific Ocean (Wolter and Timlin,1998; obtained from http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/people/klaus.wolter/MEI/). Negative and positive values of the MEI representthe cold and warm phases of ENSO (La Nina/El Nino). Regardingthe relationship between the hydrographic changes in the YSand the ENSO, previous studies have produced controversialopinions (e.g., Li, 1991; Bai et al., 2004). A comparison of Figs. 7and 3 does not reveal a significant correlation between the MEIand the changes in the winter surface (and bottom) temperatureand salinity. A comparison of Figs. 7 and 5 suggests somecorrespondence between the MEI and the changes in summersurface temperature and salinity. For example, the area-averagedsummer surface temperature is low in most El Nino years andincreases in the year after El Nino. The area-averaged summersurface salinity is mostly high in El Nino years and decreases inthe year after El Nino. However, the correlation is not statisticallysignificant.

Next we examined the relationship between the hydrographicchanges and the surface air–sea fluxes in the central YS(at location N denoted in Fig. 1). The surface fluxes were obtained

from the atmosphere reanalysis product of the U.S. NationalCenter for Environment Prediction (NCEP). Fig. 8A shows theinterannual changes in various components (net longwave,shortwave, latent, and sensible) of surface heat fluxes, and theirsum, in February, representing the winter condition. In winterthe YS loses heat (denoted by the negative total heat flux shownin Fig. 8A). Changes in the total heat flux are primarily dueto changes in the turbulent components (latent and sensiblefluxes), which are in part associated with the changes inwinter surface winds. Increases in the amount of heat lossgenerally correspond to increases in the winter surfacetemperature (comparing Fig. 8A with Figs. 2A and 3A). Thismeans that changes in the winter air–sea heat flux are theconsequence, not the cause, of changes in the winter watertemperature. Changes in winter water temperature must bedue to lateral input, either due to an increase in the temperatureof the intrusion water or the strength of the YSWC. Furthermore,the warming trend in the winter surface temperature cannotbe explained by analyzing the surface heat flux from theNCEP only.

1976Year

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Salin

ity


1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Fig. 4. Variations in the sea-surface (A) temperature and (B) salinity in summer, at locations A, B, and C.



Fig. 8B shows the interannual changes in the ratesof evaporation (E) and precipitation (P) and their difference(E � P), in winter. In winter the rate of E � P is positive, andchanges in E � P are dominated by changes in evaporation.Comparing Fig. 8B with Figs. 2B and 3B, it is evident that increasesin winter surface salinity generally correspond to increases inE � P, which are primarily due to increases in surfaceevaporation.

Fig. 9A shows the interannual changes in surface heat fluxes inAugust. In summer, the YS gains heat at the surface and changes inthe total heat flux are mainly due to changes in latent heat flux andshortwave radiation. Increases in summer surface temperaturegenerally correspond to increases in net surface heat flux: anincrease in shortwave radiation or a decrease in latent heat flux.Fig. 9B shows the interannual changes in the rates of evaporation,precipitation, and E � P in August. In summer, changes in E � P aremainly due to changes in precipitation. Like in winter, increasesin the summer surface salinity generally correspond to increases inE � P (comparing Fig. 9B with Figs. 4B and 5B).

4. Discussion and conclusions

The 22-year record of seasonal hydrographic observationsduring 1977–1998 was analyzed to reveal the interannual andlong-term changes in water temperature and salinity in the YS.Changes in the winter and summer seasons are distinctlydifferent, because of the differences in ocean stratificationcondition and forcing.

In winter the water column is fully mixed or weakly stratified,and changes in the winter T-S are coherent throughout the watercolumn and across the whole area. The increase and decrease inwinter temperature correspond to the increase and decrease inthe net heat loss of the ocean at surface; hence the wintertemperature changes must be due to lateral heat input associatedwith the water mass intrusion by the YSWC. During the 22-yearperiod, the winter water temperature increased, and distinct coldand warm phases before and after 1986 can be identified. Itremains to be explored whether the warming trend is caused byincreases in the strength of the YSWC or increases in the

1976Year

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31.00

31.20

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ity


1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Fig. 5. Variations in the area-averaged sea-surface (A) temperature and (B) salinity in summer.



temperature of the intrusion water. On the other hand, changes inwinter sea-surface salinity correspond to changes in the rate ofE � P, which is dominated by changes in the surface evaporation.It remains to quantify the relative importance of the changes insurface E � P and lateral forcing (including the YSWW intrusionand river runoff) in causing the changes in winter salinity.

In summer, because of strong stratification, the surface andbottom layers respond differently to surface forcing. At thesurface the increase and decrease in temperature corresponds tothe increase and decrease in the net heat gain from theatmosphere, which is dominated by changes in the surface latentheat flux. Surface salinity changes are mainly due to changes inthe rate of precipitation. The averaged sea-surface temperatureover the whole area does not show an obvious warming trend.Changes in summer bottom temperature and salinity are notcoherent over the whole region. In the shallow regions, thebottom temperature increases significantly from winter tosummer owing to mixing with the upper layer. The YSCWoccupies the lower layer in the deep region. Stratification inhibits

1976Year

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10.010.511.011.5

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Salin

ity


1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Fig. 6. Variations in the sea-bottom (A) temperature and (B) salinity in summer, at locations A, B, and C.

1977

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tivar

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SO In

dex

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)

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1981

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1987

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1999

Fig. 7. The Multivariate ENSO Index.



the contact of this cold water mass to surface forcing; hence theT-S changes in the YSCW in summer correspond to those inthe YSWW in winter. However, the correspondence is not exact,consistent with recent findings about the roles played bythe horizontal movement and mixing of water masses in shapingthe YSCW.

Despite of the dominance of the ENSO in the interannualatmospheric variability in the Pacific region, this analysis does notreveal a significant correlation between the hydrographic changesin the YS and ENSO. Some correspondences were identifiedbetween the ENSO and the summer surface water temperatureand salinity. Obviously, further studies are needed to establish the

links between the low-frequency changes in the YS and large-scale forcing.

Finally, we note that, in addition to temperature and salinity,other environmental parameters have also shown interannual andlong-term changes in the YS. For example, Lin et al. (2005) reportsignificant changes in the concentration of dissolved oxygen andnutrients during the last quarter of the 20th century. Changes inecosystem parameters are influenced by biological and chemicalprocesses as well as changes in hydrographic conditions. Obser-ving and understanding the hydrographic changes are funda-mental for dealing with the more complicated issues of change inthe marine environment.

Fig. 8. Interannual changes in (A) the surface net heat and (B) freshwater fluxes at location N in February, obtained from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. In (A) the thick solid

line represents the total net heat flux, while the other four lines represent the net longwave, shortwave, latent, and sensible heat fluxes. Positive values mean the ocean

gains heat. In (B) the thinner lines with open and solid circles represent the rates of evaporation (E) and precipitation (P), while the thick solid line denotes their difference,

E � P.



Acknowledgments

This research was funded in part by the Chinese Ministry ofScience and Technology under Contract 2006CB400602 and theChinese Ministry of Education under Contracts 104203 and03105. We thank the two reviewers for insightful comments thatwere very helpful for improving the manuscript.

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interannual and long-term hydrographic changes in the yellow sea during 1977–1998

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