*Hiromi Matsuura1, Shinichiro Kida2, Katsuto Uehara2
(1.Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 2.Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University)
Keywords:Japan Sea, Trend, Spatial Distribution, Subpolar Front
The Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of the Japan Sea has been warming by 0.26℃/decade from 1982 to 2018. The SST warming does not occur uniformly and one of the noticeable aspects is the high warm trend along 40°N, from the Korean coast to Tsugaru Strait, and low warm trend around Tsushima Strait. This spatial distribution cannot be easily explained by the basin-wide atmospheric warming and the increasing Tsushima-Warm-Current volume transport.
The movement of the Japan Sea Subpolar Front (JS-SPF) is one of the possible causes. From, AVHRR monthly SST data for the recent 18 years , we found JS-PSF to move about 1 degree north from 136°E to 138°E, near Tsugaru Strait, but not near the coast of Korea. We will present the detailed trends in JS-SPF and discuss their connection to the Tsushima Warm Current.