Seasonal Cycle of Sea Surface Temperature in the East Sea and its Dependence on Wind and Sea Ice

Harmonics of sea surface temperature (SST) in the East Sea and their possible causes are examined by analyzing NOAA/AVHRR data, SSM/I wind speeds, NSCAT wind vectors, and NCEP heat flux data. Detailed spatial structures of amplitudes and phases of the seasonal cycles and their contributions to the total variance of SST have quantitatively. The Subpolar front serves as a boundary between regions of high annual amplitudes (${\geq}$10$^{\circ}$C) in the cold continental region and low amplitudes (${\leq}$10$^{\circ}$C) in the Tsushima Warm Current region. The low phase center of annual cycle is located over a seamount at 132.2$^{\circ}$E, 41.7$^{\circ}$N south of Vladivostok. Semi-annual amplitudes are significantly large leaching over 20% of the annual amplitudes in the Tatarskiy Strait and along the continental shelf off Russian coast in fall and spring, but its forcings are substantially annual. We have shown that fall cooling is attributed by direct and local wind forcing, while spring cooling is remotely forced by cold waters from sea ices in the Tatarskiy Strait.