Seasonal and interannual variations of the field of sea-surface temperature in the southwest Atlantic according to the data of satellite and contact measurements

We study the seasonal and interannual variations of the field of sea-surface temperature (SST) in the Southwest Atlantic on the basis of the analysis of three data arrays, namely, the Levitus-Boyer-1994 hydrological array, the WOD-98 actual database, and the data of satellite measurements of SST. We perform the comparative analysis of the amplitude-phase characteristics of the annual course of the SST field and discuss the distinctive features of its seasonal and interannual variations. It is shown that the results obtained by using different data arrays are in good agreement. The values of the coefficient of linear correlation are equal to 0.7–0.9. It is discovered that the maximum seasonal variations of SST are observed in the zone of confluence of the Falkland and Brasil Currents in the vicinities of the South Subtropical and Antarctic Polar fronts. The minimum seasonal variations are recorded in the Antarctic region and in the Weddell Sea. The satellite data demonstrate that the level of interannual variability is high in the zones of climatic fronts. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 5, pp. 62–76, September–October, 2006.