Monthly Variations of Water Masses in the Yellow and East China Seas, November 6, 1998

The monthly water mass variations in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are investigated using over 40 years of historical temperature and salinity observations via a cluster analysis that incorporates geographical distance and depth separation in addition to the temperature and salinity. Results delineate monthly variations in the major water masses and provide some insight into formation mechanisms and intermixing. The major water masses include the Kuroshio-East China Sea water (KE), the Yellow Sea surface water (YSS) and bottom cold water (YSB), mixed water (MW), and coastal water (CW). The distribution of the KE water mass reveals the intrusion pattern into the area west of Cheju. A separate mixed water type appears between the KE water mass and the Yellow Sea water masses during winter. The formation mechanism of the YSB appears to be the surface cooling and active mixing in winter. In the East China Sea, during summer, surface water is differentiated from the subsurface water while there is no differentiation during winter. In the Yellow Sea, a three layer system exists in the summer and fall (May–November) while a two layer system exists during the rest of the year. A fresh water mass generated by Yangtze River discharge (YD) is present over the northern East China Sea and the southern Yellow Sea during summer. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.