Record‐Breaking Sea Surface Temperatures in the Yellow and East China Seas

Abstract

Abstract Satellite observations of sea surface temperature (SST) show that SST in 2004, 2006, and 2016 broke the previous record in the Yellow and East China Seas (YECS). The underlying cause of the record‐breaking SSTs in the YECS is still under debate. Our analysis results demonstrate that enhanced solar radiation and weakened wind, due to a high‐pressure system over the YECS splitting from the western Pacific subtropical high, were mainly responsible for the record‐breaking SSTs in these 3 years. The enhanced solar radiation and weakened wind both depressed oceanic turbulent mixing, and more heat was concentrated in a shallower mixed layer, inducing an anomalous SST rise and resulting in the record‐breaking SSTs.