Seasonal Migration of the Baiu Frontal Zone over the East China Sea: Sea Surface Temperature Effect

Abstract

We propose a new scenario for the seasonal migration of the Baiu frontal zone over the East China Sea in which this migration is affected by variations in the sea surface temperature (SST). Using atmospheric and oceanic objective analysis datasets, a relationship was determined between the seasonal migration of the Baiu frontal zone and the decaying process of the cold high over the East China Sea. Before the middle of June, the cold high, cooled by the low SST, is present over the continental shelf, and the position of the Baiu frontal zone corresponds to that of the Kuroshio Front. After the middle of June, the cold high decays and is shifted northward in association with the warming SST over the shelf. As a result, the Baiu frontal zone migrates northward and ends in the middle of July due to the dissipation of the cold high.