Program

 The Zhe Min Coastal Water (ZMCW) is the main current on the west side of the Taiwan Strait (TWS) through the whole year except for summer. It plays an important role on  the circulation,  biogeochemical processes and marine ecosystem of TWS. In this study we analyzed the long term variability of ZMCW base on the sea surface temperature data in different time periods observed from AVHRR, MODIS in 1981-2016. The areal and intensity index of the ZMCW were established rely on the temperature threshold method and temperature space anomaly method. The preliminary results indicated that the intensity of ZMCW in winter and spring experienced from strong to weak during early 1980s to the end of 1990s. After that, the ZMCW intensity gradually became stronger. The enhanced trend was most significant after year 2002. The spatial distribution of ZMCW during 1991-2009 was more south and east than that of 1981-1998. Our result also indicates that these changes of ZMCW in winter and spring are mainly affected by the local northeast wind, sea-air interaction, currents, runoff and other factors. These changes are also the main factors that control the trend of SST changes in the TWS.