Occurrence of large temperature inversion in the thermohaline frontal zone at the Yellow Sea entrance in winter and its relation to advection

Temperature inversion (higher temperature at a deeper depth) in winter and its relation to advection were investigated by analyzing both conductivity-temperature-depth data in the southern Yellow Sea (YS) and northwestern East China Sea during the winter of 2002–2003 and time series data of temperature, salinity, and currents at a buoy station at the YS entrance. Significant temperature inversions occur predominantly along the thermohaline front at the YS entrance where the Cheju Warm Current Water (CWCW) and the cold coastal waters meet. In February 2003, on the northern frontal zone along 34°N where isotherms and isohalines declined downward to the north, particularly large inversions with temperature differences of larger than 2.0°C were observed to occur more in troughs than in the crests of the wave-like frontal meander where the cold Korean coastal water (KCW) advances farther southward. The inversion persisted until mid-April at the buoy station in the frontal zone, and both temperature and salinity showed simultaneous variations in the same manner. During episodic occurrences of large inversions, temperature and salinity decreased sharply in the upper layer, but increased concurrently in the lower layer. These episodic inversions were found to be closely related to the westward advection of the KCW in the upper layer and the northward advection of the CWCW in the lower layer. It is considered that these advections may play an important role in maintaining baroclinicity in the northern frontal zone, which is responsible for driving the westward transversal flow across the YS entrance.