Double SST fronts observed from MODIS data in the East China Sea off the Zhejiang–Fujian coast, China

Abstract We report a double coastal front system off the Zhejiang (Zhe) and Fujian (Min) Provinces in the East China Sea in winter. In addition to the well-known Zhe–Min offshore coastal front along 50 m isobath, a secondary near-shore coastal thermal front along 20 m isobath is also apparent in December and January. The fronts were observed by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) at monthly mean nighttime sea surface temperature (SST) during 2000–2013 in terms of SST gradients. Our results showed temporal and spatial variations of the two fronts as follows: (1) both offshore front and near-shore front often co-exist between 26.5°N and 29.5°N in December and between 28.0°N and 29.5°N in January. However, only the offshore front is apparent in November and February. (2) The near-shore front is narrow (4–16 km), while the offshore front is three to four times wider (16–48 km). (3) In contrast to the well-known offshore front which exists throughout the winter with a strong intensity, the near-shore front has a shorter lifetime with a weak intensity, and has been overlooked by previous studies. Finally, we proposed that the bottom bathymetric gradients may play an important role in the frontogenesis of the double fronts.