Seasonal and interannual variability of sea surface chlorophyll a concentration in the Japan/East Sea (JES)

Seasonal and interannual variability of chlorophyll a concentration in the Japan/East Sea (JES) was detected spatially by ocean color satellite remote sensing. Start timing of the spring bloom was different spatially. The spring bloom started at the subpolar front and southward of it in March, northward of subpolar front, along the Primorye coast and off Hokkaido in April and in the middle of the Japan Basin in May. The start of the spring bloom showed interannual variability that corresponded with the wind speed in the area. The spring bloom in 1998 and 2002 appeared about four weeks earlier than in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and it corresponded with weak winds that can lead to an early development of the thermocline. The bloom was late in 1999 and 2001 in the Japan Basin and along the Primorye coast, and in the southern area in 2000. It corresponded with stronger wind stress that delayed seasonal thermocline formation. The bloom along the Primorye coast appeared later in 1999, and it corresponded with stronger wind stress, and at the same time, it seemed to be related with the delay of melting of sea ice in Mamiya Strait. The fall bloom appeared from early October to early December, and it did not have a clear temporal transition. The area where chlorophyll a concentration exceeded 0.8 mug l(-1) was wider in the western area than in the eastern area every year. The magnitude of the fall bloom was different between years, but it did not show a correlation with average wind speed in fall. Those results indicated that the timing of the seasonal bloom in the JES is largely affected by the variability of global climate such as ENSO events. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.