Hydrographic and biological changes in the Taiwan Strait during the 1997–1998 El Niño winter

[1] During the 1997–1998 El Niño event, the average sea surface temperature (SST) in the Taiwan Strait (TWS) in the winter was 1.4 C higher than that of the winter climatological mean. The areal ratio of the warm water ( 2 C above the regional mean) to the cold water ( 2 C below the regional mean) in the TWS increased by 25%while the area of the eutrophic water (chlorophyll a >1 mg m ) was halved. Field observations also indicate that the mixed layer in the TWS became more nutrient-poor during this winter. These observations are consistent with a diminished advection of the cold and eutrophic Zhe-Min Coastal Water, and, concomitantly, an expansive intrusion of the warm and oligotrophic South China Sea Warm Current/ Kuroshio Branch Water to the TWS as the northeast monsoon was weakened. Thus, El Niño events potentially can have significant ecological impacts on the TWS. Citation: Shang, S., C. Zhang, H. Hong, Q. Liu, G. T. F. Wong, C. Hu, and B. Huang (2005), Hydrographic and biological changes in the Taiwan Strait during the 1997–1998 El Niño winter, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L11601, doi:10.1029/2005GL022578.