Investigating the variability of surface chlorophyll-a in association with sea surface temperature and surface wind in the South China Sea

In this study, the variability of surface chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in association with sea surface temperature (SST), and surface wind (SW) in the South China Sea (SCS) is investigated using the 8-day, 4-km, DINEOF-reconstructed MODISA Chl-a and SST, and the 8-day, 25-km Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform SW from 2003 to 2016. Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis on the data sets presents: (1) The first Chl-a mode presents the variability of coastal Chl-a, reaching maximum values in November-December and minimum values in April-May. (2) The second Chl-a mode shows the seasonal variability of open-sea Chl-a, increasing in winter and decreasing in summer. The second Chl-a mode has a correlation with the seasonal upwelling favorable SW. (3) The third Chl-a mode in association with the third SST mode captures the upwelling phenomena in the SCS in winter and summer.