Remote sensing revealed seasonal dynamics of oceanic processes and chlorophyll-<italic style="font-style: italic">a</italic> variability in the Japan Sea

Weifang JIN; Chenjie SHI; Beifeng ZHOU; Tao DING; Yue JIANG; Xinyu GUO; Yingcheng LU; Yuntao WANG

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Remote sensing revealed seasonal dynamics of oceanic processes and chlorophyll-a variability in the Japan Sea

Ocean color remote sensing applications | Updated：2026-08-13

- Remote sensing revealed seasonal dynamics of oceanic processes and chlorophyll-a variability in the Japan Sea
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 44, Pages: 1-15(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China
  2.International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
  3.Center for Marine Environmental Study, Ehime University, Matsuyama 790-0826, Japan
- Author bio：
  
  zhoubf@sio.org.cn
  yuntao.wang@sio.org.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：
  CLC：
- Received：23 September 2025，
  
  Online First：13 August 2026，
  
  Published：01 September 2026
- Accepted：
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JIN Weifang,SHI Chenjie,ZHOU Beifeng,et al.Remote sensing revealed seasonal dynamics of oceanic processes and chlorophyll-a variability in the Japan Sea[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,
DOI：

JIN Weifang,SHI Chenjie,ZHOU Beifeng,et al.Remote sensing revealed seasonal dynamics of oceanic processes and chlorophyll-a variability in the Japan Sea[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, DOI：.

摘要

Abstract

The Japan Sea is a semi-enclosed marginal sea characterized by complex hydrodynamics and prominent seasonal variability in oceanic fronts and currents. While physical dynamics are known to influence marine ecosystems

the specific spatiotemporal dependence of chlorophyll

(Chl

) on frontal activities and other environmental factors in this region remains quantitatively under-explored. This study utilized satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) and Chl-

data to detect fronts using the gradient method and investigated their relationships using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and correlation analyses. Th

e results revealed distinct seasonal patterns

with the subpolar frontal zone exhibiting a phase reversal in frontal activity compared to the coastal shelf zone. A significant positive correlation between frontal probability (FP) and Chl

was identified in the central and southern basins (35°N–40°N)

indicating that frontal dynamics are a primary driver of phytoplankton growth in this region

likely through nutrient supply via vertical circulation. In contrast

wind forcing and surface currents were identified as the dominant factors regulating Chl-

variability in the northern and coastal regions. Furthermore

these regional dynamics were found to be significantly modulated by the North Pacific index on interannual scales. These findings provide a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the physical-biological coupling in the Japan Sea

highlighting the spatially varying roles of fronts and atmospheric forcing in sustaining marine productivity.

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references

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Remote sensing revealed seasonal dynamics of oceanic processes and chlorophyll-a variability in the Japan Sea

DOI：

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references