{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]],"date-time":"2026-02-10T18:01:06Z","timestamp":1770746466804,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,17]],"date-time":"2023-04-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1681689600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["41906025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["41906025"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>High-resolution (2 km) high-frequency (hourly) SST data from 2015\u20132020 provided by the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) onboard the Japanese Himawari-8 geostationary satellite positioned over 140.7\u00b0E were used to study spatial and temporal variability of the China Coastal Front (CCF) in the East China Sea. This dataset was processed with the Belkin and O\u2019Reilly algorithm to generate long-term mean monthly maps of the SST gradient magnitude (GM) and frontal frequency (FF). The horizontal structure of the SST field in the vicinity of the CCF was also investigated from the cross-frontal distributions of SST along eight parallels between 31\u00b0N and 24\u00b0N. The monthly mean distributions of SST along these 8 parallels were used to determine inshore and offshore boundaries of the CCF and to calculate the CCF strength defined as the total cross-frontal step (range) dSST calculated as the difference between offshore and inshore SST. The CCF emerges in November, fully develops in December, and peaks in strength in January\u2013February. The front\u2019s fragmentation and shrinking\/weakening begins in February and March, respectively. In winter (December\u2013February), the front\u2019s strength dSST exceeds 5 \u00b0C offshore the Zhejiang-Fujian coast and could be as high as 7.5 \u00b0C when nearshore waters cool down to 7 \u00b0C. In winter, the front\u2019s strength decreases downstream between 31\u00b0N and 24\u00b0N. The CCF changes its physical nature as the seasons progress. In winter, the CCF is a water mass front between the cold and fresh water coming from the north and the warm and salty water coming from the south. In summer, the CCF becomes a coastal upwelling front maintained largely by southerly winds. In winter, the CCF\u2019s cross-frontal structure in the SST field is ramp-shaped, with SST increasing monotonously in the offshore direction. In summer, the CCF\u2019s cross-frontal structure in the SST field is V-shaped or U-shaped, featuring a minimum SST formed by cold upwelled water at some distance from the shore. Thus, the summer SST structure effectively consists of two parallel fronts, an inshore one and an offshore one, with a minimum SST in between. Across the inshore\/offshore front, the SST decreases\/increases in the offshore direction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15082123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,18]],"date-time":"2023-04-18T01:36:45Z","timestamp":1681781805000},"page":"2123","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["The China Coastal Front from Himawari-8 AHI SST Data\u2014Part 1: East China Sea"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9313-6836","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Igor M.","family":"Belkin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China"}]},{"given":"Shang-Shang","family":"Lou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8931-4975","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wen-Bin","family":"Yin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102553","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pocean.2021.102553","article-title":"Progress on circulation dynamics in the East China Sea and southern Yellow Sea: Origination, pathways, and destinations of shelf currents","volume":"193","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Prog. Oceanogr."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1007\/s10236-020-01427-8","article-title":"Seasonal variability and dynamics of coastal sea surface temperature fronts in the East China Sea","volume":"71","author":"Cao","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ocean Dyn."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"L23603","DOI":"10.1029\/2006GL027415","article-title":"Wintertime sea surface temperature fronts in the Taiwan Strait","volume":"33","author":"Chang","year":"2006","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6249","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160802175462","article-title":"Wintertime high-resolution features of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a fields associated with oceanic fronts in the southern East China Sea","volume":"29","author":"Chang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4807","DOI":"10.1080\/01431161.2010.485146","article-title":"Fine-scale sea surface temperature fronts in wintertime in the northern South China Sea","volume":"31","author":"Chang","year":"2010","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"273","article-title":"Investigation of mesoscale fronts, eddies and upwelling in the China Seas with satellite data","volume":"3","author":"He","year":"1995","journal-title":"Glob. Atmos. Ocean Syst."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmarsys.2015.02.009","article-title":"Double SST fronts observed from MODIS data in the East China Sea off the Zhejiang\u2013Fujian coast, China","volume":"154","author":"He","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Mar. Syst."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2945","DOI":"10.1029\/1999GL011223","article-title":"Climatology and seasonal variability of ocean fronts in the East China, Yellow and Bohai seas from satellite SST data","volume":"27","author":"Hickox","year":"2000","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1017","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dsr2.2010.02.003","article-title":"Sea-surface temperature fronts in the Yellow and East China Seas from TRMM microwave imager data","volume":"57","author":"Huang","year":"2010","journal-title":"Deep Sea Res. Part II"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dsr2.2014.03.021","article-title":"Seasonal evolution of fine-scale sea surface temperature fronts in the East China Sea","volume":"119","author":"Lee","year":"2015","journal-title":"Deep Sea Res. Part II"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1225","DOI":"10.1111\/geb.12779","article-title":"Ocean fronts construct spatial zonation in microfossil assemblages","volume":"27","author":"Liu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21623","DOI":"10.1029\/98JC01612","article-title":"Physicobiological oceanographic remote sensing of the East China Sea: Satellite and in situ observations","volume":"103","author":"Ning","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Oceans"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1008","DOI":"10.1007\/s11430-010-3060-x","article-title":"Analysis of sea surface temperature fronts in the Taiwan Strait and its adjacent area using an advanced edge detection method","volume":"53","author":"Pi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sci. China Earth Sci."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"597","DOI":"10.1007\/s00343-015-4356-7","article-title":"Application of a sea surface temperature front composite algorithm in the Bohai, Yellow, and East China Seas","volume":"34","author":"Ping","year":"2015","journal-title":"Chin. J. Oceanol. Limnol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106600","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecss.2020.106600","article-title":"Spatiotemporal variations in suspended sediments over the inner shelf of the East China Sea with the effect of oceanic fronts","volume":"234","author":"Qiao","year":"2020","journal-title":"Estuarine Coast. Shelf Sci."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"65","article-title":"Ichthyoplankton community associated with oceanic fronts in early winter on the continental shelf of the southern East China Sea","volume":"21","author":"Wang","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Mar. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4550","DOI":"10.1080\/01431161.2017.1407053","article-title":"Satellite observation of the winter variation of sea surface temperature fronts in relation to the spatial distribution of ichthyoplankton in the continental shelf of the southern East China Sea","volume":"39","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao, L.H., Yang, D.T., Zhong, R., and Yin, X.Q. (2022). Interannual, seasonal, and monthly variability of sea surface temperature fronts in offshore China from 1982\u20132021. Remote Sens., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14215336"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmarsys.2008.10.016","article-title":"An algorithm for oceanic front detection in chlorophyll and SST satellite imagery","volume":"78","author":"Belkin","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Mar. Syst."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0426(1992)009<0067:EDAFSI>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Edge detection algorithm for SST images","volume":"9","author":"Cayula","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1861","DOI":"10.1002\/2013JC009531","article-title":"Wind-driven variability in sea surface temperature front distribution in the California Current System","volume":"119","author":"Castelao","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Oceans"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2005.05.018","article-title":"Application of an edge detection method to satellite images for distinguishing sea surface temperature fronts near the Japanese coast","volume":"98","author":"Shimada","year":"2005","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111366","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2019.111366","article-title":"Half a century of satellite remote sensing of sea-surface temperature","volume":"233","author":"Minnett","year":"2019","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"653","DOI":"10.1002\/2015RG000505","article-title":"Progress on upwelling studies in the China seas","volume":"54","author":"Hu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Rev. Geophys."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81751M","DOI":"10.1117\/12.898140","article-title":"Satellite observation of the Zhejiang Coastal upwelling in the East China Sea during 2007\u20132009","volume":"8175","author":"Lou","year":"2011","journal-title":"Proc. SPIE"},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"297","article-title":"Upwelling in Zhejiang coastal areas during summer detected by satellite observations","volume":"12","author":"Hu","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liang, X.S., and Zhang, Y.-Z. (2018). Coastal Environment, Disaster, and Infrastructure\u2014A Case Study of China\u2019s Coastline, IntechOpen.","DOI":"10.5772\/intechopen.79950"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"457","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(02)00062-7","article-title":"Upwelling in the Taiwan Strait during the summer monsoon detected by satellite and shipboard measurements","volume":"83","author":"Tang","year":"2002","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"307","DOI":"10.1016\/S0273-1177(03)00477-0","article-title":"Long-time observation of annual variation of Taiwan Strait upwelling in summer season","volume":"33","author":"Tang","year":"2004","journal-title":"Adv. Space Res."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3963","DOI":"10.1029\/2001GL013306","article-title":"Seasonal variability of thermal fronts in the northern South China Sea from satellite data","volume":"28","author":"Wang","year":"2001","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106793","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecss.2020.106793","article-title":"Distribution and variability of sea surface temperature fronts in the south China sea","volume":"240","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Estuarine Coast. Shelf Sci."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"617","DOI":"10.1007\/s10872-006-0081-3","article-title":"Thermal and haline fronts in the Yellow\/East China Seas: Surface and subsurface seasonality comparison","volume":"62","author":"Park","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Oceanogr."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"394","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmarsys.2008.11.016","article-title":"Chemical and physical fronts in the Bohai, Yellow and East China seas","volume":"78","author":"Chen","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Mar. Syst."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Belkin, I. (2021). Remote Sensing of Ocean Fronts in Marine Ecology and Fisheries. Remote Sens., 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs13050883"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.2151\/jmsj.2016-009","article-title":"An Introduction to Himawari-8\/9\u2014Japan\u2019s new-generation geostationary meteorological satellites","volume":"94","author":"Bessho","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hu, Z., Xie, G., Zhao, J., Lei, Y., Xie, J., and Pang, W. (2022). Mapping Diurnal Variability of the Wintertime Pearl River Plume Front from Himawari-8 Geostationary Satellite Observations. Water, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/w14010043"},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"177","article-title":"The structure of fronts and their causes in the coastal upwelling area off Zhejiang, China","volume":"6","author":"Pan","year":"1987","journal-title":"Acta Oceanol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"C11S06","DOI":"10.1029\/2005JC003264","article-title":"Coastal upwelling in the East China Sea in winter","volume":"111","author":"Qiao","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Oceans"}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/8\/2123\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T19:17:41Z","timestamp":1760123861000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/8\/2123"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,17]]},"references-count":38,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4]]}},"alternative-id":["rs15082123"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs15082123","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,17]]}}}