Spatial distribution of seasonality of SeaWiFS chlorophyll-a concentrations in the East/Japan Sea

- Three seasonality patterns of ten-year chl-a time series were identified in the EJS.
- The patterns are spatially distinct corresponding to the EJS geographical regions.
- The patterns are associated with both climatology and local physical conditions.

To investigate the spatial characteristics of seasonality in phytoplankton productivity over the entire East/Japan Sea (EJS), a wavelet analysis was applied to SeaWiFS chlorophyll-a (chl-a) data over the period from 1998 to 2007. The wavelet analysis revealed that a 6-month period of change in chl-a concentration, explained by spring and fall blooms, was persistent throughout EJS during the ten years examined. The time series seasonality could be further classified into three patterns: (1) the highest variance peak at the 6-month period, (2) double variance peaks with similar values at the periods of 6- and 12-month, and (3) the highest variance at the 12-month period. A spatial map of the ratios between variances at the 6- and 12-month periods illustrated geographical distribution of the chl-a seasonality patterns. The Japan Basin and Ulleung Warm Eddy area were characterized by pattern 1 associated with clear spring and fall blooms. The region near the sub-polar front had seasonality pattern 2 characterized by two similar, weak blooms, and the area of East Koran Bay and the Yamato Basin are distinguished by pattern 3 with strong spring bloom, but irregular and unnoticeable fall bloom due to relatively high chl-a concentrations in wintertime. Distinct regional distribution of the seasonality patterns may suggest that phytoplankton productivity and its seasonal cycles respond not only to basin-scale or mesoscale climate forcing but also to changes in local physical properties characterizing each region.