The impacts of 2008 snowstorm in China on the ecological environments in the Northern South China Sea

At the beginning of 2008, disastrous weather with snowstorms truck South China. Analysis of satellite and in situ data revealed obvious changes in ecological environments in the northern South China Sea after snowstorms. The sea surface temperature (SST) data from NOAA and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) from 2000 to 2013, and the chlorophyll-a (Chla) concentration from MODIS are analysed. In the study area, the multiple-day-averaged SST dropped by 20.01% and Chla concentration increased by 22.42% during and after snowstorm. SST decreased more significantly and Chla increased in the coastal waters, while suspended sediment concentration (SSC) increased more remarkably offshore. The biggest drop of SST reached 6 degrees C and striking elevation in Chla with 52.55% in the Taiwan Strait, and SSC changed significantly near to the Taiwan bank after the snowstorm. Further analysis indicated that the remarkable reductions in SST were caused by large cold water input from Min-Zhe coastal water and the Pearl River Estuary, as a result of strong sea-land-air interaction in the coastal waters during the snowstorm. The increase in Chla may be related to the abundant nutrients from the plenty of cold water, a strong front and vertical mixing in the coastal waters