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[1] This study investigates upper ocean response to Super Typhoon Hai-Tang, the most intense typhoon in 2005, in the western North Pacific using multi-satellite microwave data, typhoon data and Argo profiles. Sequential merged microwave sea surface temperature (SST) images show that Hai-Tang induced four separately cooling responses after its trail in the western North Pacific during 11 -18 July.Comparison between upper ocean responses of cooling SST and pre-typhoon sea surface height suggests that these cooling responses of the upper ocean to Hai-Tang are closely associated with pre-existing cyclonic circulation denoted by pre-existing negative sea surface features. Furthermore, applying Argo profiles, the physical mechanism is confirmed to be associated with pre-existing cyclonic circulations provide a relatively unstable thermodynamic structure, and therefore cold water would be brought up readily. This paper provides the rather convincing evidence that cyclonic flow and uplifted thermocline are the preexisting conditions for intensive cooling following the typhoon passage.

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The ERS scatterometer and NOAA/AVHRR data during 1996/4–2000/12 are used to examine the variations of the sea surface wind and sea surface temperature (SST) in the Taiwan Strait (TS) through Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis. It is found that the sea surface wind in the TS is southwesterly in summer but northeasterly in the other seasons. Meanwhile, the sea surface wind was much weaker during the whole 1997/1998 El Niño year than the 1998/1999 La Niña year. The SST in the TS is colder in the northwestern part and warmer around the southeastern region. In the 1997/1998 El Niño year, it was colder in summer but warmer in winter comparing with the 1998/1999 La Niña year. It is suggested that the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events can affect the wind patterns in the TS, and therefore modulate the sea surface currents to result in the SST change in interannual scale.