Abstract: The surface cold and warm tongues are used as a key characteristic to describe the spatial feature of SST. However, that characteristic is often used qualitatively rather than quantitatively because of lacking quantitative parameters. In this paper, we use nine years (2006-2014) merged microwave and infrared SST data to analyze quantitatively the spatial and temporal variations of the surface cold and warm tongues in the Bohai, Yellow and East China Seas (BYES). The characteristics of the surface cold and warm tongues are expressed in terms of their path and associated temperature. Two cold tongues and six warm tongues are identified in the BYES in February. The Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis shows that the total variance of the path of tongues is explained mostly by the three leading EOF modes (73.4%). Specifically, the first spatial mode of path shows that every tongue moves coherently in same direction, and the most significant movement occurs in the central and the west of East China Sea. In contrast, the second and third spatial modes show that most tongues move with a seesaw pattern, and the most significant movement occurs at the south of Kyushu and in the Yellow Sea respectively. The total variance of temperature on the path of tongues is explained mostly by the first EOF mode (69.6%),which has a coherent increase or decrease of temperature in each tongue with a large amplitude in the Bohai and Yellow Seas. Both the path and associated temperature of the tongues have a 2-3 year inter-annual variation, however only the second EOF temporal mode of the path has passed the significant test. In winter, the relatively even loss of the heat in the sea leads to a much faster decrease of SST in the shallow area than in the deep area and forms cold and warm patterns associated with the bathymetry of the BYES. The uneven advectional heat transport plays a different role at various areas to reinforce and compensate the decrease of SST. In the cold tongue area, the advectional heat transport reinforces the heat loss of the water and leads to a much colder SST than the surrounding area, consequently forms the cold tongues. In contrast, in the warm tongue areas, the advectional heat transport compensates the heat loss of the water and leads to a much warmer SST than the surrounding area, consequently forms the warm tongues. The advectional heat transport plays a major role at the formation of the cold and warm tongues in the BYES.

Key words: sea surface cold and warm tongues, the Bohai, Yellow and East China Seas, temporal and spatial variations, advectional heat transport