Seasonal and Inter-annual Variability of Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Surface Wind in the Eastern Part of Indonesian Sea: Ten Years Analysis of Satellite Remote Sensing Data

The overall objective of this study is to gain an improved understanding of the sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface wind speed (WS) and sea surface wind direction (WD) variability in the Eastern part of Indonesian Sea in response to the seasonal and inter-annual variations. The statistical properties and monthly average data for the 10-year period from December 1999-November 2009 in the Eastern part of Indonesian Sea are investigated by integrated use of TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and SeaWinds on the Quik Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) satellite remote sensing data. The time series shows a high variability (unstable areas) of SST and WS in the southern equatorial (120 degrees-135 degrees E and 3 degrees S-18 degrees S) in contrast with the stable SST condition around equatorial and other regions. This condition related to the effect of the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) and the prevailing winds in the Indonesian inland seas, which is WD varies seasonally. North-south (zonal) change of SST and WS are observed. These overall analyses confirm several characteristics of the Eastern part of Indonesian Sea.