Analysis of the variability of temperature gradient in the ocean frontal zones based on satellite data

AVHRR MCSST data for the periods 1982–2000 (mean weekly data) were used to calculate mean gradient fields in the ocean for different periods of time. Three-month averaged sea surface temperature gradients (SSTG) and their mean seasonal variations have been studied for 25 points in the large-scale oceanic fronts zones. Major oceanic fronts in the Atlantic and Pacific have been identified and compared in literature. In the North Atlantic and Pacific, the areas under study were the North Polar Front and Subpolar Fronts. In the South Atlantic and Pacific we studied the region of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the fronts formed by this current, known as the South Polar Front, and the Subantarctic Front. SSTG were also calculated for El Niño (Southeast Pacific) and Benguela Current (Southeast Atlantic).