Near-surface Temperature Inversion over the East China Sea

Temperature inversion structure affects the boundary layer activity and convective activity. The frequency, strength, and formation mechanism of near-surface temperature inversion are studied using sounding data at three stations over the East China Sea from 2000 to 2015. The results show that the frequency and strength of the inversion are larger in summer (over Cheju station) than in winter (over ROIG station). The inversion is mainly classified as advection inversion over Cheju station, while mainly classified as radiation inversion over ROIG station. Low cloud amount in winter is larger than that in summer over the East China Sea, which is opposite to the inversion frequency. The reason is that the frequent and strong inversions hinder the height of convection in summer, it is difficult for moist air to reach the lifting condensation level and form clouds.