Thermal Front Variability during The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in The Banda Sea Using Remotely Sensed Data

Abstract

The Banda Sea is one of the routes of global ocean currents that move from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. This flow is known as Indonesian Through Flow (ITF). The Banda Sea is an area where warm and cold water masses meet, so it has the potential for a thermal front. This study aims to understand the variability of thermal front in the Banda Sea during the El Nino Southern Oscillation period. Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and sea surface temperature (SST) data in 2010, 2012 and 2015 were used in this study. SOI data was obtained from http://www.bom.gov.au and SST data was obtained from http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov. The data were processed using ArcGIS 10.4 software and Ms. Office 2013. The results showed the La Nina period occurs in July - December 2010, the Normal period occurs in July - December 2012, and the El Nino period occurs in May - October 2015. In general, during La Nina, the mean SST has higher values than the other periods. On the other hand, the highest thermal front occurs during the El Niño period (10584), followed by the Normal period (7544) and the lowest during the La Niña period (5961), respectively.