Vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in the central South China Sea estimated from 234Th-238U disequilibria

234Th-238u disequilibria were applied to examine the particle dynamics in the euphotic zone of the central South China Sea during the spring 2002 cruise. The particulate organic carbon (POC), 234Th (including both dissolved and particulate) and 238U in the water column at three stations were determined. The profiles of 234Th/238U activity ratio at the three stations all showed consistent 234Th deficit as compared to 238U in the upper 100 m water column. Based on the profiles of the dissolved and particulate 234Th and a steady state box model, the dissolved 234Th scavenging rates, the particulate 234Th removal rates and their resident times were quantified. It was found that the POC downward export fluxes out of the upper 100 m euphotic zone ranged from 9.40 to 14.78 mmol.m-2.d-1. The results from this study provide new information for our understanding of carbon biogeochemical cycle in the South China Sea.     

234Th-derived particulate organic carbon export flux in the western Arctic Ocean

To evaluate the particle dynamics and estimate the POC (particulate organic carbon) export flux from the euphotic zone in the western Arctic Ocean, ²³⁴Th-²³⁸U disequilibrium was applied during the second Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (July 15–September 26, 2003). The POC export fluxes are estimated from the measured profiles of the ²³⁴Th/²³⁸U activity ratios and the POC/PTh ratios. The average residence times of the particulate and dissolved ²³⁴Th in the euphotic zone are 33 d and 121 d, and their average export fluxes are 480 dpm/m²d and 760 dpm/m²d, respectively. The scavenging and removal processes of particle reactive elements are active in the upper layer of the Chukchi Sea. The average residence time of ²³⁴Th increases from shelf to basin, while the export fluxes of ²³⁴Th decrease. The estimated POC export fluxes from the euphotic zone vary from 2.1 to 20.3 mmol/m²d, indicating that the western Arctic Ocean is an important carbon sink in summer due to efficient biological pump.     

Preliminary study on particulate organic carbon export fluxes in the Bering Sea

During the Second Chinese National Arctic Expedition (CHINARE) from July to September 2003, depth profiles of dissolved and particulate 234Th in upper water columns were collected at two stations of BR03 and BR24 in the Bering Sea. 234Th was sampled by using a traditional Fe(OH)3 co-precipitation technique, which is a reliable approach to 234Th measurement. We observed 234Th excess at station BR03 below the euphotic zone, which was possibly due to the intensive remineralization of particulate matter. Particulate organic carbon (POC) export fluxes were estimated from a one-dimensional irreversible steady state model of 234Th fluxes together with measurements of the POC/234Th ratio on the suspended particles. The POC export fluxes from the euphotic zone were 11.66 and 11.69 mmol C m-2 d-1 at BR03 and BR24 stations,respectively. The ratios of POC fluxes to primary production at the two stations were about 0.5 and 0.59, respectively, probably due to the presence of large phytoplankton (in particular diatoms).     

A dynamic box model of bioactive elements in the southern Taiwan Strait

A dynamic box model was applied to study the characteristics of biogeochemical cycling of PO_4-P,NO_3-N,AOU,POC and PON in the southern Taiwan Strait region based on field data of the"Minnan Taiwan Bank Fishing Ground Upwelling Ecosystem Study" during the period of Dec.1987-Nov.1988.According to the unique hydrological and topographical features of the region,six boxesand three layers were considered in the model.The variation rates and fluxes of elements induced by hor-izontal current,upwelling,by diffusion,sinking of particles and biogeochemical processes were estimatedrespectively.Results further confirmed that upwellings had important effects in this region.Thenearshore upwelling areas had net input fluxes of nutrients brought by upwelling water,also had high de-pletion rates of nutrients and production rates of particulate organic matter and dissolved oxygen.Theabnormal net production of nutrients in the middle layer(10-30m) indicated the important role of bacte-ria in this high production region.Th     

STUDY OF OKINAWA TROUGH SEDIMENTATION RATES AND PALEOENVIRONMENT BASED ON URANIUM SERIES ISOTOPE

Spectrometry of ~(238)U, ~(234)U, ~(230)Th and, ~(232)Th in three Okinawa Trough cores showed that, based on the~(230)Th/~(232)Th activity ratio, the sedimentation rates were about 2.5 cm/ka, 2.8 cm/ka and 8.5 cm/ka respectivelyduring the Holocene and about 20.1 cm/ka, 12.29 cm/ka, 8.8 cm/ka and 12.6 cm/ka respectively during theWurm glacial. To examine the past global climatic and oceanographic changes, the stable oxygen isotopesδ~(18)O and CaCO_3 were measured. The Th content and Th/U ratio showed that variations of terrigenous materialinput from the continental shelf were associated with glacial and interglacial changes and sea level     

Dissolved oxygen distribution and O2 fluxes across the sea-air interface in East China Sea waters

This study on the sectional and vertical distribution of dissolved oxygen (DO) and the O₂ fluxes across the sea-air interface in East China Sea (ESC) waters shows that the waters were in steady state and that the difference of DO was great in upper and bottom waters in Apr. 1994; but that seawater mixing was strong and the difference of DO was small in upper and bottom waters in Oct. 1994. The above conclusions were specially obvious in continental shelf waters under 100 m. The DO maximum in subsurface layer waters appeared only at several stations and in general the DO in the waters decreased with depth. The horizontal distributions of O₂ fluxes across the sea-air interface appeared in stripes in Leg 9404 when most regions covered were supersaturated with O₂ seawater to air flux was large, and that on section No. 1 was 1.594 L/m²·d. The horizontal distribution of O₂ fluxes across the sea-air interface appeared lumpy in Leg 9410, when most regions covered were unsaturated with O₂·O₂ was dissolved from air to seawater, and the fluxes were 0.819 L/m²·d on section No. 1 in Leg 9310, 0.219 L/m²·d in Leg 9410. The main reasons for DO change in surface layer seawater were the mixture of upper and bottom layer water, and the exchange of O₂ across the sea-air interface. The variation of DO by biological activity was only 20% of total change of DO. Contribution No. 2716 from Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

Geochemical studies of U,Th, Ra,40K in seciments of the China Sea and adjacent sea area,and lower reaches of several Chinese Rivers

Geochemical studies of the U, Th, Ra, and⁴⁰K in surface sediments of the China Sea and adjacent sea areas, the lower reaches of the Huanghe and Changjiang Rivers and the estuaries of the Zhujiang and Rongjiang Rivers were carried out with a model 8180-4K multichannel Ge(Li)γ spectrometer in 1981–1985. The mean values of U, Ra, Th,⁴⁰K are about 2.11 ppm, 7.67×10⁻¹³g/g, 11.00 ppm, and 2.33 ppm respectively, in the China Sea, the Okinawa Trough, and the Changjiang and Huanghe River estuaries. The distribution of the four isotopes is uniform in the above zone. The contents of U and Th in the sediments of the Zhujiang and Rongjiang Rivers and the Fujian coast are 1–4 times higher than those of the above zone and are related to the granite and radioactive ore present in the upper reaches of these rivers or the adjacent mountains. The distributions of U, Th, Ra, and⁴⁰K are related to the physico-chemical property, redox state, geological type and grain size of the sediment, and biotic activity. Contribution No. 1408, Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica, Qingdao.     

Dissolved copper, lead and cadmium in Pingtan waters, East China Sea

mODUCTIONTheislandsOfHaitan,Yuo,Dalian,DowiangandCaoguinPingtanCoUntyofFu-jianProvincearetogetherthewhtoasPingtan(25'l5'-25o45'E,l19"32'-12o"lo'N,EaStChinaSea).AmngthemHaitangIslanisthedrinoneinPingtanCotmty,andthelargestinFuianProvince.RngtanhaSanatuIalfishinggroUn(SeduMOUntaln)beingrenownedboghoutthecOUnnyandawelldeVfoPedaqUacultUreindusny.Pingtanwa-tersresotirceswerestirveyedforthefirsttimebytheauthorssothattheknowedgegainedcanbeaPPliedforbettereaploitahon,PIDechon,andde…     

Water transports through the four main straits around the South China Sea

A quasi-global high-resolution HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) is used to investigate seasonal variations of water transports through the four main straits in the South China Sea. The results show that the annual transports through the four straits Luzon Strait, Taiwan Strait, Sunda Shelf and Mindoro Strait are −4.5, 2.3, 0.5 and 1.7 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³s⁻¹), respectively. The Mindoro Strait has an important outflow that accounts for over one third of the total inflow through the Luzon Strait. Furthermore, it indicates that there are strong seasonal variations of water transport in the four straits. The water transport through the Luzon Strait (Taiwan Strait, Sunda Shelf, Mindoro Strait) has a maximum value of −7.6 Sv in December (3.1 Sv in July, 2.1S v in January, 4.5Sv in November), a minimum value of −2.1 Sv in June (1.5 Sv in October, −1.0 Sv in June, −0.2 Sv in May), respectively. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40806012, 40876013), Open Fund of the Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KLOCAW0803) and Scientific Research Foundation for talent, Guangdong Ocean University (No. E06118)     

Distribution of heavy metals and nutrients in rainwater in coastal regions between the southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Rainwater samples were collected in series in Qianliyan Island (southern Yellow Sea) and Shengsi Archipelago (East China Sea) between May 2000 and May 2002, chemical analysis for pH values,concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd) and nutrients (NH4^-, NO3^-, PO43^-, SiO32^-) were performed.Results indicate that concentrations of most of the heavy metals and nutrients in rainwater show clear seasonal variation, i.e. high level in winter and low level in summer. Regionally, concentrations are higher in the southern Yellow Sea than in the East China Sea, but the annual input of heavy metals into oceans by wet deposition is similar in both stations. However, the input of nutrients by wet deposition in the East China Sea is 2-3 times higher than that in the southern Yellow Sea. In individual, Pb and PO4^3- are input to the sea mainly by dry deposition; whereas Cu, Zn, Cd and N compounds are input dominantly by wet deposition, the N/P ratios in the rainwater from two stations are much higher than those in seawater, showing a significant impact of atmospheric wet deposition on marine production and biogeochemical circulation of nutrients in these sea regions.     

A study on the flux,speciation, and budget of mercury in controlled experimental ecosystems

The lowest addition of mercury (0.1 ug Hg 1⁻¹) was used in CEEs for research on mercury flux, speciation and budget. The removal behavior of mercury by phytoplankton in water columns of CEEs can be described by first order kinetic equations for total and particulate mercury in the CEE spiked by mercury. The removal rate of mercury in water columns depends on the size and productivity of phytoplanton in a water column to which mercuric ions were added. A 4.4 day half-life time and a 2.8 day half-life time for total and particulate mercury respectively was obtained in diatom bloom. During microflagellate bloom a 30 day total mercury half-life time was estimated with increase of particulate mercury in the water column. The 0.010 ug Hg cm⁻²y⁻¹ mercury flux rate that was attained in the control bag agreed with the values from field measurements in Saanich Inlet where the bags were launched. The proportion of total mercury to dissolved and particulate mercury depended also on the size, productivity, and concentration of mercury in a water column. A more or less constant distribution of mercury species in the control bag was observed as follows: dissolved Hg 0.73, particulate Hg 0.27, inorganic Hg 0.42, dissolved organic Hg 0.31. After spiking with mercury, the particulate mercury rose rapidly and reached to over 70% of the total mercury. The concentration factor of mercury by phytoplankton in the CEEs in the order of 10⁵ was consistent with the results from field measurements in Saanich Inlet. The mercury recovery from the water column, sediment, water with sediment, and the CEE bag walls was only 52.3% of total mercury spiked in the CEE. The losses of mercury by vaporization into the ambient air and diffusion through the wall of the enclosure should be considered. This paper was published in Chinese inOcean. Limn. Sinica,17(4):307–317, 1986.     

Study on gametophyte vegetative growth ofUndaria pinnatifida and its applications

When cultured under certain environmental conditions (25°C, light intensity 80 μmol/m²·s, LD 12/12, in enriched seawater medium with 7×10⁻⁴ mol/L NO₃−N, 1.56×10⁻⁴ mol/L, PO₄−P and supplements of other elements like Mn, Fe, I, etc.), male and female gametophytes ofU. pinnatifida kept growing vegetatively and propagated fast at average daily fresh weight increase rate of about 20%. The empirical formulaG _m=G _o·3^m was established to estimate the output of vegetative gametophytes. Vigorous vegetative gametophyte cells began to form reproductive structures (oogonium and spermatangium, when the temperature was lower than 25°C and other environmental factors were kept optimal. The sufficient supply of gametophyte cells provided enough seeds for raisingUndaria sporelings on production scale. Controlled cross-breeding experiments using selected male and female gametophyte clones which increase their cell number by mitosis instead of meiosis were also carried out in vitro. Juvenile sporophytes from the cross-breeding had almost the same length and width increase rates as those of the control. The fact that vegetative gametophytes can be purposely selected, propagated quickly, cross-bred, with the resulting sporophytes having almost the same characteristics leads to a new way to select desiredUndaria strains for long time use without losing the desired economic characteristics. Contribution No. 2696 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Activity of Changbaishan Tianchi Volcano Since Late Pleistocene--The Constrain From Geochronology of High Precision U- Series Tims Method

11 samples of lava and pumice from the cone of Changbaishan Tianchi Volcano, Jiling, China, were dated by using high precision U - series TIMS method. We conclude that the bottom of the cone formed before 350 ka, the middle part in 70～80 ka, the upper during 20～ 1ka, and the top less than 1ka, and the age based periods of the volcano eruption since Late Pleistocene is given as follows: ＞ 350ka, 70ka, 18 ～ 25ka, 10ka, 4C5ka, 1～0.75ka, which may offer the basis for the study of volcanic disaster in future. In addition, the principle of dating young volcanic rocks by using U - series TIMS method is introduced briefly. Differentiation characteristics of U and Th in different minerals of the volcanic rocks are discussed, and the ability producing isochrons, based on U and Th differentiation, are discussed. In the last part of the paper,the closure of samples to the elements U and Th, which is important for age results, is discussed by using (234U/238U)radioactivity ratio which can be used to monitor if the samples have been weathered or eroded or leached since the time they formed. In this study, all samples have (234U/238U) activity ratios within 1% of secular equilibrium ((234U/238U) radioactivity ratios are unity), indicating no disturbance of the 234U- 238U system. All of these discussions show that the TIMS method is good to date Tianchi volcanics and the results are reliable.     

Distributions of inorganic nutrients in the bohai sea of china

1　Introduction　TheBohaiSeaislocatedinthenorthernChinawithlongitudesofbetween 117°38′Eand 12 2°31′Eandlat itudesofbetween 37°0 8′Nand 4 1°0 2′N .Itisashal lowseawithanaveragewaterdepthof 18m (LiuandZhang ,2 0 0 0 ) .Severalbigrivers ,suchastheLiaoheRiver,theHaiheRiverandtheYellowRiver ,findtheirwaysintotheBohaiSeaandtransportlargeamountofnutrientsandsuspendedmattersfromthecontinentintothesea (Zhangetal.,1994 ;Zhang ,1996 ) .Duringthelasttwodecades ,marineenviron mentintheBohai…     

SEAWATER FLUX OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

The South China Sea water can be divided according to depth into three boxes by the pycnoclineand a sill.Using a box model with matter balance,the net seawater fluxes were calculated to be317.9×10~4 m~3/s in box Ⅰ for the upper homogeneous layer outflowing to the adjoining oceans;67×10~4 m~3/s in box Ⅲ for the water entering the basin;240×10~4 m~3/s in box Ⅱ for water entering theSouth China Sea.The upward speed of basin water was calculated to be 8.4×10~(-5) cm/s and that ofseawater flowing up along the pycnocline was calculated to be 8.9×10~(-5) cm/s.     

Seasonal changes of dissolved and particulate organic carbon in Donghu Lake, China

Concentrations of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) were documented in 1996–1997 at 4 different trophic state stations in Donghu Lake, a typical shallow eutrophic lake along the Changjiang River's middle reaches. The mean concentrations of DOC were 15.11±3.26, 15.19±4.24, 14.27±3.43, and 13.31±3.30 mg/L in Station I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The DOC concentrations of the studied area were very similar to that in other lakes along the Changjiang River's middle reaches. The POC mean of the whole lake was 5.01 mg/L due to the large amount of organic detritus of both allochthonous and autochthonous origin. Significant linear relationship was found between POC and chlorophyll a at all 4 stations, which presumably reflect that phytoplankton, its exudates and its metabolic products were the main contributors to the POC pool in the water column. The slope of such linear relationship at Station IV was significantly steeper than that at Station I, II and III. In addition, the DOC/POC ratios (mean value: 4.40) indicated that the organic detritus was the most important component of the particulate organic matter; in other works, next to organic detritus, phytoplankton dominated the particulate organic matter in Donghu Lake. Project 39770146, 39430101 supported by NSFC and the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, affiliated to the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

DISSOLVED AND PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON IN YANTAI SISHILI BAY AQUICULTURE WATERS

Investigation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) at 12 stations in Yantal Sishili Bay in May, August, and November of 1997 and March and May of 1998 showed that DOC concentrations varied from 1.14 mg/L to 5.35 mg/L; that the average values at all staticrLs ineach entise varied from 1.52 mg/L to 2.12 mg/L; that POC concentrafions varied from 0.049 mg/L to 1.411mg/L; and averaged 0.159 mg/L to 0.631 mg/L in each cruise. Horizontal distribution of DOC was influ-enced by factors such as continental input, organism activity, temperature, aquieulture environment, etc. The higher POC concentration occurred along the coast. The vertical distribution of DOC and POC changed obviously in spring and summer, but not obviously in autumn and winter. DOC concentration was highest in summer and POC in spring; both were lowest in winter. The seasonal change of DOC was con-sistent with primary productivity seasonal variation, and that of POC was consistent with ehlorophyll-a sea-sanal variation. The seasonal change trend of the C/N ratio of dissolved organic matter was obvious, but the C/N ratio of particulate organic matter had no such trend.     

CHEMICAL WEATHERING PROCESSES AND ATMOSPHERIC CO2 CONSUMPTION OF HUANGHE RIVER AND CHANGJIANG RIVER BASINS

Rock weathering plays an important role in studying the long-term carbon cycles and global climatic change. According to the statistics analysis, the Huanghe (Yellow) River water chemistry was mainly controlled by evaporite and carbonate weathering, which were responsible for over 90% of total dissolved ions. As compared with the Huanghe River basin, dissolved load of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River was mainly originated from the carbonate dissolution. The chemical weathering rates were estimated to be 39.29t/(km²·a) and 61.58t/(km²·a) by deducting the HCO ₃ ⁻ derived from atmosphere in the Huanghe River and Changjiang River watersheds, respectively. The CO₂ consumption rates by rock weathering were calculated to be 120.84×10³mol/km² and 452.46×10³mol/km²annually in the two basins, respectively. The total CO₂ consumption of the two basins amounted to 918.51×10⁹mol/a, accounting for 3.83% of the world gross. In contrast to other world watersheds, the stronger evaporite reaction and infirm silicate weathering can explain such feature that CO₂ consumption rates were lower than a global average, suggesting that the sequential weathering may be go on in the two Chinese drainage basins. Foundation item: Under the auspices of Ministry of Science and Technology Project of China (No. G1999043075) Biography: LI Jing-ying (1974-), female, a native of Xinye of Henan Province, Ph.D., associate professor, specialized in environmental geochemistry. E-mail: wxxljy2001@public.qd.sd.cn     

Sinking of particulates 234Thxs, 7Be and 210Pbxs in the Changjiang estuary, China

The time scale of transport and reaction processes in the ocean can be evaluated using natural radionuclides of different half-lives. In the present study, we evaluated the residence times of particulate reactive radionuclides ⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb_xs and ²³⁴Th in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary, which is a high turbidity estuary, in June, 2006. The residence times of particulate ⁷Be, ²³⁴Th_xs and ²¹⁰Pb_xs in the Changjiang estuary were calculated to be 0.7–20.4, 0.18–4.1 and 0.6–89.8 d, respectively. The obtained residence times of those nuclides are comparable with those of other estuaries and bays. For ²³⁴Th_xs and ⁷Be, the residence times decreased with increasing concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM); however, those of ²¹⁰Pb_xs increased. Moreover, scavenging residence times of ²³⁴Th and ⁷Be increased from coast to offshore, while those of ²¹⁰Pb_xs decreased.     

Numerical Study of Water and Suspended Matter Exchange Between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

INTRODUCTIONTheYellowSeaandtheEastChinaSea (ECS)aremarginalseasofthenorthwestPacificandhaveexpansivecontinentalshelves .TheuniqueandstrikingfeaturesoftheYellowSeaandtheECSarethattheyhavestrongtidalcurrent;aresubjecttostrongmonsooninfluence ;andreceiveinflowfromthebiggestriverinChina ,theChangjiangRiver ;andthatthefamouswesternboundarycurrent,theKuroshio ,passesthroughtheECS ,withitsbranchesintrudingupwardintothecontinentalshelfareas.Generallyspeaking ,thewaterexchangecapacityofthe…