Isolation of novel psychrophilic bacteria from Arctic sea ice

The phylogenetic diversity of cuhurable psychrophilic bacteria associated with sea ice from the high latitude regions of Canadian Basin and Chukchi Sea, Arctic, was investigated. A total of 34 psychropilic strains were isolated using three methods of （ Ⅰ ） dilution plating （ at 4 ℃ ）, （ Ⅱ ） bath culturing （ at - 1 ℃ ） and dilution plating, and （ Ⅲ） cold shock （ -20 ℃ for 24 h）, bath culturing and dilution plating under aerobic conditions. Sea-ice samples were exposed to -20 ℃ for 24 h that might reduce the number of common microorganisms and encourage outgrowth of psyehrophilic strains. This process might be able to be introduced to isolation psychrophilic bacteria from other environmental samples in future study. 16S rDNA nearly full-length sequence analysis revealed that psychrophilic strains felled in two phylo- genetic divisions, γ-proteobacteria （in the genera ColweUia,Marinobaeter、Shewanella,Glaciecola,Marinomortas and Pseudoalteromortas ） and Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Baeteroides （ Flavobacterlum and Psyehroflexus）. Fifteen of bacterial isolates quite likely represented novel species （16S rDNA sequence similarity below 98% ）. One of strains （BSi20002） from Canadian Basin showed 100% sequence similarity to that of Marinobacter sp. ANT8277 isolated from the Antarctic Weddell sea ice, suggesting bacteria may have a bipolar distribution at the species level.     

Summer sea ice characteristics of the Chukchi Sea

During August 1999, we investigated sea ice characteristics; its distribution, surface feature, thickness, ice floe movement, and the temperature field around inter-borders of air/ice/seawater in the Chukchi Sea. Thirteen ice cores were drilled at 11 floe stations in the area of 72°24′ 77°18′N, 153°34′ 163°28′W and the ice core structure was observed. From field observation, three melting processes of ice were observed; surface layer melting, surface and bottom layers melting, and all of ice melting. The observation of temperature fields around sea ice floes showed that the bottom melting under the ice floes were important process. As ice floes and open water areas were alternately distributed in summer Arctic Ocean; the water under ice was colder than the open water by 0.4 2.8℃. The sun radiation heated seawater in open sea areas so that the warmer water went to the bottom when the ice floes move to those areas. This causes ice melting to start at the bottom of the ice floes. This process can balance effectively the temperature fluctuating in the sea in summer. From the crystalline structure of sea ice observed from the cores, it was concluded that the ice was composed of ice crystals and brine-ice films. During the sea ice melting, the brine-ice films between ice crystals melted firstly; then the ice crystals were encircled by brine films; the sea ice became the mixture of ice and liquid brine. At the end of melting, the ice crystals would be separated each other, the bond between ice crystals weakens and this leads to the collapse of the ice sheet.     

Bacterial diversity of gut content in sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) and its habitat surface sediment

This study investigated the bacterial diversity of gut content of sea cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus) and its habitat surface sediment in a bottom enhancement area using PCR-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE) technique. Bacterial diversity evaluation showed that the value of the Shannon-Wiener index of gut content in different intestinal segments of A. japonicus varied between 2.88 and 3.00, lower than that of the surrounding sediment(3.23). Phylogenetic analysis showed that bacterial phylotypes in gut content and the surrounding sediment of A. japonicus were closely related to Proteobacteria includingγ-, α-, δ-and ε-proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicute, and Actinobacteria, of which γ-proteobacteria were predominant. These results suggested that the sea cucumber A. japonicus was capable of feeding selectively, and PCR-DGGE was applicable for characterizing the bacterial community composition in gut content and the surrounding sediment of sea cucumber. Further investigation targeting longer 16S rDNA gene fragments and/or functional genes was recommended for obtaining more information of the diversity and function of bacterial community in the gut content of sea cucumber.     

16S rRNA Gene Phylogenesis of Culturable Predominant Bacteria from Diseased Apostichopus japonicus(Holothuroidea,Echinodermata)

Cultured Apostichopusjaponicus in China suffers from a kind of skin ulceration disease that has caused severe economic loss in recent years. The disease, pathogens of which are supposed to be bacteria by most researchers, is highly infectious and can often cause all individuals in the same culture pool to die in a very short time. The 16S rRNA gene phylogenesis of the culturable bacteria from the lesions of diseased individuals was conducted to study the biodiversity of the bacterial communities in the lesions and to identify probable pathogen(s) associated with this kind of disease. S. japonica samples were selected from a hatchery located in the eastern part of Qingdao, China. Bacterial universal primers GM5F and DS907R were used to amplify the 16S rRNA gene of bacteria colonies, and touchdown PCR was performed to amplify the target sequences. The results suggest that γ- proteobacteria (Alteromonadales and Vibrionales) of CFB group, many strains of which have been also determined as pathogens in other marine species, are the predominant bacterial genera of the diseased Apostichopusjaponicus individuals.     

Polar Sea Ice Identification and Classification Based on HY-2A/SCAT Data

In this paper,a Bayesian sea ice detection algorithm is first used based on the HY-2A/SCAT data,and a backpropagation(BP)neural network is used to classify the Arctic sea ice type.During the implementation of the Bayesian sea ice detection algorithm,linear sea ice model parameters and the backscatter variance suitable for HY-2A/SCAT were proposed.The sea ice extent obtained by the Bayesian sea ice detection algorithm was projected on a 12.5 km grid sea ice map and validated by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2(AMSR2)15%sea ice concentration data.The sea ice extent obtained by the Bayesian sea ice detection al-gorithm was found to be in good agreement with that of the AMSR2 during the ice growth season.Meanwhile,the Bayesian sea ice detection algorithm gave a wider ice edge than the AMSR2 during the ice melting season.For the sea ice type classification,the BP neural network was used to classify the Arctic sea ice type(multi-year and first-year ice)from January to May and October to De-cember in 2014.Comparison results between the HY-2A/SCAT sea ice type and Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid(EASE-Grid)sea ice age data showed that the HY-2A/SCAT multi-year ice extent variation had the same trend as the EASE-Grid data.Classification errors,defined as the ratio of the mismatched sea ice type points between HY-2A/SCAT and EASE-Grid to the total sea ice points,were less than 12%,and the average classification error was 8.6%for the study period,which indicated that the BP neural network classification was a feasible algorithm for HY-2A/SCAT sea ice type classification.     

北极海冰范围时空变化及其与海温气温间的数值分析

本文利用美国国家冰雪中心提供的1989-2014年海冰范围资料,分析了北极海冰范围的年际变化和季节变化规律。分析发现,北极海冰范围呈减少趋势,每年减小\begin{array}{c}5.91\times {10}^4\mathit{k}{m}^2\end{array},夏季减少趋势显著,冬季减少趋势弱。北极海冰范围显现相对稳定的季节变化规律,海冰的结冰和融化主要发生在各个边缘海,夏季期间的海冰具有融化快、冻结快的特征。结合海温、气温数据,进行北极海冰范围与海温、气温间的数值分析,结果表明北极海冰范围变化通过影响北极海温变化进而影响北极气温变化。海冰范围的季节变化滞后于海温和气温的季节变化。基于北极考察走航海温气温数据,进行楚科奇海海冰范围线与海温气温间的数值分析,发现楚科奇海海冰范围线所在区域的海温、气温与纬度高低、离陆地远近有关。     

Crystals and fabrics analysis of an Arctic thermal growth multi-year ice sample

One of sea ice core samples was taken from Arctic by the First Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition Team in 1999. 20 vertical and 2 horizontal ice sections were cut out of the ice core sample 2.22 m in length, which covered the ice sheet from surface to bottom except losses for during sampling and section cutting. From the observation and analysis of the fabrics and crystals along the depth of the ice core sample, followings were found. Whole ice sheet consists of columnar, refrozen clastic pieces, granular, columnar, refrozen clastic pieces, granular, columnar and refrozen clastic pieces. This indicates that the ice core sample was 3-year old, and the ice sheet surface thawed and the melt water flowed into ice sheet during summer. Hence, the annual energy balance in Arctic can be determined by the ice sheet surface thawing in summer, and bottom growth in winter. The thickness of the ice sheet is kept constantly at a certain position based on the corresponding climate and ocean conditions; A new     

Seasonal changes in sea ice conditions along the Northeast Passage in 2007 and 2012

Remote sensing data from passive microwave and satellite-based altimeters, associated with the data measured underway, were used to characterize seasonal and spatial changes in sea ice conditions along...     

The research of Polar sea ice and its role in climate change

As an important part of global climate system, the Polar sea ice is effccting on global climate changes through ocean surface radiation balance, mass balance, energy balance as well as the circulating of sea water temperature and salinity. Sea ice research has a centuries - old history. The many correlative sea ice projects were established through the extensive international cooperation during the period from the primary research of intensity and the boaring capacity of sea ice to the development of sea/ice/air coupled model. Based on these reseamhes, the sea ice variety was combined with the global climate change. All research about sea ice includes： the physical properties and processes of sea ice and its snow cover, the ecosystem of sea ice regions, sea ice and upper snow albedo, mass balance of sea ice regions, sea ice and climate coupled model. The simulation suggests that the both of the area and volume of polar sea ice would be reduced in next century. With the developing of the sea ice research, more scientific issues are mentioned. Such as the interaction between sea ice and the other factors of global climate system, the seasonal and regional distribution of polar sea ice thickness, polar sea ice boundary and area variety trends, the growth and melt as well as their influencing factors, the role of the polynya and the sea/air interactions. We should give the best solutions to all of the issues in future sea ice studying.     

Effect of compressive strength on the performance of the NEMO-LIM model in Arctic Sea ice simulation

Satellite records show that the extent and thickness of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean have significantly decreased since the early 1970s. The prediction of sea ice is highly important, but accurate simulation of sea ice variations remains highly challenging. For improving model performance, sensitivity experiments were conducted using the coupled ocean and sea ice model (NEMO-LIM), and the simulation results were compared against satellite observations. Moreover, the contribution ratios of dynamic and thermodynamic processes to sea ice variations were analyzed. The results show that the performance of the model in reconstructing the spatial distribution of Arctic sea ice is highly sensitive to ice strength decay constant (C^rhg). By reducing the C^rhg constant, the sea ice compressive strength increases, leading to improved simulated sea ice states. The contribution of thermodynamic processes to sea ice melting was reduced due to less deformation and fracture of sea ice with increased compressive strength. Meanwhile, dynamic processes constrained more sea ice to the central Arctic Ocean and contributed to the increases in ice concentration, reducing the simulation bias in the central Arctic Ocean in summer. The root mean square error (RMSE) between modeled and the CryoSat-2/SMOS satellite observed ice thickness was reduced in the compressive strength-enhanced model solution. The ice thickness, especially of multiyear thick ice, was also reduced and matched with the satellite observation better in the freezing season. These provide an essential foundation on exploring the response of the marine ecosystem and biogeochemical cycling to sea ice changes.

     

Summer fast ice evolution off Zhongshan Station,Antarctica

Based on the field data acquired in the program of fast ice observation off Zhongshan Station, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica during the austral summer 2005/ 2006, physical properties evolution of fast ice during the ice ablation season is analyzed in detail. Results show that the annual maximum ice thickness in 2005 occurred in later November, and then ice started to reek, and the ablation duration was 62 days; sea water under the ice became warmer synchronously; corresponding to the warming sea ice temperature, a ＂relative cold mid-layer＂ appeared in sea ice; the fast ice marginal line recoiled back to the shore observably, and the recoil distance was 20.9 km from 18 December 2005 through 14 January 2006. In addition, based on the data of sea ice thickness survey along the investigation course of MV Xuelong on December 18 of 2005, the ice thickness distribution paten in the marginal ice zone have been described ： sea ice thickness increased, but the diversity of floe ice thick-ness decreased from open water to fast ice zone distinctly.     

Response of the Dominant Modes of Atmospheric Circulation in the Northern Hemisphere to a Projected Arctic Sea Ice Loss in 2007

This study revisits the Arctic sea ice extent(SIE) for the extended period of 1979-2015 based on satellite measurements and finds that the Arctic SIE experienced three different periods: a moderate sea ice decline period for 1979-1996, an accelerated sea ice decline period from 1997 to 2006, and large interannual variation period after 2007, when Arctic sea ice reached its tipping point reported by Livina and Lenton(2013). To address the response of atmospheric circulation to the lowest sea ice conditions with a large interannual variation, we investigated the dominant modes for large atmospheric circulation responses to the projected 2007 Arctic sea ice loss using an atmospheric general circulation model(ECHAM5). The response was obtained from two 50-yr simulations: one with a repeating seasonal cycle of specified sea ice concentration for the period of 1979-1996 and one with that of sea ice conditions in 2007. The results suggest more occurrences of a negative Arctic Oscillation(AO) response to the 2007 Arctic sea ice conditions, accompanied by an North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO)-type atmospheric circulation response under the largest sea ice loss, and more occurrences of the positive Arctic Dipole(AD) mode under the 2007 sea ice conditions, with an across-Arctic wave train pattern response to the largest sea ice loss in the Arctic. This study offers a new perspective for addressing the response of atmospheric circulation to sea ice changes after the Arctic reached the tipping point in 2007.     

Practical Model of Sea Ice Thickness of Bohai Sea Based on MODIS Data

Sea ice thickness is one of the most important input parameters in the studies on sea ice disaster prevention and mitigation. It is also the most important content in remote sensing monitoring of sea ice. In this study, a practical model of sea ice thickness (PMSIT) was proposed based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. In the proposed model, the MODIS data of the first band were used to estimate sea ice thickness and the difference between the second-band reflectance and the fifth-band reflectance in the MODIS data was calculated to obtain the difference attenuation index (DAI) of each pixel. The obtained DAI was used to estimate the integrated attenuation coefficient of the first band of the MODIS at the pixel level. Then the model was used to estimate sea ice thickness in the Bohai Sea with the MODIS data and then validated with the actual sea ice survey data. The validation results showed that the proposed model and corresponding parameterization scheme could largely avoid the estimation error of sea ice thickness caused by the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of sea ice extinction and allowed the error of 18.7% compared with the measured sea ice thickness.     

Solar radiation penetrating through sea ice under very low solar altitude

Based on the optical data for transmitted radiation through sea ice in the Arctic during the late autumn and early winter of 2007,the authors studied the arriving solar radiation,reflected radiation and transmitted radiation under very low solar altitude.Through the atmosphere,the light of the arriving solar radiation at short wavelength was weakened,with the spectral distribution of double peaks centered at 490 nm and 683 nm.The magnitude of the peak at 683 nm even exceeded that at 490 nm under the very low solar radiation condition.The reflection was lower than that in summertime because of the thin thicknesses of ice and snow,allowing higher ratio of heat to enter the sea ice and snow.When higher ratio of solar radiation entered sea ice in late autumn,the new ice freezing would be affected.The spectral reflectivity from snow surface was almost a constant,but the reflection without snow decreased at longer wavelengths.In the transmission spectrum,the light of 490nm was dominant.It indicates that the radiation at longer wavelength was weakened by sea ice.Therefore,under the condition of low solar altitude,the radiation at shorter wavelength was weakened by the atmosphere while the radiation at longer wavelength was weakened by the sea ice.The combined effect of atmosphere and sea ice made the solar radiation under sea ice much weaker.The absorption of sea ice for the longer-wavelength radiation allowed the sea ice to gain more heat to slow down the freezing process.     

A coupled regional Arctic sea ice-ocean model: configuration and application

A regional sea ice-ocean coupled model for the Arctic Ocean was developed, based on the MITgcm ocean circulation model and classical Hibler79 type two categorythermodynamics-dynamics sea ice model. The sea ice dynamics and thermodynamicswere considered based on Viscous-Plastic (VP) and Winton three-layer models, respectively. A detailed configuration of coupled model has been introduced. Special attention has been paid to the model grid setup, subgrid paramerization, ice-ocean coupling and open boundary treatment. The coupled model was then applied and two test run examples were presented. The first model run was a climatology simulation with 10 years (1992?002) averaged NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data as atmospheric forcing. The second model run was a seasonal simulation for the period of 1992?007. The atmospheric forcing was daily NCAR/NCEP reanalysis. The climatology simulation captured the general pattern of the sea ice thickness distribution of the Arctic, i.e., the thickest sea ice is situated around the CanadaArchipelago and the north coast of the Greenland. For the second model run, themodeled September Sea ice extent anomaly from 1992?007 was highly correlated with the observations, with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.88. Theminimum of the Arctic sea ice area in the September of 2007 was unprecedented. The modeled sea ice area and extent for this minimum was overestimated relative to the observations. However, it captured the general pattern of the sea ice retreat.     

The progress in the study of Arctic pack ice ecology

The sea ice community plays an important role in the Arctic marine ecosystem. Because of the predicted environmental changes in the Arctic environment and specifically related to sea ice, the Arctic pack ice biota has received more attention in recent years using modem ice-breaking research vessels. Studies show that the Arctic pack ice contains a diverse biota and besides ice algae, the bacterial and protozoan biomasses can be high. Surprisingly high primary production values were observed in the pack ice of the central Arctic Ocean. Occasionally biomass maximum were discovered in the interior of the ice floes, a habitat that had been ignored in most Arctic studies. Many scientific questions, which deserve special attention, remained unsolved due to logistic limitations and the sea ice characteristics. Little is know about the pack ice community in the central Arctic Ocean. Almost no data exists from the pack ice zone for the winter season. Concerning the abundance of bacteria and protozoa, more studies are needed to understand the microbial network within the ice and its role in material and energy flows. The response of the sea ice biota to global change will impact the entire Arctic marine ecosystem and a long-term monitoring program is needed. The techniques, that are applied to study the sea ice biota and the sea ice ecology, should be improved.     

Numerical simulation of the impact of underlying surface changes on Arctic climate

Using a regional atmospheric model for Arctic climate simulation, two groups of numerical experiments were carried out to study the inlfuence of changes in the underlying surface (land surface, sea sur...     

Phylogenetic analysis of cultivable bacteria isolated from Arctic sea-ice

Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA of 8 strains of cultivable bacteria isolated from Arctic sea-ice was studied.The results showed that strain BJ1 belonged to genus Planococcus,which was a genus of low mole percent G C gram-positive bacteria;strain BJ6 belonged to genus Burkholderia of β-proteobacteria and the rest 6 strain all belonged to γ-proteobacteria,of which strain BJ8 was a species of Pseudoalteromonas,strain BJ2-BJ5 and BJ7 were members of genus Psychrobacter.Phylogenetic analysis also indicated that bacteria of genus Psychrobacter of the isolates formed a relatively independent phylogenetic cluster in comparison with other bacteria belonged to genus Psychrobacter.     

Role of sea ice in air-sea exchange and its relation to sea fog

Synchronous or quasi-synchronous stereoscopic sea-ice-air comprehensive observation was conducted during the First China Arctic Expedition in summer of 1999. Based on these data, the role of sea ice in sea-air exchange was studied. The study shows that the kinds, distribution and thickness of sea ice and their variation significantly influence the air-sea heat exchange. In floating ice area, the heat momentum transferred from ocean to atmosphere is in form of latent heat; latent heat flux is closely related to floating ice concentration; if floating ice is less, the heat flux would be larger. Latent heat flux is about 21 23.6 W*m-2, which is greater than sensible heat flux. On ice field or giant floating ice, heat momentum transferred from atmosphere to sea ice or snow surface is in form of sensible heat. In the floating ice area or polynya, sea-air exchange is the most active, and also the most sensible for climate. Also this area is the most important condition for the creation of Arctic vapor fog. The heat exchange of a large-scale vapor fog process of about 500000 km2 on Aug. 21 22,1999 was calculated; the heat momentum transferred from ocean to air was about 14.8×109 kW. There are various kinds of sea fog, radiation fog, vapor fog and advection fog, forming in the Arctic Ocean in summer. One important cause is the existence of sea ice and its resultant complexity of both underlying surface and sea-air exchange.