Mesoscale distribution of fish larvae in relation to an upwelling filament off Northwest Africa

Fish eggs and larvae were studied in relation to an upwelling filament off Northwest Africa, near the Canary Islands, during August 1993. The filament was entrained around a quasi-permanent cyclonic eddy of diameter 100 km. The sampled ichthyoplanktonic community was dominated by neritic larvae, 94.2% of which were captured in the oceanic area. Horizontal distributions of neritic and oceanic larvae were strongly influenced by the oceanographic features characteristic of the coastal margin. Neritic larvae were associated with upwelling and filament structures, while oceanic larvae were strongly excluded from these features. The results suggest that coastal upwelling and filaments are mechanisms of transport for neritic ichthyoplankton into oceanic waters, that sardine larvae are good tracers of offshore movements of upwelled waters, and that the cyclonic eddy functions as a larval nursery ground for neritic fish species.     

Variability in the Canary Islands area of filament-eddy exchanges

The physical background to a suite of biological studies carried out in the Canary Islands upwelling region is presented. The area is unique in that the coastal transition zone is spanned by an archipelago of islands that shed mesoscale eddies of diameter 50–100 km into the alongshore flow. A recurrent filament and eddy system was sampled intensively to study the changing properties of waters as they are advected towards the open ocean in the filament and to investigate the exchanges between filament and eddies. The system was more complex than previously revealed. In early August, a single filament extended offshore from near Cape Juby. Two weeks later, a second filament had developed slightly farther north and extended offshore to merge with the first at 100 km offshore. The merged filament was entrained around a recurrent, topographically trapped cyclonic eddy and interacted with transient cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies shed from the island of Gran Canaria. Between the two filaments and the coast, a pair of counter-rotating eddies re-circulated water parcels for several weeks. Surface layer drifters cycled around this near-shore re-circulation several times before following convoluted paths that demonstrate significant exchange between continental shelf and open ocean waters.     

Mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton distribution around Gran Canaria,an oceanic island in the NE Atlantic

In October 1991, mesozooplankton biomass and ichthyoplankton were studied in the waters surrounding the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). The average dry weight obtained for mesozooplankton biomass (4.5 mg m⁻³) is typical of the area. Average fish egg abundance (94 eggs per 10 m²) was similar to that found previously for the Canary Current. However, the average fish larva abundance (904 individuals per 10 m²) was higher than previously recorded for the Canary Current and similar regions. The horizontal distributions of the planktonic components studied appear strongly related to the mesoscale oceanographic structures in the area. These included an area of weak flow around the stagnation point upstream of the island, where higher concentrations of neritic ichthyoplankton occurred, a warm lee region downstream, where mesozooplankton biomass and neritic ichthyoplankton were increased, particularly on the convergent anticyclonic boundary, and the offshore boundary of an upwelling filament from the NW African coast, which acted as a barrier for neritic ichthyoplankton. These concentrations suggest that the stagnation point and the lee are areas of retention for neritic fish eggs and larvae. Simple Lagrangian simulations of particle trajectories in the observed field of flow demonstrate the potential for retention of organisms, both passive and with limited swimming ability, in these areas. On the flanks of the island and in the filament, the simulation suggests even swimming organisms will be largely swept away. The various oceanographic structures, by increasing the planktonic production, are partially responsible for the relatively high values of abundance obtained for fish larvae.     

The transition zone of the Canary Current upwelling region

Like all the major upwelling regions, the Canary Current is characterised by intense mesoscale structure in the transition zone between the cool, nutrient-rich waters of the coastal upwelling regime and the warmer, oligotrophic waters of the open ocean. The Canary Island archipelago, which straddles the transition, introduces a second source of variability by perturbing the general southwestward flow of both ocean currents and Trade winds. The combined effects of the flow disturbance and the eddying and meandering of the boundary between upwelled and oceanic waters produce a complex pattern of regional variability. On the basis of historical data and a series of interdisciplinary field studies, the principal features of the region are described. These include a prominent upwelling filament originating near 28°N off the African coast, cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies downstream of the archipelago, and warm wake regions protected from the Trade winds by the high volcanic peaks of the islands. The filament is shown to be a recurrent feature, apparently arising from the interaction of a topographically trapped cyclonic eddy with the outer edge of the coastal upwelling zone. Its role in the transport and exchange of biogenic material, including fish larvae, is considered. Strong cyclonic eddies, observed throughout the year, drift slowly southwestward from Gran Canaria. One sampled in late summer was characterised by large vertical isopycnal displacements, apparent surface divergence and strong upwelling, producing a fourfold increase in chlorophyll concentrations over background values. Such intense eddies can be responsible for a major contribution to the vertical flux of nitrogen. The lee region of Gran Canaria is shown to be a location of strong pycnocline deformation resulting from Ekman pumping on the wind shear boundaries, which may contribute to the eddy formation process.     

Distribution and transport of organic matter along a filament-eddy system in the Canaries – NW Africa coastal transition zone region

The distribution and transport of chlorophyll a (Chla), particulate (POC) and dissolved (DOC) organic carbon, and the respiratory ETS activity of the microplankton community were studied along a filament-eddy system located in the transition zone between the NW Africa upwelling and Canary Islands waters. Two independent filaments (F1 and F2) stemming from the coastal jet, between Cape Juby and Cape Bojador, merged about 100 km offshore, turning southward and onshore forced by the circulation of a recurrent oceanic cyclonic eddy. In general, the coastal upwelling waters presented higher Chla, but lower POC, DOC and ETS activity than filament waters. However, differences in organic carbon distribution and respiratory activity were observed among stations from the two filaments. The bio-chemical fields were strongly influenced by a complex sub-mesoscale hydrography resulting from the interaction of cyclonic and anticyclonic island eddies with the filaments. The combined F1 + F2 filament system transported 97.1 kg s⁻¹ of excess (non-refractory) total organic carbon (e-TOC), a value comparable to other published estimates from upwelling filaments in the NE Atlantic. About 90% of e-TOC was exported as DOC, since eddy re-circulation precluded the offshore transport of POC. Assuming that the calculated transport of e-TOC is representative of the annual average, the yearly offshore transport (3.1 x 10⁹ kg C) would represent about 25% of the upwelling primary production of the region of study.     

Mesoscale distribution of clupeoid larvae in an upwelling filament trapped by a quasi-permanent cyclonic eddy off Northwest Africa

The distribution of fish larvae in relation to a filament shed from the Northwest African coastal upwelling was studied in February 2001. During the cruise, the filament was located between 27°N and 28°N, extending from the African coastal upwelling zone to the south of Fuerteventura Island (Canary Islands). This filament was trapped and remained over the quasi-permanent cyclonic eddy observed in previous studies. Almost all Sardina pilchardus, Engraulis encrasicolus and Sardinella aurita larvae caught during the cruise were associated with upwelled waters and filament structures. The sampled larval fish assemblage was composed by 12.6% of clupeoid larvae. These were distributed as follows: 73.9% were S. pilchardus, 20.7% were E. encrasicolus and 5.4% were S. aurita. Their distribution suggested that the coastal upwelling filament is a mechanism of transport from the upwelling area to oceanic waters, but its junction with the generated cyclonic eddy may not always work as a retention structure for those transported larvae, as described in previous studies. Physiological studies based on gut fluorescence and ETS activity of clupeoid larvae, as proxies for grazing and respiration, respectively, denoted a switch from pigmented food near the upwelling zone to unpigmented food toward the ocean. This pattern agrees with observed mesozooplankton feeding along an upwelling filament in previous studies. Therefore, this work confirms the close relationship between clupeoids distribution and mesoscale circulation, as well as constitutes the first assessment of the metabolic activity of those larvae in the region.     

Oceanic Odyssey of a satellite-tracked drifter: North Pacific variability delineated by a single drifter trajectory

A near-surface satellite-tracked drifter launched off the east coast of the Kuril Islands on September 4,1993 began a 2.5-year Odyssey across the North Pacific Ocean. During its travels, the drifter encountered numerous energetic oceanographic regimes as it moved from the region of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench to the continental margin of the Kuril Islands, through Friza Strait into the Sea of Okhotsk, seaward again through Bussol’ Strait, and then eastward across the North Pacific. Oceanic features detected along the basin-wide trajectory include a quasi-permanent anticyclonic eddy over the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, open-ocean wind-driven inertial oscillations, coastal-trapped diurnal shelf waves, semidiurnal tidal currents, transient cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies, through-strait flows, and wave-like mesoscale meanders. The single drifter track delineates the dynamically-rich variability of upper ocean currents, emphasizes the marked difference in flow dynamics between boundary and open ocean regions, and provides a time-scale for the movement of surface waters across the entire North Pacific.     

中国近海及其附近海域若干涡旋研究综述Ⅱ.东海和琉球群岛以东海域

综述东海和琉球群岛以东海域若干气旋型和反气旋型涡旋的研究.对东海陆架、200m以浅海域,主要讨论了东海西南部反气旋涡、济州岛西南气旋式涡和长江口东北气旋式冷涡.东海两侧和陆坡附近出现了各种不同尺度的涡旋,其动力原因之一是与东海黑潮弯曲现象有很大关系,其次也与地形、琉球群岛存在等有关.东海黑潮有两种类型弯曲:黑潮锋弯曲和黑潮路径弯曲.黑潮第一种弯曲出现了锋面涡旋,评述了锋面涡旋的存在时间尺度与空间尺度和结构等;也指出了黑潮第二种弯曲,即路径弯曲时在其两侧出现了中尺度气旋式和反气旋涡,讨论了它们的变化的特性.特别讨论了冲绳北段黑潮弯曲路径和中尺度涡的相互作用,着重指出,当气旋式涡在冲绳海槽北段成长,并充分地发展,其周期约在1~3个月时,它的空间尺度成长到约为200km(此尺度相当于冲绳海槽的纬向尺度)时,黑潮路径从北段转移到南段.也分析了东海黑潮流量和其附近中尺度涡的相互作用.最后指出在琉球群岛以东、以南海域,经常出现各种不同的中尺度反气旋式和气旋式涡,讨论了它们在时间与空间尺度上变化的特征.     

Hyperiid Amphipods (Crustacea: Peracarida) and Spring Mesoscale Features in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract. The distribution and abundance of the hyperiid amphipods collected during April–May 1986 was analysed in order to study their relationship to mesoscale features in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Hyperiids were represented by 79 species, Lestrigonus bengalensis (65% of total hyperiids), Primno abyssalis (4.3%), Anchylomera blossevillei (2.3%) and Lestrigonus schizogeneios (2.3%) being the most abundant. Several mesoscale features (two cyclonic and three anticyclonic eddies, two upwelling areas) were active in the surveyed area. Cluster analysis of density and composition produced five groups of stations that were found to be related to some of these features. Overall, the mesoscale features that most influenced the local hyperiid community were the upwelling areas; they were related both with the highest and the lowest hyperiid densities and with high and low diversity figures. Overall day/night variations were normal, with highest night‐time densities; this pattern was not consistent in the different mesoscale features studied. Reverse migrations were possibly occurring, or migration patterns were lacking, at some of these systems. The hyperiid community structure related to the anticyclonic eddies differed somewhat among the eddies; however, the oceanographic exchange with the surrounding gulf waters probably obscured sharper faunistic differences between the communities.     

Aluminium distributions in Central East Atlantic waters (Canary Islands)

DASA-reactive aluminium and nutrients have been determined on a grid located in Central East Atlantic waters (Canary Islands) during early spring. The sample area shows major features of biogeochemical interest, such as elevated aeolian (dust) inputs from the Sahara desert, proximity to upwelling areas (150–200 km) and mesoscale features induced by the effect of the islands on the course of the Canary Current. The aluminium distributions show a marked latitudinal E-W gradient. The low values towards the east are explained by the intrusion of cold waters originated in the upwelling region off northwest Africa, where aluminium is scavenged by organic matter. High values towards the west suggest aeolian inputs that may stretch to below the seasonal thermocline. Nutrients are shown to be inefficient to trace these features, as they are quickly used by biological uptake. The mesoscale circulation south of the islands produces cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies that, respectively, rise and sink the thermocline over 60 m. Aluminium appears to be a useful tracer for this mixing process as well as for the intrusion of cold waters coming from the eastern boundary.     

Three-dimensional properties of mesoscale cyclonic warm-core and anticyclonic cold-core eddies in the South China Sea

In general, a mesoscale cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddy has a colder (warmer) core, and it is considered as a cold (warm) eddy. However, recently research found that there are a number of “abnormal” mesoscale cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddies associated with warm (cold) cores in the South China Sea (SCS). These “abnormal” eddies pose a challenge to previous works on eddy detection, characteristic analysis, eddy-induced heat and salt transports, and even on mesoscale eddy dynamics. Based on a 9-year (2000–2008) numerical modelling data, the cyclonic warm-core eddies (CWEs) and anticyclonic cold-core eddies (ACEs) in the SCS are analyzed. This study found that the highest incidence area of the “abnormal” eddies is the northwest of Luzon Strait. In terms of the eddy snapshot counting method, 8 620 CWEs and 9 879 ACEs are detected, accounting for 14.6% and 15.8% of the total eddy number, respectively. The size of the “abnormal” eddies is usually smaller than that of the “normal” eddies, with the radius only around 50 km. In the generation time aspect, they usually appear within the 0.1–0.3 interval in the normalized eddy lifespan. The survival time of CWEs (ACEs) occupies 16.3% (17.1%) of the total eddy lifespan. Based on two case studies, the intrusion of Kuroshio warm water is considered as a key mechanism for the generation of these “abnormal” eddies near the northeastern SCS.     

The influence of island generated eddies on the carbon dioxide system, south of the Canary Islands

Measurements of surface partial pressure of CO₂ and water column alkalinity, pH_T, nutrients, oxygen, fluorescence and hydrography were carried out, south of the Canary Islands during September 1998. Cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies were alternatively observed from the northwestern area to the central area of the Canary Islands. Nutrient pumping and vertical uplifting of the deep chlorophyll maximum by cyclonic eddies were also ascertained by upward displacement of dissolved inorganic carbon. A model was applied to determine the net inorganic carbon balance in the cyclonic eddy. The fluxes were determined considering both the diffusive and convective contributions from the upward pumping and the corresponding horizontal transport of water outside the area. An increase in the total inorganic carbon concentration in the upper layers inside the eddy field of 133 mmol C m^− 2 d^− 1 was determined. The upward flux of inorganic carbon decreased the effect of the increased primary production on the carbon dioxide chemistry. The reduced fCO₂ inside the cyclonic eddy, 15 μatm lower than that observed in non-affected surface water, was explained by thermodynamic aspects, biological activity, eddy upward pumping and diffusion and air–sea water exchange effects.     

基于拉格朗日分析法的中尺度涡精细三维结构研究及其误差估计

在前人的工作中，拉格朗日分析法被用来演示大尺度环流，同时拉格朗日拟序结构可以较好的演示中尺度涡两维结构的发展过程。然而，很少研究关注怎么利用拉格朗日分析法针对中尺度涡三维结构进行演示。与以往利用欧拉方法研究中尺度涡三维结构的工作不同，我们利用拉格朗日分析法，从另一个视角来研究涡旋结构。我们在海山上方模拟出一个理想的气旋涡，涡旋内的下沉流和涡旋旁的上升流形成一个闭合的环流。这种结构很难从欧拉角度来演示。然而，粒子的运动轨迹很好地展示了整个循环:流体在涡旋中旋转下沉，汇聚到底层的上升流区，并通过上升流返回到海表面。我们也将拉格朗日分析法应用于真实的模拟结果中。作为中国南海的一个重要现象，靠近越南中部的海域中的偶极子（反气旋涡/气旋涡），关于其结构的研究已经比较成熟了，但这些研究主要关注的是海面过程。通过拉格朗日分析，我们很好的演示了偶极子的三维结构:流体在反气旋涡(气旋涡)内部旋转上升(下沉)。更重要的是，粒子的轨迹表明，这两个涡旋之间不存在水团交换，因为强边界急流将它们彼此分开。以上结论均得到了计算误差估计的可信度支持。尽管在强辐散流和强垂直扩散流中，计算误差逐渐增大，但是在一定的时间步长和积分周期内，计算误差始终保持在一个较小的值。     

Taiwan Current (Kuroshio) and Impinging Eddies

Considerable westward or nothwestward propagating eddies were found east of Taiwan that cross-explains the anomalies in the repeated hydrography, trajectory of drifting buoys and altimetric analyses. The sea level differences (SLD) across the Taiwan Current (Kuroshio) in the East Taiwan Channel (ETC) are utilized in order to examine the possible implication of eddies in the Taiwan Current transport. It is concluded that Taiwan is impinged by both cyclonic and anticyclonic mesoscale eddies at an interval of about 100 days. An approaching anticyclonic eddy will result in a higher SLD across the ETC and a larger mass transport of Taiwan Current, and, vice versa, a reduction of both SLD and the mass transport in the ETC as a cyclonic eddy arrives. The SLD-inferred northward transport in the ETC is highly coherent at the 100-day band with westward propagating eddies that originated in the interior ocean. The generation mechanism of these eddies are, however, still unclear. Leakage of the Kuroshio water to the east of the Ryukyu Islands is suggested due to the presence of cyclonic eddies. This 100-day rate of eddy-impingement invalidates any observation of 4 months or less, whether with direct or indirect measurements, because any conclusions depend on the presence or absence of eddies. To minimize the contamination from eddies, either long-term observations or eddy-removal procedures are required.     

The Canary Eddy Corridor: A major pathway for long-lived eddies in the subtropical North Atlantic

We report, from remote sensing and in situ observations, a new type of permanent structure in the eastern subtropical Atlantic Ocean, that we call the “Canary Eddy Corridor”. The phenomenon, is a zonal long-lived (>3 months) mesoscale eddy corridor, whose source is the flow perturbation of the Canary Current and the Trade Winds at the Canary Islands. The latitudinal range of the corridor spans 22°N–29°N and extends from the Canaries to at least 32ºW, near the mid-Atlantic. This is the main region of long-lived westward-propagating eddies in the subtropical northeast Atlantic. From a age-distribution study we observe that at least 10% of mesoscale eddies in this region are long-lived, with a dominance of anticyclones over cyclones. Another four westward-propagating eddy corridors were also detected: two small corridors north and south of the Azores Front; a small zonal corridor located near 31ºN, south of the island of Madeira; and a small corridor located near the Cape Blanc giant filament. The existence of these corridors may change, at least for the northeastern subtropical Atlantic, the general idea that mesoscale eddies are disorganized, ubiquitous structures in the ocean. The Canary Eddy Corridor constitutes a direct zonal pathway that conveys water mass- and biogeochemical properties offshore from the Canary Island/Northwest Africa upwelling system, and may be seen as a recurrent offshore pump of organic matter and carbon to the oligotrophic ocean interior. Estimates of volume and mass transport indicate that Canary Eddy Corridor westward transport is more than one-fourth of the southward transport of the Canary Current. The westward transport of kinetic energy by the eddies of the Canary Corridor is as important as the southward transport by the Canary Current. The total primary production related to the Corridor may be as high as the total primary production of the northwest Africa upwelling system for the same latitude range.     

南海东北部中尺度涡对海表叶绿素a浓度的影响规律研究

基于南海东北部1998~2019年的多源卫星遥感数据和风场再分析数据, 较系统地分析了南海东北部涡旋内部叶绿素a浓度的分布特征, 通过量化统计和涡心坐标系参数合成等方法探究了中尺度涡对叶绿素a浓度变化的影响规律及潜在机制。结果表明: (1)南海东北部约有60%的中尺度涡旋内部存在叶绿素a浓度增加和减少的现象。(2)南海东北部中尺度涡内部叶绿素a扰动受到涡旋抽吸和涡致Ekman抽吸机制的共同调控, 其中约有38% (39%)的暖(冷)涡内涡旋抽吸的贡献更大, 21% (24%)的暖(冷)涡内涡致Ekman抽吸的贡献更大。(3)南海东北部中尺度涡生命周期内的海表叶绿素a浓度变化存在显著的阶段性差异, 在冷暖涡的生成期, 涡旋抽吸的作用更为显著, 而在冷暖涡的顶峰和消亡期, 涡致Ekman抽吸的作用更为明显。上述研究结果有助于理解南海东北部初级生产力对中尺度涡的响应过程与机理, 对认识海洋物理-生物耦合过程具有一定的参考价值和研究意义。     

Effects of deep-sea eddies on the northern KwaZulu-Natal shelf,South Africa

This paper describes the westward movement of a cyclonic eddy across the Mozambique Channel and the subsequent south-westward propagation of the eddy along the east coast of South Africa and its interaction with the shelf. A hydrographic survey on 13 September 2006 off Nine-mile Reef (NMR), Sodwana Bay, showed a well-developed Agulhas Current along the continental shelf inshore of a cyclonic eddy flanked by two anti-cyclonic eddies, further offshore. A satellite-tracked drifter and complementary altimetry data confirmed the dimensions of the eddy and tracked its movement towards the coast. Shelf-edge upwelling was measured at NMR by an underwater temperature recorder (UTR) when the cyclonic eddy first came into contact with the shelf and again when the cyclonic eddy interacted with the leading edge of the anti-cyclonic eddy moving onto the shelf. Further shelf–eddy interactions off Aliwal Shoal, south of Durban, and consequent upwelling were similarly caused by the same cyclonic eddy as it progressed south-westward along the east coast. Analysis of UTR data between 2004 and 2006 indicated that between two and five cyclonic eddies impact the shelf off NMR per year.     

海洋中地形强迫的孤立涡旋的演变及其相互作用

建立了一个描述中尺度涡的新的非线性方程,然后利用变分原理研究了孤立涡旋的Liapunov稳定性,指出反气旋和气旋涡都是稳定的。数值计算结果发现在β效应的作用下这些涡旋都向西移动而不存在向南的移动,然而在反气旋涡的上游存在一个孤立地形(例如海山)的话,孤立地形会使反气旋涡向南移动,而且移动的轨迹取决于孤立地形的位置。当两个反气旋涡同时存在并发生相互作用时,上游孤立地形使这两个反气旋涡产生弱合并并出现弱分离。而且孤立地形的位置对这两个涡的移动和旋转有重要影响。     

Inversion of the three-dimensional temperature structure of mesoscale eddies in the Northwest Pacific based on deep learning

Mesoscale eddies, which are mainly caused by baroclinic effects in the ocean, are common oceanic phenomena in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and play very important roles in ocean circulation, ocean dynamics and material energy transport. The temperature structure of mesoscale eddies will lead to variations in oceanic baroclinity, which can be reflected in the sea level anomaly (SLA). Deep learning can automatically extract different features of data at multiple levels without human intervention, and find the hidden relations of data. Therefore, combining satellite SLA data with deep learning is a good way to invert the temperature structure inside eddies. This paper proposes a deep learning algorithm, eddy convolution neural network (ECN), which can train the relationship between mesoscale eddy temperature anomalies and sea level anomalies (SLAs), relying on the powerful feature extraction and learning abilities of convolutional neural networks. After obtaining the temperature structure model through ECN, according to climatic temperature data, the temperature structure of mesoscale eddies in the Northwest Pacific is retrieved with a spatial resolution of 0.25° at depths of 0–1 000 m. The overall accuracy of the ECN temperature structure is verified using Argo profiles at the locations of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies during 2015–2016. Taking 10% error as the acceptable threshold of accuracy, 89.64% and 87.25% of the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddy temperature structures obtained by ECN met the threshold, respectively.     

Numerical study on the interactions between a mesoscale eddy and a western boundary current

A reduced-gravity primitive equation eddy resolving model has been used to study the decay of a mesoscale eddy as it migrates toward a western boundary current (WBC) region. The model results indicated that the gradient of the relative vorticity to the east of the WBC is an important factor in the interaction between an eddy and a WBC. A circular eddy is deformed into an elliptical form during the eddy–WBC interaction with the major axis of a cyclonic/anticyclonic eddy aligning in the NW/NNE direction, respectively. Because of the difference in the major axes orientations for the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies, the kinetic energy transfer between a WBC and a particular eddy has very different behavior. A cyclonic eddy loses its energy to the mean field, whereas an anticyclonic eddy can obtain energy from the mean flow during the WBC–eddy interaction. An anticyclonic eddy, however, still decayed from losing its water and friction dissipation during the interaction period.