Simulations of Annual Cycle of Phytoplankton Production and the Utilization of Nitrogen in the Yellow Sea

A nutrient dynamic model coupled with a 3D physical model has been developed to study the annual cycle of phytoplankton production in the Yellow Sea. The biological model involves interactions between inorganic nitrogen (nitrate and ammonium), phosphate and phytoplankton biomass. The model successfully reproduces the main features of phytoplankton-nutrient variation and dynamics of production. 1. The well-mixed coastal water is characterized by high primary production, as well as high new production. 2. In summer, the convergence of tidal front is an important hydrodynamic process, which contributes to high biomass at frontal areas. 3. The evolution of phytoplankton blooms and thermocline in the central region demonstrate that mixing is a dominant factor to the production in the Yellow Sea. In this simulation, nitrate- and ammonium-based productions are estimated regionally and temporally. The northern Yellow Sea is one of the highly ranked regions in the Yellow Sea for the capability of fixing carbon and nitrogen. The annual averaged f-ratio of 0.37 indicates that regenerated production prevails over the Yellow Sea. The result also shows that phosphate is the major nutrient, limiting phytoplankton growth throughout the year and it can be an indicator to predict the bloom magnitude. Finally, the relative roles of external nutrient sources have been evaluated, and benthic fluxes might play a significant role in compensating 54.6% of new nitrogen for new production consumption.     

Total Lipid and Fatty Acid Classes in Decomposing Mangrove Leaves of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bruguiera gymnorrhiza</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kandelia candel</Emphasis>: Significance with respect to Lipid Input

Changes in the concentration of total lipid and fatty acids (FAs) during the decomposition of mangrove leaves were investigated by field experiments using yellow leaves of Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (L.) Lamk. and Kandelia candel (L.) Druce, in order to quantify mangrove contribution to lipid and fatty acid inputs to marine sediments. Total lipid and total FA in the fresh (green and yellow) and decomposing leaves of both species were significantly higher during winter than summer. During decomposition, total lipid content and FA concentration, in particular branched chain fatty acids (BrFAs) and bacterial fatty acids (BFAs), increased to a maximum concentration in 45 days during winter and in 17 days during summer. Lipids were lost faster in K. candel leaf detritus than in B. gymnorrhiza leaf detritus in which >90% of the total lipid original weight was lost during the summer experiment and <60% during the winter experiment. The changes in the concentrations of total lipids and FAs in the decomposing leaves also indicate that mangrove leaves are significant sources of fatty acids and probably other lipid compounds to estuarine ecosystems and that tidal waters transport the lipids and FAs adsorbed to particulate matter from mangroves to adjacent estuarine sediments and the ocean.     

Scattering of Semidiurnal Internal Kelvin Wave at Step Bottom Topography

A three-dimensional, multi-level model was used to study the energy dissipation of semidiurnal internal Kelvin waves due to their interaction with bottom topography. A simplified topography consisting of a channel with an additional shallow bay was used to clarify the wave’s scattering process. When the first mode semidiurnal internal wave given at an open boundary arrives at the bay mouth, higher-mode internal waves are generated at a step bottom of the bay mouth. As a result, the energy of the first mode internal Kelvin wave is effectively decayed. The decay rate of the internal Kelvin wave depends on both the width and length of the additional bay. The maximum decay rate was found when a resonance condition occurs the bay, that is, the bay length is equal to a quarter of wave length of the first mode internal wave on the shallow region. The decay rate in the wide bay cases is higher than that in a narrow case, due to a contribution from the scattering due to the Poincare wave that emanates from the corners of the bay head. The decay rate with the additional bay is 1.1–1.8 times that of the case without the additional bay. The decay rate due to the scattering process is found to be of the same order as that of the internal and bottom friction.     

Possible Density Change of the Origin of North Pacific Intermediate Water Due to Double Diffusion in the Mixed Water Region

In this study we test Talley's hypothesis that Oyashio winter mixed-layer water (26.5–26.6σ _θ) increases its density to produce the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) salinity minimum (26.7– 26.8σ_θ) in the Mixed Water Region, assuming a combination of cabbeling and double diffusion. The possible density change of Oyashio winter mixed-layer water is discussed using an instantaneous ratio of the change of temperature and salinity along any particular intrusion (R _l ). We estimate the range of R _l ^DD required to convert Oyashio winter mixed-layer water to the NPIW salinity minimum due to double diffusion, and then assume double-diffusive intrusions as this conversion mechanism. A double-diffusive intrusion model is used to estimate R _l ^DD in a situation where salt fingering dominates vertical mixing, as well as to determine whether Oyashio winter mixed-layer water can become the NPIW salinity minimum. Possible density changes are estimated from the model R _l ^DD by assuming the amount of density change due to cabbeling. From these results, we conclude that Oyashio winter mixed-layer water contributes to a freshening of the lighter layer of the NPIW salinity minimum (around 26.70σ_θ) in the MWR.     

Paleoenvironment and sea-level change in the early Cretaceous Barents Sea—implications from near-shore marine sapropels

The late Volgian (early "Boreal" Berriasian) sapropels of the Hekkingen Formation of the central Barents Sea show total organic carbon (TOC) contents from 3 to 36 wt%. The relationship between TOC content and sedimentation rate (SR), and the high Mo/Al ratios indicate deposition under oxygen-free bottom-water conditions, and suggest that preservation under anoxic conditions has largely contributed to the high accumulation of organic carbon. Hydrogen index values obtained from Rock-Eval pyrolysis are exceptionally high, and the organic matter is characterized by well-preserved type II kerogen. However, the occurrence of spores, freshwater algae, coal fragments, and charred land-plant remains strongly suggests proximity to land. Short-term oscillations, probably reflecting Milankovitch-type cyclicity, are superimposed on the long-term trend of constantly changing depositional conditions during most of the late Volgian. Progressively smaller amounts of terrestrial organic matter and larger amounts of marine organic matter upwards in the core section may have been caused by a continuous sea-level rise.     

南海表层流场的卫星跟踪浮标观测结果分析

运用卫星跟踪漂移浮标资料分析南海表层海流 ,研究了有关海域的表层海流特征。结果表明 ,秋、冬季入侵南海的黑潮水有一小部分沿台湾南岸折回黑潮主干 ,并有时在台湾西南外海形成反气旋涡旋 ,其余大部分黑潮水西行进入南海内部。吕宋岛西部沿岸流始于 1 3°N以南 ,沿菲律宾西海岸北上抵达吕宋岛西北角 ,与黑潮水混合后西行     

Evidence of NW extension of the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the Marmara Sea: a new interpretation of the Marmara Sea (Izmit) earthquake on 17 August 1999

Active faults aligning in NW–SE direction and forming flower structures of strike-slip faults were observed in shallow seismic data from the shelf offshore of Avcılar in the northern Marmara Sea. By following the parallel drainage pattern and scarps, these faults were traced as NW–SE-directed lineaments in the morphology of the northern onshore sector of the Marmara Sea (eastern Thrace Peninsula). Right-lateral displacements in two watersheds of drainage and on the coast of the Marmara Sea and Black Sea are associated with these lineaments. This right-lateral displacement along the course of these faults suggests a new, active strike-slip fault zone located at the NW extension of the northern boundary fault of the ?ınarcık Basin in the Marmara Sea. This new fault zone is interpreted as the NW extension of the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), extending from the ?ınarcık Basin of the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea coast of the Thrace Peninsula, and passing through B üy ük ?ekmece and K ü ? ük ?ekmece lagoons. These data suggest that the rupture of the 17 August 1999 earthquake in the NAFZ may have extended through Avcılar. Indeed, Avcılar and İzmit, both located on the Marmara Sea coast along the rupture route, were strongly struck by the earthquake whereas the settlements between Avcılar and İzmit were much less affected. Therefore, this interpretation can explain the extraordinary damage in Avcılar, based on the newly discovered rupture of the NAFZ in the Marmara Sea. However, this suggestion needs to be confirmed by further seismological studies.     

东太平洋地区DSDP573孔始新世末期的微玻璃陨石

通过研究 DSDP5 73孔的岩心样品 ,首次在该孔始新世与渐新世的界线地层含金属粘土层中发现了微玻璃陨石 ,且主要富集在其底部。一个样品 (5 g)中最多可达 12粒。这些微玻璃陨石主要呈球形、椭球形。用电子探针测试了其化学成分 ,Si O2 含量为 2 9.6 4%～ 5 8.93%,Al2 O3 为 3.42 %～ 2 0 .96 %,Fe O为 9.98%～ 2 9.5 5 %,Mg O为 4.32 %～ 16 .0 5 %,Ir为 0 .0 6 %～ 0 .81%。总体来说 ,微玻璃陨石的化学成分变化较大 ,可能与靶岩的成分变化较大有关。始新世末期北美微玻璃陨石场的展布方向约为 2 5 0°,这与太平洋板块运动方向改变所需要的矢量变化(2 45°)仅相差 5°,推测很可能是始新世末期陨星的撞击引起了太平洋板块在该时期的运动方向由 NNW突然变为NWW。     

Scaling analysis of deposition from turbidity currents

Many oil-bearing sedimentary deposits are formed by the settling of particles from turbidity currents. Modeling sedimentary processes that form these turbidites enables the calculation of properties such as extent, depth, porosity and permeability of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs. This paper estimates the extent and thickness of turbidites from the initial conditions of the turbidity flow. This is achieved by the application of scaling analysis of the partial differential equations that govern the dynamics of and deposition from turbidity currents. We apply the results of scaling analysis to five modern submarine fans. The predicted and actual values of the dimensions of the fan deposits match well. We then compare the derived results against tabulated sizes of ancient turbidites. The comparisons are good as long as we correctly identify the flow regimes in which the deposition took place. The good agreements observed in the two cases show that the estimates obtained using scaling analysis can provide useful first-guess values for the dimensions of the deposits.     

南大洋普里兹湾基于234Th/238U不平衡法的POC输出通量研究

中国第22次南极科学考察(2005年11月至2006年3月)期间,测定了南极普里兹湾海域5个站位的从表层至150 m水深的不同层位水样中溶解态和颗粒态234Th,238U的放射性比活度以及颗粒有机碳.利用234Th/238U在上层水体中的不平衡,计算了南极普里兹湾上层水体中234Th的平均停留时间和输出通量.结果显示,随着纬度的增加,上层水体中颗粒态和溶解态234Th的平均停留时间总体趋向减小,并在中纬度站位出现了最低值,分别为1~8和29~48 d,而颗粒态和溶解态234Th的输出通量则在中纬度站位出现了最大值,分别为21~38和26~39 dpm/(m3·d).运用箱型清除模式,利用两种不同的方法估算了各水柱中从真光层底部输出的POC通量,平均值分别达到104.7 mmol/(m2·d)(E法)和120.6 mmol/(m2·d)(B法),表明南极普里兹湾夏季存在很高的新生产力,它将会对该海域碳的生物泵过程产生重要作用.