Physical and anthropogenic effects on observed long-term nutrient changes in the Irish Sea

The trend in Irish Sea nutrient concentrations over the last four decades has been considered to reflect changes in anthropogenic loading. Comparison of a long-term database for the Menai Strait, North Wales, with an established historic data set for the Cypris station, Isle of Man, indicates that climate also has a significant influence on observations of nutrient concentrations. Data are presented detailing long-term shifts in nitrate, phosphate and silicate measurements since the 1960s at these two fixed sampling sites in the Irish Sea. Broad systematic changes observed in all three nutrients over the decades show a rise from the 1960s through to the 1980s, followed generally by an overall decline in the 1990s. Decadal-scale salinity changes occur in the opposite sense to nutrient changes. Anthropogenic inputs from freshwater cannot fully account for observed nutrient trends, neither is there evidence for shifts in nutrient concentrations in oceanic waters over the past four decades. Climatically forced movement in the geographical position of the freshwater/seawater mixing zone over a decadal time scale could, however, give rise to the observed shifts in nutrient concentration and salinity. This cannot alter nutrient concentration and salinity per se, but causes the measurements taken at fixed sampling sites to fluctuate inversely over this time scale. It is concluded that there is complex interplay between anthropogenic loading and climate affecting the distribution of nutrients in the Irish Sea.     

Primary production in the eastern tropical Pacific: A review

The eastern tropical Pacific includes 28 million km² of ocean between 23.5°N and S and Central/South America and 140°W, and contains the eastern and equatorial branches of the north and South Pacific subtropical gyres plus two equatorial and two coastal countercurrents. Spatial patterns of primary production are in general determined by supply of macronutrients (nitrate, phosphate) from below the thermocline. Where the thermocline is shallow and intersects the lighted euphotic zone, biological production is enhanced. In the eastern tropical Pacific thermocline depth is controlled by three interrelated processes: a basin-scale east/west thermocline tilt, a basin-scale thermocline shoaling at the gyre margins, and local wind-driven upwelling. These processes regulate supply of nutrient-rich subsurface waters to the euphotic zone, and on their basis we have divided the eastern tropical Pacific into seven main regions. Primary production and its physical and chemical controls are described for each.Enhanced rates of macronutrient supply maintains levels of primary production in the eastern tropical Pacific above those of the oligotrophic subtropical gyres to the north and south. On the other hand lack of the micronutrient iron limits phytoplankton growth (and nitrogen fixation) over large portions of the open-ocean eastern tropical Pacific, depressing rates of primary production and resulting in the so-called high nitrate-low chlorophyll condition. Very high rates of primary production can occur in those coastal areas where both macronutrients and iron are supplied in abundance to surface waters. In these eutrophic coastal areas large phytoplankton cells dominate; conversely, in the open-ocean small cells are dominant. In a ‘shadow zone’ between the subtropical gyres with limited subsurface ventilation, enough production sinks and decays to produce anoxic and denitrified waters which spread beneath very large parts of the eastern tropical Pacific.Seasonal cycles are weak over much of the open-ocean eastern tropical Pacific, although several eutrophic coastal areas do exhibit substantial seasonality. The ENSO fluctuation, however, is an exceedingly important source of interannual variability in this region. El Niño in general results in a depressed thermocline and thus reduced rates of macronutrient supply and primary production. The multi-decadal PDO is likely also an important source of variability, with the ‘El Viejo’ phase of the PDO resulting in warmer and lower nutrient and productivity conditions similar to El Niño.On average the eastern tropical Pacific is moderately productive and, relative to Pacific and global means, its productivity and area are roughly equivalent. For example, it occupies about 18% of the Pacific Ocean by area and accounts for 22–23% of its productivity. Similarly, it occupies about 9% of the global ocean and accounts for 10% of its productivity. While representative, these average values obscure very substantial spatial and temporal variability that characterizes the dynamics of this tropical ocean.     

Storms and shoreline retreat in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Storms play a major role in shoreline recession on transgressive coasts. In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), southeastern Canada, long-term relative sea-level rise off the North Shore of Prince Edward Island has averaged 0.3 m/century over the past 6000 years (>0.2 m/century over 2000 years). This has driven long-term coastal retreat at mean rates >0.5 m/a but the variance and details of coastal profile response remain poorly understood. Despite extensive sandy shores, sediment supply is limited and sand is transferred landward into multidecadal to century-scale storage in coastal dunes, barrier washover deposits, and flood-tidal delta sinks. Charlottetown tide-gauge records show mean relative sea-level rise of 3.2 mm/a (0.32 m/century) since 1911. A further rise of 0.7±0.4 m is projected over the next 100 years. When differenced from tidal predictions, the water-level data provide a 90-year record of storm-surge occurrence. Combined with wind, wave hindcast, and sea-ice data, this provides a catalogue of potentially significant coastal storms. We also document coastal impacts from three recent storms of great severity in January and October 2000 and November 2001. Digital photogrammetry (1935–1990) and shore-zone surveys (1989–2001) show large spatial and temporal variance in coastal recession rates, weakly correlated with the storm record, in part because of wave suppression or coastal protection by sea ice. Large storms cause rapid erosion from which recovery depends in part on local sand supply, but barrier volume may be conserved by washover deposition. Barrier shores with dunes show high longshore and interdecadal variance, with extensive multidecadal healing of former inlet and overwash gaps. This reflects recovery from an episode of widespread overwash prior to 1935, possibly initiated by intense storms or groups of storms in the latter half of the 19th century. With evidence from the storms of 2000–2001, this points to the importance of storm clustering on scales of weeks to years in determining erosion vulnerability, as well as the need for a long-term, large-scale perspective in assessing coastal stability. The expected acceleration in relative sea-level rise, together with projections of increasing storm intensity and greatly diminished winter ice cover in the southern GSL, implies a significant increase in coastal erosion hazards in future.     

"莫拉克"强热带风暴暴雨分析

本文利用天气学分析、物理量诊断、卫星云图及雷达回波分析等方法对0309号强热带风暴“莫拉克”(MORAKOT)暴雨过程进行分析研究。结果表明，在这次暴雨过程中，西南季风的发展和冷空气的侵入作用十分突出，二者共同作用，造成热带风暴“莫拉克”外围云系的增幅发展，从而促进暴雨的发生发展。850hPa较大的正涡度、700hPa较明显的垂直上升运动、以及热带低压东南侧较大的压能梯度都对暴雨的形成和发展起到一定作用。卫星云图、雷达回波图上也比较清楚地揭示这次暴雨形成和发展的演变过程。     

A review of eastern tropical Pacific oceanography: Summary

The collection of articles in this volume reviewing eastern tropical Pacific oceanography is briefly summarized, and updated references are given. The region is an unusual biological environment as a consequence of physical characteristics and patterns of forcing – including a strong and shallow thermocline, the ITCZ and coastal wind jets, equatorial upwelling, the Costa Rica Dome, eastern boundary and equatorial current systems, low iron input, inadequate ventilation of subthermocline waters, and dominance of ENSO-scale temporal variability. Remaining unanswered questions are presented.     

双涡互旋的数值模拟试验

本文应用准地转正压无辐散模式对双涡的相互作用进行了数值模拟试验。试验结果表明：（1）只考虑相对涡度平流的情况下双涡以互旋为主，而且随着初始间距的缩小，互旋越来越明显。双涡的相互作用与它们的初始间距以及它们的强度和结构有密切的关系。（2）双涡的移动加速和减速都是出现在它们移动方向改变的时刻，当移动方向向逆时针方向变化时移速减慢，否则加快。     

天目山千亩田泥炭腐殖化度记录的中全新世气候变化

以14C测年为基础,构建了天目山千亩田地区泥炭沼泽剖面年龄-深度模式曲线,通过该区的腐殖化度与烧失量分析研究,发现两者呈现出很好的相关性,共同记录了该地区4 200 aBP以来的气候变化,可划分出3个主要阶段:早期(4 135±40~3 200 aBP)泥炭腐殖化度偏低,指示气候湿热;中期(3 200~630 aBP)泥炭腐殖化度偏高,指示气候温凉偏干;晚期(630 aBP以来),泥炭腐殖化度偏低,气候温凉湿润。     

热带太平洋深海微生物的若干生理生态特征

从2001年春、秋季于热带太平洋区采集到的深海样品中共分离到110株微生物,从中挑取31株进行形态特征和对环境理化因子适应特征的研究,同时利用Biolog微生物自动鉴定系统进行菌种鉴定和碳源代谢分析.结果表明:31株微生物中2株为酵母,21株为革兰氏阳性细菌,8株为革兰氏阴性细菌,来自底质的细菌菌株阳性菌占优势,而海水、蓝藻中阴性菌居多;温度、盐度、pH适应性试验表明,严格意义上的狭适性微生物不到总数的1/3,而具有较宽生态幅的广适性微生物占有相当大的比例.另一方面,耐冷菌、中度嗜盐菌和抗碱菌在这些微生物中的比例很高,同时,来自蓝藻的菌株大多数在4℃下不生长,而来自上覆水和底质的菌株可在4℃生长,这些都体现了微生物对生存环境的响应.31株微生物经Biolog鉴定12株得出鉴定结果.15株革兰氏阳性细菌对95种碳源的利用能力分析表明,不同菌株可利用碳源的数目从3种到46种不等,差异很大,体现了深海微生物营养类型的极大多样性;同时,发现有8种碳源可被一半以上的受试菌株所利用,这些碳源均是微生物各类代谢途径中的重要中间代谢物.     

SeagrassNet monitoring across the Americas: case studies of seagrass decline

Seagrasses are an important coastal habitat worldwide and are indicative of environmental health at the critical land–sea interface. In many parts of the world, seagrasses are not well known, although they provide crucial functions and values to the world's oceans and to human populations dwelling along the coast. Established in 2001, SeagrassNet, a monitoring program for seagrasses worldwide, uses a standardized protocol for detecting change in seagrass habitat to capture both seagrass parameters and environmental variables. SeagrassNet is designed to statistically detect change over a relatively short time frame (1–2 years) through quarterly monitoring of permanent plots. Currently, SeagrassNet operates in 18 countries at 48 sites; at each site, a permanent transect is established and a team of people from the area collects data which is sent to the SeagrassNet database for analysis. We present five case studies based on SeagrassNet data from across the Americas (two sites in the USA, one in Belize, and two in Brazil) which have a common theme of seagrass decline; the study represents a first latitudinal comparison across a hemisphere using a common methodology. In two cases, rapid loss of seagrass was related to eutrophication, in two cases losses related to climate change, and in one case, the loss is attributed to a complex trophic interaction resulting from the presence of a marine protected area. SeagrassNet results provide documentation of seagrass change over time and allow us to make scientifically supported statements about the status of seagrass habitat and the extent of need for management action.