Depth distribution of radiolarians from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, western Arctic

The depth distributions of the radiolarian fauna in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, marginal seas of the western Arctic Ocean, were examined quantitatively in depth-stratified plankton tows from 4 or 5 intervals above 500 m and in surface sediments from various depths between 163 and 2907 m. The radiolarian assemblage from the water column in September 2000 was dominated by Amphimelissa setosa and followed by the Actinomma boreale/leptoderma group, Pseudodictyophimus gracilipes and Spongotrochus glacialis. These species are related to the Arctic Surface Water shallower than 150 m. This assemblage is similar to that in the Greenland Sea relating to the ice edge, but did not contain typical Pacific radiolarians in spite of the flow of water of Pacific origin in this region. The living depth of Ceratocyrtis historicosa was restricted to the relatively warm water between 300 and 500 m corresponding to the upper Arctic Intermediate Water (AIW) originating from the Atlantic Ocean. Radiolarian assemblages in the surface sediments are similar to those in the plankton tows, except for common Cycladophora davisiana in sediment samples below 500 m. C. davisiana is probably a deep-water species adapted to the lower AIW or the Canadian Basin Deep Water ventilated from the shelves.     

ADCP观测得到的2008年4月吕宋海峡流速剖面结构

基于2008年4月22—26日吕宋海峡调查航次的下放式声学多普勒流速剖面仪(LADCP)和船载ADCP(SADCP)等观测资料,并采用潮波模式模拟结果去除潮流对观测资料的影响,观测结果表明:调查期间黑潮入侵南海的位置与1992年春季比较接近,其分支位于调查海区中部C2、C7、C8和C9站,表层黑潮在C8站分离为两支,分别流向C9和C2站,C9站北向流明显比C8站减弱。在C2站,黑潮分支位于400m层以浅,其最大西向流速为77cm/s,而在C7、C8和C9站黑潮分支位于500m层以浅,黑潮在入侵南海的过程中其核心深度逐渐变浅。上层黑潮明显作反气旋弯曲。本调查航次的观测结果在定性上支持吕宋海峡水交换有"三明治"垂直结构的特性。     

Reciprocal sound transmission measurement of mean current and temperature variations in the central part (Aki-nada) of the Seto Inland Sea,Japan

A 30 km-range reciprocal sound transmission experiment was carried out on the line connecting Honshu and Shikoku (the first and fourth biggest main Japanese islands, respectively) in the central part (Aki-nada) of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, during March–May 2010 to measure the mean current and temperature variations over the sea. The range-averaged current along the sound transmission line was estimated to have a mean and standard deviation of (3.8–4.4) ± (1.7–1.8) cm/s after converting the travel time difference data into currents, including a fortnightly tidal variation in the range of ±30 cm/s. The positive mean current implies slow water movement from the west to east through Aki-nada. The range-averaged speed of sound was estimated by converting from the mean travel time or one-way travel time into the speed of sound, and further converted into temperature for fixed values of salinity and depth, according to the standard speed of sound formula. Besides the precise measurement (to an accuracy of 0.01°C) of semidiurnal and diurnal tidal variations and seasonal warming, the temperature data showed periodic variations with periods of 7.0 and 21.1 days that had never been observed in Aki-nada before. This study suggests that reciprocal sound transmission is a powerful technique for the long-term accurate measurement of mean current and temperature variations in coastal and inland seas.