The variation of the Kuroshio during 1986-1988

On the basis of the analysis of the data obtained from five cruises of the R/V Xiangyanghong 09 and the data from Japan, it is shown that a large meander of the Kuroshio appeared again during 1986-1988. The processes of formation , maturity and decline of this large meander are discussed in this study. The variation of the volume transport at Section Kb (PN) in the East China Sea is related to the large meander of the Kuroshio in the area south of Japan. By using maximum entropy spectrum analysis,the volume transport of the Kuroshio and the swing of its axis are analysed and their major periods are obained.     

Genetic and morphological divergence in the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata, Echinoidea) across the African Mediterranean coast

The present investigation focuses on population structure analysis of the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus across the African Mediterranean coast, with the main aim of assessing the influence of the Siculo-Tunisian Strait on gene flow disruption in this highly dispersive echinoid species. For this purpose, patterns of morphological and genetic variation were assessed among its populations from the western and eastern Mediterranean coasts. A total of 302 specimens from seven Tunisian sites were collected and examined for morphometric variability at twelve morphometric traits. Concordant results, inferred from CDA (canonical discriminant analyses), pairwise NPMANOVA (non parametric multivariate analysis of variance) comparisons and MDS (multidimensional scaling) plot, unveiled significant inter-population differences in the measured traits among the studied populations. Furthermore, the combined use of the one way ANOSIM (analysis of similarities) and the Discriminant/Hotelling analysis allowed unravelling two morphologically differentiated groups assigned to both western and eastern Mediterranean basins. The SIMPER (similarity percentages) routine analysis showed that total dry weight, test diameter and spine length were major contributors to the morphometric separation between locations and between groups. Pattern of phenotypic divergence discerned in P. lividus across the Siculo-Tunisian Strait is interestingly in congruence with that inferred from the genetic investigation of the purple sea urchin populations from the same region based on the analysis of the mtDNA COI (cytochrome oxidase I) gene in 314 specimens from nineteen locations covering a wider geographic transect, streching westward to the Algerian coast and eastward to the Libyan littoral. The specific haplotypic composition characterizing each Mediterranean basin, as inferred from the minimum spanning network, confirmed the geographic partioning of genetic variation, as revealed by F-statistics and AMOVA (analysis of molecular variance) analyses, yielding significant genetic differentiation between eastern and western Mediterranean populations. The newly detected phylogeographic patterns, observed for the first time in P. lividus throughout the explored distribution range, suggest the involvement of different biotic and abiotic processes in shaping such variation, and provide evidence that a large and geographically exhaustive dataset is necessary to unveil phylogeographic structure within widespread marine species, previously cathegorized as panmictic in part of their distribution range.     

Evaluation of the simulation capability of the Wavewatch Ⅲ model for Pacific Ocean wave

Wave climate analysis and other applications for the Pacific Ocean require a reliable wave hindcast. Five source and sink term packages in the Wavewatch III model(v3.14 and v4.18) are compared and assessed in this study through comprehensive observations, including altimeter significant wave height, advanced synthetic aperture radar swell, and buoy wave parameters and spectrum. In addition to the evaluation of typically used integral parameters, the spectra partitioning method contributes to the detailed wave system and wave maturity validation. The modified performance evaluation method(PS) effectively reduces attribute numbers and facilitates the overall assessment. To avoid possible misleading results in the root mean square error-based validations, another indicator called HH(indicating the two authors) is also calculated to guarantee the consistency of the results. The widely used Tolman and Chalikov(TC) package is still generally efficient in determining the integral properties of wave spectra but is physically deficient in explaining the dissipation processes. The ST4 package performs well in overall wave parameters and significantly improves the accuracy of wave systems in the open ocean. Meanwhile, the newly published ST6 package is slightly better in determining swell energy variations. The two packages(ACC350 and BJA) obtained from Wavewatch III v3.14 exhibit large scatters at different sea states. The three most ideal packages are further examined in terms of reproducing waveinduced momentum flux from the perspective of transport. Stokes transport analysis indicates that ST4 is the closest to the NDBC-buoy-spectrum-based transport values, and TC and ST6 tend to overestimate and underestimate the transport magnitude, respectively, in swell mixed areas. This difference must be considered,particularly in air–wave–current coupling research and upper ocean analysis. The assessment results provide guidance for the selection of ST4 for use in a background Pacific Ocean hindcast for high wave climate research and China Sea swell type analysis.     

The sediment types in the northeastern part of the South Cnina Sea—A discussion on regularity of the sedimentary types

Based on the comprehensive analysis of the types of sedimentary grain size in the studied region and the characteristics of organism, mineral and chemical compositions of the sediments, from the view-point of origin of the sediments, the sediments in the studied region are classified into four sedimentary types, namely, terrigenous detritus, biogenic-terri-genous, authigenous-terrigenous and volcanic-terrigenous (Fig. 1). Their characteristics, distributions and sedimentary regularities are approached in this paper.     

Application of the first internal transcribed spacer(ITS-1) of ribosomal DNA as a molecular marker to population analysis in farrer''s scallop Chlamys farreri

Sequence variation of the first internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA （ ITS - 1 ） was examined and its application to the study of genetic variation was explored in four populations of farter＇ s scallop Chlamys farreri. ITS - 1 fragments, with a length of about 300 bp,of 78 individuals collected from Dalian, Qingdao, Yantai in China and Korea respectively were amplified via PCR, cloned and sequenced. Intra-genomic variation was examined by sequencing several clones of single individuals. Alignment and polymorphism analysis detected 44 haplotypes and 50 polymorphic sites which consist of 30 substitutions and 20 indels, indicating a high level of polymorphisms. Sequence analysis also showed a very low level of intra-individual variation. All these features validated the feasibility of application of ITS - 1 fragment to population analysis. Polymorphism analysis showed that the Korea sample has the richest genetic variation, followed by Yantai and Qingdao samples. AMOVA （analysis of molecular variance） showed that the majority （96.26%） of genetic variation was distributed within populations and 3.74% resulted from among populations, but with P 〈 0.05 （ = 0.042）, indicating that the populations in this study have significant divergence. This output was basically concordant with the result arising from RAPD data and different from that from mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequence data. Discussion on this inconsistency was made accordingly.     

Bottom Sediment Transport in the Flood and Ebb Channels of the Changjiang Estuary

Nanxiaohong and Nangang main south channel are chosen as the typical flood and ebb channels. Hydrodynamics analysis based on field hydrological and sediment data is conducted with Gao-Collins model to analyse sediment transport trends. Also, the grain size distribution analysis of the bottom sediment sampled in Sep. 2001 is used as the base of the analysis. The result shows that the sediment in Nanxiaohong is from the rive mouth area. The sediment transports upwards with the flood flow which is stronger than the ebb flow, i.e., in the direction of SE-WN. The sediment in main south channel comes from upward. They transport downwards with the ebb flow. which is stronger than the flood flow, i.e., in the direction of WN-SE. The directions, sources and mechanism of sediment transport are identified according to comprehensive analyses of the observed data on hydrodynamics and sediment.     

Transgressions and the sea-level changes of the western Taiwan Strait since the Late Pleistocene

The sedimentary sequences since the Late Pleistocene can be divided into Layers E, D, C, B, A from old to young according to systematic analysis of grain-size, pollen and spore, diatom, foraminifera, radiocarbon dating and paleogeomagnetism of 16 sedimentary cores from the sea area of the western Taiwan Strait. The results proved the existences of the Langqi transgression (upper section of Layer D) formed in middle and late stages of early Wurm glacial period, Fuzhou transgression (Layer C) formed in Wurm sub-interglacial period and Changle transgression (Layer A) formed in postglacial period. It was also the first time to discover the Jinmen transgression (Layer E) formed in Riss -Wurm interglacial period. In this paper it is proposed that most part of the Taiwan Strait emerged as land in the early stage of early Wurm glacial period, and was still under sublittoral environment in late Wurm glacial period, as well as the existence of Dongshan Continental Bridge was in 8×103 a BP.     

Studies on the Gorgonians of China——Ⅰ. Isis with one new species

Biostatistics (F analysis and Duncan's new multiple range test) combining with numerical and traditional taxonomy is used to report one new species, ( Isis minorbrachyblasta(I. m) ) as well as I. hippuris (I. h) and I. reticulata(I. r) from the China seas. The morphological characters of the spicules and other skeletal structures of each species are illustrated in de-tials with Scanning Electron Micrographs and compared with each other.     

Seasonal variations and distributions of dissolved free and total carbohydrates at the ?zmir Bay,Aegean Sea

Seasonal variations and distributions of dissolved carbohydrate concentrations at the ?zmir Bay were investigated with salinity, chlorophyll a(Chl a), and dissolved organic carbon(DOC) levels to understand their relationships.Samples were collected from surface, subsurface and bottom depths at seven stations. DOC concentrations ranged from 32.2 to 244.2 μmol/L, and in general, DOC levels increased from winter to summer, then slightly decreased in autumn. Monosaccharide(MCHO), polysaccharide(PCHO) and total dissolved carbohydrate(TDCHO) levels were found between 0.7–8.3, 0.7–19.5, and 2.6–24.6 μmol/L. DOC, MCHO, PCHO and TDCHO levels were found higher in middle-inner bays, under the influence of anthropogenic inputs, compared to outer bay. Seasonal changes of MCHO/DOC, PCHO/DOC and TDCHO/DOC ratios were statistically significant(p0.05)and the ratios showed decrease trends from winter to summer-autumn seasons. Distributions of TDCHO/DOC ratios at wide ranges(2.5%–42.3%) indicated the presence of newly forming and degrading fractions of DOM.According to results of factor analysis, Chl a, MCHO and TDCHO were explained in the same factor groups. In conclusion, the results showed that dissolved carbohydrate levels in the ?zmir Bay might be influenced by biological processes and terrestrial/anthropogenic inputs.     

Neutron activation analysis(NAA) and geochemical studies of 38 elements in surface sediments from lower reach and estuary of Huanghe(Yellow) River

Using a neutron activation analysis technique, which involves gamma-spectrometry with a Ge(Li) detector coupled to a S40 multichannel analyzer and interfaced to a PDP-11 computer, we determined thirty-eight elements in sediments from the lower reach (downstream from Jinan) and estuary of Huanghe. The results are discussed in this paper.From inter-elemental correlations, it ts found that a large number of metals (Mn.As, Co, Cr.Cs, Rb, Sc, Ti, Ta, V and Zn) correlate positively with Fe. Ba and Ca correlate positively with Al. Whereas some elements (e. g. , Ti and lanthanides) show no correlation with either Fe or Al. On the other hand, Hf and Zr show a negative correlation with Fe. Elements which tend to be scavenged by Fe and Al colloids or suspended particles are enriched in sediments at the Huanghe Estuary relative to its lower reach. On the other hand, the contents of some elements (e. g. , Zr,Hf,U, Ba, etc. )are higher in sediments from the lower reach of Huanghe than in the estuarine sediments,which     

热带太平洋波浪输运与海表面温度异常关系研究

Large-scale water transport is one of the key factors that affect sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) in the eastern equatorial Pacific(EEP).The relationship between the wave transport in the tropical Pacific and the SSTA in the EEP is examined by different methods,including band-pass filtering,period analysis,correlation analysis,significant analysis,and empirical orthogonal function(EOF) analysis.We have found that the eastward shift of the wave transport anomaly in the tropical Pacific,with a period of 2 a and enhancing the transport of warm waters from the western Pacific warm pool,precedes the increase of sea surface temperature(SST) in the EEP.The wave transport and the SSTA in the EEP have a maximum correlation of 0.65 with a time-lag of 6 months(transport variation precedes the temperature).The major periods(3.7 a and 2.45 a) of the wave transport variability,as revealed by the EOF analysis,appear to be consistent with the SSTA oscillation cycle in the EEP.Based on the first occurrence of a significant SSTA in the Ni?o 3 region(5°S–5°N,90°–150°W),two types of warm events are defined.The wave transport anomalies in two types present predominantly the west anomaly in the tropical Pacific,it is that the wave transport continues transport warm water from west to east before the onset of the warm event.The impact of wave-induced water transport on the SSTA in the EEP is confirmed by the heat flux of the wave transport.The wave transport exerts significant effect on the SSTA variability in the EEP and thus is not neglectable in the further studies.     

Phylogenetic diversity of Type I polyketide synthase genes from sediments of Ardley Island in Antarctica

The diversity of modular polyketide synthase (PKS) genes in sediments of Ardley Island in Antarctica, was studied by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of 14 amino acid (AA) sequences indicates that the identified ketosynthase (KS) domains were clustered with those from diverse bacterial groups, including Cyanobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and some unidentified microorganisms from marine sponge, bryozoan and other environmental samples. The obtained KS domains showed 43%-81% similarity at the AA level to reference sequences in GenBank. Six identified KS domains showed diverse sequences of the motif (VQTACSTS) that was used to identify the hybrid PKS/nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) enzyme complex, and formed a new branch. These results reveal a high diversity and novelty of PKS genes in antarctic sediments.     

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of phytoplankton diversity and its relation to water environmental factors in the southern waters of Miaodao Archipelago, China

To study the water quality influenced by the anthropogenic activities and its impact on the phytoplankton diversity in the surface waters of Miaodao Archipelago, the spatiotemporal variations in phytoplankton communities and the environmental properties of the surface waters surrounding the Five Southern Islands of Miaodao Archipelago were investigated, based on seasonal field survey conducted from November 2012 to August 2013. During the survey, a total of 109 phytoplankton species from 3 groups were identified in the southern waters of Miaodao Archipelago, of which 77 were diatoms, 29 were dinoflagellates, and 3 were chrysophytes. Species number was higher in winter (73), moderate in autumn (70), but lower in summer (31) and spring (27). The species richness index in autumn (5.92) and winter (4.28) was higher than that in summer (2.83) and spring (1.41). The Shannon-Wiener diversity index was high in autumn (2.82), followed by winter (1.99) and summer (1.92), and low in spring (0.07). The species evenness index in autumn (0.46) and summer (0.39) was higher than that in winter (0.32) and spring (0.02). On the basis of principal component analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA), we found that dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in spring, COD in summer, pH in autumn, and salinity and oil pollutant in winter, respectively, showed the strongest association with the distribution of phytoplankton diversity. The spatial heterogeneity of the southern waters of Miaodao Archipelago was quite obvious, and three zones, i.e., northeastern, southwestern and inter-island water area, were identified by cluster analysis (CA) based on key environmental variables.     

The bacterial diversity in surface sediment from the South China Sea

16S rDNA sequencing results from this study and literatures demonstrate that sediment bacteria in the South China Sea (SCS) were very diverse,which contained 22 of the 24 phyla of bacteria investigated from marine sediment,however,it was very imbalance among stations.So bacterial diversity from 15 samples which covered a wide range of sediment types from 20 to 3 888 m in depth was studied in DGGE (denature gradient gel electrophoresis) in this paper.The DGGE results indicate that both sediment bacterial diversity and diversity difference among stations were significant.Thirty representative and differential fingerprints among samples were recovered and sequenced,phylogenetic analysis indicates that they may belong to Proteobacteria (α-,β-,γ-,δ-,ε-),Planctomycetes,Firmicutes,Chloroflexi,Acidobacteria,Actinobacteria,Nitrospirae,Gemmatimonadetes,candidate division WS3 and so on,of which,Gemmatimonadetes and candidate division WS3 bacteria were first detected in SCS sediment.This study also shows that bacterial diversity analysis based on DGGE was more potential than traditional 16S rDNA clone library in multiple sample analysis.     

Variation of freshwater components in the Canada Basin during 1967–2010

As a conservative tracer, oxygen isotopes in seawater are widely used for water mass analysis, along with temperature and salinity. In this study, seawater oxygen-18 datasets in the Canada Basin during 1967–2010 were obtained from the four cruises of the Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition(1999, 2003, 2008, and 2010) and the NASA database. Fractions of sea ice meltwater and river runoff were determined from the salinity-18O system. Our results showed that the river runoff decreased from the south to the north in the Canada Basin. The enhanced amount of river runoff observed in the southern Canada Basin may originate from the Mackenzie River, transported by the Beaufort Gyre. The river runoff component showed maximum fractions during 1967–1969, 1978–1979, 1984–1985, 1993–1994, and 2008–2010, indicating the refresh time of the river runoff was 5.0–16.0 a in the Canada Basin. The temporal variation of the river runoff was related to the change of the Arctic Oscillation(AO) index, suggesting the freshwater stored in the Canada Basin was affected by surface sea ice drift and water mass movement driven by atmospheric circulation.     

Intraspecific morphometric diversity of barramundi (Lates calcariferBloch, 1790) in the waters of southern Bangladesh

A total of 160 barramundi's (Lates calcarifer Bloch, 1790) sampled from four rivers (Tentulia, Balaswar, Bakkhali, and Andarmanik) along the southern coastal region of Bangladesh were investigated in terms of morphometric characters to reveal the intraspecific variation. Twenty-five morphometric measurements were extracted using the conventional method and subjected to multivariate analyses (i.e., principal component analysis (PCA), discriminate function analysis (DFA), cluster analysis (CA)) to distinguish individuals from different rivers. The result demonstrated that twenty-two out of 25 measurements was statistically significant (Univariate ANOVA) among all four populations. PCA analysis of morphometric characters resulted in two principal components, PC I and PCⅡ which accounted for 79.25% and 4.28% of the total data variance. PC I-PC Ⅱ plot explained 83.53% of total variance differentiated the population of L. calcarifer into two groups. Discriminate analysis correctly classified about 88.1% of the examined fish into the four areas. The UPGMA dendrogram showed that Bakkhali populations were the most morphologically different populations in comparison to other populations, while Andarmanik and Balaswar populations were very close to each other. The strong morphometric variation between Bakkhali and Tentulia, Andarmanik and Balaswar was observed in the present study, suggested the evidence of the separate stock population of barramundi in these locations, which might require distinct stock management strategies for resource sustainability in the waters of southern Bangladesh. However, if these findings are supported by further molecular markers and geometric morphometry, this would be a strong indication of different stocks of this population in the four rivers of southern Bangladesh.     

Seasonal variability of turbulent heat fluxes in the tropical Atlantic Ocean based on WHOI flux product

The mean seasonal variability of turbulent heat fluxes in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is examined using the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution(WHOI) flux product.The most turbulent heat fluxes occur during winter seasons in the two hemispheres,whose centers are located at 10°~20°N and 5°～15°S respectively.In climatological ITCZ,the turbulent heat fluxes are the greatest from June to August,and in equatorial cold tongue the turbulent heat fluxes are the greatest from March to May.Seasonal variability of sensible heat flux is smaller than that of latent heat flux and mainly is dominated by the variations of air-sea temperature difference.In the region with larger climatological mean wind speed(air-sea humidity difference),the variations of air-sea humidity difference(wind speed) dominate the variability of latent heat flux.The characteristics of turbulent heat flux yielded from theory analysis and WHOI dataset is consistent in physics which turns out that WHOI's flux data are pretty reliable in the tropical Atlantic Ocean.     

Feeding ecology of Japanese Spanish mackerel(Scomberomorus niphonius) along the eastern coastal waters of China

Feeding activities provide necessary nutrition and energy to support the reproduction and development of fish populations. The feeding ecology and dietary plasticity of fish are important factors determining their recruitment and population dynamics. As a top predator, Japanese Spanish mackerel(Scomberomorus niphonius) supports one of the most valuable fisheries in China. In this study, the feeding ecology and diet composition of Japanese Spanish mackerel spawning groups were analysed based on samples collected from six spawning grounds along the eastern coastal waters of China during spring(March to May) in 2016 and 2017. Both stomach contents and stable isotope analysis were conducted. Stomach content analysis showed that spawning groups of Japanese Spanish mackerel mainly fed on fish, consuming more than 40 different prey species. Diets were significantly different among sampling locations. The most important prey species were Stolephorus in Fuzhou, Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus in Xiangshan, Euphausia pacifica in Lüsi, sand lance Ammodytes personatus in Qingdao and Weihai, and Leptochela gracilis in Laizhou Bay. Stable isotope analysis showed that the trophic level of Japanese Spanish mackerel was relatively high and generally increased with latitude from south to north. In the 1980 s, the diet of Japanese Spanish mackerel was dominated solely by Japanese anchovies in the eastern coastal waters of China. The results in the present study showed that the importance of Japanese anchovies declined considerably, and this fish was not the most dominant diet in most of the investigated waters. Both the spatial variations in diet composition and changes in the dominant diet over the long term indicated the high adaptability of Japanese Spanish mackerel to the environment. Combining the results of stomach analysis and stable isotope analysis from different tissues provided more comprehensive and accurate dietary information on Japanese Spanish mackerel. The study provides essential information about the feeding ecology of Japanese Spanish mackerel and will benefit the management of its populations in the future.     

Multivariate analysis of fluorescence and source identification of dissolved organic matter in Jiaozhou Bay, China

Hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) methods were used to assess the similarities and dissimilarities of the entire Excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMs) data sets of samples collected from Jiaozhou Bay, China. The results demonstrate that multivariate analysis facilitates the complex data treatment and spectral sorting processes, and also enhances the probability to reveal otherwise hidden information concerning the chemical characteristics of the dissolved organic matter (DOM). The distribution of different water samples as revealed by multivariate results has been used to track the movement of DOM material in the study area, and the interpretation is supported by the results obtained from the numerical simulation model of substance tracing technique, which show that the substance discharged by Haibo River can be distributed in Jiaozhou Bay.     

Estimation of Water Particle Velocities by Empirical Transfer Function

-In previous and this studies it appears that the linear and nonlinear wave theory can notaccurately and easily predict the water particle velocities.Therefore,different from the theoretical consider-ations,in this study we have attempted to determine the transfer function empirically.Laboratory experi-ments were performed under various wave conditions.The empirical formulas of the transfer function ofthe wave height,angular frequency and water particle velocity were obtained on the basis of these test databy dimensional analysis and regression analysis.In intermediate and deep water depth conditions,thetransfer function was only a function of a nondimensional parameter which is composed of the angular fre-quency,the depth of the velocity gauge under the still water level,water depth and the acceleration of grav-ity.Finally,the empirical formulas were compared with experimental data and observational data formpresent and Cavaleri's(1978)studies.The empirical formulas were found to be in sufficient correl