A geochemical record of environmental changes in sediments from Sishili Bay,northern Yellow Sea,China: Anthropogenic influence on organic matter sources and composition over the last 100 years

Total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N were measured in sediment cores at three sites in Sishili Bay, China, to track the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the coastal environment over the last 100 years. The increased TOC and TN in the upper section of sediment cores indicated a eutrophic process since 1975. In comparison, the TOC and TN in the sediment core near to a scallop aquaculture area displayed a much slower increase, indicating the contribution of scallop aquaculture in mitigating eutrophication. Combined information from δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and TOC:TN indicated an increased terrestrial signal, although organic matter sources in Sishili Bay featured a mixture of terrestrial and marine sources, with phytoplankton being dominant. Increased fertilizer use since 1970s contributed to the eutrophic process in Sishili Bay since 1975, and increased sewage discharge from 1990s has added to this process.     

Temporal and spatial variations of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea

Temporal and spatial distributions of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) were determined in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea during June-July, 2006 and January-February, 2007. The concentrations of DMS and total DMSP in surface water in the study area were 5.64 (1.79-12.24) and 28.25 (13.98-44.93) nmol L⁻¹ in summer, and were 1.79 (1.02-3.51) and 11.01 (6.90-17.98) nmol L⁻¹ in winter, respectively. The distributions of DMS and DMSP in the study area were obviously influenced by the Yangtze River effluent and the Kuroshio water. Even under highly variable hydrographic conditions, a significant relationship was observed between DMS and chlorophyll a concentrations in summer as well as in winter, suggesting that phytoplankton biomass might play an important role in controlling DMS distribution in the study area. The summer ratios of DMS/chlorophyll a and DMSP/chlorophyll a were approximately twofold higher than winter values, corresponding with the temporal variation in phytoplankton community structure between summer and winter. The sea-to-air fluxes of DMS were estimated to be 5.32 and 11.92 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ using the equations of Liss and Merlivat (1986) and Wanninkhof (1992), respectively.     

Temporal and spatial statistics of travelling eddy variability in the South China Sea

Ocean Dynamics - The variability across decades of years of migrating eddy activities in the South China Sea (SCS) has not yet been documented. We employ a daily global eddy-resolving (0.1°)...     

2007-2008年千岛湖营养盐时空分布及其影响因素

2007-2008年对千岛湖水体中5个采样点(S1,S3,S4,S8,S9)的总氮、总磷、三态氮、溶解性总磷和可溶性活性磷等进行了不同深度的逐月监测,以研究探讨千岛湖营养盐的时空分布格局.结果表明,两年间总磷、总氮和硝酸盐氮浓度都呈现从上游(S1)至下游(S9)逐渐下降的趋势;2007-2008年汛期(3-7月)位于千岛湖上游新安江干流段的样点S1各种营养盐均为全年最高.但是2007年与2008年营养盐时空分布差异显著.2008年汛期(3-7月),S1的总磷和总氮浓度分别极显著低于和高于2007年同期.相对于2007年,虽然2008年具有更高的温度,但没有增强水体热稳定性.2008年强对流天气一方面通过打破水体热分层和促进水体混合,另一方面通过雨水带来大量的地表营养盐来影响营养盐的分布.汛期高浓度的总磷在1-2个月内平均降低64.4%,最大降低88.6%,显示千岛湖生态系统具有较强的净化能力.分析结果显示千岛湖营养盐时空分布总体格局是由水文、生物以及人类活动等各种因素之间的相互作用所产生的综合效应而形成的,而极端天气能够改变这一格局.     

Temporal and spatial evolution of a deep-reaching anticyclonic eddy in the South China Sea

The temporal and spatial evolution of a deep-reaching anticyclonic eddy(AE) is studied using a combination of satellite measurements, moored observations and ocean model reanalysis data in the South China Sea(SCS). Three evolutionary stages in eddy's lifecycle are identified from changes in eddy dynamical characteristics estimated from satellite altimetry: birth(22 days), growth(64 days), and decay(47 days). Similar patterns are also distinguished from dynamic signals in HYCOM.Further, flows reversal and upwelling of cold water below 1500 m were captured by the in-situ records when this energetic,highly nonlinear and long-lived(over 19 weeks) AE passed by our mooring position. Its detailed vertical structure is examined through temperature anomalies, vertical shear of horizontal velocities, and horizontal streamlines estimated from ocean model reanalysis data. Results from the model reveal a mesoscale AE with first-mode baroclinic structure: a bowl-shaped anticyclonic flow in the upper ocean connected to a slant-cylinder cyclonic flow at depth, with a transition layer at depths between 400 and 700 m. It is in good agreement with moored observations but showing a shallower transition depth, suggesting a slight deficiency in the model due to limited deep-sea observations. Last, we estimate eddy heat transport at different depths and stages along the AE's path based on the model data. The result reveals that pronounced heat fluxes occur during growth stage(depths 400 m),counting for 73.03% of the total value. In the decay stage, major heat transport occurs at deeper depth(depths 700–1500 m).Dynamical characteristics suggest that the vertical structure and temporal evolution of the eddy play significant roles in basinscale movement and heat transferring. Considering that mesoscale eddies are ubiquitous in the SCS, our results support a recently-proposed mechanism, whereby upper ocean flows produce changes in the deep-sea circulation, potentially influencing boundary layer dynamics. For the first time to track and link an individual AE observed by satellite altimetry and ocean model,comparisons indicate that assimilative HYCOM outputs may be useful for examining the deep ocean properties within the SCS,especially under the impact of such an intensified surface-detected eddy.     

华北北部地区现今应力场时空变化特征研究.

依据2002——2006年的中小地震资料,利用格点尝试法分析计算了华北北部4个应力小区的平均主应力轴,讨论了华北北部地区的现今应力场特征.在此基础上,对1977——1998年研究区内的单个地震震源机制解进行了进一步的分析计算,并结合以往的研究结果,研究了华北北部地区现今应力场随时间的变化特征,结果印证了唐山地震前后,唐山震源区及其邻近地区应力场主应力方向出现的转动和变化的现象:1976年唐山发生7.8级地震后,唐山震源区及其邻近的北京地区和邢台地区震源机制解的平均P轴可能顺时针转动了约15deg;——30deg;。北京地区和邢台地区近期（2002——2006年）的平均主应力轴与唐山地震前的综合断层面解较为一致,这两个地区应力场似乎转回到唐山地震前的状态. 而唐山区震源机制解的平均P轴在地震后则一直稳定在EW向上。位于张家口——渤海断裂带西段的京西北地区,其现今应力场则相对比较稳定,唐山地震前后主应力方向没有太大变动。鉴于数据资料等方面的原因,本文的研究结果仅仅是初步给出了华北北部地区应力场近几十年来一种可能的调整变化图象。      

基于镭同位素分布的黄海和东海垂直混合速率计算

在黄海和东海采样测定了水体中的镭同位素分布,用平流扩散模型描述镭同位素分布,最小二乘方法计算了垂直涡动扩散系数和上升流或下降流流速.结果给出北黄海中部、南黄海中部、浙江沿岸和台湾北部海域存在上升流,流速分别为0.46×10-3cm·s-1、0.17×10-3~1.39×10-3cm·s-1、2.02×10-3~3.04×10-3 cm·s-1和1.06×10-3~2.51×10-3 cm·s-1.北黄海中部和东海东北部存在下降流.流速分别为-2.30×10-3 cm·s-1和-0.61×10-3~-2.10×10-3 cm·s-1.计算同时给出的垂直涡动扩散系数为5.84~48.2 cm2·s-1,平均值为22.3 cm2·s-1.北黄海和浙江沿岸上升流流速与文献的结果一致;北黄海中部存在下降流与文献的结论一致.本研究结果与文献结果一致是对所建立的方法的肯定,也是对文献研究结果的支持.     

Temporal and spatial variation characteristics of present stress field in the northern area of North China

From focal mechanism solutions of the earthquakes in the northern part of North China during the period of 2002～2006,the directions of principal stress axes in 4 stress sub-districts are analyzed using a grid test method.The characteristic of present crustal stress directions is discussed.Based on this result and on the focal mechanism solutions calculated for some events in the period of 1977～1998,in combination with some other study results,the temporal variation of present crustal stress directions in the northern part of North China is investigated.The re-sults confirm that the direction of crustal principal stress in some regions had somewhat rotated after the 1976 Tangshan M7.8 earthquake.The mean P axes of the focal mechanism solutions rotated clockwise not only in Tangshan sub-district,but also in Beijing and Xingtai sub-districts after the Tangshan earthquake.In Beijing and Xingtai sub-districts the orientations of principal stress axes in the period of 2002～2006 are consistent with that before the Tangshan earthquake,implying that the stress orientations has rotated back to the state before the Tang-shan earthquake in these two sub-districts.The directions of the mean P axes are nearly E-W in Tangshan sub-dis-trict since the M7.8 earthquake.The present stress field in the sub-district northwest to Beijing,or in the western part of the Zhangjiakou-Bohai fault zone,is relatively stable during the time period concerned in this study.Because of the limitation of data,this paper only states a possible variation of stress field in the northern part of North China in the recent decades.     

Fate of antibiotics during wastewater treatment and antibiotic distribution in the effluent-receiving waters of the Yellow Sea,northern China

Antibiotics including three β-lactams, two fluoroquinolones and two macrolides, which were the top seven most prescribed antibiotics in Dalian, China, were selected to investigate their occurrence in six municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their distribution in the effluent-receiving waters of the Yellow Sea. Four WWTPs employing different treatment technologies were selected to explore the mechanism of antibiotics elimination during wastewater treatment. Results showed that fluoroquinolones and macrolides were dominant species in both WWTPs effluents and the surveyed coastal waters. Biodegradation was the main pathway for β-lactams removal, however, primary treatment performed better than biological treatment for fluoroquinolones removal. Concentrations of macrolides increased dramatically after the biological treatment, which was probably due to the release of macrolides enclosed in feces particles. In the surveyed coastal waters, reduction of antibiotic concentration with distance was observed. Potential environmental risk caused by the occurrence of these antibiotics should be evaluated in future work.     

Temporal and spatial trends of total petroleum hydrocarbons in the seawater of Bohai Bay, China from 1996 to 2005

The temporal and spatial distribution of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the seawater of Tianjin Bohai Bay during 1996-2005 was investigated for the first time. TPH concentrations in 480 seawater samples collected from 16 stations during a 10-year span were quantified by ultra-violet fluorescence spectroscopy. Petroleum hydrocarbons were ubiquitous in the seawater, and their concentrations were highly variable, ranging from 23.7 to 508 μg L⁻¹. TPH concentrations in the seawater varied with seasons, showing a decreasing order of winter > spring > summer. Over the 10-year period, TPH at all stations steadily decreased. The highest values obtained were at stations near the port areas and Dagu outfall where shipping activities and land-based waste water discharges were the major sources of pollution. Our results provided the background information on the extent of TPH contamination in the seawater and highlighted the need to further control TPH pollution in Tianjin Bohai Bay.     

Temporal and spatial circulation patterns in the East Frisian Wadden Sea

This work deals with the analysis of simulations carried out with a primitive equation numerical model for the region of the East Frisian Wadden Sea. The model, with 200-m resolution, is forced by wind, air–sea heat, and water fluxes and river runoff and is nested in a German Bight 1-km-resolution numerical model, the latter providing tidal forcing for the fine resolution model. The analysis of numerical simulations is focused both on responses due to moderate conditions, as well as to extreme events, such as the storm surge Britta, for which the model demonstrates very good skills. The question addressed in this paper is how well the model output can be compressed with the help of empirical orthogonal function analysis. It is demonstrated that, for the short-time periods of the order of a spring–neap cycle, only a few modes are necessary to almost fully represent the circulation. This is just an illustration that the circulation in this region is subject to the dominating tidal forcing, creating clear and relatively simple response patterns. However, for longer periods of about several months, wind forcing is also very important, and correspondingly, the circulation patterns become much more complex. Possible applications of the results in hindcasting and forecasting of hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics in the coastal zone are considered.     

Sea level acceleration and variability in the Chesapeake Bay: past trends,future projections,and spatial variations within the Bay

Ocean Dynamics - Fast sea level rise (SLR) is causing a growing risk of flooding to coastal communities around the Chesapeake Bay (hereafter, CB or “the Bay”), but there are also...     

Observations of sediment resuspension and settling off the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay,Yellow Sea

We deployed bottom-mounted quadrapod equipped with acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV), and optical backscatter sensor (OBS) over two semidiurnal tidal cycles along the western coast of the Yellow Sea, China. In combination with shipboard profiling of CTD and LISST-100, we resolved the temporal and spatial distributions of tidal currents, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and particle size distributions. During the observations, tidal-induced bottom shear stress was the main stirring factor. However, weak tidal flow during the ebb phase was accompanied by two large SSC and median size events. The interactions of seiche-induced oscillations with weak ebb flow induced multiple flow reversals and provided a source of turbulence production, which stripped up the benthic fluff layers (only several millimeters) around the Jiaozhou Bay mouth. Several different methods for inferring mean suspended sediment settling velocity agreed well under peak currents, including estimates using LISST-based Stokes’ settling law, and ADCP-based Rouse profiles, ADV-based inertial-dissipation balance and Reynolds flux. Suspended particles in the study site can be roughly classified into two types according to settling behavior: a smaller, denser class consistent with silt and clay and a larger, less dense class consistent with loosely aggregated flocs. In the present work, we prove that acoustic approaches are robust in simultaneously and non-intrusively estimating hydrodynamics, SSC and settling velocities, which is especially applicable for studying sediment dynamics in tidal environments with moderate concentration levels.     

Relationships between surface-active organic substances, chlorophyll a and nutrients in the northern Adriatic Sea

Surface-active organic substances (SAS), nutrients, chlorophyll a (Chl a), dissolved oxygen (O₂), salinity (S) and temperature (T) were measured approximately monthly in the northern Adriatic Sea (NA) during two years. Results were elaborated for two stations of different trophic status. Exhaustive statistical examinations of measured variables were performed to contribute to better understanding of the processes and interdependence of the measured parameters. The results of those analyses allowed the region to be described based on several groups of data relevant for particular processes. Chl a appear to be independent parameter; orthosilicate, nitrite and ammonium represent the parameter group most relevant for regeneration processes; the second group includes nutrients dominant in freshwater inputs (orthophosphate and nitrate), while in the third group are parameters related to primary production processes (T, O₂, organic phosphorus and SAS). Probably due to time lags between nutrient uptake and phytoplankton growth as well as between cells growth/division and SAS release, both, the correlation between nutrients and Chl a and the correlation between Chl a and SAS were not statistically significant. Although significantly higher nutrient and Chl a concentrations were found in the mesotrophic western part of the region in comparison to the oligotrophic eastern part, the SAS concentration differences were less marked. It is assumed that more OM is produced, but also at the same time remineralized, at the mesotrophic western part, leading to higher concentrations of regenerated nutrients there. Presence of different phytoplankton taxa and/or fractions (micro and nano) at the two stations may have also contributed to minimize the difference in SAS contents. Higher SAS acidities were noticed in the mesotrophic than in the oligotrophic part.     

太湖沉积物理化性质及营养盐的时空变化

在不同季节,采集太湖梅梁湾和贡湖湾沉积物柱状样,研究沉积物Eh、pH、总氮、总磷以及有机质四季垂向剖面分布变化特征.研究结果表明,在表层下(0-3 cm),Eh随沉积物深度的增加迅速下降,很快进入还原状态.沉积物剖面上pH变化幅度不大,在6.4-7.8之间,冬季沉积物pH均有所降低.太湖沉积物中含有丰富的营养盐,总氮和总磷最高浓度分别为2.68和0.864 mg/g,其剖面分布特征表明,沉积物表层总氮和总磷含量远高于底层,其含量随深度增加而降低,但四季变化趋势不明显.沉积物中有机质含量在10 cm以上变化幅度较大,随着沉积物深度的增加,有机质含量明显减少,季节变化幅度不大.比较不同采样点发现,位于梅梁湾生态系统试验区内的S1位点沉积物氮磷内源负荷最大.     

Temporal trend, spatial distribution, and terrestrial sources of PBDEs and PCBs in Masan Bay, Korea

Congener specific determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was carried out in 21 surface sediment samples and a sediment core from Masan Bay, Korea. Among the 40 PBDE congeners targeted only 29 were detectable. PBDE congener profile within sediments was dominated by BDE-209 followed by BDEs-99, -47, -153 and -183, sequentially. In surface sediments, the average ΣPBDEs levels approached that of average ΣPCBs values. However, trends observed in the sediment core suggest that this pattern will alter over time and result in higher surface sediment PBDE concentrations than PCBs in future. Various diffuse and point sources for PBDEs and PCBs were identified in this location. Shipping and other industrial activities were associated with PCB contamination while domestic and industrial waste discharges corresponded with PBDE contamination. The average concentration for PBDEs and PCBs in surface sediments were 5.7, 7.2 ng/g dry weight, respectively.     

Seasonal variation of fluxes and distributions of dissolved methane in the North Yellow Sea

The concentrations and sea-to-air fluxes of dissolved methane (CH₄) were investigated in the North Yellow Sea during August 2006, January, April and October 2007. Dissolved CH₄ concentrations showed obvious seasonal variation, with maximum values occurring in summer and lowest values occurring in winter. The saturations of dissolved CH₄ in surface waters ranged from 78.7% to 1679.7% with an average of 252.4%. The estimated atmospheric CH₄ fluxes using the Liss and Merlivat (LM86), and Wanninkhof formulae (W92) were (4.2±4.7), (11.6±10.3), (8.5±12.7) and (0.2±1.0), and (6.9±7.3), (14.6±22.3), (13.8±14.3) and (0.4±1.7) μmol·(m² d)⁻¹, respectively, for spring, summer, autumn and winter. Based on the average annual atmospheric CH₄ flux and the area of the North Yellow Sea, the annual CH₄ emission was estimated to be (2.4×10⁻²–4.2×10⁻²) Tg a⁻¹, which suggests that the North Yellow Sea was a net source of atmospheric CH₄.     

An approach to analyzing spatial patterns of planktonic ciliate communities for monitoring water quality in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China

Spatial patterns of planktonic ciliate communities for assessment of marine environmental status were studied from June 2007 to May 2008 in Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, northern China. Ciliate communities were sampled biweekly at five sampling sites with a spatial gradient of environmental stress. Multivariate/univariate analyses demonstrated that: (1) the planktonic ciliate community structures represented significant differences among the five sites; (2) spatial patterns of the ciliate communities were significantly correlated with environmental variables, especially the nutrients nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N) and soluble reactive phosphates (SRP); (3) five dominant species (e.g., Rimostrombidium veniliae, Strombidium capitatum, Mesodinium pupula and Strombidinopsis acutum) were significantly correlated with nitrogen and/or SRP; and (4) both species richness and species diversity indices were correlated with NO₃-N and salinity. These results suggest that planktonic ciliated protozoa might be used as a robust bioindicator of marine water quality.     

Aquatic plant nutrients, moss phosphatase activities and tissue composition in four upland streams in northern England

A study was made of the water chemistry, tissue nutrients and surface phosphatase activities of the 2-cm apices of three mosses in four upland streams in northern England, UK. This was part of a project to optimize methods for assessing nutrient fractions in environments with highly variable water chemistry. Aqueous N and P fractions showed the greatest variability followed by moss phosphatase activities, with nutrient composition of the shoot apices the least variable. There was no consistent pattern as to which aqueous N or P fraction was the most variable. The ratio between total inorganic N and total filtrable P ranged over three orders of magnitude in some streams. The interrelations between tissue N and P concentrations, tissue N:P ratio, phosphatase activities and aqueous variables showed:

(1) Significant +ve relationship between tissue N and aqueous NO₃–N in some populations, but not between tissue P and aqueous P concentration;

(2) Significant +ve relationships between phosphatase activities and aqueous organic N, but none with aqueous organic P;

(3) Significant +ve relationships between phosphodiesterase:phosphomonoesterase activities and aqueous organic N;

(4) Significant −ve relationships between phosphatase activities and tissue P concentration;

(5) Significant +ve relationships between phosphatase activities and tissue N:P.

Both types of biological measurement are valuable for monitoring ambient nutrients in upland streams. Neither is clearly better than the other, so both should be included in surveys.