Influence of the sea surface temperature conditions in the Pacific subarctic frontal zone on the pink salmon’s winter survival ability

Similar to other high-latitude ocean basins, the subarctic Pacific exhibits strong seasonal and inter-annual variations in the abiotic factors of the environment, which, in turn, strongly influence biological objects. One of the principal factors of this kind is the temperature regime. For our research, we chose pink salmon because more than 90% of its natural mortality occurs precisely during the wintering period. The lifetime of pink salmon is only one year, and the conditions of their populations reflect the thermal regime of the given year. The main wintering area of Asian pink salmon is the part of the subarctic frontal zone located south of the Aleutian Islands (43°–46°N). This region features sufficiently high wintertime concentrations of chlorophyll a and temperature conditions favorable for pink salmon wintering. The interannual temperature variability in the frontal zone is close to zero, and the width of the frontal zone may significantly change depending on the winter severity. In “milder” winters, the area of wintering extends, while, in “severe” winters, it is rather narrow, the forage base for fish decreases, they become more accessible for predators, and their survival rates sharply drop.     

Structure of the zooplankton communities in the region of the Ob River’s estuarine frontal zone

The studies were carried out on September 27–30, 2007, in the area of the Ob estuarine frontal zone and over the adjacent inner Kara Sea shelf. Based upon the latitudinal changes in the salinity, the 100 nautical mile wide estuarine frontal zone was marked out. The frontal zone was inhabited by a specific zooplankton community dominated by species that occurred outside the frontal zone in only minor amounts. The biomass of the mesozooplankton averaging 984 mg/m³ in the frontal zone exceeded by 1.5 and 6 times the corresponding values in the inner desalinated area of the estuary and the adjacent areas of the Kara Sea shelf. At the inner southern periphery of the frontal zone, at maximal latitudinal salinity gradients (>2 psu per mile), the maximal development of the mesoplankton with the mean biomass for the water column of 3.1 g/m³ (37 g/m²) and up to 5.8 g/m³ in the subpycnocline layer was observed. The latitudinal extension of the biomass in the maximum zone did not exceed 10 miles. More than 90% of the maximum was composed of herbivorous zooplankton with the strong domination of the copepod Limnocalanus macrurus. The daily consumption within the zooplankton maximum area was estimated at 820 mgC/m² per day. This value exceeds by two orders of magnitude the local primary production. At that level of consumption, the available phytoplankton biomass was consumed by grazers in less than 8 hours (!). A zooplankton aggregation at the southern periphery of the estuarine front exists due to the advection of phytoplankton from the adjacent river zone. The aggregation forms a natural pelagic biofilter where new allochthonous organic matter delivered by the river flow is accumulated and high secondary production is formed on its basis. An anomalously high concentration of planktic predatory Parasagitta elegans with biomass of over 1 g/m³ (46% of the total zooplankton biomass) was associated with the outer northern periphery of the estuarine frontal zone.     

Dimethyl sulfide in the atmospheric surface layer of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

This paper reports a case study of atmospheric stability effect on dimethyl sulfide(DMS) concentration in the air. Investigation includes model simulation and field measurements over the Pacific Ocean. DMS concentration in surface sea water and in the air were measured during a research cruise from Hawaii to Tahiti. The diurnal variation of air temperature over the sea surface differed from the diurnal cycle of sea surface temperature because of the high heat capacity of sea water. The diurnal cycle of average DMS concentration in the air was studied in relation to the atmospheric stability parameter and surface heat flux. All these parameters had minima at noon and maxima in the early morning. The correlation coefficient of the air DMS concentration with wind speed (at 15 m high) was 0. 64. The observed concentrations of DMS in the equatorial marine surface layer and their diurnal variability agree well with model simulations. The simulated results indicate that the amplitude of the cycle and the mean     

Zonal discrepancy of iodine in the West Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas

The species of iodine in the water samples collected from the west Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas were analysed. Results show that the concentration of total inorganic iodine appears higher in the south than that in the north of the Equator. The iodide concentration is distributed symmetrically on both sides of the Equator in tropic and subtropic zones and it decreases away from the Equator. Around the Antarctic Divergence iodide concentration approaches its minimum in the surface waters .which only accounts for 10% of the total iodine. The dissolved organic iodine concentration keeps constant generally either in horizontal or in vertical. Discussions on the relationships of iodine with chemical, biological and hydrological factors reveal that iodine has a transitional behavior between conservative and biodepleting elements; I/S ratio is of a certain stability on a vast scale, however, it may be largely affected by organism activity in some zones. Besides, evidence shows that iodine is adsorbed by     

Period components in the monthly mean sea level variations in the Pacific Ocean

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Nutrient variability in the mixed layer of the subarctic Pacific Ocean, 1987–2010

Data collected primarily from commercial ships between 1987 and 2010 are used to provide details of seasonal, interannual and bidecadal variability in nutrient supply and removal in the surface ocean mixed layer across the subarctic Pacific. Linear trend analyses are used to look for impacts of climate change in oceanic domains (geographic regions) representing the entire subarctic ocean. Trends are mixed and weak (generally not significant) in both winter and summer despite evidence that the upper ocean is becoming more stratified. Overall, these data suggest little change in the winter resupply of the mixed layer with nutrients over the past 23 years. The few significant trends indicate a winter increase in nitrate (~0.16 μM year⁻¹) in the Bering Sea and in waters off the British Columbia coast, and a decline in summer phosphate (0.018 μM year⁻¹) in the Bering. An oscillation in Bering winter nutrient maxima matches the lunar nodal cycle (18.6 years) suggesting variability in tidal mixing intensity in the Aleutian Islands affects nutrient transport. Nitrate removal from the seasonal mixed layer varies between 6 μM along the subarctic–subtropical boundary and 18 μM off the north coast of Japan, with April to September new production rates in the subarctic Pacific being estimated at 2 and 6 moles C m⁻². Changes in nutrient removal in the Bering and western subarctic Pacific (WSP) suggest either the summer mixed layer is thinning with little change in new production or new production is increasing which would require an increase in iron transport to these high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters. Si/N and N/P removal ratios of 2.1 and 19.7 are sufficient to push waters into Si then N limitation with sufficient iron supply. Because ~3 μM winter nitrate is transferred to reduced N pools in summer, new production calculated from seasonal nutrient drawdown should not be directly equated to export production.     

The diagnosis for the tropical Pacific Ocean conditions in 1990

In this paper, on the basis of the observational hydrographic data obtained from the eighth cruise of PRC-USA bilateral air-sea interaction program, and combined with the sea surface temperature (SST) charts provided by NOAA, the data obtained from moored thermistor chains supplied by L. J. Mangum and sea level data provided by K. Wyrtki, the ocean conditions since October, 1989 in the western tropical Pacific are exposed, which indicate that 1990 is a year with weak El Nino event similar to the 1980 El Nino event, and the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) has made a good contribution to the propagation of warm water from the Western to the Central and Eastern Pacific, a characteristic similar to that of the 1976 El Nino event. The 1990 weak El Nino event will soon fall into decay.     

Spatial and temporal variability of heat content above the thermocline in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract-Heat content of the upper layer above the 20℃ isotherm in the tropical Pacific Ocean isestimated by using the sea temperature data set with a resolution 2°latitude×5°longitude (1980～1993)for the water depths (every 10 m) from 0 m to 400 m, and its temporal and spatial variabilities are an-alyzed. (1) The temporal variability indicates that the total heat in the upper layer of the equatorial Pa-cific Ocean is charcterized by the interannual variability. The time series of the equatorial heat anomaly5 months lead that of the El Nino index at the best positive lag correlation between the two, and theformer 13 months lag behind the latter at their best negative lag correlation. Therefore the equatorialheat content can be used as a better predictor than the El Nino index for a warm or cold event. In addi-tion, it is also found that less heat anomaly in the equator corresponds to the stronger warm events inthe period (1980～1993) and much more heat was accumulated in the 4 years including 1992/1     

Remote sensing of sea surface nutrient in the frontal zone of Changjiang diluted water and the Taiwan Warm Current

Field investigation was carried out during 4 to 15 April 2001 around the Changjiang River Estuary. The similar distribution of sea surface nutrients and suspended sediment (SS) concentration is attributed to the physical mixing of Changjiang diluted water (CDW) with the Taiwan Warm Current (TWC). On the basis of the observed positive relationship between total phosphorus (TP) and SS concentration, the sea surface TP is inversed from satellite SS data. SS is believed to be an ideal eutrophic state assessing index substitution for TP, the eutrophication classification critical value of SS adopted in this research was based on the linear model: cTP=0.000 6cSSsat 0.016 3, r2=0.564 5, n=32. Although lack of in-situ chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) measurement, a good relationship was observed between the in-situ DIN (dissolved inorganic nitrogen) concentration with near real time SeaWiFS absorption coefficient of CDOM (ACD) data: cDIN=1.406 5AACBsat-0.035 9,r2=0.741 5,n=16. This empirical regression algorithm was also utilized for inversing the DIN concentration from SeaWiFS ACD data, and for establishing the eutrophication classification critical value of satellite ACD data. The established remote eutrophication classification system was later used for seawater eutrophic state assessment. The evaluation suggested that the Zhoushan Fishing Ground especially the western border is affected seriously with the nutrient input. The nutrient is mainly from the terrestrial source transported by the Changjiang River runoff. The seawater quality classification precision was assessed by in-situ data, which suggested the seawater quality distribution is similar to the two classification systems, and the remote classification error is below 25%.     

Biomineralization of organic matter in cobalt-rich crusts from the Marcus–Wake Seamounts of the western Pacific Ocean

Organic matter in cobalt-rich crust(CRC) from the Marcus–Wake Seamounts of the western Pacific Ocean, Sample CM1D03, has been analyzed to understand the source, geochemistry and mineralization of organic matter, and the mineralization environment. Biomarkers, including n-alkanes, isoprenoids, terpanes and sterols, have been detected in various layers of the CRC sample, using gas chromatography(GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry(GC–MS). The content of organic carbon(OC) and its stable isotope(δ13C), and the combined features of the biomarkers show that the mineralized organic matter in CM1D03 CRC was mainly derived from microorganisms and lower plankton(e.g., bacteria and algae, respectively) from marine surface water, with some terrestrial higher plant components. The ratio of chloroform bitumen "A": OC was high in the CRC, between 10.51 and 20.66, showing significant migration characteristics of n-alkanes. Four mineralization categories of organic matter were recognized based on GC chromatograms of n-alkane molecules:(1) primitive type(bacteria and algae), which is characterized by moderately mature of n-alkanes preserving the original characteristics of the organic matter from microorganisms and lower plankton;(2) microbial degradation type, which is characterized by low contents of n-alkanes and rising baseline in the chromatogram, with the "bulge" being the products of organic matter by biodegradation;(3) organic matter migration type, which is characterized by low carbon number of n-alkanes with n C18 as the main peak carbon, without odd even predominance, and low concentrations of isoprenoids and hydrocarbons with high carbon number; and(4) organic matter hydrothermal type, which is characterized by relatively low concentration of small molecular weight n-alkanes, pristane, and phytane, accompanied by higher concentration of n-alkanes with carbon number greater than n C18. This study shows that biomarkers can record controlling factors of mineralization and their variation.     

Fifty years of the 137°E repeat hydrographic section in the western North Pacific Ocean

The 137°E repeat hydrographic section of the Japan Meteorological Agency across the western North Pacific was initiated in 1967 as part of the Cooperative Study of the Kuroshio and Adjacent Regions and has been continued biannually in winter and summer. The publicly available data from the section have been widely used to reveal seasonal to decadal variations and long-term changes of currents and water masses, biogeochemical and biological properties, and marine pollutants in relation to climate variability such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary in 2016, this review summarizes the history and scientific achievements of the 137°E section during 1967–2016. Through the publication of more than 100 papers over this 50-year span, with the frequency and significance of the publication increasing in time, the 137°E section has demonstrated its importance for future investigations of physical–biogeochemical–biological interactions on various spatiotemporal scales, and thereby its utility in enhancing process understanding to aid projections of the impact of future climate change on ocean resources and ecosystems over the twenty-first century.     

‘Future Ocean’ – Communicating and conserving the blue heart of the planet

This key note presentation opened the conference. It provides a context to deliberations and discussions, and it sets out a range of options to help make better progress in the effective management and protection of the ocean. These range from improving the quality of protection through to how technology and new approaches can be used to ignite a broader interest and engagement with ocean conservation.     

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.     

Pathway and variability of deep circulation around 40°N in the northwest Pacific Ocean

To clarify the global deep-water circulation in the northwest Pacific, we conducted current observations with seven moorings at 40°N east of Japan from May 2007 to October 2008, together with hydrographic observations. By analyzing the data, while taking into consideration that the deep circulation has a northward component in this region and carries low-silica, high-dissolved-oxygen water, we clarified that the deep circulation flows within the region between 144°30′ and 146°10′E at 40°N on and east of the eastern slope of the Japan Trench with marked variability; the deep circulation flows partly on the eastern slope of the trench and mainly to the east during P1 (10 May–24 November 2007), is confined to the eastern slope of the trench during P2 (25 November 2007–20 May 2008), and flows on and to the immediate east of the eastern slope of the trench during P3 (21 May–15 October 2008). Previous studies have identified two branches of the deep circulation at lower latitudes in the western North Pacific; one flows off the western trenches and the other detours near the Shatsky Rise. It was thus concluded that the eastern branch flows westward at 38°N and then northward to the east of the trench, finally joining the western branch around 40°N during P1 and P3, whereas the eastern branch passes westward south of 38°N, joins the western branch around 38°N, and flows northward on the eastern slope of the trench during P2.     

Geographic and temporal variations of sulfate aerosols over the Pacific Ocean

To investigate the life cycle of marine sulfate aerosols, chemicophysical characteristics of marine aerosolswere measured during five cruises in the Pacific Ocean. Dimethyl sulfide concentrations in seawater and in the air were also measured. The geographic variation of sulfate-aerosol concentrations was studied in relation to biogenic and anthropogenic sources,transport with air trajectories, and chemical transformations in the atmosphere. The highest concentrations were found near Asian and American ports, indicating anthropogenic pollution is the major sulfate aerosols source. Higher concentrations were observed in the upwelling regions than in the oligotrophic areas. Along the coastal regions, both mass and number concentrations of sulfate aerosols depended on wind direction and wind speed, and land-breeze and sea-breeze oscillations; no clear diurnal variation was detected. In pelagic areas, along the equator, the concentrations of small sulfate particles showed a maximum in the afternoon and the m     

POC fluxes from euphotic zone estimated from 234Th deficiency in winter in the northwestern North Pacific Ocean

1IntroductionThefluxesofcarbon,nutrients,andassoci-atedelementsinvolvedinthebiogeochemicalcyclesoutoftheeuphoticzoneareimportantinthestudyofglobalCO2 change.Someworkershaveproposedthatatthesteadystatethefluxofparticulateorganiccarbonoutoftheeuphoticzoneequalsthenewproduction(EppleyandPe-terson,1979;Eppley,1989).Generallytwometh-odscanbeemployedtoobtainthefluxdata.Oneistousesedimenttrapsintheupperocean(<200m)orfloatingsedimenttraps.Thoughthesedimenttraptechnologyhasshowntobeuse-fulfortimeser…     

Structure and thickness of the Earth’s crust in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean

A digital database on the seismostratigraphy of the oceanic crust of the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean is compiled. In the first layer of the crust, the interval seismic wave velocities are 3.02 ± 0.16 km/s; in the second layer, they equal to 5.31 ± 0.27 km/s; and, in the third layer, the values are 6.46 ± 0.30 km/s. The bottom of the third seismic layer is represented by mantle rocks with an average velocity of 8.10 ± 0.16 km/s. Schemes of the distribution of the thicknesses of the second and third layers of the oceanic crust, of the total thickness of the crust, of the surface of the basement, and of the Mohorovicic discontinuity for the area considered are presented. The schemes compiled allow one to update and complement the ideas about the configuration of the major tectonic structures of the area.     

Abundance of total bacteria, ATP and manganese-oxidating bacteria in the sediments and manganese nodules of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

In the seawater and sediments of the ocean, there exist huge quantities of bacteria whose living activities cause various chemical reaction processes. It is demonstrated that microorganisms play a fundamental role on chemical changes of the sediments and diageneses. Over the last twenty years, great interest has been increased about the role of deep-sea bacteria in the ferromanganese sedimentary process. Much work has been done on this aspect in the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea and the Pacific O-     

Atmospheric input of trace elements to the western Pacific Ocean and the Kuroshio ocean area

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