Extreme supply of floating ice to the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean

In January to April, floating ice drifts from the Sea of Okhotsk via the Kuril straits to the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. In its turn, ice from the Bering Sea moves southwestward along the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The amount of the ice supplied to the ocean features a significant interannual variability. In this paper, we use the data for the period from 1958 to 2005. During the years with the heaviest ice conditions, floating ice from the Bering Sea moved to the south along Kamchatka Peninsula down the latitude of the Fourth Kuril Strait forming a tongue 30–50 miles wide. The ice drifting from the Sea of Okhotsk to the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean may move via the passages from the Kunashir to the Kruzenshtern straits and form a band with a width of 30–40 miles depending of the severity of the winter.     

Microbiological analysis of the contamination of marginal seas in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean

A comparative study of the abundance of microorganisms of different environmental and trophic groups in the seawater of several aquatic areas of Far Eastern seas under the conditions of integrated organic contamination was carried out. It was shown that, although marine microorganisms are characterized by polyresistance to a great variety of contaminants, their responses are individual for each of the kinds of pollutants. By the results of microbial indication, the environmental quality in the areas of the greatest ecological stresses at the Pacific Ocean coasts was estimated. These areas were the coasts of Sakhalin Island in the oil production region, the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Avacha Bay region, the southern Primor’e within the impact zone of the Tumannaya River runoff, and Zolotoi Rog Bight located in the central part of the city of Vladivostok. On the basis of the data concerning the microbial indication of the contamination of the aquatic areas studied with oil hydrocarbons, phenols, and nutrients, the applicability of this method to the express estimation of the quality of coastal seawaters and to the short-term forecast of the changes that proceed under the complicated organic contamination was demonstrated.     

Projections of ocean climate for northwestern Pacific Ocean

The long-term adjustment processes of atmosphere and ocean in response to gradually increased atmospheric CO2 concentration have been analyzed in 70 and 140a integrations with NCAR fully-coupled climate system model (CSM). In these experiments the CO2 concentration has been increased to double and quadruples the initial concentration, respectively. After 70a, at the time of CO2 doubling, the model predicts surface air temperature rises by 1.2 and 1.5K for the globe and the northwestern Pacific Ocean, respectively. The behavior of the quadrupling run is similar: each global and regional mean surface air temperatures increase by 2.8 and 3.0K at the time of CO2 quadrupling. From the experiments, surface air temperature changes in the northwestern Pacific Ocean will be more distinctive compared with the global average, mainly due to exceptionally large warming and sea level change near the entrance of the Kuroshio extension.     

西北太平洋热带气旋路径预报偏差分析

基于2005—2018年日本气象厅的6 h主观预报数据,分析西北太平洋热带气旋路径预报偏差的方位分布特征,探讨路径预报偏差与副热带高压的可能关系。统计结果表明,以东、南、西、北方位划分预报偏差空间分布,路径预报偏差以偏向东北向和西南向为主,24、48、72 h预报中东北 西南向偏差分别占61.62%、64.02%、66.94%。分析东北 西南偏差空间特征,发现西南向的预报偏差主要发生在热带气旋路径密集区的北部海域(24°N附近),而东北向的预报偏差主要发生在南部海域(16°N附近)。进一步分析这种东北 西南偏差和副热带高压的关系,发现大部分东北偏差出现在副热带高压的西南侧,且对应的偏副热带高压脊线位置更靠北、西脊点更靠西、面积更大;而西南偏差出现在副热带高压的西北侧,副热带高压脊线位置则更靠南、西脊点更靠东、面积更小。即副热带高压引导的西行台风,路径预报易偏东北;北折台风,路径预报倾向偏西南。     

Picocyanobacterial abundances and diversity in surface water of the northwestern Pacific Ocean

To understand picocyanobacterial distribution patterns in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, their abundances and genetic diversity were studied using flow cytometry and a barcoded amplicon pyrosequencing approach. At open ocean stations affected by the North Equatorial Current, Prochlorococcus was the predominant picocyanobacteria, and a high-light-adapted ecotype (HLII) made up most of the population. In contrast, at stations in shelf areas of the East China Sea (ECS) and South Sea, Synechococcus was the predominant picocyanobacteria and clade II was dominant. At other ECS stations affected by the Kuroshio Current, both Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus made up similar proportions of the picocyanobacterial community. These results indicate that picocyanobacterial diversity differs among oceanic regions, and that physicochemical properties related to dominant water masses, seem to be important in determining picocyanobacterial diversity.     

Meridional and seasonal footprints of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on phytoplankton biomass in the northwestern Pacific Ocean

We used 16 years of multiplatform-derived biophysical data to reveal the footprint of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the phytoplankton biomass of the northwestern Pacific Ocean in terms of chlorophyll a concentration (Chl), and to discern the probable factors causing the observed footprint. There were meridional differences in the response of phytoplankton to changes of environmental conditions associated with deepening of the mixed layer during the positive phase of the PDO. In general, deepening of the mixed layer increased phytoplankton biomass at low latitudes (increase of Chl due to increase of nutrient supply), but lowered phytoplankton at high latitudes (decrease of Chl due to reduction of average irradiance and temperature in the mixed layer). The areas where Chl increased or decreased changed meridionally and seasonally in accord with regulation of nutrient and light/temperature limitation by changes of mixed layer depth. The observed PDO footprint on Chl in the northwestern Pacific is likely superimposed on the high-frequency component of the PDO excited by El Niño/Southern Oscillation interannual variability. On a decadal time scale, however, Chl in the northwestern Pacific were more strongly associated with the recently discovered North Pacific Gyre Oscillation.     

Plate tectonics of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean

Geophysical data on the northern part of the Pacific Ocean were systematized to compile a map of geomagnetic and geothermal studies of the Bering Sea. The absence of reliable data about the formation time of the Bering Sea structures of oceanic and continental origins is noted; this hampered the assessment of the geodynamical processes in the North Pacific. Based on the geophysical data, we estimated the age of the structures of the Bering Sea floor such as the Commander Basin (21 My), the Shirshov Ridge (95 and 33 My in the northern and southern parts, respectively), the Aleutian Basin (70 My), the Vitus Arch (44 My), the Bowers Ridge (30 My), and the Bowers Basin (40 My). These values are confirmed by the geological, geophysical, and kinematic data. A numerical modeling of the formation of extensive regional structures (Emperor Fracture Zone, Chinook Trough, and others) in the Northern Pacific is carried out. A conclusion was made on the basis of the geological and geothermal analysis that the northern and southern parts of the Shirshov Ridge have different geological ages and different tectonic structures. The northern part of the ridge is characterized by an upthrust-nappe terrain origin, while the southern part has originated from a torn-away island arc similar to the origin of the Bowers Ridge. The sea floor of the Aleutian Basin represents a detached part of the Upper Cretaceous Kula plate, on which spreading processes took place in the Vitus Arch area in the Eocene. The final activity phase in the Bering Sea began 21 My B.P. by spreading of the ancient oceanic floor of the Commander Basin. Based on the age estimations of the structures of the Bering Sea floor, the results of the modeling of the process of formation of regional fracture zones and of the geomagnetic, geothermal, tectonic, geological, and structural data, we calculated and compiled a kinematic model (with respect to a hot spot reference system) of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean for 21 My B.P.     

Environmental variability and chum salmon production at the northwestern Pacific Ocean

Chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, are distributed widely in the North Pacific Ocean, and about 76% of chum salmon were caught from Russian, Japanese, and Korean waters of the northwestern Pacific Ocean during the last 20 years. Although it has been speculated that the recent increase in salmon production was aided by not only the enhancement program that targeted chum salmon but also by favorable ocean conditions since the early 1990s, the ecological processes for determining the yield of salmon have not been clearly delineated. To investigate the relationship between yield and the controlling factors for ocean survival of chum salmon, a time-series of climate indices, seawater temperature, and prey availability in the northwestern Pacific including Korean waters were analyzed using some statistical tools. The results of cross-correlation function (CCF) analysis and cumulative sum (CuSum) of anomalies indicated that there were significant environmental changes in the North Pacific during the last century, and each regional stock of chum salmon responded to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) differently: for Russian stock, the correlations between PDO index and catch were significantly negative with a time-lag of 0 and 1 years; for Japanese stock, significantly positive with a timelag of 0–2 years; and for Korean stock, positive but no significant correlation. The results of statistical analyses with Korean chum salmon also revealed that a coastal seawater temperature over 14°C and the return rate of spawning adults to the natal river produced a significant negative correlation.     

Fluorescence characteristics of dissolved organic matter in the deep waters of the Okhotsk Sea and the northwestern North Pacific Ocean

Fluorescent dissolved organic matter (DOM), a fraction of chromophoric DOM, is known to be produced in the deep ocean and is considered to be bio-refractory. However, the factors controlling fluorescence properties of DOM in the deep ocean are still not well understood. In this study, we determined the fluorescence properties of DOM in the deep waters of the Okhotsk Sea and the northwestern North Pacific Ocean using excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). One protein-like, two humic-like components, and one uncertain component, which might be derived from a fluorometer artifact, were identified by EEM-PARAFAC. Fluorescence intensity levels of the protein-like component were highest in the surface waters, decreased with depth, but did not change systematically in the bathypelagic layer (1000 m - bottom). Fluorescence characteristics of the two humic-like components were similar to those traditionally defined as marine and terrestrial humic-like fluorophores. The fluorescence intensity levels of the two humic-like components were lowest in the surface waters, increased with depth in the mesopelagic layer (200 - 1000 m), and then slightly decreased with depth in the bathypelagic layer. The ratio of the two humic-like components remained in a relatively narrow range in the bathypelagic layer compared to that in the surface layer, suggesting a similar composition of humic-like fluorophores in the bathypelagic layer. In addition, the fluorescence intensities of the two humic-like components were linearly correlated to apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) in the bathypelagic layer, suggesting that both humic-like components are produced in situ as organic matter is oxidized biologically. These findings imply that optical characteristics of humic-like fluorophores once formed might not be altered further biologically or geochemically in the deep ocean. On the other hand, relationships of fluorescence intensities with AOU and Fe(III) solubility were different between the two humic-like components in the mesopelagic layer, suggesting different environmental dynamics and biogeochemical roles for the two humic-like components.     

Validation and error analysis of wave-modified ocean surface currents in the northwestern Pacific Ocean

By incorporating the wave-induced Coriolis-Stokes forcing into the classical Ekman layer, the wave-modified ocean surface currents in the northwestern Pacific Ocean were estimated. Thus, the ocean surface currents are the combination of classical Ekman current from the cross-calibrated multi-platform(CCMP) wind speed, geostrophic current from the mean absolute dynamic topography(MADT), and waveinduced current based on the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF) Interim Re-Analy...     

Effects of horizontal mixing on the upper ocean temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

The influence of horizontal mixing on the thermal structure of the equatorial Pacific Ocean is examined based on a sigma coordinate model.In general,the distributions of the temperature and currents si...     

Spatial patterns and environmental associations of deep scattering layers in the northwestern subtropical Pacific Ocean

The mesopelagic communities are important for food web and carbon pump in ocean, but the large-scale studies of them are still limited until now because of the difficulties on sampling and analyzing of mesopelagic organisms. Mesopelagic organisms, especially micronekton, can form acoustic deep scattering layers (DSLs) and DSLs are widely observed. To explore the spatial patterns of DSLs and their possible influencing factors, the DSLs during daytime (10:00–14:00) were investigated in the subtropical northwestern Pacific Ocean (13°–23.5°N, 153°–163°E) using a shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler at 38 kHz. The study area was divided into three parts using k-means cluster analysis: the northern part (NP, 22°–24°N), the central part (CP, 17°–22°N), and the southern part (SP, 12°–17°N). The characteristics of DSLs varied widely with latitudinal gradient. Deepest core DSLs (523.5 m±17.4 m), largest nautical area scattering coefficient (NASC) (130.8 m2/n mile2±41.0 m2/n mile2), and most concentrated DSLs (mesopelagic organisms gathering level, 6.7%±0.7%) were observed in NP. The proportion of migration was also stronger in NP (39.7%) than those in other parts (18.6% in CP and 21.5% in SP) for mesopelagic organisms. The latitudinal variation of DSLs was probably caused by changes in oxygen concentration and light intensity of mesopelagic zones. A positive relationship between NASC and primary productivity was identified. A four-months lag was seemed to exist. This study provides the first basin-scale baselines information of mesopelagic communities in the northwest Pacific with acoustic approach. Further researches are suggested to gain understandings of seasonal and annual variations of DSLs in the region.     

基于MTSAT卫星遥感的中国海及西北太平洋海域海表温度日增温研究

Hourly sea surface temperature(SST) observations from the geostationary satellite are increasingly used in studies of the diurnal warming of the surface oceans. The aim of this study is to derive the spatial and temporal distribution of diurnal warming in the China seas and northwestern Pacific Ocean from Multi-functional Transport Satellite(MTSAT) SST. The MTSAT SST is validated against drifting buoy measurements firstly. It shows mean biases is about –0.2°C and standard deviation is about 0.6°C comparable to other satellite SST accuracy. The results show that the tropics, mid-latitudes controlled by subtropical high and marginal seas are frequently affected by large diurnal warming. The Kuroshio and its extension regions are smaller compared with the surrounding regions. A clear seasonal signal, peaking at spring and summer can be seen from the long time series of diurnal warming in the domain in average. It may due to large insolation and low wind speed in spring and summer, while the winter being the opposite. Surface wind speed modulates the amplitude of the diurnal cycle by influencing the surface heat flux and by determining the momentum flux. For the shallow marginal seas, such as the East China Sea, turbidity would be another important factor promoting diurnal warming. It suggests the need for the diurnal variation to be considered in SST measurement, air-sea flux estimation and multiple sensors SST blending.     

Vertical and horizontal extension of the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern South Pacific Ocean

Recent hydrographic measurements within the eastern South Pacific (1999–2001) were combined with vertically high-resolution data from the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, high-resolution profiles and bottle casts from the World Ocean Database 2001, and the World Ocean Atlas 2001 in order to evaluate the vertical and horizontal extension of the oxygen minimum zone (<20 μmol kg⁻¹). These new calculations estimate the total area and volume of the oxygen minimum zone to be 9.82±3.60×10⁶ km² and 2.18±0.66×10⁶ km³, respectively. The oxygen minimum zone is thickest (>600 m) off Peru between 5 and 13°S and to about 1000 km offshore. Its upper boundary is shallowest (<150 m) off Peru, shoaling towards the coast and extending well into the euphotic zone in some places. Offshore, the thickness and meridional extent of the oxygen minimum zone decrease until it finally vanishes at 140°W between 2° and 8°S. Moving southward along the coast of South America, the zonal extension of the oxygen minimum zone gradually diminishes from 3000 km (15°S) to 1200 km (20°S) and then to 25 km (30°S); only a thin band is detected at ∼37°S off Concepción, Chile. Simultaneously, the oxygen minimum zone's maximum thickness decreases from 300 m (20°S) to less than 50 m (south of 30°S). The spatial distribution of Ekman suction velocity and oxygen minimum zone thickness correlate well, especially in the core. Off Chile, the eastern South Pacific Intermediate Water mass introduces increased vertical stability into the upper water column, complicating ventilation of the oxygen minimum zone from above. In addition, oxygen-enriched Antarctic Intermediate Water clashes with the oxygen minimum zone at around 30°S, causing a pronounced sub-surface oxygen front. The new estimates of vertical and horizontal oxygen minimum zone distribution in the eastern South Pacific complement the global quantification of naturally hypoxic continental margins by Helly and Levin [2004. Global distribution of naturally occurring marine hypoxia on continental margins. Deep-Sea Research I 51, 1159–1168] and provide new baseline data useful for studies on the role of oxygen in the degradation of organic matter in the water column and the related implications for biogeochemical cycles. Coastal upwelling zones along the eastern Pacific combine with general circulation to provide a mechanism that allows renewal of upper Pacific Deep Water, the most oxygen-poor and oldest water mass of the world oceans.     

Estimates of non-tidal exchange transport between the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific

The outflow from the Sea of Okhotsk to the North Pacific is important in characterising the surface-to-intermediate-depth water masses in the Pacific Ocean. The two basins are separated by the Kuril Islands with numerous straits, among which the Bussol and the Kruzenshterna Straits are deeper than 1000 m. The physics governing the transport between the two basins is complicated, but when the semidiurnal and diurnal tides are subtracted, the observed density and velocity structures across the Bussol Strait suggest a significant contribution from geostrophic balance. Using a two-layer model with the interface at 27.5σ _θ , part of the upper layer transport that is not driven by tides is estimated using two previously unexplored data sets: outputs from the Ocean General Circulation Model for Earth Simulator (OFES), and historical hydrographic data. The Pacific water flows into the Sea of Okhotsk through the northeastern straits. The greatest inflow is through the Kruzenshtern Strait, but the OFES results show that the contributions from other shallower straits are almost half of the Kruzenshtern inflow. Similarly, the outflow from the Sea of Okhotsk is through the southwestern straits of the Kuril Islands with the largest Bussol Strait contributing 60% of the total outflow. The OFES and hydrographic estimates agree that the exchange is strongest in February to March, with an inflow of about −6 to −12 Sv (negative indicates the flow from the North Pacific, 1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹), and an outflow from the Sea of Okhotsk of about +8 to +9 Sv (positive indicates the flow from the Sea of Okhotsk), which is weakest in summer (−3 to +1 Sv through the northeastern straits and +0 to +3 Sv through the southwestern straits). The estimated seasonal variation is consistent with a simple analytic model driven by the difference in sea surface height between the two basins.     

Tritium in the northwestern North Pacific

Vertical profiles of tritium in seawater were determined for samples collected during the period from 1988 to 1990 at fourteen stations in the northwestern North Pacific (the Oyashio region) including the Okhotsk Sea and the Bering Sea. The profiles usually had a maximum in the surface layer and decreased gradually with depth down to 1,000 m. The water column inventory of tritium averaged 63% of the total atmospheric input in this region.The horizontal distribution of tritium showed a maximum in the region facing the Okhotsk Sea near 45°N for every isopycnal surface of ₀ ranging from 26.60 to 27.40. The ages of the intermediate water were calculated for the respective isopycnal surfaces in the maximum region. This calculation assumed that the intermediate water was formed by the isopycnal mixing of two water masses—the Okhotsk Sea and the Bering Sea Component Waters, which had been produced in wintertime by the diapycnal mixing of the surface and the deep waters in the respective marginal seas. The results show that the intermediate water in this region was formed in the late 1980's for the water which has ₀ of 26.60 to 26.80 and about 1970 for the water which has ₀ of 27.00 to 27.40. Although we have estimated the mean ages of the intermediate water, the horizontal profile of dissolved oxygen suggests that the Okhotsk Sea Component Water is younger than the mean age.     

Biomass and trophic structure of the plankton community in subtropical and temperate waters of the northwestern Pacific Ocean

This study examined the biomass structure of autotrophic and heterotrophic plankton along a trophic gradient in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in an attempt to understand planktonic food web structure. Autotrophic biomass exceeded that of heterotrophic organisms in all sampling regions, but with lesser contribution to total planktonic biomass at stations of higher phytoplankton biomass, including the northern East China Sea, compared to the regions of lower phytoplankton biomass. The proportion of the biomass of heterotrophic bacteria, nanoflagellates (HNF), and dinoflagellates (HDF) relative to that of phytoplankton was all inversely related to phytoplankton biomass, but positive relationships were observed for both ciliates and mesozooplankton. Mesozooplankton biomass inclined greater than phytoplankton along the gradient of phytoplankton biomass, with biomass rise being most closely associated with ciliate and HDF biomass and, to a lesser degree, with large phytoplankton (>3?μm). Both bacteria and picophytoplankton were significantly and positively related to the biomass ratio of mesozooplankton to the sum of HDF and ciliates (i.e., proxy of mesozooplankton predation on protozoans), but no positive relationship was apparent either for HNF or for large phytoplankton. Such relationships may result from predation relief on lower food webs associated with mesozooplankton feeding on protistan plankton.     

副热带一热带太平洋密跃层水量交换年际变化的模拟研究

利用一个全球海洋环流模式在3组风应力资料的强迫下模拟分析了副热带太平洋向热带太平洋密跃层水量输送的年际变化特征及其和风应力的关系,并设计数值试验,研究了密跃层水量输送的变化机制.结果表明,副热带太平洋向赤道太平洋的密跃层水量输送具有显著的年际变化.在年际时间尺度上,南北太平洋西边界密跃层水量输送都起着补偿内部路径输送的...     

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.     

Interannual variations of the air-sea carbon dioxide exchange in the different regions of the Pacific Ocean

Interannual variations of the air-sea CO 2 exchange from 1965 to 2000 in the Pacific Ocean are studied with a Pacific Ocean model.Two numerical experiments are performed,including the control run that is forced by climatological monthly mean physical data and the climate-change run that is forced by interannually varying monthly mean physical data.Climatological monthly winds are used in both runs to calculate the coefficient of air-sea CO 2 exchange.The analysis through the differences between the two runs shows that in the tropical Pacific the variation of export production induced by interannual variations of the physical fields is negatively correlated with that of the air-sea CO 2 flux,while there is no correlation or a weak positive correlation in the subtropical North and South Pacific.It indicates that the variation of the physical fields can modulate the variation of the air-sea CO 2 flux in converse ways in the tropical Pacific by changing the direct transport and biochemical process.Under the interannually varying monthly mean forcing,the simulated EOF1 of the air-sea CO 2 flux is basically consistent with that of sea surface temperature(SST) in the tropical Pacific,but contrary in the two subtropical Pacific Ocean.The correlation coefficient between the regionally integrated air-sea CO 2 flux and area-mean SST shows that when the air-sea CO 2 flux lags SST by about 5 months,the positive coefficient in the three regions is largest,indicating that in the tropical Pacific or on the longer time scale in the three regions,physical processes control the flux-SST relationship.