Abrupt changes of intermediate-water oxygen in the northwestern Pacific during the last 27 kyr

An oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) currently exists at intermediate water depths on the northern Japanese margin in the northwestern Pacific. The OMZ results largely from a combination of high surface–water productivity and poor ventilation of intermediate waters. We investigated the late Quaternary history (last 27 kyr) of the intensity of this OMZ using changes in benthic foraminiferal carbon isotopes and assemblages in a sediment core taken on the continental slope off Shimokita Peninsula, northern Japan, at a water depth of 975 m. The core was located well within the region of the present-day OMZ and high surface–water productivity. The benthic foraminiferal δ¹³C values, which indicate millennial-scale fluctuations of nutrient contents at the sediment–water interface, were 0.48‰ lower during the last glacial maximum (LGM) than during the late Holocene. These results do not indicate the formation of glacial intermediate waters of subarctic Pacific origin, but rather the large contribution of high-nutrient water masses such as the Antarctic Intermediate Water, implying that the regional circulation pattern during the LGM was similar to that of modern times. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages underwent major changes in response to changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations in ocean floor sediments. The lowest oxygen and highest nutrient conditions, marked by dysoxic taxa and negative values of benthic foraminiferal δ¹³C, occurred during the Bølling/Allerød (B/A) and Pre-Boreal warming events. Dysoxic conditions in this region during these intervals were possibly caused by high surface–water productivity at times of reduced intermediate–water ventilation in the northwestern Pacific. The benthic assemblages show dysoxic events on approx. 100- to 200-year cycles during the B/A, reflecting centennial-scale productivity changes related to freshwater cycles and surface–water circulation in the North Pacific.     

Sedimentary inorganic nitrogen and its isotope ratio in the western subarctic Pacific over the last 145 kyr

We have measured inorganic nitrogen (IN) content and the isotope ratio of IN (δ¹⁵N_IN) in a sediment core covering the last 145 kyr in the western subarctic Pacific (WSAP). IN content was generally high during glacial periods and shows positive correlations with both eolian dust content and the ratio of organic carbon (C) to organic nitrogen (ON) (C/ON) found in our previous studies. This means that IN was transported from continental areas to the WSAP together with eolian dust and that the IN was not contaminated by volcanic materials, because the eolian dust content was reconstructed using metal components to remove contaminating volcanic materials. Therefore, IN content in the WSAP sediments, the clay fraction of which is not greatly affected by drift deposits seen at the other sites in this region, may potentially be an effective proxy for eolian dust, without the need to consider contamination by volcanic materials. δ¹⁵N_IN was generally low during glacial periods and shows negative correlations with IN, eolian dust, and C/ON. The possible causes of the observed variations in δ¹⁵N_IN are as follows: (1) authigenic fixation of NH₄ ⁺ in water-column and pore water of sea-floor sediments to clay minerals; (2) contamination of measured IN by highly resistant organic matter; or (3) variations in the continental source region of the eolian dust supplied to the WSAP and climatically induced changes in δ¹⁵N of soil organic matter there. The last mechanism shows the potential for δ¹⁵N_IN to be used as a proxy for climate change on land, and is consistent with other published explanations of the spatial distribution of δ¹⁵N_IN in modern sea-floor sediments.     

西北太平洋热带气旋发源特征与突变初步分析

采用日本气象厅东京台风中心最佳台风路径数据集1977-2011年共35年的资料对西北太平洋热带气旋的发源情况和突变进行了研究分析。结果表明:(1)热带气旋发源地主要集中在两个地方,一个是菲律宾以东海域125-134°E、11°-21°N范围内,另一个是南中国海北部海域111°-119°E、14°-21°N范围内;(2)热带气旋的等级越高,其生成的经度越大,纬度越低;(3)热带气旋生成最多的月份是8月,热带风暴、强热带风暴和台风均以8月份最多,而强台风生成最多的月份是9月,超强台风生成最多的月份则是10月;(4)热带气旋的生命长度、累积气旋能量和功耗指数均与其生成经度成正比,密度峰值均在马绍尔群岛170°E附近;(5)通过对时间序列的热带气旋个数、生命长度、累积气旋能量和功耗指数进行滑动t检验,发现在1995年和1998年均存在突变,从1995年至1998年为热带气旋趋势突变的时间区间。     

Millennium scale environment changes of the Okhotsk Sea during last 80 kyr and their phase relationship with global climate changes

The paper presents the records of several paleoproductivity proxies (PP) (biogenic opal and Ba (Si_bio, Ba_bio), organic carbon (C_org) and carbonate Ca_carb, chlorin and benthic foraminifera abundance (BFA)) in sediments of the Okhotsk Sea for the last 80 kyr with a resolution of ∼100–300 years. The sediment age model was based on the AMS ¹⁴C data, records of benthic foraminifera δ¹⁸O, paleointensity of the Earth’s geomagnetic field and magnetic susceptibility. PP values demonstrate series of severe prolonged productivity drops in the Okhotsk Sea followed by a sharp increase during the last glaciation. On the basis of quantitative estimations of the paleoproductivity in the Okhotsk Sea during the cold MIS 2 and warm Holocene (Gorbarenko and Goldberg, 2005), it is suggested that the millennium scale relationship in productivity-climate changes of this basin was similar: an increase in the sea’s productivity was related with regional climate warming and vice-versa. The PP records of productivity/climate oscillations in the Okhotsk Sea during MIS 2–4 occurred contemporaneously with the North Atlantic cold Heinrich events (HE) and Greenland Dansgaard-Oyeshger interstadial (DOI). Observed successions of prolonged climate cooling events followed by rapid, abrupt warming are similar to climate and environmental oscillations in the N. Atlantic and Greenland, that confirms the millennium-scale climate changes synchronicities in the Northern Hemisphere including the far NW Pacific, the hydrology and climate conditions of which are close to those of the Okhotsk Sea. Synchronism of the N. Hemisphere severe cooling (including the Okhotsk Sea) with the Antarctic warming suggests that mechanisms of the “seesaw” effect (Blunier and Brook, 2001) in the low latitude heat redistribution between high latitudes of both hemispheres were more complicated than direct NADW formation forcing and encompasses the global atmospheric reorganization. Within the PP used a closer connection in the Okhotsk Sea millennium oscillations was observed for the C_org, BFA and chlorin; Ba_bio increases more closely to DOI. Si_bio variability does not show any evident correlation with productivity changes.     

Biomarker records from core GH02-1030 off Tokachi in the northwestern Pacific over the last 23,000 years: Environmental changes during the last deglaciation

We investigated marine and terrestrial environmental changes at the northern Japan margin in the northwestern Pacific during the last 23,000 years by analyzing biomarkers (alkenones, long-chain n-alkanes, long-chain n-fatty acids, and lignin-derived materials) in Core GH02-1030. The U ₃₇^K′-derived temperature in the last glacial maximum (LGM) centered at 21 ka was ∼10°C, which was 2°C lower than the core-top temperature (∼12°C). This small temperature drop does not agree with pollen evidence of a large air temperature drop (more than 4°C) in the Tokachi area. This disagreement might be attributed to a bias of U ₃₇^K′-derived temperature within 2.5°C by a seasonal shift in alkenone production. The U ₃₇^K′-derived temperature was significantly low during the last deglaciation. Because this cooling was significant in the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition zone, the temperature drops are attributable to the southward displacement of the Kuroshio-Oyashio boundary. Abundant lignin-derived materials, long-chain n-alkanes and long-chain n-fatty acids indicate a higher contribution of terrigenous organic matter from 17 to 12 ka. This phenomenon might have resulted from an enhanced coastal erosion of terrestrial soils due to marine transgression and/or an efficient inflow of higher plant debris to river waters from 17 to 12 ka.     

N2 fixation variability in the oligotrophic Sulu Sea, western equatorial Pacific region over the past 83 kyr

N₂ fixation is an important biological process that adds new nitrogen to oceans and plays a key role in modulating the oceanic nitrate inventory. However, it is not known how, when, and where N₂ fixation rates have varied in response to past climate changes. This study presents a new record of nitrogen isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) over the last 83 kyr from a sediment core (KH02-4 SUP8) taken in the Sulu Sea in the western equatorial Pacific region; data allow the N₂ fixation variability in the sea to be reconstructed. Sediments, sinking, and suspended particulate organic matter (POM) all have lighter isotopic values compared to the δ¹⁵N values of substrate nitrate (av. 5.8‰) in North Pacific Intermediate Water. These lighter δ¹⁵N values are regarded as reflecting N₂ fixation in the Sulu Sea surface water. A δ¹⁵N mass balance model shows that N₂ fixation rates were significantly enhanced during 54–34 kyr in MIS-3 and MIS-2. It has been speculated that higher interglacial denitrification rates in the Arabian Sea and the eastern tropical Pacific would have markedly decreased the global oceanic N inventory and contributed to the increase in N₂ fixation in oligotrophic regions, but such a model was not revealed by our study. It is possible that changes in N₂ fixation rates in the Sulu Sea were regional response, and accumulation of phosphate in the surface waters due to enhanced monsoon-driven mixing is thought to have stimulated enhancements of N₂ fixation during MIS-3 and MIS-2.     

Sea-surface acoustic backscattering measurement at 6–25 kHz in the Yellow Sea

Sea-surface acoustic backscattering measurements at moderate to high frequencies were performed in the shallow water of the south Yellow Sea, using omnidirectional spherical sources and omnidirectional hydrophones. Sea-surface backscattering data for frequencies in the 6–25 k Hz range and wind speeds of(3.0±0.5)and(4.5±1.0) m/s were obtained from two adjacent experimental sites, respectively. Computation of sea-surface backscattering strength using bistatic transducer is described. Finally, we calculated sea-surface backscattering strengths at grazing angles in the range of 16°–85°. We find that the measured backscattering strengths agree reasonably well with those predicted by using second order small-roughness perturbation approximation method with "PM" roughness spectrum for all frequencies at grazing angles ranged from 40° to 80°. The backscattering strengths varied slightly at grazing angles of 16°–40°, and were much stronger than roughness scattering. It is speculated that scattering from bubbles dominates the backscattering strengths at high wind speeds and small grazing angles. At the same frequencies and moderate to high grazing angles, the results show that the backscattering strengths at a wind speed of(4.5±1.0) m/s were approximately 5 d B higher than those at a wind speed of(3.0±0.5) m/s. However, the discrepancies of backscattering strength at low grazing angles were more than 10 d B. Furthermore the backscattering strengths exhibited no significant frequency dependence at 3 m/s wind speed. At a wind speed of 4.5 m/s, the scattering strengths increased at low grazing angles but decreased at high grazing angles with increasing grazing angle.     

西北太平洋海岛上的风成堆积

广泛分布在太平洋西北部海岛上的风成堆积物 ,显示了砂被带入附近海区的动力学和在更新世漫长时间内气候变化时沉积物质移动的方向。俄罗斯科学院远东分部太平洋地理研究所利用放射性碳测年以及生物地层学和火山灰地层学的资料研究了白令岛和南千岛群岛上的剖面。将晚更新世和全新世划分为若干个风成年龄段。这些堆积物的产生是由于尘土的进一步迁移 (它们覆盖了全新世前的地形 ) ,也由于附近源头 (海岸沙丘砂 )的移动。由多孔非层状砂质岩和轻砂质粘土组成的盖层 ,很可能是在更新世末至全新世初气候逐渐变暖时形成的。在埋藏土中发现的火山…     

海洋底栖动物中的重金属

1977年在加拉帕戈斯裂谷区,借助水下装置“阿尔文”号发现了全新的底栖生物,它们生活在细菌化学合成和甲烷营养环境的基础上,为了生活在极高浓度还原化合物——硫化氢、甲烷、氢以及一系列重金属的极端条件下,热液底栖生物种群通过析出和/或改造金属离子成其无毒性的形态适应了这种环境。所研究的底栖动物标本是“和平-1”号和“和平-2”号载入深海装置在高速扩张的太平洋海脊和低速扩张的大西洋海岭热液场上采集的。60个瓣鳃类和腹足类软体动物的个别器官、软组织和贝壳、蟹类的角质和硬皮以及Вестuиентифер的管状体和营养体的…     

Paleoenvironment changes in the NW Okhotsk Sea for the last 18 kyr determined with micropaleontological,geochemical, and lithological data

Lithological, geochemical, and micropaleontological data indicate that the Late Glacial of the northwestern Okhotsk Sea (OS) is characterised by severe climatic and environmental conditions with mainly perennial sea ice coverage and low productivity accompanied by weak deep-water ventilation and a temperate formation of the upper Sea of Okhotsk Intermediate Water (SOIW). The age model of the studied core sediments was constructed by AMS ¹⁴C dating. The most severe environmental conditions occurred during the period 15.8–14.8 kyr, synchronous with cold Heinrich event 1. Insignificant regional environmental amelioration accompanied by an increase of productivity and ice weakening during summer occurred almost simultaneously with the Bølling–Allerøed (BA) warming. The obtained results distinguished both the Bølling and Allerøed warmings as having different environmental conditions. Oxygen content in the surface sediment was low, as seen from the production of the benthic foraminifera (BF) species. During 12.6–11.1 kyr, synchronous with the Younger Dryas (YD) cold event, the regional environment conditions were cold, but not as severe as the glacial ones. Some climatic warming since the Preboreal has stimulated sea ice melting and surface amelioration during the summer season, which in turn led to a productivity rise and changes in the water column and bottom environment. Some increase in the surface water stratification and the intensified oceanic diatom and surface radiolarian production is parallel with the development of a mesopelagic regime of productivity. The surface sediment condition favours BF abundance and domination by BF species tolerant to oxygen deficiencies. During the Boreal period more stable surface conditions were accompanied by continuously high productivity and an intensifying of its mesopelagic regime.Significant regional climate warming since the Atlantic (9 kyr ago) strongly intensified the summer sea ice melting in the OS, and this created considerable surface environment amelioration with the preferential transport of bacteria and phytodetritus into the SOIW. Further considerable warming of the regional climate from 6 kyr ago contributed to slight sea ice changes, surface water warming, and the enhancement of its stratification; all typical for most of the OS. Along with a high nutrient supply from the Amur River, the NW OS experienced a strong diatom production increase with the maximum amount occurring during the last 3.6 kyr. This changed the productivity type and organic matter export into the water column while increasing the feeding of the “productive” Plagoniidae spp. group and decreasing the microbial biomass supply into the upper SOIW. Some sea surface water cooling or saltier conditions at the beginning of the Subatlantic (2.4–1.8 kyr) was followed by its warming or freshening 1.5–1.0 kyr ago, which likely correlated with the Medieval Warm Period. In turn, that probably led to strong surface water stratification, productivity deterioration and considerable changes in the overall NW OS environment. The established sequence of the northwestern OS environmental changes during the Late Glacial–Holocene is related to the Northern Hemispheric climate changes and was likely forced by atmospheric teleconnection in line with the polar circulation index variability.     

Increase of anthropogenic CO2 in the Pacific Ocean over the last two decades

The multiple-parameter linear regression method (Monitoring global ocean carbon inventories. Ocean Observing System Development Panel, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 1995, 54pp; Global Biogeochem. Cycles 13 (1999) 179) is used to compare inorganic carbon data from the GEOSECS CO₂ survey in the Pacific Ocean in 1973 to the WOCE/JGOFS global CO₂ survey in the 1990s. A model of total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) as a function of five variables (AOU, θ, S, Si, and PO₄) has been developed from the recent CO₂ survey data (namely CGC91 and CGC96) in the Pacific Ocean. After correcting for a systematic DIC offset of −30.3±7 μmol kg⁻¹ from the GEOSECS data, the residual DIC based on this model as computed from GEOSECS data has been used to estimate the anthropogenic CO₂ penetration in the Pacific Ocean. In the Northeast Pacific, we obtained an increase of CO₂ of 21.3±7.9 mol m⁻² over the period from GEOSECS in 1973 to CGC91 in 1991. This gives a mean anthropogenic CO₂ uptake rate of 1.3±0.5 mol m⁻² yr⁻¹ over this 17 year time period. In the South Pacific, north of 50°S between 180° and 120°W region, the integrated anthropogenic CO₂ inventory is estimated to be 19.7±5.7 mol m⁻² over the period from GEOSECS in 1974 to CGC96 in 1996. The equivalent mean CO₂ uptake rate is estimated to be 0.9±0.3 mol m⁻² yr⁻¹ over the 22 years. These results are compared with the isopycnal method (Nature 396 (1998) 560) to estimate the anthropogenic CO₂ signal in the Northeast Pacific (30°N, 152°W) at the crossover region between CGC91 and GEOSECS. The results of the isopycnal method are consistent with those derived from the MLR method. Both methods show an increase in anthropogenic CO₂ inventory in the ocean over two decades that is consistent with the increase expected if the ocean uptake has kept pace with the atmospheric CO₂ increase.     

Submarine geology of trenches in the Northwest Pacific

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Submarine geology of trenches in the Northwest Pacific

     

Deep-sea coral evidence for dissolved mercury evolution in the deep North Pacific Ocean over the last 700 years

The ocean is an important inventory of anthropogenic mercury (Hg), yet the history of anthropogenic Hg accumulation in the ocean remains largely unexplored. Dee...     

西北太平洋密度跃层特征分析

密度跃层是反映海洋动力环境的重要物理特征指标,对海军军事活动尤其是潜艇航行具有重要的影响。本文使用模式同化的温、盐数据对西北太平洋密度跃层的时空分布特征进行分析,旨在为海军潜艇活动的海洋水文环境保障提供借鉴。     

西北太平洋的潮能通量与耗散

利用基于FVCOM(Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model)模式同化沿岸验潮站数据的高分辨率潮汐数值模型结果,分析研究了包含中国近海、日本海和鄂霍次克海在内的西北太平洋海域全日、半日分潮的潮能通量与耗散。西北太平洋的潮波能量分3支,分别传入鄂霍次克海、东海和南海。传入东海的半日潮波能量是传入南海的3倍左右;传入南海的全日潮波能量是传入东海的5倍多。传入中国东部海域的M2分潮能中,有64.3%耗散在东海,32.4%耗散在黄海,仅有3.2%耗散在渤海;而K1分潮能中分别有48.2%、31.4%及7.1%耗散在东海、黄海及渤海。进入南海的潮能中,仅有32.7%的M2分潮能和38.3%的K1分潮能耗散在南海的北部海域,另有23.9%的M2分潮能进入并耗散在台湾海峡,其余则进入南海南部。传入日本海的太平洋潮能很少。鄂霍次克海消耗的全日潮能是半日潮能的2倍。     

西北太平洋沉积物中细菌多样性的研究

利用提取且纯化的西北太平洋地区深海沉积物DNA为模板,利用细菌通用PCR引物扩增16S rDNA片段,构建其文库,建立阳性克隆子RFLP(Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism)酶切图谱.据酶切图谱选择部分克隆测序,并与数据库中的序列进行比对.结果表明,测序的27个序列分属于4个类群:变形细菌(Proteobacteria)、绿屈挠菌(Chloroflexi)、浮游霉菌(Planctomycetes)和酸杆菌(Acidobacteria);其中以变形细菌最多,占62.96%.     

西北太平洋台风降雨日变化

利用TRMM(Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission)卫星15 a降雨数据,研究了西北太平洋非台风与台风降雨日变化。对于非台风降雨,其日变化信号最大值出现在上午06∶00,在下午15∶00时存在一较小的极大值。统计台风中心500 km内的平均降雨,发现其存在明显日变化信号,最大值出现在03∶00~09∶00之间,降雨量与日变化均大于非台风降雨;同时,台风增强及快速增强均在03∶00~08∶00之间发生次数较其他时间更多。从2002年台风“海神”的卫星云图上可以看出,云系内部强对流的面积在06∶00时明显大于18∶00时,这与降雨日变化的模态一致。     

西北太平洋超强台风时空分布特征及其成因

本文对美国飓风中心资料进行了分析,结果表明,我国仅福建宁德．浙江宁波之间沿海及台湾岛可能受到超强台风的袭击,其他沿海区域则未见有超强台风影响。随着气候不断变暖,极端天气经常被刷新,超强台风很有可能在120℃以西出现。28℃以上的海温、高空小的风速切变、有利的环境背景、强的暖洋流形成的高海温区、低纬度星罗棋布的岛屿及南半球强冷空气活动形成强的向北越赤道气流等因素是西北太平洋比其他洋域发生更多热带气旋、更多超强台风活动的重要原因。