Temperature variations at the Great Wall and Zhongshan stations

Surface meteorological observations have been carried out at the Great Wall station (GW) and Zhongshan station (ZS) from 1984 to 2008 and from 1989 to 2008 respectively. The variation in mean air temperature and its trends are derived from the meteorological observation data recorded at both stations. The warming rate of the annual mean temperature at GW is similar to that at Bellingshausen station, which is about 3 km distant. Thus, the warming trend is representative of the King George Island region. The warming rate of ZS is less different from that at Davis station,which is about 100 km from ZS. It can be said that the meteorological data recorded at both stations are representative of the regions of the King George Island and east coast of the Antarctic.     

The climate background and synoptic situation of fog at Great Wall Station, Antarctica

Based on the observed and NCEP reanalysis data from 1985 to 2006,the climate background and synoptic situation of fog at Great Wall Station were analyzed. It is shown that the seasonal variation of fog is controlled by the change of general circulation and local pressure field. Three favorable typical synoptic situations for fog development are found, the Front-of-A-Depression type, the Saddle-Shaped-Field type and the Passing-Weak-Cyclone type. The first one is the most important situation. Advection cooling fog is dominant at Great Wall Station, but there are other kinds of fog as well. As a result, some helpful principles for local fog forecasting are given.     

Prospect of China's Auroral Fine-structure Imaging System (CAFIS) at Zhongshan station in Antarctica

A new auroral imaging system is reported which is planned to be deployed at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica in the end of 2009.The system will focus on study of optical auroras in small scales and be called China' s Auroral Fine-structure Imaging System(CAFIS).The project of CAFIS is carried out by support of 'the tenth five-year plan for capacity building' of China.CAFIS will be a powerful ground-based platform for aurora observational experiments.Composing and advantages of CAFIS are introduced in this...     

Preliminary investigation of mercury in bone tissues of skua and penguin in Antarctica using AFS and Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence （SR-XRF）

Mercury （Hg） was investigated in bone tissues of skua （ Catharacta maccormick） and penguin （Pygoscelis adeliae） collected in the maritime Antarctic using atomic fluorescence spectrometry （AFS） and synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence （SR-XRF） method. The total levels of mercury in bone tissues of penguin and skua are much lower than those in other organs （e. g. , kidney, liver）. The toxic effects of mercury in bone tissues of seabirds in polar region are not known. We have used SR- XRF method to map the distribution of trace levels of mercury in bones. The levels of mercury are found to be enriched somewhere near the periosteal surface and/or endosteal surface. The distribution of mercury shows strongly correlation with that of some essential elements and probably poses negative effect on the bone metabolism inferring from the relationship of mercury with the other elements. These studies represent a first step toward understanding the toxic effects of mercury on bone of polar animals by suggesting the possible microscopic investigation.     

Seasonal change of ice algal and phytoplankton assemblages in the Nella Fjord near Zhongshan Station, East Antarctica

The ice algal and phytoplankton assemblages were studied from Nella Fjord near Zhongshan Station, East Antarctica from April 12 to December 30, 1992. Algal blooms occurred about 3 cm thick on the bottom of sea ice in late April and mid November to early December respectively, and a phytoplankton bloom appeared in the underlying surface water in mid December following the spring ice algal bloom. The biomass in ice bottom was 1 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of surface water. Amphiprora kjellmanii, Berkeleya sp., Navicula glaciei, Nitzschia barkelyi, N. cylindrus /N. curta, N. lecointei and Nitzschia sp. were common in the sea ice temporarily or throughout the study period. The biomass in a certain ice segment was decreased gradually and the dominant species were usually succeeded as the season went on. Nitzschia sublineata and Dactyliosolen antarctica were two seasonal dominant species only observed in underlying water column. The assemblages between bottom of ice and underlying surface water were different except when spring ice algae bloomed. The evidence shows that the ice algal blooms occurred mainly by in situ growth of ice algae, and the phytoplankton bloom was mostly caused by the release of ice algae.     

Structure and seasonal changes in atmospheric boundary layer on coast of the east Antarctic continent

The temperature, humidity, and vertical distribution of ozone in the Antarctic atmospheric boundary layer（ABL） and their seasonal changes are analyzed, by using the high-resolution profile data obtained during the International Polar Year 2008 to 2009 at Zhongshan Station, to further the understanding of the structure and processes of the ABL. The results show that the fre- quency of the convective boundary layer in the warm season accounts for 84% of its annual occurrence frequency. The frequency of the stable boundary layer in the cold season accounts for 71% of its annual occurrence frequency. A neutral boundary layer ap- pears rarely. The average altitude of the convective boundary layer determined by the parcel method is 600 m; this is 200 to 300 m higher than that over inland Antarctica. The average altitude of the top of the boundary layer determined by the potential tempera- ture gradient and humidity gradient is 1 200 m in the warm season and 1 500 m in the cold season. The vertical structures of ozone and specific humidity in the ABL exhibit obvious seasonal changes. The specific humidity is very high with greater vertical gradi- ent in the warm season and very low with a lesser gradient in the cold season under 2 000 m. The atmospheric ozone in the ABL is consumed by photochemical processes in the warm season, which results in a slight difference in altitude. The sub-highest ozone center is located in the boundary layer, indicating that the ozone transferred from the stratosphere to the troposphere reaches the low boundary layer during October and November in Antarctica.     

Short- and long-term response of phytoplankton to ENSO in Prydz Bay,Antarctica: Evidences from field measurements,remote sensing data and stratigraphic biomarker records

The study provides one of the first lines of evidence showing linkages between Antarctic phytoplankton abundance and composition in response to ENSO, based on historical reconstruction of sediment biomarkers. In addition to sediment biomarkers, field measured and remote sensing data of phytoplankton abundance were also recorded from Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica. Com-munity structure of field measured phytoplankton showed significant El Ni？o/La Ni？a-related succession during 1990 to 2002. In general, the number of algae species decreased during El Ni？o and La Ni？a years compared to normal years. Austral summer monthly variation of remotely sensed chlorophyll-a （Chl-a）, particulate organic carbon （POC）, and sea surface temperature （SST） indicated that ENSO impacted the timing of phytoplankton blooms during 2007 to 2011. Phytoplankton blooms （indicated by Chl-a and POC） preceded the increases in SST during El Ni？o years, and lagged behind the SST increases during La Ni？a years. Stratigraphic record of marine sedimentary lipid （brassicasterol, dinosterol and alkenones） biomarkers inferred that the proportions of different algae （diatoms, dinoflagellates and haptophytes） changed significantly between El Ni？o and La Ni？a events. The relative proportion of diatoms increased, with that of dinoflagellates being decreased during El Ni？o years, while it was reversed during La Ni？a years.     

Relationship between Antarctic sea ice and the climate in summer of China

The variations of sea ice are different in different regions in Antarctica, thus have different impacts on local atmospheric circulation and global climatic system. The relationships between the sea ice in Ross Sea and Weddell Sea regions and the synoptic climate in summer of China are investigated in this paper via diagnostic analysis methods by using global sea ice concentration gridded data covering Jan. 1968 through Dec. 2002 obtained from Hadley Center, combined with Geopotential Height on 500hPa and 100hPa over North Hemisphere and monthly precipitation and air temperatures data covering the corresponding period over 160 meteorological stations in China obtained from CMA （ China Meteorological Administration）. Results disclose that both these two regions are of indicative meanings to the climate in summer of China. The Ross Sea Region is the key sea ice region to the precipitation in Northeast China in summer. More sea ice in this region in September will result in less precipitation in Northeast China in the following June. Weddell Sea Region is the key sea ice region to the air temperature in Northeast China in summer. More sea ice in this region in September will contribute to lower air temperature in Northeast China in the following June.     

Study on the distribution,abundance and growth condition of Antarctic Krill(Euphausia superba)in the Prydz Bay region,Antarctica during the Austral summer of 1999/2000

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) were collected from the Prydz Bay region during the austral summer of 1999/2000. The sample - collection was made at 15 sites in 3 longitudinal transects. Although krill were encountered at 14 sites, the abundance was comparatively low in general. The main component of the krill population was of post -larval stages. The mean numerical and weight density of krill integrated for all sampling stations in the survey area were 16. 17 ind. 1000 m -3and 12.02 g 1000 m -3 , respectively. In the survey area, stations with larger krill density are mainly located in the slope zone, except that the largest sample was collected in the open sea zone. No krill occurred in the only station of the shelf zone during our investigation. Krill collected from the slope zone were under better growth condition than those from the open sea zone, but when the survey area is considered as a whole, the growth condition is normal. The results of the comprehensive analysis of the environmental fa     

Evaluation and fusion of SST data from MTSAT and TMI in East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea in 2008

Two typical satellite sea surface temperature (SST) datasets, from the Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI), were evaluated for the East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and Bohai Sea throughout 2008. Most monthly-mean availabilities of MTSAT are higher than those of TMI, whereas the seasonal variation of the latter is less than that of the former. The analysis on the one-year data shows that the annual mean availability of MTSAT (61%) is greater than that of TMI (56%). This is mainly because MTSAT is a geostationary satellite, which achieves longer observation than the sun-synchronous TMI. The daily availability of TMI (28%-75%) is more constant than that of MTSAT (9%-93%). The signal of infrared sensors on MTSAT is easily disturbed on cloudy days. In contrast, the TMI microwave sensor can obtain information through clouds. Based on in-situ SSTs, the SST accuracy of TMI is superior to that of MTSAT. In 2008, the root mean square (RMS) error of TMI and MTSAT were 0.77 K and 0.84 K, respectively. The annual mean biases were 0.14 K (TMI) and -0.31 K (MTSAT). To attain a high availability of SSTs, we propose a fusion method to merge both SSTs. The annual mean availability of fusion SSTs increases 17% compared to MTSAT. In addition, the availabilities of the fusion SSTs become more constant. The annual mean RMS and bias of fusion SSTs (0.78 K and -0.06 K, respectively) are better than those of MTSAT (0.84 K and -0.31 K).     

Comparison of TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter derived wave period with ocean buoy data in the East China Sea and South China Sea

Altimeter wave period data obtained from continental shelf seas are analyzed in this paper. Empirical models are introduced for zero up-crossing and peak wave period calculation with TOPEX/POSEIDON data. Their performances are assessed using independent validation dataset in four sites in the open ocean of China. To provide more accurate wave period estimation, new coefficients are applied to reliable in situ data. Comparison of our estimated the wave periods with new linear calibrations based on independent data of Seapac 2100 deployed in the East China Sea and South China Sea showed that the accuracy was improved over estimates determined from earlier empirical models. Regional analysis indicated that the wave period model works better under wind sea condition.     

Temporal variations of hydrology and light transmission at two fixed observation stations in the East China Sea

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Variability of surface velocity in the Kuroshio Current and adjacent waters derived from Argos drifter buoys and satellite altimeter data

By combining Argos drifter buoys and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data, the time series of sea-surface velocity fields in the Kuroshio Current (KC) and adjacent regions are established. And the variability of the KC from the Luzon Strait to the Tokara Strait is studied based on the velocity fields. The results show that the dominant variability period varies in different segments of the KC: The primary period near the Luzon Strait and to the east of Taiwan Island is the intra-seasonal time scale; the KC on the continental shelf of the ECS is the steadiest segment without obvious periodicity, while the Tokara Strait shows the period of seasonal variability. The diverse periods are caused by the Rossby waves propagating from the interior ocean, with adjustments in topography of island chain and local wind stress. Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Nos. 2007CB411804, 2005CB422303), the NSFC (No. 40706006), the Key Project of International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (No. 2006DFB21250) and the “111 Project” (B07036), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NECT-07-0781)     

Comparative analysis of microwave brightness temperature data in Northeast China using AMSR-E and MWRI products

With such significant advantages as all-day observation, penetrability and all-weather coverage, passive microwave remote sensing technique has been widely applied in the research of global environmental change. As the satellite-based passive microwave remote sensor, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) loaded on NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration of USA) Aqua satellite has been popularly used in the field of microwave observation. The Microwave Radiation Imager (MWRI) loaded on the Chinese FengYun-3A (FY-3A) satellite is an AMSR-E-like conical scanning microwave sensor, but there are few reports about MWRI data. This paper firstly proposed an optimal spatial position matching algorithm from rough to exact for the position matching between AMSR-E and MWRI data, then taking Northeast China as an example, comparatively analyzed the microwave brightness temperature data derived from AMSR-E and MWRI. The results show that when the antenna footprints of the two sensors are filled with either full water, or full land, or mixed land and water with approximate proportion, the errors of brightness temperature between AMSR-E and MWRI are usually in the range from −10 K to +10 K. In general, the residual values of brightness temperature between the two microwave sensors with the same spatial resolution are in the range of ±3 K. Because the spatial resolution of AMSR-E is three times as high as that of MWRI, the results indicate that the quality of MWRI data is better. The research can provide useful information for the MWRI data application and microwave unmixing method in the future.     

Mapping of moraine dammed glacial lakes and assessment of their areal changes in the central and eastern Himalayas using satellite data

The relatively rapid recession of glaciers in the Himalayas and formation of moraine dammed glacial lakes(MDGLs) in the recent past have increased the risk of glacier lake outburst floods(GLOF) in the countries of Nepal and Bhutan and in the mountainous territory of Sikkim in India. As a product of climate change and global warming, such a risk has not only raised the level of threats to the habitation and infrastructure of the region, but has also contributed to the worsening of the balance of the unique ecosystem that exists in this domain that sustains several of the highest mountain peaks of the world. This study attempts to present an up to date mapping of the MDGLs in the central and eastern Himalayan regions using remote sensing data, with an objective to analyse their surface area variations with time from 1990 through 2015, disaggregated over six episodes. The study also includes the evaluation for susceptibility of MDGLs to GLOF with the least criteria decision analysis(LCDA). Forty two major MDGLs, each having a lake surface area greater than 0.2 km2, that were identified in the Himalayan ranges of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim, have been categorized according to their surface area expansion rates in space and time. The lakes have been identified as located within the elevation range of 3800 m and6800 m above mean sea level(a msl). With a total surface area of 37.9 km2, these MDGLs as a whole were observed to have expanded by an astonishing 43.6% in area over the 25 year period of this study. A factor is introduced to numerically sort the lakes in terms of their relative yearly expansion rates, based on their interpretation of their surface area extents from satellite imageries. Verification of predicted GLOF events in the past using this factor with the limited field data as reported in literature indicates that the present analysis may be considered a sufficiently reliable and rapid technique for assessing the potential bursting susceptibility of the MDGLs. The analysis also indicates that, as of now, there are eight MDGLs in the region which appear to be in highly vulnerable states and have high chances in causing potential GLOF events anytime in the recent future.     

Studies on the community structures of meiofauna and marine nematode at six stations in the Southern Yellow Sea,China

1Introduction As part of a comprehensive investigation of ecosys-tem dynamics in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea,astudy has been made of meiofauna,defined here asmetazoans passing a0.5mm sieve but retained by a0.031mm sieve.Meiofauna is an important energeticgroup in benthic small food web due to their smallsize,high abundance and fast turnover rates.Theproduction of meiofauna is equal to or higher than thatof macrofauna in estuaries,shallow waters and deepseas(Gerlach,1971;Platt and Warw…     

三峡蓄水进程中库首区地震活动与库水位的关联性研究

利用三峡数字遥测地震台网产出的地震观测资料,基于互相关-重排实验技术系统分析三峡工程在蓄水进程中地震活动与库水位的相关性及不确定度,探讨三峡水库地震的成因机制.结果表明:1)蓄水进程中库首区地壳经历了"持续加载-渗透饱水-回弹与再平衡"的复杂过程,库区地震活动的时空分布特征与库水位的时序变化关系密切;2)从开始蓄水到1...