The suspended sediment concentration distribution in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea

The distribution of the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea (BYECS) is studied based on the observed turbidity data and model simulation results. The observed turbidity results show that (i) the highest SSC is found in the coastal areas while in the outer shelf sea areas turbid water is much more difficult to observe, (ii) the surface layer SSC is much lower than the bottom layer SSC and (iii) the winter SSC is higher than the summer SSC. The Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) is used to simulate the SSC distribution in the BYECS. A comparison between the modeled SSC and the observed SSC in the BYECS shows that the modeled SSC can reproduce the principal features of the SSC distribution in the BYECS. The dynamic mechanisms of the sediment erosion and transport processes are studied based on the modeled results. The horizontal distribution of the SSC in the BYECS is mainly determined by the current-wave induced bottom stress and the fine-grain sediment distribution. The current-induced bottom stress is much higher than the wave-induced bottom stress, which means the tidal currents play a more significant role in the sediment resuspension than the wind waves. The vertical mixing strength is studied based on the mixed layer depth and the turbulent kinetic energy distribution in the BYECS. The strong winter time vertical mixing, which is mainly caused by the strong wind stress and surface cooling, leads to high surface layer SSC in winter. High surface layer SSC in summer is restricted in the coastal areas.     

Wind stress field over the Bohai Sea,the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

Seasonal and annual with stress fields over the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea were computed from the wind rose data compiled in the Climatic Atlas of Chinese Offshore Areas and North-west Pacific and published by the Ocean Press in 1982. 684 wind roses in 2° latitude by 2° longitude boxes constructed from 278,815 wind reports are involved in the present study. The computations are principally intended as a data source for further research. Some oceanographic consequences are expounded on.     

SST intraseasonal oscillation and atmospheric forcing system of the South China Sea

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＴｈｅＳｏｕｔｈＣｈｉｎａＳｅａ (ＳＣＳ)ｉｓａｓｅｍｉ ｅｎｃｌｏｓｅｄｏｃｅａｎｂａｓｉｎｌｏｃａｔｅｄａｔａｓｐｅｃｉａｌｇｅｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃｐｏ ｓｉｔｉｏｎ ,ｏｎｅｏｆｔｈｅｗｏｒｌｄ’ｓｐｒｏｎｏｕｎｃｅｄｍｏｎｓｏｏｎｒｅｇｉｏｎｓ,ｗｉｔｈｎｏｒｔｈｅａｓｔｗｉｎｄｓｐｒｅｖａｉｌｉｎｇｉｎｗｉｎｔｅｒａｎｄｓｏｕｔｈｗｅｓｔｗｉｎｄｓｉｎｓｕｍｍｅｒ,ａｎｄｉｓａｃｒｕｃｉａｌｒｅｇｉｏｎｏｆｉｎｔｅｎｓｉｖｅａｉｒ ｓｅａｉｎｔｅｒａｃｔｉｏｎｏｆｇｒｅａｔ…     

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.     

Effects of internal tidal dissipation and self-attraction and loading on semidiurnal tides in the Bohai Sea,Yellow Sea and East China Sea: a numerical study

A parameterized internal tide dissipation term and self-attraction and loading(SAL) tide term are introduced in a barotropic numerical model to investigate the dynamics of semidiurnal tidal constituents M_2 and S_2 in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea(BYECS). The optimal parameters for bottom friction and internal dissipation are obtained through a series of numerical computations. Numerical simulation shows that the tide-generating force contributes 1.2% of M_2 power for the entire BYECS and up to 2.8% for the East China Sea deep basin. SAL tide contributes 4.4% of M_2 power for the BYECS and up to 9.3% for the East China Sea deep basin. Bottom friction plays a major role in dissipating tidal energy in the shelf regions, and the internal tide eff ect is important in the deep water regions. Numerical experiments show that artifi cial removal of tide-generating force in the BYECS can cause a signifi cant dif ference(as much as 30 cm) in model output. Artifi cial removal of SAL tide in the BYECS can cause even greater diff erence, up to 40 cm. This indicates that SAL tide should be taken into account in numerical simulations, especially if the tide-generating force is considered.     

Methane in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea: dynamics,distribution, and production

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - The Yellow Sea (YS) and East China Sea (ECS) are important marginal seas of the western Pacific. Understanding the dynamics of methane (CH4) in the YS and ECS...     

Comparison of wind data from ERA-Interim and buoys in the Yellow and East China Seas

We compared data of sea surface wind from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis(ERA-Interim) with that collected from eight buoys deployed in the Yellow and East China seas.The buoy data covered a period from 2010 to 2011,during which the longest time series without missing data extended for 329 days.Results show that the ERA-Interim wind data agree well with the buoy data.The regression coefficients between the ERA-Interim and observed wind speed and direction are greater than 0.7 and 0.79,respectively.However,the ERA-Interim wind data overestimate wind speed at most of the buoy stations,for which the largest bias is 1.8 m/s.Moreover,it is found from scatter plots of wind direction that about 13%of the ERA-Interim wind data can be classified as bad for wind speeds below6 m/s.Overall,the ERA-Interim data forecast both the wind speed and direction well,although they are not very representative of our observations,especially those where the wind speed is below 6 m/s.     

Application of a sea surface temperature front composite algorithm in the Bohai,Yellow, and East China Seas

The oceanic front is a narrow zone in which water properties change abruptly within a short distance. The sea surface temperature (SST) front is an important type of oceanic front, which plays a signifi cant role in many fi elds including fi sheries, the military, and industry. Satellite-derived SST images have been used widely for front detection, although these data are susceptible to infl uence by many objective factors such as clouds, which can cause missing data and a reduction in front detection accuracy. However, front detection in a single SST image cannot fully refl ect its temporal variability and therefore, the long-term mean frequency of occurrence of SST fronts and their gradients are often used to analyze the variations of fronts over time. In this paper, an SST front composite algorithm is proposed that exploits the frontal average gradient and frequency more eff ectively. Through experiments based on MODIS Terra and Aqua data, we verifi ed that fronts could be distinguished better by using the proposed algorithm. Additionally through its use, we analyzed the monthly variations of fronts in the Bohai, Yellow, and East China Seas, based on Terra data from 2000 to 2013.     

Impact of two typhoons on the marine environment in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

This study investigated the ef fects of two typhoons(Nari and Wipha) on sea surface temperature(SST) and chlorophyll- a(Chl- a) concentration. Typhoons Nari and Wipha passed through the Yellow Sea on September 13, 2007 and the East China Sea(ECS) on September 16, 2007, respectively. The SST and Chl- a data were obtained from the Aqua/Terra MODIS and NOAA18, respectively, and the temperature and salinity in the southeast of the study area were observed in situ from Argo. The average SST within the study area dropped from 26.33°C on September 10 to a minimum of 22.79°C on September 16. Without the usual phenomenon of ‘right bias', the most striking response of SST was in the middle of the typhoons' tracks, near to coastal waters. Strong cooling of the upper layers of the water column was probably due to increased vertical mixing, discharge from the Changjiang River estuary, and heavy rainfall. During the typhoons, average Chl-a increased by 11.54% within the study area and by 21.69% in the off shore area near to the southeast ECS. From September 1 to 13, average Chl-a was only 0.10 mg/m~3 in the of fshore waters but it reached a peak of 0.17 mg/m~3 on September 18. This large increase in Chl-a concentration in of fshore waters might have been triggered by strong vertical mixing, upwelling induced by strong typhoons, and sedimentation and nutrient infl ux following heavy rainfall.     

Rates and fluxes of centennial-scale carbon storage in the fine-grained sediments from the central South Yellow Sea and Min-Zhe belt,East China Sea

The global carbon cycle has played a key role in mitigating global warming and climate change.Long-term natural and anthropogenic processes influence the composition,sources,burial rates,and fluxes of carbon in sediments on the continental shelf of China.In this study,the rates,fluxes,and amounts of carbon storage at the centennial scale were estimated and demonstrated using the case study of three fine-grained sediment cores from the central South Yellow Sea area(SYSA) and Min-Zhe belt(MZB),East China Sea.Based on the high-resolution temporal sequences of total carbon(TC)and total organic carbon(TOC)contents,we reconstructed the annual variations of historical marine carbon storage,and explored the influence of terrestrial and marine sources on carbon burial at the centennial scale.The estimated TC storage over 100 years was 1.18×10~8 t in the SYSA and 1.45×10~9 t in the MZB.The corrected TOC storage fluxes at the centennial scale ranged from 17 to 28 t/(km~2·a)in the SYSA and from 56 to 148 t/(km~2·a)in the MZB.The decrease of terrestrial materials and the increase of marine primary production suggest that the TOC buried in the sediments in the SYSA and MZB was mainly derived from the marine autogenetic source.In the MZB,two depletion events occurred in TC and TOC storage from 1985 to 1987 and 2003 to 2006,which were coeval with the water impoundment in the Gezhouba and Three Gorges dams,respectively.The high-resolution records of the carbon storage rates and fluxes in the SYSA and MZB reflect the synchronous responses to human activities and provide an important reference for assessing the carbon sequestration capacity of the marginal seas of China.     

Macrobenthic community structure and species composition in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea in jellyfish bloom

To understand the characteristics of macrobenthic structures and the relationship between environment and benthic assemblages in jellyfish bloom, we studied the macrobenthos and related environmental factors in the coastal waters of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. Data were collected during two seasonal cruises in April and August of 2011, and analyzed with multivariate statistical methods. Up to 306 macrobenthic species were registered from the research areas, including 115 species of Polychaeta, 78 of Crustacea, 61 of Mollusca, 30 of Echinodermata, and 22 of other groups. Nine polychaete species occurred at frequencies higher than 25% from the sampling stations： Lumbrineris longifolia, Notomastus latericeus, Nin6e palmata, Ophelina acuminata, Nephtys oligobranchia, Onuphis geophiliformis, Glycera chirori, Terebellides stroemii, and Aricidea fragilis. Both the average biomass and abundance of macrobenthos are higher in August （23.8 g/m^2 and 237.7 ind./m^2） than those in April （11.3 g/m^2 and 128 ind./m^2）; the dissimilarity ofmacrobenthic structures among stations is as high as 70%. In terms of the dissimilarity values, we divided the stations into four clusters in spring and eight in summer. The ABC curve shows that the macrofauna communities in high jellyfish abundance were not changed. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that depth, temperature, median grain size, total organic carbon of sediment and total nitrogen in sediment were important factors affecting the macrozoobenthic community in the study area.     

Seasonal distribution of macrobenthos and its relationship with environmental factors in Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Macrobenthos samples were collected from the Yellow and East China Seas in four seasons during 2011 to 2012. The seasonal distribution of macrobenthos and its relationship with environmental factors were analyzed. A total of 562 macrobenthic species were identified, with polychaetes and mollusks accounting for 67% of the total number of species. A similarity percentage(SIMPER) analysis showed that the dominant species were bivalve mollusks in the Yellow Sea and small-sized polychaetes in the East China Sea. A two-factor analysis of variance showed significant seasonal variations in species number, density and diversity index, and significant regional differences of biomass and density. Two-factor community similarity analysis also showed significant seasonal and regional differences in macrobenthic communities. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the main environmental factors af fecting the macrobenthic communities were water depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and inorganic nitrogen. The results demonstrate significant regional differences and seasonal variations in macrobenthos in the two seas. Sediment properties and water mass characteristics are speculated to be the causes of regional differences.     

Heavy metals in sediments of Yellow Sea and East China Sea: Chemical speciation,distribution, infl uence factor,and contamination

Metal species and the degree of environmental pollution are related to the hydrogen sulfi de(H 2 S), an important product of early diagenesis that can react with metals to form stable compounds. To investigate the eff ects of H 2 S to metals and evaluate metal environment eff ect in the sediments of the East China Sea(ECS) and Yellow Sea(YS), geochemical characteristic and spatial distribution of nine heavy metals and H 2 S profi le were studied. Higher H 2 S content and lower metal content was observed in the sediments 10 cm in depth in the North Yellow Sea and the west coast of South Korea. The pollution load index( I pl) indicates that the southern coast of Shandong Peninsula underwent moderate pollution( I pl =1) of heavy metals and no heavy metal pollution appeared in other areas( I pl 1). To some extents, the ecological risk of Cd and As enrichment was moderately severe in all stations. The chance of heavy metal combination to be toxic in ECS and YS during summer was 21%. In addition, correlation between H 2 S content and metals in both solid and porewater phases was obvious, corroborating important eff ect of H 2 S on metal distribution. Moreover, H 2 S could aff ect the spatial distributions of heavy metals in porewater directly and be indicative of potential biological eff ects of combined toxicant groups in the study region.     

Shallow Genetic Structure of Pholis fangi in Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea Inferred from mt DNA Control Region

Pholis fangi is an ecologically important fish species inhabiting Chinese coastal waters of Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. To investigate the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of P. fangi, a fragment of 487 bp in the first hypervariable region(HVR-1) of the mitochondrial DNA(mt DNA) control region was sequenced for 181 individuals collected from Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. A total of 18 polymorphic sites were detected, which defined 25 haplotypes. A moderate level of haplotype diversity(h = 0.7052) and a low level of nucleotide diversity(π = 0.0028) were detected. Both the phylogenetic tree and the haplotype network showed no significant genealogical structure difference among sampling locations. Pairwise FST comparison and hierarchical molecular variance analysis(AMOVA) revealed that no significant genetic structure difference existed throughout the investigated regions, suggesting a high gene exchange among different populations. The results of neutrality test and mismatch distribution analysis indicated that a late Pleistocene population expansion(38000–127000 years ago) happened. Seasonal schooling migration may contribute to the genetically homogeneous population structure of the species.     

Seasonal variations of several main water masses in the southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea in 2011

The seasonal variations of several main water masses in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and East China Sea (ECS) in 2011 were analyzed using the in-situ data collected on four cruises. There was something special in the observations for the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC), the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM) and the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) during that year. The YSWC was confirmed to be a seasonal current and its source was closely associated with the Kuroshio onshore intrusion and the northerly wind. It was also found that the YSCWM in the summer of 2011 occupied a more extensive area in comparison with the climatologically-mean case due to the abnormally powerful wind prevailing in the winter of 2010 and decaying gradually thereafter. Resulting from the reduced Changjiang River discharge, the CDW spreading toward the Cheju Island in the summer of 2011 was weaker than the long-term mean and was confined to flow southward in the other seasons. The other water masses seemed normal without noticeable anomalies in 2011. The Yellow Sea Coastal Current (YSCC) water, driven by the northerly wind, flowed southeastward as a whole except for its northeastward surface layer in summer. The Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) was the strongest in summer and the weakest in winter in its northward movement. The Kuroshio water with an enhanced onshore intrusion in autumn was stable in hydrographic features apart from the seasonal variation of its surface layer.     

Current status of small yellow croaker resources in the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

We used data from bottom trawl surveys to study the factors influencing the abundance of small yellow croaker, Larimichthys polyactis, in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and the East China Sea (ECS). The resource density index (RDI) was generally higher in summer and autumn than in spring and winter. RDIs were also significantly greater in the SYS than in the ECS in summer and autumn. The bottom water salinity and depth of spatial distribution of small yellow croaker was similar between the two areas in summer, but different in other seasons. Regression analysis suggested that environmental factors such as bottom water temperature, salinity, and depth influenced the RDIs in summer in these areas. Growth condition factor (GCF) in the two areas varied monthly and the croaker in the SYS grew more slowly than those in the ECS. This was likely due to the low bottom temperature of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass in summer and autumn or to higher human fishing pressure in the ECS. To ensure sustainable utilization of the croaker stocks in these regions, we recommend reducing the fishing intensity, increasing the cod-end mesh size, and improving the protection of juveniles.     

Characteristics of Vertical Distributions of Fatty Acids in Surface Sediments of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Fatty acids(FAs) in sediment collected from three different stations in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea were analyzed for their distributions and to determine evidence of harmful algal blooms in the sediment core.Less diverse FAs were found in the Yellow Sea(YS) station,whereas in the two stations of the East China Sea(ECS) the FAs were more diverse.Concentrations of some FA species in the two ECS stations displayed an occasional surge in their vertical profile.The highest concentration of FAs was found in the surface layer of station QT3(43.28 μg g~(-1)).Monounsaturated FAs were more susceptible to degradation compared to their saturated counterparts,and changes of 16:0,18:2 and 20:5 accounted for the most variability in total concentrations of FAs as those species made up most of the quantified FAs.The origins of the major fraction of FAs were attributed to autotrophic sources,and bacterial FAs accounted for only a small fraction of the total FAs in the region.Nutrient availability was a possible regulating factor controlling bacteria abundances in marine sediments in the ECS and the YS.A principal component analysis(PCA) was applied to analyze the FA dataset and to reveal the principal environmental factors that control the composition of FAs in the sediments.PC2,which explains 15% of the variance,was estimated to reflect the diagenetic effects on the FA compositional changes in sediments influenced by bacterial degradation.     

Numerical Study of Water and Suspended Matter Exchange Between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

INTRODUCTIONTheYellowSeaandtheEastChinaSea (ECS)aremarginalseasofthenorthwestPacificandhaveexpansivecontinentalshelves .TheuniqueandstrikingfeaturesoftheYellowSeaandtheECSarethattheyhavestrongtidalcurrent;aresubjecttostrongmonsooninfluence ;andreceiveinflowfromthebiggestriverinChina ,theChangjiangRiver ;andthatthefamouswesternboundarycurrent,theKuroshio ,passesthroughtheECS ,withitsbranchesintrudingupwardintothecontinentalshelfareas.Generallyspeaking ,thewaterexchangecapacityofthe…     

Retrieval of inherent optical properties of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea using a quasi-analytical algorithm

We tested and modified the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA) using 57 groups of field data collected in the spring of 2003 in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. The QAA performs well in deriving total absorption coefficients of typical coastal waters. The average percentage difference (APD) is in a range of 13.9%–38.5% for the total absorption coefficient (13.9% at 440 nm), and differences in particle backscattering coefficient bbp(λ) are less than 50% (in the case of the updated QAA). To obtain improved res...     

Numerical simulation and preliminary analysis of typhoon waves during three typhoons in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

In this study, typhoon waves generated during three typhoons(Damrey(1210), Fung-wong(1416), and Chan-hom(1509)) in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea were simulated in a simulating waves nearshore(SWAN) model, and the wind forcing was constructed by combining reanalyzed wind data with a Holland typhoon wind model. Various parameters, such as the Holland fitting parameter(B) and the maximum wind radius(R), were investigated in sensitivity experiments in the Holland model that affect the wind field construction. Six different formulations were considered and the parameters determined by comparing the simulated wind results with in-situ wind measurements. The key factors affecting wave growth and dissipation processes from deep to shallow waters were studied, including wind input, whitecapping, and bottom friction. Comparison with in-situ wave measurements suggested that the KOMEN scheme(wind input exponential growth and whitecapping energy dissipation) and the JONSWAP scheme(dissipation of bottom friction) resulted in good reproduction of the significant wave height of typhoon waves. A preliminary analysis of the wave characteristics in terms of wind-sea and swell wave revealed that swell waves dominated with the distance of R to the eye of the typhoon, while wind-sea prevailed in the outer region up to six to eight times the R values despite a clear misalignment between wind and waves. The results support the hypothesis that nonlinear wave-wave interactions may play a key role in the formation of wave characteristics.