The Portugal coastal counter current off NW Spain: new insights on its biogeochemical variability

Time series of wind-stress data, AVHRR and SeaWiFS satellite images, and in situ data from seven cruises are used to assemble a coherent picture of the hydrographic variability of the seas off the Northwest Iberian Peninsula from the onset (September-October) to the cessation (February-May) of the Portugal coastal counter current (PCCC). During this period the chemistry and the biology of the shelf, slope and ocean waters between 40° and 43°N have previously been undersampled. Novel information extracted from these observations relate to:

1.

The most frequent modes of variability of the alongshore coastal winds, covering event, seasonal and long-term scales;

2.

The conspicuous cycling between stratification and homogenisation observed in PCCC waters, which has key implications for the chemistry and biology of these waters;

3.

The seasonal evolution of nitrite profiles in PCCC waters in relation to the stratification cycle;

4.

The Redfield stoichiometry of the remineralisation of organic matter in Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW)—the water mass being transported by the PCCC;

5.

The separation of coastal (mesotrophic) from PCCC (oligotrophic) planktonic populations by a downwelling front along the shelf, which oscillates to and fro across the shelf as a function of coastal wind intensity and continental runoff; and

6.

The photosynthetic responses of the PCCC and coastal plankton populations to the changing stratification and light conditions from the onset to the cessation of the PCCC.

     

Application of potentiometric method using a cell without liquid junction to underway pH measurements in surface seawater

This study evaluated a method to carry out underway pH measurements of surface seawater by means of a cell without liquid junction using glass electrodes for hydrogen and sodium ions as follows:

Glass-electrode-Na+

Test solution (reference solution)

H+-glass-electrode

Full-size table

Table options

     

19.

Impact of El Niño events and climate regime shift on living resources in the western North Pacific     

Takashige Sugimoto  Shingo Kimura  Kazuaki Tadokoro 《Progress in Oceanography》2001,49(1-4)

Features of El Niño events and their biological impacts in the western North Pacific are reviewed, focusing on interactions between ENSO and the East Asian monsoon. Impacts of El Niño on the climate in the Far East become evident as ‘cool summers and warm winters’. Effects of climate regime shift on ENSO activities, western boundary currents and upper-ocean stratification, as well as their biological consequences are summarized. These have been:

1. In the western equatorial Pacific, an eastward extension of the warm pool associated with El Niño events induces an eastward shift of main fishing grounds of skip jack and big eye tunas.

2. The surface salinity front in the North Equatorial Current region retreats southward, associated with El Niño events. This leads to a southward shift of the spawning ground of Japanese eel, which is responsible for a reduction in the transport of the larval eels to the Kuroshio and Japanese coastal region, causing poor recruitment.

3. Intensification of winter cooling and vertical mixing associated with La Niña (El Niño) events in the northern subtropical region of the western (central) North Pacific reduces surface chlorophyll concentration levels and larval feeding condition for both Japanese sardines and the autumn cohort of Neon squid during winter–early spring. The semi-decadal scale calm winter that occurred during the early 1970s triggered the first sharp increase of sardine stock around Japan.

4. A remarkable weakening of southward intrusion of the Oyashio off the east coast of Japan during 1988–91, resulted in a decrease in chlorophyll concentrations and mesozooplankton biomass in late spring–early summer of the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition region. Changes occurred in the dominant species of small pelagic fish, through successive recruitment failures of Japanese sardine.

Article Outline

1. Introduction

2. Linkage between Asian monsoon and ENSO

2.1. Features of Asian monsoon and its role in ENSO

2.2. Influence of ENSO events on summer and winter climate and hydrographic conditions in the western North Pacific

3. Evidence of biotic impacts of ENSO events in the western and central North Pacific

3.1. Eastward shift or spread of fishing grounds of skipjack, bigeye and albacore

3.2. Decrease of recruitment rate of neon squid and Japanese eel

3.3. Increase of plankton biomass in El Niño winters in the northern subtropical gyre south of Japan

3.4. Bleaching phenomena of corals around the Okinawa Islands

4. Discussion

4.1. Modulation of extra-tropical effect of ENSO by inter-decadal variations

4.2. Effects of ENSO and ocean/climate regime shifts on plankton biomass and population variation of small pelagic fish

5. Conclusion

Acknowledgements

References

1. Introduction

During El Niño events the climate in Northeast Asia is generally cool and wet in summer, and warm and calm in winter (Kurihara and Kimura). In the 1998 summer, near the end of 1997/98 El Niño, the East China Sea and southern part of the Japan Sea were covered with abnormally low saline water. This was the result of the huge amounts of fresh water that were discharge from the Yangtze River and caused poor year classes of Japanese common squid.During the recent cold regime that persisted between 1976/77 and 1987/88 in the North Pacific, Japanese sardine, Sardinops melanostictus, maintained a higher stock level, whereas stocks of anchovy, Engraulis spp., remained low (Kasai; Yasuda and Nakata).To clarify the features of this biological response associated with El Niño events and climate regime shifts, in this paper we provide evidence of several environmental and biological responses in the western and central North Pacific. First, we review the linkage between ENSO and the Asian Monsoon. Second, we present data on the extra-tropical effects of El Niño and La Niña on marine ecosystems and the ocean environment. Finally, we describe the modification of extra-tropical effects of ENSO by interdecadal variations in the ocean and the atmosphere.

2. Linkage between Asian monsoon and ENSO

2.1. Features of Asian monsoon and its role in ENSO

Climate of the western North Pacific is dominated by monsoon winds and precipitation. In summer, the southeast monsoon develops between the Tibetan Low and the North Pacific Subtropical High (Fig. 1a). When the summer monsoon encounters the Japanese mountain range, it produces a considerable amount of precipitation on the Pacific side of Japan. In winter, however, the northwesterly monsoon develops between the Siberian High and the Aleutian Low superimposed on the westerly wind (Fig. 1b).     

20.

Integration of the nuclease protection assay with sandwich hybridization (NPA-SH) for sensitive detection of Heterocapsa triquetra     

PARK Mirye  PARK So Yun  HWANG Jinik  JUNG Seung Won  LEE Juyun  CHANG Man  LEE Taek-Kyun 《海洋学报(英文版)》2018,37(5):107-112

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that function as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Some species of microalgae undergo rapid growth and cause harmful blooms in marine ecosystems. Heterocapsa triquetra is one of the most common bloom-forming species in estuarine and coastal waters worldwide. Although this species does not produce toxins, unlike some other Heterocapsa species, the high density of its blooms can cause significant ecological damage. We developed a H. triquetra species-specific nuclease protection assay sandwich hybridization (NPA-SH) probe that targets the large subunit of ribosomal RNA (LSU rRNA). We tested probe specificity and sensitivity with five other dinoflagellates that also cause red tides. Our assay detected H. triquetra at a concentration of 1.5×10⁴ cells/mL, more sensitive than required for a red-tide guidance warning by the Korea Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in 2015 (3.0×10⁴ cells/mL). We also used the NPA-SH assay to monitor H. triquetra in the Tongyeong region of the southern sea area of Korea during 2014. This method could detect H. triquetra cells within 3 h. Our assay is useful for monitoring H. triquetra under field conditions.     

Impact of El Niño events and climate regime shift on living resources in the western North Pacific

Features of El Niño events and their biological impacts in the western North Pacific are reviewed, focusing on interactions between ENSO and the East Asian monsoon. Impacts of El Niño on the climate in the Far East become evident as ‘cool summers and warm winters’. Effects of climate regime shift on ENSO activities, western boundary currents and upper-ocean stratification, as well as their biological consequences are summarized. These have been:

1. In the western equatorial Pacific, an eastward extension of the warm pool associated with El Niño events induces an eastward shift of main fishing grounds of skip jack and big eye tunas.

2. The surface salinity front in the North Equatorial Current region retreats southward, associated with El Niño events. This leads to a southward shift of the spawning ground of Japanese eel, which is responsible for a reduction in the transport of the larval eels to the Kuroshio and Japanese coastal region, causing poor recruitment.

3. Intensification of winter cooling and vertical mixing associated with La Niña (El Niño) events in the northern subtropical region of the western (central) North Pacific reduces surface chlorophyll concentration levels and larval feeding condition for both Japanese sardines and the autumn cohort of Neon squid during winter–early spring. The semi-decadal scale calm winter that occurred during the early 1970s triggered the first sharp increase of sardine stock around Japan.

4. A remarkable weakening of southward intrusion of the Oyashio off the east coast of Japan during 1988–91, resulted in a decrease in chlorophyll concentrations and mesozooplankton biomass in late spring–early summer of the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition region. Changes occurred in the dominant species of small pelagic fish, through successive recruitment failures of Japanese sardine.

Integration of the nuclease protection assay with sandwich hybridization (NPA-SH) for sensitive detection of Heterocapsa triquetra

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that function as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Some species of microalgae undergo rapid growth and cause harmful blooms in marine ecosystems. Heterocapsa triquetra is one of the most common bloom-forming species in estuarine and coastal waters worldwide. Although this species does not produce toxins, unlike some other Heterocapsa species, the high density of its blooms can cause significant ecological damage. We developed a H. triquetra species-specific nuclease protection assay sandwich hybridization (NPA-SH) probe that targets the large subunit of ribosomal RNA (LSU rRNA). We tested probe specificity and sensitivity with five other dinoflagellates that also cause red tides. Our assay detected H. triquetra at a concentration of 1.5×10⁴ cells/mL, more sensitive than required for a red-tide guidance warning by the Korea Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in 2015 (3.0×10⁴ cells/mL). We also used the NPA-SH assay to monitor H. triquetra in the Tongyeong region of the southern sea area of Korea during 2014. This method could detect H. triquetra cells within 3 h. Our assay is useful for monitoring H. triquetra under field conditions.