Historic changes in flux of matter and nutrient budgets in the Bohai Sea

Over the past four periods （ 1959--1960, 1982--1983, 1992--1993, and 1998--1999）, the ecosystem of the Bohai Sea changed due to both a significant decrease of river water discharge from the Huanghe River and a reduction of precipitation. The shifts in nutrient chemistry could result in changes in the phytoplankton composition with an increased potential for non-diatom algal blooms. Simple box model was used to estimate the water - mass balance and nutrient budgets for the Bohai Sea. Water budgets indicate that the residual flow changed from out of the Bohai Sea before 1993, but became inflow to the Bohai Sea after then. The nutrient budgets developed indicate that the Bohai Sea was a sink for nutrients except for phosphate in 1959--1960 and 1982-- 1983 and for silicate in 1982--1983. Net water flow transports nutrients out of the Bohai Sea in 1959--1960, 1982--1983 and 1992--1993, but into the sea in 1998--1999 due to climate changes, such as precipitation and subsequent freshwater discharge. The residual fluxes of nutrients are minor relative to atmospheric deposition and riverine inputs. Conversions of phosphate values to carbon by stoichiometric ratios were used to predict that the system was net heterotrophic before 1982--1983 and net autotrophic after then. Nutrient budgets can explain the change of nutrient concentrations in the Bohai Sea except nitrates, which should include the surface runoff.     

黄河口及邻近海域中悬浮体的分布特征和季节性变化

The results of the suspended material measurement in the Huanghe River Estuary show that the silt movement in the estuary is different during summer and winter. The centric water-mass in Bohai Sea enters the Laizhou Bay, which makes the fresh water occupy the head of Laizhou Bay and prevents the silt from spveading to the sea.The disturbing of wind in winter makes the sediment resuspend which results in the high content of suspended materials in the water. The distribution of suspended materials and salinity in summer indicate that because of its own momentum, the silt from the Huanghe River will go ahead out of the river mouth and the effect of centric water-mass in the middle Bohai Sea is relatively small in summer. The distributions of suspended materials in the mid and bottom layer water during different seasons show that the primary direction of the siltl movement in the estuary is towards NE, whice coincides with the movement of residual current.Our paper also presents the size distribution of suspended materials.According to the data, we consider that the silt from Huanghe River moves mainly in the surface layer and the Huanghe River Estuary belongs to weak mixing estuary.     

Nutrient concentrations and fluxes in the Changjiang Estuary during summer

In June 2003 and 2006 concentrations of nutrient were determined in the Changjiang Estuary. The data indicated that phosphate and nitrate did not behave conservatively in the estuary, but silicate behaved conservatively. An important mobilization of phosphate and nitrate was observed from the river up to halfway in the estuary. Both input flux (from river to estuary) and output flux (from estuary to coastal zone) of phosphate, silicate and nitrate were calculated from statistical interpretations of the salinity profiles. There was a large discrepancy between input and output fluxes of phosphate and nitrate. The river fluxes of silicate, phosphate and nitrate (f_r) are augmented 5.3%, 28.9% and 36.6% in June 2003 and 1.0%, 62.5%, 31.7% in June 2006 by internal inputs (f_i). The phosphate and nitrate fluxes are enhanced through the estuarine process, while silicate flux is unaltered. The authors present some long-term data for nutrient concentrations and the ratios of silicon to nitrogen to phosphorus in the Changjiang Estuary. Silicate level falled in the last two decades, while concentration of nitrate increased. Phosphate concentration had no significant change.     

Study of attenuation depths for MODIS bands in the Bohai Sea in China

An attenuation depth is defined for remote sensing purposes as a depth above which 90% of the arising light leaving the water surface is originated.The deeper the attenuation depth,the more information of water is detectable by remote sensing,then the more precise information of water is extracted.Meanwhile,the attenuation depth is helpful to know water layer (by its thickness) from which remote sensing will be able to extract information.A number of investigators are using the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (or MODIS) for remote sensing of ocean color.It is necessary to have a rough idea of the effective attenuation depth of imagery in each of the spectral bands employed by the MODIS.The attenuation depth is directly determined from MODIS data.Though analyzing the spectral distribution of the attenuation depth on 7 August 2003 and the seasonal variation of the attenuation depth (551 nm) in the Bohai Sea indicated that:the spectral distribution of the attenuation depth for the spectral range between 400 to 700 nm is single-peak curve,and it''s similar and difference in different regions is consistent with other scholars'' results of zoning,moreover,it supports the Bohai Sea is Case 2 water; the maximum attenuation depth shifts toward longer wavelengths,liking the red shift,with increase of turbidity of water,just like the maximum attenuation depth in the outside of the northwest coast of the Bohai Sea and the Bohai Strait is at 531nm,in the central of the Bohai Sea is at 551nm,in the region controlled by the Huanghe (Yellow) River,the region impacted by the old Huanghe River,the western side of the Liaodong Bay and the eastern side of the Liaodong Bay is at 555 nm; the seasonal change of the attenuation depth is the largest in the summer,followed by the fall,and the ranking of winter and spring in different regions is distinct.The attenuation depth in different regions is dissimilar:the order of the attenuation depth in different regions from small to big is the region controlled by the Huanghe River or the eastern side of the Liaodong Bay,the western side of the Liaodong Bay,the region impacted by the old Huanghe River,the central of the Bohai Sea or the outside of the northwest coast of the Bohai Sea,the Bohai Strait (except at 412 nm and 645 nm),in which between the region controlled by the Huanghe River and the eastern side of the Liaodong Bay (and between the central of the Bohai Sea and the outside of the northwest coast of the Bohai Sea) it varies in different seasons and different bands.     

Seasonal Cycle Analysis of the Nitrate Nitrogen and Nitrite Nitrogen in the Bohai Sea

During 1985～1987,the concentration of nitrate nitrogen was higher in the Laizhou Bay and the Bohai Bay while that of nitrite nitrogen was higher in the Liaodong Bay and the Bohai Bay,The concentration of nitrate nitrogen was highest in winter and lowest in summer while that of nitrite nitrogen was highest in autumn and lowest in spring .the seasonal variation of the concentration of nitrate nitrogen was maximum in the Laizhou Bay and the Bohai Bay while that of the concentration of nitrite nitrogen was maximum in the Liaodong Bay.There was a great difference in the concentration of nitrate nitrogen between the surface and the bottom in autumn and in the concentration of nitrite nitrogen between the surface and the bottom in summer.The main reason for the seasonal variations of the concentration of nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen was the marine biochemical process.The nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen in the Bohai Sea basically maintained a quasi-equilibrium state seasonal cycle,The quesi-equilibrium state seasonal cycle of nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen at the bottom was stable while that at the surface was liable to variations caused by other factors.     

Analysis of Interannual Variations of Inorganic Nitrogen in the Bohai Sea

According to the Bohai Sea cross-section data during 1985～1998, the high concentration inorganic nitrogen in the Bohai Sea section bottom layer water nearshore diffused and transferred to the middle of the Bohai Sea year after year. The interannual variations of the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in the Bohai Sea section bottom layer water may reflect the degree of eutrophication more steadily. The nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen are used to show quasi-equilibrium state interannual variations, but with the aggravation of seawater pollution, the quasi-equilibrium state of interannual variations has been broken and the marine biological-chemical processes can only maintain the secondary part of the interannual variations in a quasi-equilibrium state, but are not sufficient to prevent the main pan of interannual variations from deviating from the quasi-equilibrium state. The spatial distributions of inorganic nitrogen would be affected by the reproduction and swarming of marine life.     

A Lagrangian mean theory on coastal sea circulation with inter-tidal transports Ⅱ. Numerical Experiments

The results of the new concept of coastal sea circulation are demonstrated by numerical simulations for the first time. The numerical experiments in three types of rectangular model seas illustrate the dependence of circulation on tidal phases due to the convectively nonlinear effect which is estimated by a newly defined drift dispersion index. Then, the present theory is applied in the Bohai Sea of China. At the Bohai Straits and the Huanghe River mouth area the circulation direction even reverses owing to different initial tidal phases which shows that the theory copes with nonlinearity well. The calculated M2 tideinduced residual circulation shows that a clockwise gyre exists in the center of an anticlockwise gyre in the central Bohai Sea due to the topographic features. In the Bohai Gulf the tide induced circulation shows a 3D structure with outflow at the surface and the inflow at the bottom which can partly explains the spread of the Huanghe River fresh water out of the Bohai Gulf and the inflow of the sediment from the Huanghe River.     

The preliminary study of the high chlorophyll in the central Bohai Sea in summer

In the central Bohai Sea, both historical data and in situ observations show that the distribution of high chlorophyll concentration is consistent with warm water. The previous studies confirm that the warm water is caused by a joint effect of wave and tidal mixing. In this paper, the authors have coupled the Princeton ocean model (POM) with a biochemical model to further investigate the formation of the high chlorophyll concentration. When the wave mixing is excluded, the water temperature is lower and the chlorophyll concentration is also lower than the observation. However, if the wave mixing is included, strong wave mixing in the upper layer brings the warm water downward and nutrients upward so that both temperature and nutrients tend to be uniformly high from the surface to the bottom. This provides an environment which is favorable for the growth of the phytoplankton. Therefore the chlorophyll concentration, as a symbol of phytoplankton, shows high value in the central Bohai Sea. In conclusion, the wave mixing plays an important role in the formation of high chlorophyll concentration in the central Bohai Sea.     

Inter-annual and seasonal variations in hydrological parameters and its implications on chlorophyll a distribution along the southwest coast of Bay of Bengal

Seasonal and inter-annual variability of hydrological parameters and its impact on chlorophyll distribution was studied from January 2009 to December 2011 at four coastal stations along the southwest Bay of Bengal. Statistical analysis(principal component analysis(PCA), two-way analysis of variance(ANOVA) and correlation analysis)showed the significant impact of hydrological parameters on chlorophyll distribution in the study area. The ranges of different parameters recorded were 23.8–33.8°C(SST), 4.00–36.00(salinity), 7.0–9.2(p H), 4.41–8.32 mg/L(dissolved oxygen), 0.04–2.45 μmol/L(nitrite), 0.33–16.10 μmol/L(nitrate), 0.02–2.51 μmol/L(ammonia),0.04–3.32 μmol/L(inorganic phosphate), 10.09–85.28 μmol/L(reactive silicate) and 0.04–13.8 μg/L(chlorophyll).PCA analysis carried out for different seasons found variations in the relationship between physico-chemical parameters and chlorophyll in which nitrate and chlorophyll were positively loaded at PC1(principal component1) during spring inter-monsoon and at PC2(principal component 2) during other seasons. Likewise correlation analysis also showed significant positive relationship between chlorophyll and nutrients especially with nitrate(r=0.734). Distribution of hydrobiological parameters between stations and distances was significantly varying as evidenced from the ANOVA results. The study found that the spatial and temporal distribution of chlorophyll was highly dependent on the availability of nutrients especially, nitrate in the southwest Bay of Bengal coastal waters.     

A three-layer model for the thermal structure in the Huanghai Sea

A one-dimentional three-layer model for the thermal structure in the Huanghai Sea is presented in this study, me model consists of the upper mixed layer caused by heating and wind mixing, the lower mixed layer driven by tidal mixing, and the thermocline with certain thickness. The entrainment velocities of the upper and lower layers are obtained respectively. The results show that the model is capable of describing the development and decline processes of the seasonal thermocline in the Huanghai Sea, simulating successfully the Huanghai Sea Cold Water Mass, the nearshore front and surface cold water off North Jiangsu and explaining reasonably their formation mechanisms as well as the strong thermocline off Qingdao. It is suggested that the tidal mixing plays key role in the formation of the nearshore front off North Jiangsu and the strong thermocline off Qingdao. The wind mixing and the tidal mixing make the lower layer water with high nutrients go up to the upper layer. This physical process may be sig     

Reanalysis of the Atmospheric Flux of Nutrient Elements to the Southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

Based on the recent research results on dry and wet deposition of nutrient elements and sulphate,we estimate the atmospheric flux of nutrient elements and sulphate to the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea in each season.The results suggest that the concentrations of nutrient elements and sulphate in aerosol and precipitation show an apparent seasonal cycle with the maximum values in winter and the minimum values in summer.Depositions of nitrate and sulphate are dominated by wet deposition,while the deposition for phosphate is mainly dry deposition.Moreover,compared with the riverine inputs,the atmospheric deposition may be the main source of dissolved inorganic nutrients in the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea.     

Basic characteristics and forming mechanism of the sharp thermocline in the Bohai Sea, Huanghai Sea and northern East China Sea

- On the basis of the fact that the sharp thermocHne in the Bohai Sea and the northern Huanghai Sea is often distributed in the deep valley areas, it has been long thought that the reason of the formation of the sharp thermocHne is that the cold water can be easily kept in valleys. But recent investigations carried out in the southern Huanghai Sea in summer show that all of the sharp thermocHne areas were distributed in the shallow sloping-bottom areas but not in the deep valley areas. Only in autumn would the sharp thermoclines translate to the deep valley areas. In summer, they are characterized by shallow upper mixing layer and thin thickness in the southern Huanghai Sea. In addition to entrainment coming from lower boundary of upper mixing layer the entrainment from upper border of bottom homogeneous layer induced by tidal mixing also plays an important role in the growth and decay of thermoclines in these seas.     

Distribution of inorganic phosphate and dissolved oxygen and their relationship in the coastal upwelling area off Zhejiang

The change and distribution of inorganic phosphate and dissolved oxygen content in sea water pos-sess a certuin regularity and correlation, which are closely related to the direct influence of biologicalactivities. During the period of phytoplankton bloom, phosphate content may be exhausted and, at thesame time, oxygen content in sea water increases in the euphotic layer. With the decomposition of or-ganic matter, phosphate content increases and oxygen content decreases in the deeper layer. In addi-tion, the upwelling carries the "new" nutrients to the euphotic layer, which provides advantageous     

黄河口沉积物微量元素的多元统计分析

Some microelements totalled ten of sediment samples have been analysed by emission spectrometer. The samples taken from the nearshore area of the Huanghe River and the Lianhe River and the elements analysed are Ni, Co, Cu, Ga, V, Ti, Pb, Zn, Mo, and Mn. Though multivariate analysis by computer, it shows that the effective discriminant elements for the sediments of estuary area of the Huanghe River and Lianhe River are Ti, Zr, Co, V. The Lianhe River Estuary sediments are characterized by higher content of Zr, Co and the Huanghe River Estuary sediments are characterized by higher content of Ti,V. The trend surface analysis shows that the Ni, Ga, Co and Cu have similar tendency of distribution and are closely related with the clayey sediments; Zr and Ti have the similar trend distribution and closely related with coarser grain sediments; the distribution of Mn is in accordance with the area of higher pH. Eh values and is closely related with fine-sandy sediments.     

黄河口滨外区矿物分布特征及其控制因素探讨

In winter, 1983, forty surface sediment samples were collected from the area off the Huanghe River Estuary, Huanghe and Luanhe Rivers,and the rivers in Northwestern Shandong Peninsula. The sediments off the Huanghe River Estuary are composed of biotite, hornblende, epidote,actinolite, tremolite, garnet, zircon, sphene, diopside, magnetite, ilmenite, hematite, apatite, hypersthene, schorl, monazite, topaz, muscovite,leucoxene, rutile, zoisite, clinozoisite, vesuvianite, kynite, wollastoite,enstatite, bronzite, xenotime, anatase, pyrrhotine, glauconite, quartz,orthoclase, plagioclase, calcite and authigenic pyrite. On the basis of their mineral assemblages, the investigated area may be divided into three mineral provinces. Huanghe River, Luanhe River and Longkuo mineral provinces. The materials were derived from the Huanghe River, Luanhe Delta and Northwestern Shandong Coastal Region respectively. The sands from the Huanghe River are different from other sources, and are characterized by high contents of biotite, muscovite, plagioclase and calcite, and but low contents of pyroxene, epidote, Zircon, garnet and orthoclase. During the flood periods the materials from the Huanghe River fall into the Laichau Bay and are transported towards NE direction, which has been formed main outline of the distribution minerals in the sediment off the Huanghe River Estuary. However, Rmode cluster analysis shows that the sorting of the detrital minerals in this area is not strong. The data of the measurement current and nutrient salt in the water support the conclusions which are obtained from mineralogy study.     

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Diffusive Fluxes Across the Sediment-Water Interface in Estuarine and Coastal Tidal Flats

Nitrogen and phosphorus contents are analyzed in the overlying waters and pore waters taken from the Changjiang Estuary and Shanghai coastal tidal flats in this study. In addition, the diffusion fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus across the sediment-water interface in tidal flats are estimated according to the nutrient concentration gradients at the interface. It has been indicated that the concentrations of ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and dissolved phosphorus in overlying waters range from 0.0082～2.56, 0.03～0.58, 0.69～5.38 and 0.035～0.53 mg/L, respectively, while 0.0025 ～ 1.35 mg/L for NH4+-N, 0. 0055 ～ 0.20mg/L for NO2--N, 0.61～1.14 mg/L for NO3--N and 0.11～0.53mg/L for DP insurface pore waters.The findings have revealed that ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and dissolved phosphorus diffusion fluxes across the sediment-water interface are between -0.024～0.99, -0.39～ -0.0019, -3.09～the source of phosphorus and an important sink for nitrogen in the waters.     

TAGGING EXPERIMENTS OF THE PENAEID SHRIMP IN THE BOHAI SEA AND HUANGHAI SEA IN AUTUMN SEASON

There exists obvious difference in recapture rate of tagged shrimp in various sea areas and years in autumn season, but the majority of them (98%) are recaptured in the releasing year. Although the main portion of each shrimp group in the Bohai Sea has separate distribution area, they intermingle in autumn season to search for food, thus forming a principal fishing ground located in the central Bohai Sea.Those shrimps wintering in south-central portion of the Huanghai Sea are generally divided into two populations. One is called the Korean population, inhabiting along the western coast of Koera, which is less in abundance and smaller in shrimp size; and the other is called the Chinese population, inhibiting along the Bohai Sea coast and the Huanghai Sea coast of China, which is richer in abundance and larger in shrimp size. The spawning grounds of the latter extend throughout the Bohai Sea and off the Huanghai Sea coast of China, from the Yalujiang Estuary area in the north to the coastal waters of Haiz     

Biogeochemical Character of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen and Phosphate at Plume Front in the Changjiang River

Biogeochemical character of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate at plume front is studied based on the data, which were observed in the Changjiang River Estuary in 1988. The results are as follows: The concentrations of nitrate and phosphate change abruptly at plume front and halocline. The concentrations of NO-2 and NH 4 are very high at 10～25m depth. The vertical circumfluence transports NO-3 and PO3-4 , which are released from organisms at the bottom to phytoplankton.     

CIAY MINERALS IN THE SURFACE SEDIMENTS OF THE BOHAI SEA

Analyses of clay mineralogy about 30 surface sediments indicate widespread occurrence of illite, kaolinite, chlorite and montmorillonite throughout the Bohai Sea. Illite is the most abundant mineral, averaging 60%, kaolinite, next to illite, is the most abundant one,averaging 18%. Chlorite and montmorillonite come second, averaging 12% and 10% respectively. The distributive patterns of clay minerals in the surface sediments are closely related to the suspended materials carried into the Bohai Sea, especially to those did by the Huanghe River, and to water dynamics in the area. Based on the distribution, the assemblages and the others of clay minerals, the Bohai Sea can be divided into two clay mineral regions, the Liaodong Gulf region and the Bohai-Laizhou Bay region.     

Analyses of the long-term salinity variability in the Bohai Sea and the northern Huanghai(Yellow) Sea

Based on the comprehensive collection of the field observed salinity of the Bohai Sea (BHS) and the northern Huanghai Sea (NHS) from the 1950s to the present,the patterns of 10-years-averaged salinity at the different layers in the recent five decades (the 1950s,the 1960s,the 1970s,the 1980s and the 1990s) are obtained by the spatial-temporal interpolation technique with the scrupulous data quality control in this study.Then,by combining the spatial-temporal interpolation technique with successive correction method,the annual distributions of salinity both in the BHS and in the NHS are obtained as well.The data analyses indicate that the overall salinity in the BHS and the NHS increases from the 1960s till the present,with the increase of annual mean salinity of 0.04 psu from the 1950s,and the maximum increase rate of salinity is about 0.14 psu/a in the Bohai Bay.The high salinity tongue extended significantly from the NHS into the BHS.The intensified eastern wind field is related to the western intrusion of the NHS warm current,which probably leads to the moving forward of the high salinity water mass into the BHS.However,it is rather different from the salinity distribution characteristics between the 1950s and the 1960s.The extensive precipitation in the 1960s could lead to an increase in the discharge of the Huanghe River,which might result in the decrease of salinity in the BHS.But the salinity isoline of 32 in the NHS still extended significantly into the BHS in the 1960s.Since the 1980s,the patterns of salinity distribution have changed thoroughly.The salinity in the central area of the BHS was low,while the salinity in the Bohai Bay and the Liaodong Bay was higher than the other regions with its horizontal salinity gradient decreasing in the 1980s.The Empirical Orthogonal Function Analysis (EOF) is also conducted to study the interannual salinity variability of the BHS and the NHS.The correlation coefficient between the time coefficient series of the main mode and the Huanghe River discharge can reach -64.57%.It can be concluded that salinity variation of the BHS and the NHS has strong negative correlation with the Huanghe River discharge.