On the coccolithophorid bloom as a factor of the seasonal variability of the chlorophyll “a” in the Black Sea

Based on the comparative analysis of the characteristics of the early summer maxima of the normalized radiance from the satellite ocean color data, the seasonal trend of the concentration of the chlorophyll “a,” and the species composition of the phytoplankton from determinations in water samples from the Black Sea, it is concluded that the summer chlorophyll maximum is due to the coccolithophorid bloom occurring from late May to mid June in the Black Sea basin.     

On the Upper Pleistocene Lamellibranchiate fossil groups and paleo-oceanic environment of the Huanghai Sea

Research on Lamelllbranchiate fossils of the Huanghai Sea started rather late in China and data on this subject are scarce. During the large-scale investigation of the Huanghai Sea sediment in the late 1970s, a large number of surface and core samples of the sea-floor sediment were obtained and a considerable number of Lamellibranchiatc fossils were found. A preliminary identification reveals that there are 46 species of the fossils.The Lamellibranchiate fossils in the Huanghai Sea are composed of different species: the shallow water species, the littoral species and the fossils reflecting the environment of the estuary where freshwater flows, or of the tidal zone having brackish water.Through the studies of the Lamellibranchiate fossils and their ecological environment, not only the features of the Lamellibranchiate groups of the Upper Pleistocene have been restored, but also some relatively important data of the investigation of paleo-current and paleo-temperature during late Pleistocene have been obt     

Acoustic investigations of gas “flares” in the Sea of Okhotsk

The results of acoustic investigations of over 250 gas “flares” (GFs) located in the depth range of 160–1400 m in the vicinity of the northeastern slope of Sakhalin Island are presented. Pronounced features in the GFs distribution by the seabed’s depth have been identified, which allowed dividing them into four groups corresponding to four depth intervals. The number of GFs per seabed unit area decreases, and the power of the individual GFs increases with depth. The average methane flux per seabed unit of area has been estimated for each depth interval. It has been demonstrated that the total quantity of methane emitted from the seabed in the form of bubbles in the studied area is ∼0.1 million tons per year.     

On a new Siphonophora from the East China Sea and South China Sea

In the course of identifying the samples of Siphonophora from the East China Sea and South China Sea, a new Siphonophora, Vogtia microsticella sp. nov. , was noted. The new species is distinguished from other five species in the genus in nectophore as follows: Parahorse-shoe shaped with five bluntly rounded projections, the two projections below the ostium, i. e. the basal projections, approach each other. The dorsal facet is smooth without any gelatinous prominence. Smaller are the nectosac and the ostium.     

On the features of the SST annual cycle and surface heat budget in the South China Sea

The annual cycle in the ocean and atmosPhere system 15 the important signal of the climatic variabilities.Observed studies had indicated that the seasonal feature of the climatic system which 15 of an annual period 15 due to the seasonal variation of the solar radiation.Funher researches has shown that the formation and maintenance of the annual cycle of the thermal condition(situation)in the upper oceans are the results of both dynamical and thermal processes which both are involved in air-sea interaction.Since researches on the large-scale air-sea interaction were Propoed,sea surface temperature(SST)has always been the primary object to observe,study and predict by the scientists.     

A re-assessment of the “Neogene” deposits of the south Irish Sea and Nymphe Bank

Recent studies carried out in the Nymphe Bank area of the north Celtic Sea and in the south Irish Sea have prompted a re-assessment of the deposits formerly described as Neogene. Comparison between seismic profiles and borehole results show that the Neogene unit which underlies a boulder clay, correlates with marine sands and gravels and an earlier boulder clay. This, along with other evidence has led us to propose a Pleistocene age for this unit. The approximate extent of these deposits in the south Irish Sea and the north east Celtic Sea is indicated.     

Notes On the features of the SST annual cycle and surface heat budget in the South China Sea

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Some numerical experiments of the dynamics of the wintertime circulation in the Northern Huanghai Sea and the Bohai Sea

Some numerical experiments have been developed to explain dynamically the mechanism of the formation of the wintertime circulation in the Northern Huanghai Sea and the Bohai Sea. From the results of the numerical experiments with Coriolis parameter having positive and negative values respectively, it is found that the current pattern characterized by flowing into the Bohai Sea in the northern part of the Bohai Straits and flowing out of the Bohai Sea in the southern part of the Bohai Straits is controlled basically by the bottom topography with "the deepness on the northern side and shallowness on the southern side'in the Bohai Straits, and is not related to Coriolis parameter having positive and negative values. It also shows that the Huanghai Warm Current regarded as the inllow condition passing through the in-ports at the water boundary of the numerical experiments only influences the region near the water boundary and the eastern region of the Northern Huanghai Sea. In addition, the mechanism of the     

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.     

Oscillating Quaternary water levels of the Marmara Sea and vigorous outflow into the Aegean Sea from the Marmara Sea–Black Sea drainage corridor

Detailed interpretation of single-channel air-gun and deep-tow boomer profiles demonstrates that the Marmara Sea, Turkey, experienced small-amplitude (∼70 m) fluctuations in sea level during the later Quaternary, limited in magnitude by the sill depth of the Strait of Dardanelles. Moderate subsidence along the southern shelf and Quaternary glacio-eustatic sea-level variations created several stacked deltaic successions, separated by major shelf-crossing unconformities, which developed during the transitions from global glacial to interglacial periods. Near the Strait of Dardanelles, a series of sand-prone deposits are identified beneath an uppermost (Holocene) transparent mud drape. The sandy deposits thicken into mounds with the morphology and cross-sectional geometries of barrier islands, sand waves, and current-generated marine bars. All cross-stratification indicates unidirectional flow towards the Dardanelles prior to the deposition of the transparent drape which began ∼7000 years BP, in strong support of the notion that the Marmara Sea flowed westwards into the Aegean Sea through the Dardanelles at times of deglaciation in northern Europe. The global sea-level curve shows that, at ∼11,000 and ∼9500 years BP, sea level rose to the sill depths of the Straits of Dardanelles and Bosphorus, respectively. The effect from ∼11,000 to ∼9500 years BP was seawater incursion into the Marmara Sea, drowning and formation of algal-serpulid bioherms atop lowstand barrier islands, and transgression of shelves and lowstand deltas. At ∼9500 years BP, glacial meltwater temporarily stored in the Black Sea lake, developed into a vigorous southward flow toward the Aegean Sea, forming west-directed sandy bedforms in the western Marmara Sea and initiating deposition of sapropel S1 in the Aegean Sea. This strong outflow persisted until ∼7000 years BP, after which a mud drape began to accumulate in the Marmara Sea and euryhaline Mediterranean mollusks successfully migrated into a progressively more saline Black Sea where sapropel deposition began. Most eastern Mediterranean sapropels from S1 to S11 appear to correlate with periods of rising sea level and breaching, or near-breaching, of the Bosphorus sill. These events are believed to coincide with times of vigorous outflow of low-salinity (?fresh) surface waters transiting the Black Sea–Marmara Sea corridor, and ultimately derived from melting of northern European ice sheets.     

Response of the low-frequency fluctuations of sea level to atmospheric forcing along the coasts of the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea

In this paper, the low-frequency fluctuations of sea level and their relationship to atmospheric forcing along the coasts of the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea are studied. Spectrum analyses are made for the time series of daily mean sea level, atmospheric pressure and wind stress at seven coastal stations. It is found that at all the stations, the main part of the energy of the sea level fluctuations, within the (2-60)-day period, is concentrated on the (12-60)-day period band and that an obvious spectral peak appears at the 3-day period. Along the coast of the Huanghai Sea, variations in the sea level are greater in winter than in summer. In winter, along the coasts of the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea there is a kind of sea level fluctuations propagating southwards. Among the many factors causing sea level variation, the most obvious one is atmospheric pressure, followed next by the alongshore wind stress.     

Diagnostic study of the summer thermocline depth in the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea

- In this paper, the depth of the summer thermocline of the South Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea is calculated with two kinds of one-dimentional models, and the formation reasons are explained for the summer thermocline depth distribution characteristics in the study area. It is proved that in the shelf area of the East China Sea, tidal mixing has an important impact on the thermocline depth. And a new explanation for certain phenomena of the so-called coastal upwelling in the East China Sea is proposed.     

Three-dimensional calculations of the currents in the Huanghai Sea and East China Sea during June of 1999

Based on the wind and hydrographic data obtained by R/V Xiangyanghong 14 duringJune of 1999, the currents in the Huanghai Sea and East China Sea are computed by the three dimen-sional non-linear diagnostic, semidiagnostic models and prognostic in the σ coordinate. The computed re-sults show that the density and velocity fields and so on have been adjusted when time is about 3 days,namely the solution of semidiagnostic calculation is obtained. In the northwest part of the computed re-gion, the Huanghai coastal current flows southeastward, and then it flows out the computed region southof Cheju Island. In the west side of the southern part of the computed region, there is other current,which is mainly inshore branch of Taiwan Warm Current, and it flows cyclonically and turns to thenortheast. In the region north of the above two currents, there is a cyclonic eddy southwest of Cheju Is-land, and it has characteristics of high density and low temperature. There is an offshore branch of Tai-wan Warm Current in the west side of the Kuroshio, and it makes a cyclonic meander, then flows north-eastward. The Kuroshio in the East China Sea is stronger, and flows northeastward. Its maximum hori-zontal velocity is 108.5 cm/s at the sea surface, which is located at the northern boundary, and it is106.1 cm/s at 30 m level, 102.2 cm/s at 75 m level and 85.1 cm/s at 200 m level, respectively, whichare all located at the southern boundary. Comparing the results of diagnostic calculation with those ofsemidiagnostic and prognostic calculations indicates that the horizontal velocity field agrees qualitatively,and there is a little difference between them in quantity. The comparison between the computed veloci-ties and the obeered velocities at the mooring station show that they agree each other.     

Modelling of the barotropic processes in the Bohai Sea

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Dynamics of structural and functional characteristics of zooplankton in the Northern Sea of Okhotsk in the “Warm” and “Cold” years

An analysis of the structural and functional characteristics of zooplankton community and their coupling with the synoptic situation was carried out for the spring period in the northern Sea of Okhotsk. The years of 2000 and 2001 may be referred to as “cold” type due to the significant extent of the ice-covered area. Based on the ice cover extent, the years of 2004 and 2005 may be referred to as “warm” years due to the decreased extent of the ice-covered area. The “cold” and “warm” years did not significantly differ from each other in terms of the total zooplankton biomass. In the northeast Sea of Okhotsk, the zooplankton abundance increased during the “cold” years, while, in its northwestern part, the zooplankton abundance increased during the “warm” years. The different types of years significantly differ in the species structure of the macrozooplankton community. The abundance of copepods was higher in the “warm” years, whereas the chaetognath abundance increased in the “cold” ones. These features of the dynamics and distribution of zooplankton in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk also affected its productivity. The higher production of the elements of the zooplankton community that was revealed in the “warm” years was caused by the increase in the seasonal P/B ratio of both nonpredatory and predatory species. In the “warm” years, the production of nonpredatory zooplankton was higher in the northwest, while, in the “cold” years, it was higher in the northeast of the area.     

Preliminary analysis of distribution and variation of perennial monthly mean water masses in the Bohai Sea,the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea

On the basis of perennial monthly mean temperature and salinity data, the classification of monthly water masses at the surface and the bottom in the Bohai Sea, the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea, has been made by using the method of fuzzy cluster from the modified characteristic of water masses in the shallow water area. In this paper, the basic features, growth and decline patterns of water masses in relation to fishing grounds in the whole shelves of the Bohai Sea, the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea are discussed with emphasis.     

Application of the four models of directional spectra in the Bohai Sea

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Operational Forecast of Water Dynamics at the Black Sea Sub-Satellite Polygon “Gelendzhik”

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - A σ-coordinate operational model for forecasting the state of waters at the Black Sea sub-satellite polygon in the area of Gelendzhik is presented....