Mesopelagic fishes of the Bering Sea and adjacent northern North Pacific Ocean

Fourteen midwater trawl collections to depths of 450 m to 1,400 m were taken at eleven stations in the Bering Sea and adjoining regions of the northern North Pacific by the R/V Hakuho Maru during the summer of 1975. A total of 29 kinds of fishes were identified. Mesopelagic fishes of the families Myctophidae, Gonostomatidae and Bathylagidae predominated in the catches, contributing 14 species (94%) of the fishes caught.Seventeen species of fishes were caught in the Bering Sea, and all of these are known from nearby areas. The mesopelagic fish fauna of the Bering Sea is similar to that in adjoining regions of the northern North Pacific Ocean: endemic species are rare or absent. Stenobrachius nannochir was usually the most common mesopelagic fish in our catches.Stenobrachius leucopsarus is a diel vertical migrant that is usually the dominant mesopelagic fish in modified Subarctic waters of the northeastern Pacific. The change in dominance fromS. nannochir in the western Bering Sea toS. leucopsarus in the eastern Bering Sea is related to differences in oceanographic conditions.     

Difference of planktonic ciliate communities of the tropical West Pacific, the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean

Ciliates are important components in planktonic food webs,but our understanding of their community structures in different oceanic water masses is limited.We report pelagic ciliate community characteristics in three seas:the tropical West Pacific,the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.Planktonic ciliate abundance had"bimodal-peak","surface-peak"and"DCM(deep chlorophyll a maximum layer)-peak"vertical distribution patterns in the tropical West Pacific,the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean,respectively.The abundance proportion of tintinnid to total ciliate in the Bering Sea(42.6%)was higher than both the tropical West Pacific(7.8%)and the Arctic Ocean(2.0%).The abundance proportion of small aloricate ciliates(10–20μm size-fraction)in the tropical West Pacific was highest in these three seas.The Arctic Ocean had higher abundance proportion of tintinnids in larger LOD(lorica oral diameter)size-class.Proportion of redundant species increased from the Arctic Ocean to the tropical West Pacific.Our result provided useful data to further understand ecology roles of planktonic ciliates in different marine habitats.     

Phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing in the subarctic Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea during summer 1999

Phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates were measured by the dilution technique in the subarctic North Pacific Ocean along a west–east transect during summer 1999. Average phytoplankton growth rates without added nutrients (μ₀) were 0.33, 0.41, 0.20 and 0.49 d⁻¹ for the four regions sampled: the Western Gyre, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska gyre and stations along the Aleutian Trench. Average grazing mortality rates (m) were 0.34, 0.27, 0.20 and 0.49 d⁻¹. Limitation of phytoplankton growth by macronutrients, such as NO₃ and SiO₂, was identified only at a few stations, with overall μ₀/μ_n (μ_n is nutrient-enhanced growth rate) averaging 0.9. Phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing were approximately balanced, as indicated by high m/μ₀ ratio, except in the Bering Sea, where the m/μ₀ ratio was 0.65, indicating the relative importance of the diatom-macrozooplankton grazing food chain and possible higher export flux to the deep layer. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the growth rates of picoplankton (Synechococcus and picoeukaryotes) were usually much lower than the total phytoplankton community growth rates estimated from chlorophyll a, except for stations in the Gulf of Alaska Gyre, where the growth rates for different populations were about the same. Lower than community-average growth rate for picoplankton indicates larger phytoplankters, presumably diatoms, were growing at a much faster rate. Suppressed phytoplankton growth in the Gulf of Alaska was probably a result of iron limitation.     

Distribution of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen in the Bering Sea and northern North Pacific Ocean

Particulate matter was collected in the Bering Sea and the northern North Pacific Ocean during the cruise of R. V. Hakuho-maru, Ocean Research Institute of Tokyo University in summer of 1975. The particulate matter was analyzed for organic carbon and nitrogen, chlorophylla and amino acids.The concentrations of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen were measured with the range of 16–422gC l^–1 and 1–85gN l^–1, 19–186gC l^–1 and 1–26gN l^–1, 46–1,038gC l^–1 and 6–79gN l^–1 and 19–246gC l^–1 and 2–25gN l^–1 in the Oyashio, the Deep Bering Sea, the continental shelf of Bering Sea and the northern North Pacific, respectively. Particulate organic carbon and nitrogen decreased with depth throughout the areas. The average concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen in the entire water column tended to decrease in the following order; the continental shelf > Oyashio > northern North Pacific > Deep Bering Sea.C/N of particulate matter varied in the range of 3–15 (7 on average) in surface waters throughout the areas and these values tended to increase with depth to 5–20 (11 on average) in deep waters without significant regional variability.Linear regressions between chlorophylla and particulate organic carbon in the euphotic layers indicate that detrital organic carbon accounted for 34.2, 44.9, 49.1 and 25.2 % of particulate organic carbon in the Oyashio, the Deep Bering Sea, the continental shelf and the northern North Pacific, respectively.Particulate amino acid was determined in the range of 10.3–78.0g l^–1, 104–156g l^–1 and 10.4–96.4g l^–1 in the Deep Bering Sea, the continental shelf and the northern North Pacific, respectively. Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, glycine and alanine were found as dominant species of amino acid of particulate matter.     

夏季北极太平洋扇区和白令海对流层结构分析

利用我国第六次—第九次北极科学考察雪龙船走航探空数据,计算北极太平洋扇区和白令海的夏季对流层高度,分析对流层内的风速、温度、水汽廓线,从而确定对流层结构,并分析各要素的垂直分布和经向分布特征。结果表明:夏季北极太平洋扇区和白令海的递减率对流层顶、冷点对流层顶平均值分别为10 003 m、10 116 m,对流层高度随纬度增加而降低。夏季北极大气对流层低层和对流层顶存在逆温,对流层顶的逆温高度和厚度随纬度增加而降低。大气可降水量与纬度呈负相关,且集中于对流层中低层。近地面的风速受地表摩擦力的影响较明显,对流层内的风速随高度增加而增大,高空急流的强度和高度随纬度增加而减小,风廓线和急流易受天气尺度过程的影响。研究结果揭示了夏季北极太平洋扇区和白令海的对流层结构,并可用于检验数值预报模式对北极大气垂直结构的预报效果、评估再分析资料描述北极大气垂直结构的能力。     

2003年夏季西北冰洋浮游动物群落结构和地理分布研究

根据西北冰洋43个调查站位的浮游动物种类组成和数量资料,分析了浮游动物的群落结构和地理分布特征,探讨了浮游动物群落与环境因子的关系.结果表明,在调查区域存在三种不同的浮游动物群落类型:楚科奇海台和加拿大海盆地区的高纬度深海群落;楚科奇海中部的陆架群落;阿拉斯加沿岸和楚科奇海北部的沿岸过渡群落.深海群落浮游动物数量较少,...     

Transport of copper from the Bering Sea to the northwestern North Pacific

Dissolved copper concentrations in surface waters of the Bering Sea ranged from 106 to 882 ngl^–1. Higher concentrations were found in continental shelf waters. In the northwestern North Pacific dissolved copper ranged from 54 to 140 ngl^–1. Particulate copper concentrations varied regionally and seasonally from 6 to 79 ngl^–1. Regionally averaged particulate copper concentrations decreased from 175 to 33g g^–1 against an increase in suspended materials because of the dilution effects of biological fractions. Apparent sporadic increases in copper concentrations were found in the mixing area of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio waters. The feature is attributed to the lateral distribution of different water types rather than to the upwelling of deeper waters by eddies. In the same area west of 160E, waters with high concentrations of dissolved copper (96±9 ngl^–1) were found. Their origin appears to be the continental shelf of the Bering Sea. In spite of intensive biological activity, a considerable fraction of copper added to shelf waters was transported to the area off Japan via the circulation in the Bering Sea and the Oyashio current.     

Long-term changes in summer phytoplankton communities of the open northern Baltic Sea

Changes in the biomass and species composition of phytoplankton may reflect major shifts in environmental conditions. We investigated relationships between the late summer biomass of different phytoplankton taxa and environmental factors, and their long-term (1979–2003) trends in two areas of the Baltic Sea, the northern Baltic proper (NBP) and the Gulf of Finland (GF), with statistical analyses. An increasing trend was found in late summer temperature and chlorophyll a of the surface water layer (0–10 m) in both areas. There was also a significant decrease in summer salinity and an increase in winter dissolved inorganic nitrogen to phosphorus (DIN:DIP) ratio in the NBP, as well as increases in winter DIN concentrations and DIN:SiO₄ ratio in the GF. Simultaneously, the biomass of chrysophytes and chlorophytes increased in both areas. In the NBP, also the biomass of dinophytes increased and that of euglenophytes decreased, whereas in the GF, cyanobacteria increased and cryptophytes decreased. Redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that summer temperature and winter DIN concentration were the most important factors with respect to changes in the phytoplankton community structure. Thus, the phytoplankton communities seem to reflect both hydrographic changes and the ongoing eutrophication process in the northern Baltic Sea.     

Bottom water temperature measurements in the South China Sea,eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean

文章报道了一批新的海底底水温度(BWT)数据,其中南海(SCS)158个站位、东印度洋(EIO)30个站位及西太平洋(WPO)37个站位。基于这批新的BWT数据,获得南海和西太平洋海域底水温度与水深经验关系,可为地球物理和物理海洋提供准确、可靠的海底温度边界。这将有助于海底油气资源调查与评估。同时,这批实测数据表明:1)水深超过3500m的海域,其底水温度在南海约为2.47℃,比东印度洋(～1.34℃)和西太平洋(～1.60℃)稍微偏高。这与大洋传送带模式所预测的情况比较吻合。该模式认为:低温高盐的海水,从北大西洋格陵兰岛和冰岛附近海域下沉到深层,然后向南流动,再与南极洲周围海域的低温高盐海水一同向北进入印度洋和太平洋。而南海是一个相对比较封闭的热带边缘海,其内部海水与印度洋和菲律宾海交换有限,导致海水温度整体高于印度洋和太平洋。2)台西南盆地水深在2700～3000m的部分站位,其底水温高达约3.00℃,明显高于其周边同水深海域底水温度(平均值约为2.33℃)。这可能是台西南盆地海底水热活动导致的结果。3)在东印度洋和西太平洋水深超过4800m海域,底水温度随着水压增大稍有升高,其升高率分别为10.6mK·MPa~(-1)和12.0mK·MPa~(-1)。这与理论估算的深层底水绝热压力温度梯度范围较为吻合。这也意味着东印度洋和西太平洋深层底水,主要由绝热自压作用导致其温度随着深度的增大而升高。     

Effects of summer mesoscale hydrographic features on epipelagic siphonophore assemblages in the surrounding waters of Taiwan, western North Pacific Ocean

This is the first attempt to examine the relationship between the spatial distribution of siphonophores and mesoscale hydrographic features in the waters around Taiwan in summer. A total of 59 species of siphonophores, consisting of 12 Physonectae and 47 Calycophorae, were identified from our samples. The most abundant species were Lensia subtiloides (49.7 % of the total collection by number), Diphyes chamissonis (12.1 %), Chelophyes appendiculata (9.3 %), C. contorta (8.1 %), and Bassia bassensis (5.2 %). Two clear assemblages were associated with shelf waters (influenced by the South China Sea Surface Current) and oceanic waters (influenced by the Kuroshio Current), respectively. The shelf water assemblage was characterized by low diversity and high abundance of L. subtiloides, whereas the oceanic assemblage showed greater diversity and was dominated by C. appendiculata, C. contorta, and B. bassensis. We discovered strong correlations between temperature and zooplankton and siphonophore abundances, suggesting that temperature and prey concentration are important in determining the spatial distribution of siphonophores. In addition, lower abundance and higher species diversity of siphonophores were observed after the passage of typhoons. This study provides basic knowledge on the distributional patterns of siphonophores, which is essential information to further understand the ecological roles played by siphonophores and their responses to the hydrological conditions in the waters surrounding Taiwan.     

北太平洋鱿鱼渔场浮游植物种类组成和数量分布

分析了北太平洋鱿鱼渔场浮游植物种类组成、分布特点及其与环境、中心渔场的关系.初步鉴定出36属129种,种类组成以暖水性种类居多(占58.9%),虽然冷水性占种类比例较少(占10.9%),但在细胞数量上占明显优势(占总量的68.05%),出现热带、亚热带与亚寒带区系共存的局面;其平面分布不均,平均总量为54.60×103个/m3;冷暖水系对浮游植物种类组成及数量分布均有显著的影响;中心渔场的形成与浮游植物高值区有着密切的关系.     

Satellite-derived SST validation based on in-situ data during summer in the East China Sea and western North Pacific

Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) is validated based on in-situ data from the East China Sea (ECS) and western North Pacific where most typhoons, which make landfall on the Korean peninsula, are formed and pass. While forecasting typhoons in terms of intensity and track, coupled ocean-typhoon models are significantly influenced by initial ocean condition. Potentially, satellite-derived SST is a very useful dataset to obtain initial ocean field because of its wide spatial coverage and high temporal resolution. In this study, satellite-derived SST from various sources such as Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and New Generation Sea Surface Temperature for Open Ocean (NGSST-O) datasets from merged SSTs were compared with in-situ observation data using an indirect method which is using near surface temperature for validation of satellite derived SST. In-situ observation data included shipboard measurements such as Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT), and Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD), and Argo buoy data. This study shows that in-situ data can be used for microwave derived SST validation because homogeneous features of seawater prevail at water depths of 2 m to 10 m under favorable wind conditions during the summer season in the East China Sea. As a result of validation, root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) are shown to be 0.55 °C between microwave SST and XBT/CTD data mostly under weak wind conditions, and 0.7 °C between XBT/CTD measurement and NGSST-O data. Microwave SST RMSE of 0.55 °C is a potentially valuable data source for general application. Change of SST before and after typhoon passing may imply strength of ocean mixing due to upwelling and turbulent mixing driven by the typhoon. Based on SST change, ocean mixing, driven by Typhoon Nari, was examined. Satellite-derived SST reveals a significant SST drop around the track immediately following the passing of Typhoon Nari in October, 2007.     

2008年夏季白令海和北冰洋异养浮游细菌丰度与分布特征

利用2008年夏季我国第3次北极科学考察资料,基于流式细胞技术,对白令海北部陆架区的微微型浮游植物丰度、细胞大小(碳含量)、色素浓度的分布特征进行了分析,并对该类群的环境适应性进行了研究。结果表明,微微型浮游植物中仅含聚球藻和真核藻,其丰度范围分别为0.14×106 2.69×106和0.23×106-12.49×106个/dm3。聚球藻的叶绿素a和藻红蛋白含量、微微型真核藻的叶绿素a含量与类群丰度以及微微型真核藻的类胡萝卜素含量与细胞大小间均存在同向变化趋势。两类藻偏向于喜温嗜淡型,更适合在寡营养环境中保持较高的丰度,但能在高营养盐浓度下形成相对较高的碳含量。越接近陆地,细胞越小,丰度越大,碳含量及FL2/FL3越低;所处层位越深、纬度越高,则细胞越大,碳含量及FL2/FL3越高。北极气温升高和径流量的增加有利于陆架区微微型浮游植物类群丰度的增加。     

Distribution of cyanobacteria and other picophytoplankton in the western North Pacific Ocean,Summer 1989

Cell densities of phycoerythrin-fluorescing cyanobacteria and other chlorophyll-fluorescing picophytoplankton in the 0.2–2.0 µm size fraction were investigated, using an epifluorescence microscope, in the western North Pacific Ocean (36.5–44.0 °N, 155.0°E) in the summer of 1989. Cyanobacteria were most abundant in the surface of the subtropical water (36.5–38.0°N) and less in the northern sea area (39.5–44.0°N). The cell density of other picophytoplankton was, however, high in the northern part and low in the subtropical water. Results showed that algae other than cyanobacteria may significantly contribute to the picophytoplankton community under the low water temperature conditions of open waters. Chlorophylla concentration represented well the abundance of picophytoplankton other than cyanobacteria, but had no significant correlation with the cyanobacteria cell density. Chlorophylla-based data must be interpreted with caution, since the abundances of cyanobacteria were often considerably different even though the chlorophylla concentrations were the same level.     

Possibility of recent changes in vertical distribution and size composition of chlorophyll-a in the western North Pacific region

Our analysis of the last three decades of retrospective data of vertical distributions and size composition of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) over the western North Pacific has revealed significant changes of three indices related to Chl-a during summer season, as follows: (1) decreasing linear trend of the proportion of Chl-a in surface layer to that of the whole water column by 0.4 and 2.3% year⁻¹ in the subtropical area along 137°E (STA₁₃₇) during 1972 to 1997 and in the Kuroshio Extension area along 175°E (KEA₁₇₅) during 1990 to 2001; (2) increasing linear trend of the depth of subsurface Chl-a maximum (DCM) by 0.4 and 2.6 m year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅; and (3) decreasing linear trend of larger-size Chl-a (>3 μm) by 0.1 and 2.5% year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅, respectively. Water density (σ _θ ) at 75 m depth had also decreased by 0.006 and 0.05 year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅, respectively. The ratio of biogenic opal to biogenic CaCO₃ in the sinking flux decreased by 0.015 year⁻¹ in the subtropical region from 1997 to 2005. These findings may indicate that the subsurface chlorophyll maximum is deepening and larger phytoplankton such as diatoms has been decreasing during the past decade, associated with the decreasing density of surface water caused by warming in the western North Pacific, especially in the summer.     

Seasonal variability in carbon demand and flux by mesozooplankton communities at subarctic and subtropical sites in the western North Pacific Ocean

We investigated seasonal changes in carbon demand and flux by mesozooplankton communities at subtropical (S1) and subarctic sites (K2) in the western North Pacific Ocean to compare the impact of mesozooplankton communities on the carbon budget in surface and mesopelagic layers. Fecal pellet fluxes were one order higher at K2 than at S1, and seemed to be enhanced by copepod and euphausiid egestion under high chlorophyll a concentrations. The decrease in pellet volume and the lack of any substantial change in shape composition during sink suggest a decline in fecal pellet flux due to coprorhexy and coprophagy. While respiratory and excretory carbon by diel migrants at depth (i.e., active carbon flux) was similar between the two sites, the actively transported carbon exceeded sinking fecal pellets at S1. Mesozooplankton carbon demand in surface and mesopelagic layers was higher at K2 than S1, and an excess of demand to primary production and sinking POC flux was found during some seasons at K2. We propose that this demand was met by supplementary carbon sources such as feeding on protozoans and fecal pellets at the surface and carnivory of migrants at mesopelagic depths.     

Effect of nutrient amendments on the summer phytoplankton dynamics on the Bering Sea shelf under experimental conditions

Experiments on nutrient and iron amendments were performed with phytoplankton on the eastern shelf of the Bering Sea in June 2000 and August 2001. The nutrient amendments (NO₃, NH₄, SiO₄, NO₃ + SiO₄, NH₄ + SiO₄, and Fe + NO₃) increasing their initial concentrations by ～20 μM were put into test bottles 10 l in volume each. With iron addition (Fe or Fe + NO₃), its concentration increased by 5 nM. The experiments performed showed that the main nutrient that limited the phytoplankton development was nitrogen. Regardless of the composition of the dominant algae in the background community, the amendments caused massive development of diatoms. The intense growth was characteristic for diatoms of both the spring and spring-summer assemblages. At high abundances of Phaeocystis pouchetii or of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi in the natural water, nitrogen-containing amendments caused an intense growth of these species, along with the massive development of diatoms. In the case of the diatom prevalence in the initial sample, the intensities of the utilization of NO₃ and NH₄ in combination with SiO₄ in the course of the experiment were 1.7 and 3 times as high as their intensities with no silicon amendments. Likewise, NO₃ + SiO₄ and NH₄ + SiO₄ mixed amendments caused an increase in the silicon assimilation by a factor of 4–5 as compared to pure silicon amendments. During one of the experimental series in which both diatoms and Phaeocystis pouchetii actively developed, virtually complete nitrogen utilization (90–99.8%) in 4–5 days was observed for both the NO₃ and NH₄. The addition of silicon and iron only caused no significant growth of the phytoplankton abundance. It was assumed that the destruction of the seasonal thermocline and the supply of nutrients into the surface layer as a result of strong wind forcing might cause a phytoplankton bloom in the summer time and result in the much pronounced qualitative and quantitative spatial heterogeneity of the phytoplankton characteristic of the eastern shelf of the Bering Sea.