Ra/226Ra activity ratio in oceanic settling particles: implications regarding the use of barium as a proxy for paleoproductivity reconstruction

Activities of the natural radionuclides ²²⁶Ra (T1/2 =1602 years) and 22sRa (T1/2 =5.75 years) in particulate matter are reported from sediment traps deployed in the tropical northeast Atlantic. ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra activity ratios in settling particles are compared to those found in the water column in order to specify the origin of radium incorporated in particulate matter, and consequently that of barium, since the two elements are known to display close geochemical behaviours in the oceans. Whereas ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra activity ratios in the water column display very large variations with depth, they remain nearly constant in particles, with values close to those found in the upper 250 m. These results clearly demonstrate that particles acquire their radium and, by inference, their barium, in the upper water column and that there is very little exchange with the dissolved phase as they settle to the bottom.     

热带外太平洋通过海洋过程对热带太平洋的影响

利用MOM2海洋环流模式分别研究了年际和年代际尺度上热带外太平洋通过海洋过程对热带太平洋的影响.利用1945~1993年COADS资料的表面通量强迫海洋模式,积分46 a作为模式控制试验.取热带外太平洋海表面强迫为气候值做敏感性试验.将控制试验结果减去敏感性结果就可以得到热带外太平洋通过海洋过程对热带太平洋的影响.结果表明,年际尺度上,主要是海洋波动过程起作用,但总的海洋过程的影响较小.年代际尺度上,主要是副热带环流输送起作用,其中包括平均环流输送的温度异常以及异常环流输送的平均温度,并且后者贡献相对较大.年际和年代际尺度上,热带太平洋的温度异常主要发生在密度跃层附近.研究发现热带外南太平洋对热带和热带外太平洋之间的水量交换有影响,而热带外北太平洋的影响较弱.     

氮、磷比对两种赤潮藻生长特性的影响及藻间竞争作用

研究了两种赤潮藻即假微型海链藻(Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasleet Heimdalh)和裸甲藻(Gymnodinium sp.)在不同氮磷比培养条件下的生长特性和藻间竞争作用,探讨了氮磷含量及其比值对赤潮爆发的影响机理.结果表明,在N/P=16条件下,假微型海链藻的最大比增长率最高、相对生长常数最大、平均倍增时间最短,叶绿素a含量最高,说明该N/P值是假微型海链藻最佳生长营养盐条件.对裸甲藻而言,N/P=6是其最佳生长的营养盐条件.叶绿素a含量受N/P值的影响和藻细胞密度所受的影响趋势基本一致.不同N/P值对藻间竞争作用和群落演替的总体影响不明显,都呈现先硅藻后甲藻的群落演替规律.裸甲藻可能具有利用体内磷来维持生长的特点.     

Stable C and N isotopic composition of sinking particles and zooplankton over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of zooplankton, suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM), and sinking particles collected using sediment traps were measured for samples obtained from the southeastern Bering Sea middle and outer shelf during 1997–1999. The quantity of material collected by the middle shelf sediment trap was greater in both spring and late summer and fall than in early and mid-summer. The δ¹⁵N of SPOM, sinking material and zooplankton showed greater inter-annual variability at the middle shelf site (M2) than at the outer shelf site (M3). Zooplankton and sinking organic matter collected by M2 sediment traps became more depleted in ¹⁵N from 1997 through 1999, associated with a change from unusually warm to unusually cold conditions. Suspended and sinking organic matter and zooplankton collected from M3 decreased only slightly in δ¹⁵N from 1998 to 1999. SPOM, zooplankton, and sediment trap samples collected at M2 were usually enriched in δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C over those from M3. However, in 1999 sediment trap samples from the middle shelf were enriched in ¹³C over M3 material, but the δ¹⁵N of samples from the two sites was similar. The geographic pattern could be explained greater productivity over the middle shelf, associated with either isotopically heavy nitrogen being regenerated from sediments, or with utilization of a greater fraction of the available inorganic nitrogen pool during most years.     

Decrease in anthropogenic nutrients and its effect on the C/N/P molar ratio of suspended particulate matter in hypertrophic Dokai Bay (Japan) in summer

Biologically important nutrient concentrations in Dokai Bay have declined as a result of reductions in anthropogenic inputs of total nitrogen and total phosphorus. A decrease in nutrient concentrations affects phytoplankton growth, thereby changing the biochemical characteristics of autochthonous particulate matter. We therefore investigated changes in the C/N/P molar ratio of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the summer, when phytoplankton growth is vigorous, before environmental quality standards (EQSs) were attained (1995–1998) and afterward (2006–2009). We found that the ratio of particulate organic nitrogen (PON) to particulate phosphorus (PP) changed in conjunction with changes in the ratio of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) that resulted from reductions in nutrient loading. Furthermore, we suggest that because the DIP concentration in seawater was high before EQSs were attained, inorganic phosphorus was possibly adsorbed onto SPM. After the attainment of EQSs, however, the DIP concentration fell, and PON/PP was high. Phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton growth in the mouth of the bay may explain the high PON/PP ratios after EQS attainment.     

不同氮磷比对中肋骨条藻和威氏海链藻生长特性的影响

实验室条件下用不同氮磷摩尔比(4:1,16:1,64:1)的培养液培养中肋骨条藻Skeletonema costatum和威氏海链藻Thalassiosira weissflogii,对它们的比生长率、细胞状态、细胞对外界氮磷营养元素的吸收和细胞内氮磷比的变化进行了研究.结果表明,氮磷比显著影响两种硅藻的生长和生理状态,氮浓度对细胞生长的影响更大.N限制组(N:P=4:1)的比生长率、细胞数量和叶绿素a含量明显低于正常条件和P限制组(N;P=64:1);威氏海链藻生长对N的变化比中肋骨条藻更为敏感,吸收外界无机氮的速率更快.营养盐充足的情况下,水体中藻细胞的氮磷比变化会较小,但由于"奢侈消费"现象的存在,在出现营养盐限制时,细胞的氮磷比组成会跟随环境的氮磷比改变,在氮限制的条件下,细胞的氮磷比会相应减少,而相反在磷限制的条件下,细胞的氮磷比会明显增加.     

Role of large particles in the transport of elements and organic compounds through the oceanic water column

During the past decade data from a variety of sources have been obtained which show conclusively that the relatively rare, large particles sinking through the water column are responsible for the majority of the downward vertical mass flux in the sea. This finding has important implications for understanding the transfer, distribution and fate of elements and organic compounds in marine waters. The “large” (> 100 μm) detrital particles responsible for vertical flux are primarily biogenic and range in size and composition from small, discrete fecal pellets and plankton hard parts to large, amorphous aggregates or “snow” which contain both organic and inorganic constituents. Depending on size, shape and density, these particles sink at rates ranging from <1 to >1000 m day⁻¹. Several methods have been developed for sampling these particles of which in situ sediment trapping has probably furnished the most comprehensive qualitative and quantitative information on the role large particles play in material transport. Flux studies have highlighted the importance of marine heterotrophs in packaging fine, suspended particulate matter into large rapidly sinking particles which accelerate the movement of incorporated materials to depth. Large particle production via biological packaging is not restricted to the euphotic zone but can occur at all depths and information is now accruing on rates of production of large particles in the water column. Chemical analyses of sedimenting particles collected in sediment traps and those sampled by other means have allowed quantifying vertical fluxes and residence times of elements, radionuclides and organic compounds (natural and anthropogenic) in various oceanic regimes. Pertinent studies dealing with the above aspects are reviewed and several areas for future research are suggested.     

Understanding the export of biogenic particles in oceanic waters: Is there consensus?

We examine progress towards a global view of oceanic export of particulate organic carbon (POC) and other nutrient elements (P, N, Si) from the surface (upper 100 m), through the subsurface, to the deep sea (>1000 m), focusing on syntheses published since 1999 and on the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study. Food-web structure is important, and surface and subsurface processes contribute similarly to determine the fraction of net primary production (NPP) reaching the deep sea. NPP by large cells generally favours high surface export of POC. Preferential remineralization of P and N (versus C) with depth is common, as is regional variation in subsurface POC flux attenuation.The role of mineral fluxes is complex. Annual mean fluxes of POC and minerals are correlated in global deep sediment trap records, but causality and the relative importance of different minerals depends on the assumptions made. Time-series observations at single sites can oppose the geographic trends, and their large seasonal variability in the contribution of POC to total flux is at odds with mechanistic models for POC transport by minerals. Despite generally positive correlations between biogenic carbonate and POC fluxes, the overall role of carbonate export is to decrease the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ocean. Both autotrophs and heterotrophs produce minerals, and progress in separating these contributions is required for the deconvolution of mineral ballast and food-web effects.Many recent models suggest global surface POC export of ∼10 GTC/yr, despite widely varying biological complexity. This limits the usefulness of their prediction of ecosystem and carbon cycle responses to global change. Progress requires better observations for model validation, and more efforts to relate the models to the observed complexity, rather than to overly simplified global syntheses. We advocate more time-series stations targeting under-studied biogeochemical regions, development of automated in situ tools for study of the subsurface ocean, and increased emphasis on combining ecological and biogeochemical methods.     

Effects of salinity and clay type on oil-mineral aggregation

Effects of salinity and clay type on the aggregation process of crude oil and clay particles (oil-mineral aggregates--OMA) were studied in the laboratory. OMA were generated by shaking various oil/clay mixtures in water at 20 degrees C and at a pre-determined energy level. Shape, median and maximum sizes, size distribution and concentration of oil droplets forming OMA were measured using epi-fluorescence microscopy. Results showed that the median and maximum sizes and the concentration of mineral-stabilized droplets increase rapidly when salinity increases from zero to a critical aggregation salinity in the range of 1.2-3.5 ppt. The magnitude of the increase of droplet size is controlled by clay type, while the increase of droplet concentration is influenced by oil type. Size distributions of oil droplets are self-similar, but their magnitudes depend on salinity and oil type. The effect of salinity on droplet size distribution is strongly influenced by clay type. Empirical relationships are derived to calculate concentration and size distribution of mineral-stabilized droplets.     

Lower Cd/P ratio in settling particles than in surface seawater in the Okinawa Trough

The characteristics of the ratios between cadmium (Cd) and phosphorus (P) in settling particles collected from the Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea were examined using a sediment trap, moored at a depth of 811 m for one year. The Cd/P ratios varied within a narrow range throughout the year, in spite of the large seasonal change in the total dry mass, Cd, and P fluxes. The average Cd/P ratio of settling particles was 0.062 (nmol/μmol), which was obviously lower than that of surface seawater around the study site (0.16). This lower ratio in the Okinawa Trough particles collected using the 811 m-moored trap certainly reflected the mixture of biologically produced organic matter around the study site and other components that were mainly transported as lateral flux from the shelf edge and slope area of the East China Sea.     

Relationship between the oceanic geoid and the structure of the oceanic lithosphere

Data from the GEOS 3 and SEASAT Satellites have provided a very accurate geoid map over the oceans. Broad bathymetric features in the oceans such as oceanic swells and plateaus are fully compensated. For these features it can be shown that the geoid anomalies due to the density structure of the lithosphere are proportional to the first moment of the density distribution. Deepening of the ocean basins is attributed to thermal isostasy. The thickness of the oceanic lithosphere increases with age due to the loss of heat to the sea floor. Bathymetry and the geoid provide constraints on the extent of this heat loss. Offsets in the geoid across major fracture zones can also be used to constrain this problem. Geoid-bathymetry correlations show that the Hawaiian and Bermuda swells and the Cape Verde Rise are probably due to lithospheric thinning. A similar correlation for the Walvis Ridge and Agulhas Plateau indicates that these features are probably due to an anomalously light mantle lithosphere.     

盐度波动和蛋白质/碳水化合物比值对凡纳滨对虾存活和生长的影响

本实验探讨了盐度波动（S0和S10）和蛋白质/碳水化合物比值（P/C：4.1、1.9、1.0和0.6）对凡纳滨对虾存活和生长的影响。实验周期35天。结果表明：I）随着饲料中P/C比值的降低,对虾特定生长率和吸收效率呈下降趋势,而饲料系数呈上升趋势。在盐度波动S0处理中,4.1P/C比值饲料组对虾的摄食量和特定生长率显著高于1.0和0.6P/C比值饲料组;而在盐度波动S10处理中,各P/C比值饲料处理组差异不显著。II）4.1和1.9P/C比值饲料处理组中,S0盐度波动处理组对虾的摄食量和特定生长率高于S10盐度波动处理组;而1.0和0.6P/C比值饲料处理组中,S0盐度波动处理组对虾的摄食量和特定生长率低于S10盐度波动处理组的对虾。对于4个P/C比值处理组,S0盐度波动处理组的对虾饲料系数最低。     

Effects of the surface wave-induced mixing on circulation in an isopycnal-coordinate oceanic circulation model

The influence of the nonbreaking surface wave-induced mixing under the mixed layer on the oceanic circulation was investigated using an isopycnal-coordinate oceanic circulation model. The effect of the wave-induced mixing within the mixed layer was eliminated via a bulk mixed layer model. The results show that the wave-induced mixing can penetrate through the mixed layer and into the oceanic interior. The wave-induced mixing under the mixed layer has an important effect on the distribution of temperature of the upper ocean at middle and high latitudes in summer, especially the structure of the seasonal thermocline. Moreover, the wave-induced mixing can affect the oceanic circulation, such as western boundary currents and the North Equatorial Currents through changes of sea surface height associated with the variation of the thermal structure of the upper ocean.     

The effect of pressure on leucine and thymidine incorporation by free-living bacteria and by bacteria attached to sinking oceanic particles

The effect of pressure on upper ocean free-living bacteria and bacteria attached to rapidly sinking particles was investigated through studying their ability to synthesize DNA and protein by measuring their rate of ³H-thymidine and ³H-leucine incorporation. Studies were carried out on samples from the NE Atlantic under the range of pressures (1–430 atm) encountered by sinking aggregates during their journey to the deep-sea bed. Thymidine and leucine incorporation rates per bacterium attached to sinking particles from 200 m were about six and ten times higher, respectively, than the free-living bacterial assemblage. The ratio of leucine incorporation rate per cell to thymidine incorporation rate per cell was significantly different between the larger attached (18.9:1) and smaller free-living (10.4:1) assemblages. The rates of leucine and thymidine incorporation decreased exponentially with increasing pressure for the free-living and linearly for attached bacteria, while there was no significant influence of pressure on cell numbers. At 100 atm leucine and thymidine incorporation rate per free-living bacterium was reduced to 73 and 20%, respectively, relative to that measured at 1 atm. Pressure of 100 atm reduced leucine and thymidine incorporation per attached bacterium to 94 and 70%, and at 200 atm these rates were reduced to 34 and 51%, respectively, relative to those measured at 1 atm. There was no significant uncoupling of thymidine and leucine incorporation for either the free-living or attached bacterial assemblages with increasing pressure, indicating that the processess of DNA and protein synthesis may be equally affected by increasing pressure. It is therefore unlikely that bacteria, originating from surface waters, attached to rapidly sinking particles play a role in particle remineralization below approximately 1000–2000 m. These results may help to explain the occurrence of relatively fresh aggregates on the deep-sea bed that still contain sufficient organic carbon to fuel the rapid growth of benthic micro-organisms; they also indicate that the effect of pressure on microbial processes may be important in oceanic biogeochemical cycles.     

碳氮比对移动床生物膜反应器处理海水养殖废水性能的影响

本文研究碳氮(C/N)比变化对移动床生物膜反应器(MBBR)处理海水养殖废水性能的影响.结果表明,当C/N比从7:1降至3:1,出水COD浓度无明显变化,平均去除率保持在90％以上.C/N比的变化对脱氮过程有较大影响,当C/N比从7:1降低至3:1,NH+4-N去除率由89.51％±1.24％增至92.70％±1.08...     

中国南海区1992-2012年的中尺度涡旋演化过程表达与统计分析

Automated identification and tracking of mesoscale ocean eddies has recently become one research hotspot in physical oceanography. Several methods have been developed and applied to survey the general kinetic and geometric characteristics of the ocean eddies in the South China Sea（SCS）. However, very few studies attempt to examine eddies＇ internal evolution processes. In this study, we reported a hybrid method to trace eddies＇ propagation in the SCS based on their internal structures, which are characterized by eddy centers, footprint borders, and composite borders. Eddy identification and tracking results were represented by a GIS-based spatiotemporal model. Information on instant states, dynamic evolution processes, and events of disappearance, reappearance, split, and mergence is stored in a GIS database. Results were validated by comparing against the ten Dongsha Cyclonic Eddies（DCEs） and the three long-lived anticyclonic eddies（ACEs） in the northern SCS, which were reported in previous literature. Our study confirmed the development of these eddies. Furthermore, we found more DCE-like and ACE-like eddies in these areas from 2005 to 2012 in our database. Spatial distribution analysis of disappearing, reappearing, splitting, and merging activities shows that eddies in the SCS tend to cluster to the northwest of Luzon Island, southwest of Luzon Strait, and around the marginal sea of Vietnam. Kuroshio intrusions and the complex sea floor topography in these areas are the possible factors that lead to these spatial clusters.     

不同配比饲料对刺参C、N、P营养盐收支的影响

本实验采用5种含有不同比例(即20∶80、40∶60、60∶40、80∶20和100∶0)的鼠尾藻和海泥的颗粒饲料喂养刺参(Apostichopus japonicus),并比较了不同饲料条件下刺参C、N、P营养盐的收支过程。结果表明:刺参C、N、P营养盐收支过程和饲料中鼠尾藻的含量显著相关(P<0.05)。刺参的摄食率和排粪率随着饲料中鼠尾藻含量的增加而显著降低(P<0.05);刺参的耗氧率、排氨率、排磷率,以及对C、N、P营养盐的摄入率、生长余力和吸收效率均随着饲料中鼠尾藻含量的增加而显著变大(P<0.05)。当饲料中鼠尾藻添加量大于60%时,刺参对营养元素的生长余力和吸收效率无显著变化(P>0.05),因此对于成参而言,饲料中鼠尾藻和海泥的比例为60∶40是较为理想的配制比例,既可以满足刺参生长代谢所需要的主要营养元素,又能够最大限度地减少刺参养殖活动营养盐的排放。     

The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading

The northeastern high-latitude North Atlantic is characterised by the Bellsund and Isfjorden fans on the continental slope off west Svalbard, the asymmetrical ultraslow Knipovich spreading ridge and a 1,000 m deep rift valley. Recently collected multichannel seismic profiles and bathymetric records now provide a more complete picture of sedimentary processes and depositional environments within this region. Both downslope and alongslope sedimentary processes are identified in the study area. Turbidity currents and deposition of glacigenic debris flows are the dominating downslope processes, whereas mass failures, which are a common process on glaciated margins, appear to have been less significant. The slide debrite observed on the Bellsund Fan is most likely related to a 2.5–1.7 Ma old failure on the northwestern Barents Sea margin. The seismic records further reveal that alongslope current processes played a major role in shaping the sediment packages in the study area. Within the Knipovich rift valley and at the western rift flank accumulations as thick as 950–1,000 m are deposited. We note that oceanic basement is locally exposed within the rift valley, and that seismostratigraphic relationships indicate that fault activity along the eastern rift flank lasted until at least as recently as 1.5 Ma. A purely hemipelagic origin of the sediments in the rift valley and on the western rift flank is unlikely. We suggest that these sediments, partly, have been sourced from the western Svalbard—northwestern Barents Sea margin and into the Knipovich Ridge rift valley before continuous spreading and tectonic activity caused the sediments to be transported out of the valley and westward.