A NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE TIDE-SURGE INTERACTION IN THE EAST CHINA SEA AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

Nearshore sea levels in the East China Sea(ECS) and the South China Sea(SCS) during tropical cyclones-Typhoon 8007(Joe, 1980) and Typhoon 7209(Betty 1972) were simulated. The tide-surge interactions in the two regions are remarkable and locally produced. The corresponding nonlinear effects were derived from the different nonlinear terms. The contribution of the quadratic friction term is the most important, the shallow term comes second the convective term is the least; the phases of the interactions generated by the various nonlinear terms are asynchronous. Both the quadratic friction and the convective term can stimulate and aggravate the surge structure with more peaks. The bottom friction features have crucial influences on tides and surges, and the interaction is sensitive to the changes of tide and surge.     

Using geochemistry of rare earth elements to indicate sediment provenance of sand ridges in southwestern Yellow Sea

The Jianggang Harbour-centered radial sand ridge (RSR) is the largest sand body in the Yellow Sea. Its formation and evolution are of interest for scientists of various fields; however, the sediment provenance is uncertain. In this study, rare earth element (REE) geochemical compositions of the RSR sediments together with their potential sources are investigated to identify the provenance of the RSR sediments. The typical parameters ((La/Yb)N, (La/Sm)N and (Gd/Yb)N) as well as the upper continental crust-normalized patterns of REEs can only be associated with source rocks, and thus can be used as effective tracers for the origin and sources of sediments. However, the REE contents of sediments are affected by many factors, such as particle sorting and chemical weathering. Onshore RSR sediments are different in REE geochemical composition from offshore RSR sediments to some extent, suggesting that not all of the offshore RSR sediments have the same sources as the onshore RSR sediments. Meanwhile, the sediments adjacent to the northeast of Cheju Island and at Lian Island near the Lianyun Harbour were not the source of the RSR sediments due to their distinctive REE patterns, δEu, (La/Yb)N, (Gd/Yb)N and (La/Sm)N. The Korean river sediments could be dispersed to the Jiangsu Coast slightly impacting the fine fractions of the RSR sediments, particularly the offshore RSR sediments. Additionally, geochemical comparisons show that the modern Yellow River was responsible for the onshore RSR sediments, whereas the sediment loads from the Yangtze River could serve as a major contributor to the RSR, particularly the offshore RSR. In addition, the offshore RSR could also be partly fed by an unknown source due to some high values of (La/Yb)N, (La/Sm)N and La contents differing from those of the Chinese and Korean river sediments.     

NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF WAVES AND TIDE-SURGE INTERACTION ON TIDE-SURGES IN THE BOHAI SEA

Abstract The author‘s combined numerical model consisting of a third generation shallow water wave model and a 3-D tide-surge model with wave-dependent surface wind stress were used to study the influence of waves on fide-surge motion. For the typical weather case, in this study, the magnitude and mechanism of the influence of waves on tide-surges in the Bohai Sea were revealed for the first time. The results showed that although consideration of the wave-dependent surface wind stresses raise slightly the traditional surface wind stress, due to the accumulated effects, the computed results are improved on the whole. Storm level maximum modulation can reach 0.4 m. The results computed by the combined model agreed well with the measured data.     

Lipids and fatty acids in Calanus sinicus during over-summering in the southern Yellow Sea

Over-summering is a crucial period for Calanus sinicus in the southern Yellow Sea,where it is a key member of the zooplankton community.Lipids play an important role in copepod diapause,which is part of their over-summering strategy.We investigated how different fatty acids and lipid classes,including wax esters,changed during over-summering of C.sinicus during three cruises in June and August 2011 and November 2010,corresponding to the pre-,during and post-diapause periods,respectively.Large amounts of lipids were accumulated,mainly wax esters as previously found in C.finmarchicus during its diapause,and most of the storage lipids were used during over-summering.Wax ester polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFAs) showed the most variation of the fatty acids(FAs),while the percentage composition of FAs in polar lipids was relatively stable.Selective use of wax ester PUFAs has already been shown to play important roles in the winter diapause of Calanus species in other regions,and our FA results show that this is the case for the Yellow Sea Cold Bottom Water(YSCBW) population that diapauses in summer.     

Modern changes of tidal troughs among the radial sand ridges in northern Jiangsu coastal zone

Using satellite images taken on different dates,GIS analysis of aerial photos,bathymetric maps and other field survey data,tidal troughs and major sand ridges in the northern Jiangsu coastal area were contrasted.The results show that there have been three types of movement or migration of tidal trough in this area:(1) Periodic and restricted,this type of trough usually developed along the beaches with immobile gully head as a result of the artificial dams and the swing range increased from gully head to the...     

Current observations in the southern Yellow Sea in summer

Current data from three moored Acoustic Doppler Profilers (ADPs) deployed in the southern Yellow Sea at sites A (1-24.17°E, 34.82°N), B (122.82°E, 35.65°N) in summer 2001 and site C (120.85°E, 34.99°N) in summer 2003 were analyzed in this paper. Features of the tidal and residual currents were studied with rotary spectral and cross-spectral methods. Main achievements were as follows: 1) Tides dominated the currents. At sites A and B, the semidiurnal tidal current was basically homogeneous in the whole depth, taking a clockwise rotation at site A, and near-rectilinear counterclockwise rotation at site B; while the diurnal tidal current was strong and clockwise near the surface, but decreased and turned counterclockwise with depth; at site C, semidiurnal tidal current dominated and diurnal current took the second, both of which were counterclockwise and vertically homogeneous. Inertial motion contributed to the clockwise component of diurnal fluctuations; 2) The 3-5d fluctuation of residual current w     

Influence of sequential tropical cyclones on phytoplankton blooms in the northwestern South China Sea

Upper ocean responses to the passage of sequential tropical cyclones over the northwestern South China Sea(SCS) in 2011 were investigated using satellite remote sensing data,Argo reanalysis data,and an array of mooring data.We found that the sea surface low temperature region lasted for more than 38 days and two phytoplankton blooms occurred after the passage of sequential tropical cyclones.The upper ocean cooling reached 2-5℃ with a right-side bias was observed along the typhoon track to about 200 km.The maintenance of low temperature region and the two phytoplankton blooms were mainly driven by upwelling and near-inertial turbulence mixing induced by the sequential tropical cyclones.The first phytoplankton bloom appeared on the 7~(th) day after the passage of the three tropical cyclones,and the chlorophyll-a(chl-a) concentration increased by 226%,which may be mainly driven by typhoons induced upwelling.The second phytoplankton bloom occurred on the 30~(th) day,the chl-a concentration increased by290%.Further analysis suggested that only the typhoons with similar characteristics as Nesat and Nalgae can induce strong near-inertial oscillation(NIO).Strong turbulent mixing associated with the near-inertial baroclinic shear instability lasted for 26 days.The measured mean eddy diffusivity in the upper ocean was above 10~(-4) m~2/s after typhoon Nesat.Enhancement of the turbulent mixing in the upper ocean helped to transport nutrient-rich cold waters from the deep layer to the euphotic layer,and is a maj or mechanism for the long-term maintenance of low temperature region as well as the second phytoplankton bloom.     

The Upper Ocean Thermal Structure and the Genesis Locations of Tropical Cyclones in the South China Sea

The relationship between the upper ocean thermal structure and the genesis locations of tropical cyclones （TCs） in the South China Sea （SCS） is investigated by using the Joint Typhoon Warning Center （JTWC） best-track archives and high resolution （1/4 degree） temperature analyses of the world＇s oceans in this paper In the monthly mean genesis positions of TCs from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, the mean sea surface temperature （SST） was 28.8℃ and the mean depth of 26℃ water was 53.1 m. From the monthly distribution maps of genesis positions of TCs, SST and the depth of 26℃ water in the SCS, we discovered that there existed regions with SST exceeding 26℃ and 26℃ water depth exceeding 50m where no tropical cyclones formed from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, which suggests that there were other factors unfavorable for TC formation in these regions.     

Rotary spectrum analysis of tidal current in the southern Yellow Sea

A complete set of one-month Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADP) current data at a station in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) is analyzed using the rotary spectrum method. The results revealed different rotary properties between barotropic and baroclinic tidal currents. The barotropic and baroclinic tidal currents rotate elliptically counter-clockwise and clockwise, respectively. Meanwhile, baroclinic bottom tidal currents are almost along-isobath. The baroclinic cross-isobath velocities attenuate quickly at the bottom, implying important effects of bottom topography on the cross-isobath motions.     

Seasonal variations of net-phytoplankton community structure in the southern Yellow Sea

Based on the field survey data of four cruises in 2011, all phytoplankton communities in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) were investigated for the species composition, dominant species, abundance and diversity indices. A total of 379 species belonging to 9 phyla were identified, of which the most abundant group was Bacillariophyta (60.9%), followed by Pyrrophyta (23.7%) and Haptophyta (6.9%). The seasonal distribution of abundance was: summer (4137.1×10³ ind m^?3) > spring (3940.4×10³ ind m^?3) > winter (3010.6×10³ ind m^?3) > autumn (340.8 ×10³ ind m^?3), while the horizontal distribution showed a decreasing tendency from inshore to offshore regions. The dominant species of phytoplankton varied in different seasons. The dominant species were Thalassiosira pacifica, Skeletoema spp. and Chaetoceros cinctus in spring, Chaetoceros debbilis, Chaetoceros pseudocurvisetus and Chaetoceros curvisetus in summer, Thalassiosira curviseriata, Alexandrium catenella and Ceratium fusus in autumn, Paralia sulcata, Phaeocystis sp. and Bacillaria paradoxa in winter, respectively. In SYS, the group of temperate coastal species was the major ecotype, and the groups of the central SYS species and oceanic species were also important constituents. The average values of Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H’) and Pielou evenness index (J) were 2.37 and 0.65 respectively. The indices H’ and J in the open sea were higher than those in coastal waters. Obvious co-variation tendencies between H’ and J were observed in all but the summer cruise of this survey.     

Statistical analysis of intensity variations in tropical cyclones in the East China Sea passing over the Kuroshio

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Intensity variations of the SE-NW-oriented tropical cyclones (TC) in the East China Sea (ECS) passing over the Kuroshio are studied using multi-year...     

Trophic interactions, ecosystem structure and function in the southern Yellow Sea

The southern Yellow Sea is an important fishing ground, providing abundant fishery resources. However, overfishing and climate change have caused a decline in the resource and damaged the ecosystem. We developed an ecosystem model to analyze the trophic interactions and ecosystem structure and function to guide sustainable development of the ecosystem. A trophic mass-balance model of the southern Yellow Sea during 2000–2001 was constructed using Ecopath with Ecosim software. We defined 22 important functional groups and studied their diet composition. The trophic levels of fish, shrimp, crabs, and cephalopods were between 2.78 and 4.39, and the mean trophic level of the fisheries was 3.24. The trophic flows within the food web occurred primarily in the lower trophic levels. The mean trophic transfer efficiency was 8.1%, of which 7.1% was from primary producers and 9.3% was from detritus within the ecosystem. The transfer efficiency between trophic levels II to III to IV to V to >V was 5.0%, 5.7%, 18.5%, and 19.7%–20.4%, respectively. Of the total flow, phytoplankton contributed 61% and detritus contributed 39%. Fishing is defined as a top predator within the ecosystem, and has a negative impact on most commercial species. Moreover, the ecosystem had a high gross efficiency of the fishery and a high value of primary production required to sustain the fishery. Together, our data suggest there is high fishing pressure in the southern Yellow Sea. Based on analysis of Odum’s ecological parameters, this ecosystem was at an immature stage. Our results provide some insights into the structure and development of this ecosystem.     

Interannual variability of the southern Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass

Temperature data collected in the sections of 34°N, 35°N and 36°N in August from 1975 through 2003 were analyzed using Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) to investigate interannual variability of the southern Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM). The first mode (EOF1) reveals variations of basin-wide thermocline depth, which is mainly caused by surface heating. The second mode (EOF2) presents fluctuations of vertical circulation, resulting mainly from interannual variability of cold front intensity. In addition, it is found that the upward extent of upwelling in the cold front is basically determined by wind stress curl and the zonal position of the warm water center in the southern Yellow Sea is correlated with spatial difference of net heat flux.     

Current status of small yellow croaker resources in the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

We used data from bottom trawl surveys to study the factors influencing the abundance of small yellow croaker, Larimichthys polyactis, in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and the East China Sea (ECS). The resource density index (RDI) was generally higher in summer and autumn than in spring and winter. RDIs were also significantly greater in the SYS than in the ECS in summer and autumn. The bottom water salinity and depth of spatial distribution of small yellow croaker was similar between the two areas in summer, but different in other seasons. Regression analysis suggested that environmental factors such as bottom water temperature, salinity, and depth influenced the RDIs in summer in these areas. Growth condition factor (GCF) in the two areas varied monthly and the croaker in the SYS grew more slowly than those in the ECS. This was likely due to the low bottom temperature of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass in summer and autumn or to higher human fishing pressure in the ECS. To ensure sustainable utilization of the croaker stocks in these regions, we recommend reducing the fishing intensity, increasing the cod-end mesh size, and improving the protection of juveniles.     

MONITORING THE DIFFUSION OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS AND STABILITY OF TIDAL RADIAL SAND RIDGES AREA USING MULTI-SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING DATA

Nine Landsat TM tapes and images and MSS images, 10 NOAA tapes and images and 1 SAR image from 1973 to 1997 were used to analyse the diffusion of suspended sediments and the change of tidal radial sand ridges in the northern part of the Changjiang River delta, the South Yellow Sea. The results showed that the diffusion of suspended sediments was controlled by the tide, net current, and submarine topography in this area. The distribution of suspended sediments had close relationship with thesubmarine topography. The old Huanghe River delta and the Changjiang River comprise the main sediment supply for the formation of radial sand ridges, whose evolution can be divided into three stages since the Huangbe River changed its course and flowed northward into the Bohai Sea.     

Statistic characteristics of thermal structure in the southern Yellow Sea in summer

Based on the temperature data along 34°N, 35°N and 36°N sections in August from 1977 to 2003, the structure and formation of the Southern Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (SYSCWM) and its responses to El Nino events are analyzed. Results show that: (1) There exist double cold cores under the main thermocline along the 35°N and 36°N sections. Also, double warm cores exist above the main thermocline along the 36°N section. (2) Thermocline dome by upwelling separates the upper warm water into two parts, the eastern and western warm waters. Additionally, the circulation structure caused by upwelling along the cold front and northeastward current along the coast in summer is the main reasons of double warm cores along the 36°N section. The intermediate cold water is formed in early spring and moves eastward slowly, which results in the formation of the western one of double cold cores. (3) Position of the thermocline dome and its intensity vary interannually, which is related to El Nino events. However, the     

Biodiversity of free-living marine nematodes in the southern Yellow Sea,China

Biodiversity patterns of free-living marine nematodes were studied using specific,taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity measures in the southern Yellow Sea,China.The results showed that the average of Shannon-Wiener diversity index(H′) in the study area was 3.17.The higher values were distributed in the east part of Shandong coastal waters and north part of Jiangsu coastal waters,while the lower values were distributed in the southern Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass(YSCWM).The average of taxonomic diversity(Δ) was 62.09 in the study region.The higher values were distributed in the transitional areas between the coastal areas and the southern YSCWM,while the lower values were distributed near the north part of Jiangsu coastal waters and the YSCWM.Results of correlation analysis of species diversity and taxonomic diversity showed that some of the two kinds of diversity index were independent,which suggested that combining the two kinds of diversity indices can reflect the ecological characteristics better.A test for 95% probability funnels of average taxonomic distinctness and variation in taxonomic distinctness suggested that Station 8794(in the YSCWM) was outside of the 95% probability funnels,which may be due to the environmental stress.Results of correlation analysis between marine nematodes biodiversity and environmental variables showed that the sediment characteristics(Md? and Silt-clay fraction) and phaeophorbide a(Pha-a) were the most important factors to determine the biodiversity patterns of marine nematodes.     

Wintertime meso-scale horizontal distribution of large tintinnids in the southern Yellow Sea

Spatial distribution of some large tintinnid species (nominally > 76 μm) is investigated on samples vertically towed in the southern Yellow Sea in winters of 2001 to 2004. Nine tintinnid species are recorded: Codonellopsis morchella, Stenosemella pacifica, S. steini, Tintinnopsis schotti, T. radix, T. karajacensis, Eutintinnus tenuis, Parafavella sp., Leprotintinnus neriticus, of which C. morchella and T. radix dominated in the warm tongue-shaped zone of the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC), and S. pacifica i...     

Observation of currents in the southern Yellow Sea in the summers of 2001 and 2003

Long term current observations in the southern Yellow Sea are very scarce because of the intense fishing and trawling activities. Most of the previous studies on tides and circulation were not rigorously validated with direct current measurements. In this study, tidal and sub-tidal currents were examined using current profiles from three bottom-moored Sontek Acoustic Doppler Profilers （ADPs） deployed in the southern Yellow Sea in the summers of 2001 and 2003. The measured current time series were dominated by tidal currents. The maximum velocities were between 40-80 cm s^-1 at the mooring stations. The M2 current was the dominant primary tidal constituent, while the MS4 and M4 components produced the most significant shallow water tidal currents with much weaker amplitudes. The measured mean sub-tidal velocities were less than 5 cmsl. The mean flows in the lower layer implied that an anti-cyclonic circulation pattern might exist in the deeper central Yellow Sea. However, the previously expected cyclonic circulation pattern in the upper layer was not clearly shown by the observations.     

Seasonal variations of several main water masses in the southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea in 2011

The seasonal variations of several main water masses in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and East China Sea (ECS) in 2011 were analyzed using the in-situ data collected on four cruises. There was something special in the observations for the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC), the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM) and the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) during that year. The YSWC was confirmed to be a seasonal current and its source was closely associated with the Kuroshio onshore intrusion and the northerly wind. It was also found that the YSCWM in the summer of 2011 occupied a more extensive area in comparison with the climatologically-mean case due to the abnormally powerful wind prevailing in the winter of 2010 and decaying gradually thereafter. Resulting from the reduced Changjiang River discharge, the CDW spreading toward the Cheju Island in the summer of 2011 was weaker than the long-term mean and was confined to flow southward in the other seasons. The other water masses seemed normal without noticeable anomalies in 2011. The Yellow Sea Coastal Current (YSCC) water, driven by the northerly wind, flowed southeastward as a whole except for its northeastward surface layer in summer. The Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) was the strongest in summer and the weakest in winter in its northward movement. The Kuroshio water with an enhanced onshore intrusion in autumn was stable in hydrographic features apart from the seasonal variation of its surface layer.