Coastal upwelling and downwelling events in the Seto Inland Sea

Prominent coastal upwelling and downwelling events due to Ekman transport were observed during the period from 14 to 18 August 1983 along the Misaki Peninsula in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The coastline of the Misaki Peninsula is aligned approximately in an ENE-WSW direction. When an ENE wind continued blowing for about two days, the warm water in the upper layer was pushed offshore and cold water in the lower layer upwelled along the peninsula. The estimated upwelling speed 3 m below the sea surface was 0.032 cm sec^–1. On the other hand, when a WSW wind continued blowing for about two days the warm water in the upper layer sank into the lower layer along the peninsula. The estimated downwelling speed 3 m below the sea surface was 0.080 cm sec^–1. The time lag between the variations of the alongshore wind and offshore current was about 0.5 days.     

Exchange of water in a stratified estuary with an application to Krka (Adriatic Sea)

A method of computing the exchange time of freshwater and marine water in a stratified estuary is presented. The method is based on the inflow of the river and its tributaries, the depth of the halocline and salinity in the upper brackish water layer. Exchange time of freshwater and seawater in the Krka Estuary is shorter during winter than during summer. During winter the exchange time of freshwater is between 6 and 20 days, whereas during summer it is up to 80 days. The exchange time of marine water during winter is from 50 to 100 days, whereas during summer it lengthens to 250 days. The renewal time of water in the Krka Estuary as a whole may be approximated by the exchange time.     

三沙永乐龙洞悬浮体垂直分布特征及其影响因素

为研究中国唯一已知、全球最深海洋蓝洞的形成、发育和演化机制,应用LISST-100X现场激光粒度仪、CTD温盐仪等搭载工作级水下机器人,于2017年5月在三沙永乐龙洞进行了悬浮体、温盐剖面测量,获得了全洞深的悬浮体体积浓度、温盐和溶解氧等数据,并进行了悬浮体垂向分布特征研究。研究结果表明,洞内90 m以下水体为无氧环境,悬浮体浓度呈现5个变化旋回,温度、盐度均存在3个跃层,并且它们之间有着较好的对应关系。龙洞内水体表层悬浮体总浓度约为20 μL/L,悬浮体平均浓度值为5.93 μL/L。悬浮体旋回层Ⅰ位于5 m以浅水层;旋回层Ⅱ位于10～43 m之间,与第一个温盐跃层(深度10～20 m)部分对应;旋回层Ⅲ位于70～110 m之间,与第二个温盐跃层(深度70～110 m)完全对应;旋回层Ⅳ位于130～150 m之间,与第三个温盐跃层(深度130～150 m)完全对应;旋回层Ⅴ位于260 m以深至洞底300 m。龙洞表层悬浮体浓度较高,主要是受到洞外周边珊瑚礁松散沉积物输入的影响。洞内悬浮体垂直分布特征主要受到水动力、洞体形态、温盐跃层、溶解氧含量以及浮游生物等的控制和影响。     

南海等密度面环流季节变化的数值模拟研究

In this study, we develop a variable-grid global ocean general circulation model(OGCM) with a fine grid(1/6)°covering the area from 20°S–50°N and from 99°–150°E, and use the model to investigate the isopycnal surface circulation in the South China Sea(SCS). The simulated results show four layer structures in vertical: the surface and subsurface circulation of the SCS are characterized by the monsoon driven circulation, with basin-scaled cyclonic gyre in winter and anti-cyclonic gyre in summer. The intermediate layer circulation is opposite to the upper layer, showing anti-cyclonic gyre in winter but cyclonic gyre in summer. The circulation in the deep layer is much weaker in spring and summer, with the maximum velocity speed below 0.6 cm/s. In fall and winter, the SCS deep layer circulation shows strong east boundary current along the west coast of Philippine with the velocity speed at 1.5 m/s, which flows southward in fall and northward in winter. The results have also revealed a fourlayer vertical structure of water exchange through the Luzon Strait. The dynamics of the intermediate and deep circulation are attributed to the monsoon driving and the Luzon Strait transport forcing.     

Structure of the phytoplankton communities and primary production in the Ob River estuary and over the adjacent Kara Sea shelf

The material was collected in the Ob River estuary and over the adjacent shallow Kara Sea shelf between 71°14′0 and 75°33′0N at the end of September 2007. Latitudinal zoning in the phytoplankton distribution was demonstrated; this zoning was determined by the changes in the salinity and concentration of nutrients. Characteristic of the phytocenosis in the southern desalinated zone composed of freshwater species of diatom and green algae were the high population density (1.5 × 10⁶ cells/l), biomass (210 μgC/l), chlorophyll concentration (4.5 μg/l), and uniform distribution in the water column. High primary production (∼40 μgC/l/day) was recorded in the upper 1.5-m layer. The estuarine frontal zone located to the north contained a halocline at a depth of 3–5 m. Freshwater species with low population density (2.5 × 10⁵ cells/l), biomass (24 μgC/l), and chlorophyll concentration (1.5 μg/l) dominated above the halocline. Marine diatom algae, dinoflagellates, and autotrophic flagellates formed a considerable part of the phytocenosis below the halocline; the community characteristics were twofold lower as compared with the upper layer. The maximal values of the primary production (∼10 μgC/l per day) were recorded in the upper 1.5-m layer. The phytocenosis in the seaward zone was formed by marine alga species and was considerably poorer as compared with the frontal zone. The assimilation numbers at the end of the vegetation season in the overall studied area were low, amounting to 0.4–1.0 μgC/μgChl/h in the upper layer and 0.03–0.1 μgC/μgChl/h under the pycnocline.     

Line P ocean temperature and salinity, 1956-2005

Vertical profiles of temperature and salinity have been measured for 50 years along Line P between the North American west coast and mid Gulf of Alaska. These measurements extend 1425 km into the gulf at 13 or more sampling stations. The 10-50-m deep layer of Line P increased in temperature by 0.9 °C from 1958 to 2005, but is significant only at the 90% level due to large interannual variability. Most of this increase in temperature accompanies the 1977 shift in wind patterns. Temperature changes at 100-150 m and salinity changes in both layers are not statistically significant. Much of the variance in temperature is in the upper 50 m of Line P, and temperature changes tend to be uniform along Line P except for waters on the continental margin. Salinity changes are dominated by variability in the halocline between 100 and 150 m depth and are less uniform along Line P. Largest oscillations in temperature and salinity are between 1993 and 2003. These events can be understood by considering changes in eastward wind speed and wind patterns that are revealed in the first two modes of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Changes in these patterns are indicators for both Ekman surface forcing (Surface ocean currents flow to the right of the wind direction) and Ekman pumping (Surface waters diverge away from regions of positive wind stress curl, leading to upwelling of colder saltier water). Changes in temperature along the nearshore part of Line P suggest Ekman surface forcing is the stronger of the two processes in the upper layer. The change in salinity anomalies in the halocline along the seaward end of Line P, following the wind shift in 1977, is in agreement with enhanced upwelling caused by stronger Ekman pumping in this region.     

Sensor-based profiles of the NO parameter in the central Arctic and southern Canada Basin: New insights regarding the cold halocline

Here we report the first optical, sensor-based profiles of nitrate from the central Makarov and Amundsen and southern Canada Basins of the Arctic Ocean. These profiles were obtained as part of the International Polar Year program during spring 2007 and 2008 field seasons of the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO) and Beaufort Gyre Exploration Program (BGEP). These nitrate data were combined with in-situ, sensor-based profiles of dissolved oxygen to derive the first high-resolution vertical NO profiles to be reported for the Arctic Ocean. The focus of this paper is on the halocline layer that insulates sea ice from Atlantic water heat and is an important source of nutrients for marine ecosystems within and downstream of the Arctic. Previous reports based on bottle data have identified a distinct lower halocline layer associated with an NO minimum at about S=34.2 that was proposed to be formed initially in the Nansen Basin and then advected downstream. Greater resolution afforded by our data reveal an even more pronounced NO minimum within the upper, cold halocline of the Makarov Basin. Thus a distinct lower salinity source ventilated the Makarov and not the Amundsen Basin. In addition, a larger Eurasian River water influence overlies this halocline source in the Makarov. Observations in the southern Canada Basin corroborate previous studies confirming multiple lower halocline influences including diapycnal mixing between Pacific winter waters and Atlantic-derived lower halocline waters, ventilation via brine formation induced in persistent openings in the ice, and cold, O₂-rich lower halocline waters originating in the Eurasian Basin. These findings demonstrate that continuous sensing of chemical properties promises to significantly advance understanding of the maintenance and circulation of the halocline.     

Linkages among halocline variability,shelf-basin interaction,and wind regimes in the Beaufort Sea demonstrated in pan-Arctic Ocean modeling framework

To address the mechanisms controlling halocline variability in the Beaufort Sea, the relationship between halocline shoaling/deepening and surface wind fields on seasonal to decadal timescales was investigated in a numerical experiment. Results from a pan-Arctic coupled sea ice-ocean model demonstrate reasonable performances for interannual and decadal variations in summer sea ice extent in the entire Arctic and in freshwater content in the Canada Basin. Shelf-basin interaction associated with Pacific summer and winter transport depends on basin-scale wind patterns and can have a significant influence on halocline variability in the southern Beaufort Sea. The eastward transport of fresh Pacific summer water along the northern Alaskan coast and Ekman downwelling north of the shelf break are commonly enhanced by cyclonic wind in the Canada Basin. On the other hand, basin-wide anti-cyclonic wind induces Ekman upwelling and blocks the eastward current in the Beaufort shelf-break region. Halocline shoaling/deepening due to shelf-water transport and surface Ekman forcing consequently occur in the same direction. North of the Barrow Canyon mouth, the springtime down-canyon transport of Pacific winter water, which forms by sea ice production in the Alaskan coastal polynya, thickens the halocline layer. The model result indicates that the penetration of Pacific winter water prevents the local upwelling of underlying basin water to the surface layer, especially in basin-scale anti-cyclonic wind periods.     

The Asymmetry of Recirculation of a Double Gyre in a Two Layer Ocean

Using an eddy-resolving two layer primitive-equation model forced by symmetric wind stress, we investigate the asymmetry of the recirculation of a double gyre (subpolar gyre and subtropical gyre). In the case where the layer thickness change is large, cyclonic recirculation becomes unstable and splits into meso-scale vortices more easily than anti-cyclonic recirculation in their developing stage. The subpolar gyre is, therefore, filled with more vortices than the subtropical gyre. Moreover, the effect of the upper layer potential vorticity on the lower layer potential vorticity in the subpolar gyre is stronger than that in the subtropical gyre. The characteristic of turbulence in the subpolar gyre is different from that found in the subtropical gyre and, therefore, the asymmetry of the recirculation of the double gyre is maintained by this difference. The asymmetry can not be produced in a quasi-geostrophic model because it ignores the nonlinearity associated with layer thickness change. Moreover, we investigate the effects of layer thickness and lateral viscosity on the asymmetry of the recirculation of the double gyre. In the case of realistic physical parameters, the asymmetry of the recirculation of the double gyre is noticeable from the view of the activities of the eddies. In the case with the shallowest upper layer, the position of separation of the western boundary current moves further southward.     

Submarine springs of fresh water in the region from Cape Feolent to Cape Sarych

We performed a search for local coastal submarine springs of fresh water in the region from Cape Feolent to Cape Sarych (down to an isobath of 40m). Stable submarine springs of brackish water with the minimum salinity of 5.5‰ and the minimum total output of 30,000 m³/day were discovered only near the west wall of Cape Aiya. It is shown that brackish waters discharging from these springs spread over the sea surface in the form of a thin layer (up to 1 m in thickness) characterized by lower salinity, higher transparency, and an elevated content of silicic acid. We make a conjecture that the appearance of 2–3-m-thick layers of water with higher transparency and lower salinity at depths of 5–8 m is explained by the discharge of unknown bottom springs of underground fresh water. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

A double-halocline structure in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean

1IntroductionAs a particular hydrographic feature,the upperArctic Ocean is salinity-stratified.A year-round halo-cline exists between the fresher,colder mixed Layerand the saltier,warmer middle layer(the Atlantic Lay-er),which is important to the permanent sea ice coverin the Arctic Ocean for it insulates the ice pack fromthe heat in the Atlantic Layer throughout the Arctic O-cean(Maykut and Untersteiner,1971).Characterizedby its vertically uniform temperature near freezingpoint,the haloc…     

Co-variation of the surface wind speed and the sea surface temperature over mesoscale eddies in the Gulf Stream region:momentum vertical mixing aspect

The co-variation of surface wind speed and sea surface temperature (SST) over the Gulf Stream frontal region is investigated using high-resolution satellite measurements and atmospheric reanalysis data. Results show that the pattern of positive SST-surface wind speed correlations is anchored by strong SST gradient and marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) height front, with active warm and cold-ocean eddies around. The MABL has an obvious transitional structure along the strong SST front, with greater (lesser) heights over the north (south) side. The significant positive SST-surface wind-speed perturbation correlations are mostly found over both strong warm and cold eddies. The surface wind speed increases (decreases) about 0.32 (0.41) m/s and the MABL elevates (drops) approximate 55 (54) m per 1℃ of SST perturbation induced by warm (cold) eddies. The response of the surface wind speed to SST perturbations over the mesoscale eddies is mainly attributed to the momentum vertical mixing in the MABL, which is confirmed by the linear relationships between the downwind (crosswind) SST gradient and wind divergence (curl).     

2006年夏季琼东、粤西沿岸上升流研究

利用2006年夏季广东、海南、广西近海的海洋水文调查资料和卫星遥感QuikSCAT风场资料分析琼东、粤西沿岸上升流的空间结构特征, 探讨风场、风应力旋度对上升流的影响以及上升流区水温、海流、海平面对上升流的响应。结果表明:琼东、粤西沿岸上升流区并非相互独立, 从10 m层以下已经连成一片。琼东沿岸上升流主要由夏季西南季风驱动而产生, 风应力旋度也有一定贡献。琼东沿岸上升流的强度比粤西强。琼东沿岸海域的上层海水(18 m以浅)以离岸运动为主, 中下层海水以向岸运动为主。上层的离岸流速大于中下层的向岸流速。琼东沿岸的上升流现象是间歇性的, 与沿岸风速强弱有关。琼东沿岸海域海平面的升降与上升流的强弱有良好的关系, 上升流的强弱滞后于海平面的升降约1～2 d。     

Vertical transport in the Black Sea

Investigations of the vertical exchange coefficientK _z , considering turbulent and advective transport, are summarized. The values ofK _z are determined from the climaticT, S characteristics, heat and salinity fluxes, and the rate of the low-Bosporus water transformation over the entire Black Sea water column; namely, in the upper mixed layer, the active layer, the cold intermediate layer, the halocline, and in the deep and near-bottom waters. A characteristic for annual fluctuations ofK _z in the active layer is given; it is noted that the coefficient tends to grow in transit from the centre of the cyclonic gyre toward its periphery.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Origin of freshwater and polynya water in the Arctic Ocean halocline in summer 2007

Extremely low summer sea-ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean in 2007 allowed extensive sampling and a wide quasi-synoptic hydrographic and δ¹⁸O dataset could be collected in the Eurasian Basin and the Makarov Basin up to the Alpha Ridge and the East Siberian continental margin. With the aim of determining the origin of freshwater in the halocline, fractions of river water and sea-ice meltwater in the upper 150 m were quantified by a combination of salinity and δ¹⁸O in the Eurasian Basin. Two methods, applying the preformed phosphate concentration (PO^*) and the nitrate-to-phosphate ratio (N/P), were compared to further differentiate the marine fraction into Atlantic and Pacific-derived contributions. While PO^*-based assessments systematically underestimate the contribution of Pacific-derived waters, N/P-based calculations overestimate Pacific-derived waters within the Transpolar Drift due to denitrification in bottom sediments at the Laptev Sea continental margin.Within the Eurasian Basin a west to east oriented front between net melting and production of sea-ice is observed. Outside the Atlantic regime dominated by net sea-ice melting, a pronounced layer influenced by brines released during sea-ice formation is present at about 30–50 m water depth with a maximum over the Lomonosov Ridge. The geographically distinct definition of this maximum demonstrates the rapid release and transport of signals from the shelf regions in discrete pulses within the Transpolar Drift.The ratio of sea-ice derived brine influence and river water is roughly constant within each layer of the Arctic Ocean halocline. The correlation between brine influence and river water reveals two clusters that can be assigned to the two main mechanisms of sea-ice formation within the Arctic Ocean. Over the open ocean or in polynyas at the continental slope where relatively small amounts of river water are found, sea-ice formation results in a linear correlation between brine influence and river water at salinities of about 32–34. In coastal polynyas in the shallow regions of the Laptev Sea and southern Kara Sea, sea-ice formation transports river water into the shelf’s bottom layer due to the close proximity to the river mouths. This process therefore results in waters that form a second linear correlation between brine influence and river water at salinities of about 30–32. Our study indicates which layers of the Arctic Ocean halocline are primarily influenced by sea-ice formation in coastal polynyas and which layers are primarily influenced by sea-ice formation over the open ocean. Accordingly we use the ratio of sea-ice derived brine influence and river water to link the maximum in brine influence within the Transpolar Drift with a pulse of shelf waters from the Laptev Sea that was likely released in summer 2005.     

秋季和春季黄渤海黄色物质空间分布特征

利用2013年秋季和2014年春季两个季节黄渤海现场数据对黄色物质的水平分布及垂向分布的变化进行研究,并初步分析了其主要控制因素。垂向黄色物质表现为底部高上层低的特征。其中,秋季混合作用加强导致上层40m黄色物质混合较为均匀;春季北黄海温盐跃层已经形成,黄色物质分布开始出现明显的分层现象,上下层浓度差约为2?g/L。春季南黄海盐度跃层尚未形成,水深小于50m的水层黄色物质垂向分布均匀,近岸和远岸海域浓度分界线明显。水平方向上,黄色物质在秋季和春季分布趋势一致,由渤海、北黄海至南黄海浓度依次降低,且呈现出由近岸向中央海区递减的趋势,但整体上春季浓度较秋季明显偏低。海表盐度与黄色物质浓度两者整体上呈现负相关关系,可以将黄色物质浓度分布作为研究黄海暖流走向、划分水团性质的重要指标。     

东海沿岸海区垂直环流及其温盐结构动力过程研究Ⅱ．温盐结构

对于本研究采用的动力学模型及其垂直环流的模拟结果已在第Ⅰ部分论述。作者将对与垂直环流对应的温、盐结构进行分析。温度和盐度模拟结果表明：冬季东海沿岸海区的温、盐分布均为近岸低、外海高;近岸温、盐呈垂直均匀分布,在外海出现分层,其温度为表层高、底层低,而盐度却为表层和底层高,中层偏低,长江口以南的近表层以下形成自近岸伸向外海的弱低盐水舌;长江冲淡水区及长江口以北和其以南外海的近表层有温、盐跃层生成,深底层温、盐呈均匀分布,且保持低温高盐特征;随着海区自北往南纬度的降低,岸坡和水深的增大及沿岸下降流的增强,温度和盐度自近岸至外海的垂直均匀分布跨度逐渐变窄;外海近表层的温、盐跃层强度自北至长江口逐渐增强,而自长江口至南逐渐减弱,其位置自北往南逐渐上移;冬季沿岸下降流使长江冲淡水区的盐跃层变厚。夏季海区的温度分布为近岸和外海高,近岸稍远出现冷水涌升,垂向上呈现显著分层,盐度分布为近岸低、外海高;长江冲淡水区及杭州湾以南外海的次表层存在温、盐跃层,其跃层以上出现混合层,且保持高温低盐特征,跃层以下温、盐大致呈均匀分布,并保持低温高盐特征;随着海区自南往北纬度的增高、岸坡和水深的减小及沿岸上升流自南至长江口和自长江口至北的增强和继而减弱,长江冲淡水区的温、盐跃层强度自南至长江口逐渐增强,而自长江口至北逐渐减弱,外海次表层的温、盐跃层强度却自南至长江口逐渐减弱,自长江口至北又逐渐增强,其温、盐跃层的位置自南往北逐渐上移;夏季沿岸上升流使长江冲淡水区的盐跃层变薄。     

Evidence for water exchange between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean through the Luzon Strait

An analysis of historical oxygen data provides evidence on the water exchange between theSouth China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific Ocean (PO). In the vicinity of the Luzon Strait (LS) , the dissolved oxygen concentration of sea water is found to be lower on the Pacific side than on the SCS side at depths between 700 and 1500 m (intermediate layer) , while the situation is reversed above 700 m (upper layer) and below 1 500 m (deep layer). The evidence suggests that water exits the SCS in the intermediate layer but enters it from the Pacific in both the upper and the deep layers, supporting the earlier speculation that the Luzon Strait transport has a sandwiched structure in the vertical. Within the SCS basin, the oxygen distribution indicates widespread vertical movement, including the upwelling in the intermediate layer and the downwelling in the deep layer.     

The spectrum of subtidal variability in Chesapeake Bay circulation

The advent of long, continuous time series records of circulation in Chesapeake Bay has revealed the existence of large amplitude fluctuations within the subtidal range 0·03–0·6 cycles day⁻¹. These fluctuations represent direct and indirect response of the estuary to variations in wind stress, fresh water inflow, and coastal sea level. The fluctuations in circulation are accompanied by synchronous fluctuations in transportable properties such as salinity and temperature. A quantitative model is presented to explain this variability within the main stem of Chesapeake Bay in terms of a linear reponse to irregular, time-varying meteorological forcing. The model calculates transfer functions and energy spectra of laterally averaged transport, surface elevation, and salinity in two layers separated by a halocline, over the frequency band 0·03–0·6 cycles day⁻¹. Transfer functions between volume transport and wind stress obtained from one-month-long field experiments at three different cross sections in Chesapeake Bay are used to constrain model friction parameters. Using existing estimates for wind stress and coastal sea level energy spectra, energy spectra for volume transport and surface elevation are calculated as a function of longitudinal position. It is found that the observed volume transport spectrum at the mouth of the Bay can be explained quantitatively as the combined response to statistically indepentdent wind stress and sea level fluctuations. Variations in sea level account for 90% of the volume transport variance at the Bay mouth and dominate the volume transport spectrum below 0·375 cycles day⁻¹. In the upper Bay, longitudinal wind stress accounts for most of the variance. A maximum in the volume transport spectrum at 0·4 cycles day⁻¹, caused by a local maximum in the wind spectrum, is found at all upper Bay cross sections.