Coastal phytoplankton blooms in the Southern California Bight

Surface chlorophyll (CHL) measured at the Scripps Pier in the Southern California Bight (SCB) for 18 years (1983–2000) reveals that the spring bloom occurs with irregular timing and intensity each year, unlike sea-surface temperature (SST), which is dominated by a regular seasonal cycle. In the 1990s, the spring bloom occurred earlier in the year and with larger amplitudes compared to those of the 1980s. Seasonal anomalies of the Pier CHL have no significant correlation with local winds, local SST, or upwelling index, which implies that classical coastal upwelling is not directly responsible for driving chlorophyll variations in nearshore SCB.The annual mean Pier CHL exhibits an increasing trend, whereas the Pier SST has no evident concomitant trend during the CHL observation period. The interannual variation of the Pier CHL is not correlated with tropical El Niño or La Niña conditions over the entire observing period. However, the Pier CHL was significantly influenced by El Nino/Southern Oscillation during the 1997/1998 El Niño and 1998/1999 La Niña transition period. The Pier CHL is highly coherent at long periods (3–7 years) with nearby offshore in situ surface CHL at the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Fisheries Investigations) station 93.27.     

Inorganic and organic nitrogen cycling in the Southern California Bight

On the basis of mass balance calculations performed for nitrogen (N) uptake experiments in the Southern California Bight (SCB), it has been suggested that a significant portion of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) uptake results in the production of dissolved organic N (DON). To investigate this process, the fate of ammonium (NH₄⁺) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) uptake was quantified within the euphotic zone at three coastal stations in the SCB using ¹⁵N tracer techniques. Several trends in the fate of DIN and the production of DON were observed. First, production of particulate N (PN), from both NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻, was quantitatively more important in near surface waters, while DON release dominated within the nitracline. Second, the percentage of gross N uptake released as DON was generally higher when NO₃⁻, rather than NH₄⁺, was the substrate. Third, the percentage of N released as DON was higher at night, relative to the day. Fourth, rates of DON release were significantly correlated to NH₄⁺ regeneration, suggesting that similar mechanisms are responsible for both processes—presumably grazing. The results of this study indicate that the DON pool is a sink for DIN uptake on the time scale of hours. One implication of this finding is that new production estimates based on ¹⁵NO₃⁻ uptake rates will likely underestimate particle flux out of the surface layer because the rate of NO₃⁻ uptake is underestimated due to loss of DO¹⁵N during the incubation. On time scales of months to years, however, the N that is taken up as NO₃⁻ and released as DON will likely contribute to export flux via incorporation of the dissolved phase during seasonal mixing into sinking particles or transport. The export of DON on these time scales argues for the use of gross uptake rates to calculate f-ratios.     

Chlorophyll, photosynthesis and new production in the Southern California Bight

The study of phytoplankton distributions and processes in these waters has been stimulated in recent years (1) by the synoptic views of surface pigment afforded by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) aboard the NIMBUS-7 satellite; (2) by rapid developments in bio-optical oceanography toward the estimation of in situ photosynthetic rate; (3) by use of sediment traps and geochemical tracers to determine the flux of organic matter from the euphotic zone; and (4) by measurements of new production based on the utilization of nitrate by the plankton. The evolution and rationale of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study of ocean biogeochemical cycles and ocean climate changes serve to focus much of the work. In that context, a major goal is to assess new/export production on large time and space scales accessible to date only by remote sensing.     

Forecasting and hindcasting waves with the SWAN model in the Southern California Bight

The Naval Research Laboratory created a wave forecasting system in support of the Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX) field program. The outer nest of this prediction system encompassed the Southern California Bight. This forecasting system is described in this paper, with analysis of results via comparison to the extensive buoy network in the region. There are a number of potential errors, two of which are poor resolution of islands in the Bight—which have a strong impact on nearshore wave climate—and the use of the stationary assumption for computations. These two problems have straightforward solutions, but the solutions are computationally expensive, so an operational user must carefully consider their cost. The authors study the impact of these two types of error (relative to other errors, such as error in boundary forcing) using several hindcasts performed after the completion of NCEX. It is found that, with buoy observations as ground truth, the stationary assumption leads to a modest increase in root-mean-square error; this is due to relatively poor prediction of the timing of swell arrivals and local sea growth/decay. The model results are found to be sensitive to the resolution of islands; however, coarse resolution does not incur an appreciable penalty in terms of error statistics computed via comparison to buoy observations, suggesting that other errors dominate. Inaccuracy in representation of the local atmospheric forcing likely has a significant impact on wave model error. Perhaps most importantly, the accuracy of directional distribution of wave energy at the open ocean boundaries appears to be a critical limitation on the accuracy of the model-data comparisons inside the Bight.     

A comparison of two spectral wave models in the Southern California Bight

Two models, a spectral refraction model (Longuet-Higgins) and a parabolic equation method (PEM) refraction-diffraction model (Kirby), are used to simulate the propagation of surface gravity waves across the Southern California Bight. The Bight contains numerous offshore islands and shoals and is significantly larger (≈ 300 km by 300 km) than regions typically studied with these models. The effects of complex bathymetry on the transformation of incident wave directional spectra, S₀(f,θ₀), which are very narrow in both frequency and direction are difficult to model accurately. As S₀(f,θ₀) becomes broader in both dimensions, agreement between the models improves and the spectra predicted at coastal sites become less sensitive to errors in the bathymetry grid, to tidal changes in the mean water depth, and to uncertainty in S₀(f,θ₀) itself. The smoothing associated with even relatively narrow (0.01 Hz-5° bandwidth) S₀(f,θ₀) is usually sufficient to bring the model predictions of shallow water energy into at least qualitative agreement. However, neither model is accurate at highly sheltered sites. The importance of diffraction degrades the predictions of the refraction model, and a positive bias [O (10%) of the deep ocean energy] in the refraction-diffraction model estimates, believed to stem from numerical “noise” (Kirby), may be comparable to the low wave energy. The best agreement between the predicted spectra generally occurs at moderately exposed locations in deeper waters within the Bight, away from shallow water diffractive effects and in the far-field of the islands. In these cases, the differences between the models are small, comparable to the errors caused by tidal fluctuations in water depth as waves propagate across the Bight. The accuracy of predicted energies at these sites is likely to be limited by the uncertainty in specifying S₀(f,θ₀).     

Seasonal occurrence of larval fishes in the nearshore Southern California Bight off San Onofre,California

Larval fishes were sampled from the nearshore region of the Southern California Bight off San Onofre for 29 months and analyzed with a Curtis-Bray Cluster Analysis to determine temporal assemblages and species associations. Two major assemblages of larvae were found: members of the winter-spring (December-May) assemblage were most abundant from January to May; members of the summer-fall (June-November) assemblage were most abundant from July to September. The winter-spring assemblage was composed primarily of Engraulis mordax, Genyonemus lineatus, Sebastes spp. and Paralichthys californicus; some abundant taxa in the summer-fall assemblage were Seriphus politus, Paralabrax spp., and Hypsoblennius spp., although E. mordax again predominated. Demersal spawners tended to have spawning seasons of longer duration than pelagic spawners; winter-spring spawners generally had longer spawning seasons than summer-fall spawners.We suggest that temperature is an important determinant in the seasonal pattern of larval fish occurrence. The annual ocean temperature cycle near San Onofre was a good indicator of the seasonal occurrence of fish larvae in this area. Larvae found in the cooler months were generally offspring of adults whose northern ranges extend to Canada. Warm-water larvae were offspring of adults whose northern ranges extend to Point Conception or northern California.     

The restoration of fishing services and the conveyance of risk information in the Southern California Bight

Southern California's marine areas are heavily contaminated with dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs), and fish consumption advisories (FCAs) have been issued throughout the region. Between 2002 and 2003, the Montrose Angler Survey, a large-scale survey of subsistence anglers, was developed and implemented on site in Orange and Los Angeles counties. This survey was intended to assist natural resource trustees in the development of restoration programs that will address injuries to natural resources and restore lost economic services for anglers, but the data were never fully analyzed. The trustees have shown a clear preference for ecological restoration programs that may take years to improve fishing services. In contrast, this analysis, which includes a random-parameter fishing site choice model, demonstrates that simple, inexpensive programs such as better signage to warn of FCAs and transportation to clean sites have the potential to yield substantial benefits quickly. This paper also focuses on how different ethnic minority groups are affected by FCAs, and determines how best to communicate risk information and change fishing behavior through outreach programs.     

Seasonal changes in coccolithophore densities in the Southern California Bight during 1991–1992

Seasonal changes in coccolithophore cell densities in the San Pedro Basin, Southern California Bight, were investigated for the period October 1991 to September 1992. Coccolitho phore cell densities ranged from 6.3 × 10⁴ coccospheres per liter in March 1992 to 0 cells per liter in November 1991. High coccolithophore concentrations occurred in late winter and spring, and low densities occurred in the summer and fall. The high coccolithophore densities during spring 1992 were associated with unusually low surface nutrient concentrations and a lack of upwelling, suggesting that the high densities were not part of a typical spring phytoplankton bloom in this region. We propose that the suppression of upwelling during spring 1992 may have been related to the prevailing ENSO conditions. Emiliania huxleyi type A dominated the total coccolithophore population throughout the year, Umbilicosphaera sibogae var. sibogae being the second most important contributor to the coccolithophore assemblages.     

Spatial variability of epifaunal communities from artificial habitat: Shipwrecks in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

We investigated the cover, community structure and abiotic environment of nine shipwrecks lying at increasing distance from the Belgian coast. Results indicated that all shipwrecks were strongly dominated by cnidarians in terms of biomass and by amphipods in terms of abundances. Based on their epifaunal composition, three groups of shipwrecks could be determined. Metridium senile dominated a species poor community of the coastal sites. On the same sites, a Tubularia larynx community with a more species-rich assemblage was also developing. The T. larynx community had a lower biomass value (102 g AFDW m⁻²) and significantly lower species richness compared to the other sites. The coastal sites were characterized by periodic salinity decreases, large seasonal temperature fluctuation, high total suspended matter load and reduced current velocity. Channel water masses influence the offshore sites causing a more stable temperature and salinity environment, less turbid waters and high current speed. Tubularia indivisa dominated this community, with an average biomass of 229 g AFDW m⁻². Intermediate sites were also dominated by T. indivisa, but a higher biomass (424 g AFDW m⁻²) was observed. They showed intermediate results for the abiotic parameters and fast current velocities. Hypotheses for the observed variation in community structures are discussed in the light of the abiotic characterization of the shipwrecks.     

Municipal wastewater contamination in the Southern California Bight. Part II. Cytosolic distribution of contaminants and biochemical effects in fish livers

The objective of this study was to examine the cytosolic distribution of metals and oxygenated organic metabolites (MTBs), and biochemical effects, in livers of fish collected from both highly contaminated and less contaminated southern California coastal sites. Cytosolic extracts were separated by Sephadex G-75 column chromatography into high molecular weight (> 20 000 daltons) enzyme-containing (ENZ) pools, medium molecular weight (3000–20000 daltons) metallothionein- or metallothionein-like-containing (MT) pools, and low molecular weight (< 3000 daltons) glutathione-containing (GSH) pools.Concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn were frequently lower in cytosolic pools of longspine combfish, yellowchin sculpin, and California tonguefish from highly contaminated Palos Verdes (PV) relative to those from less contaminated Santa Monica Bay (SMB) despite much higher concentrations of these metals in sediments at PV. Patterns of cytosolic metal distribution differed more between metals than between species or sampling locations. Most Cd, Cu and Zn occurred in the MT pools of these three species, with the exception of Zn in California tonguefish which occurred predominately in the ENZ pool. In all three species, ENZ-Cu showed positive slopes when regressed against total cytosolic Cu, while ENZ-Cd showed no significant slopes when regressed against total cytosolic Cd. Patterns for Zn were the least consistent among species, with higher ENZ-Zn slopes occurring in fish livers with lower cytosolic Zn concentrations.The largest portion of DDT and PCB oxygenated MTBs occurred in GSH pools of scorpionfish livers from PV or less contaminated Cortes Bank (CB). Concentrations of MTBs in ENZ- and MT-pools of CB scorpionfish livers showed positive slopes when regressed against total cytosolic- and GSH-MTBs.Positive slopes for regressions of ENZ-Cu, -Zn and -MTBs against total cytosolic concentrations are consistent with the model of an equilibrium-dependent exchange of these among cytosolic pools.The lower metal concentrations, higher glutathione concentrations, and higher catalase activities found in fish from PV relative to those from SMB are in accordance with effects known to result from exposure to organic contaminants.     

Circulation of shelf waters in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight,South Africa

Ship-based acoustic Doppler current profiler (S-ADCP) technology, used in survey mode, has enabled near- synoptic views of the in situ 3-D current field in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Bight to be elucidated for the first time. Data acquired by the research vessels RS Africana and RS Algoa in June 2005, September 2007, March 2009 and July 2010 are presented. Each S-ADCP dataset showed similar circulation characteristics whereby the continental slope and outer shelf of the KZN Bight were strongly influenced by the south-westward flowing Agulhas Current. This was particularly evident in the extreme north between Cape St Lucia and Richards Bay where the shelf is narrowest and velocities exceeded 200 cm s?1. The widening of the bight to the south moves the Agulhas Current further from the coast, resulting in a diminishing velocity gradient on the outer shelf which terminates around the midshelf axis. The southern region of the bight was mostly influenced by the Durban cyclonic eddy (Durban Eddy), and in June 2005 and September 2007, by a cyclonic ‘swirl’ that occupied the entire southern half of the KZN Bight, the latter identified by a combination of S-ADCP-, satellite-derived SST- and ocean colour data. Satellite data showed low-chlorophyll offshore water to move into this swirl and northwards along the inner- and midshelf, reaching the Thukela River. Inner-shelf circulation north of the Thukela River was weak (<20 cm s?1) and highly variable. Satellite-tracked surface drogues deployed in the Durban Eddy found their way into the northward coastal current in the KZN Bight, with velocities exceeding 90 cm s?1 at times. The drogues also highlighted the strong influence of wind, especially in the northern bight between Durnford Point and Cape St Lucia, with residence times on the shelf exceeding 14 days, suggesting this region to be of biological importance particularly for recruitment.     

Dynamic patterns of dissolved nitrogen in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Spatial and temporal variations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) have been assessed in onshore and offshore areas of the Southern Bight on the basis of several years' measurements. They indicate that both the residual flow lines and DIN isoconcentration lines run parallel with the coast except in the vicinity of important freshwater discharge points such as the Scheldt estuary. Evidence was found that the seasonal DIN oscillations are not created through fluctuations in input conditions at the lateral boundaries, despite considerable fluctuations in these inputs which include the English Channel (from 500 tons(t) N day^?1 in June up to approximately 2000 t N day^?1 in February) and also rivers such as the Scheldt estuary (up to 50 t N day^?1 in January but less than 5 t N day^?1 in June–July). In both the onshore and offshore areas the sum of daylight phytoplanktonic nitrogen intake and sediment release of nitrogen corresponds to the observed DIN variations during most of the year. Pelagic N-mineralization from natural or grazing mortality of phytoplankton (220 mg N m^?2 day^?1 onshore at its maximum) can account for the differences (200 mg N m^?2 day^?1 onshore at its maximum), especially at the end of the phytoplankton spring bloom. Although the causes of DIN oscillations onshore and offshore are the same, the results differ because offshore (1) the vegetative season lasts longer, and (2) DIN is exhausted at the end of the phytoplankton spring bloom.     

Circulation patterns in the Delagoa Bight,Mozambique, and the influence of deep ocean eddies

An investigation of the circulation patterns and thermohaline structures in the Delagoa Bight, Mozambique, was undertaken during May 2004, August 2004, April 2005, and April 2006, using hydrographic surveys, surface drifters and satellite imagery. Hydrographic and satellite data during May 2004 illustrated a cyclonic eddy centred at 26° S, 34.25° E in the Bight. A surface drifter remained trapped in this eddy for six weeks between 8 May and 20 June 2004 before moving southward in the Agulhas Current. During August 2004, the core of a cyclonic eddy was located south of the Bight, while no cyclonic eddy was observed during April 2005 or in April 2006. The Delagoa Bight eddy appeared to be more transient than previously thought. Important observations were the recurrent northward current (25–30 cm s^?1) occurring subsurface on the shelf, and the prominence of cooler upwelled water at various locations due to the interaction of passing eddies with the bottom topography of the Bight.     

Monitoring meiobenthos using cm-, m- and km-scales in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Meiobenthos at the mouth of the Grevelingen and Oosterschelde Estuaries in the Southern Bight of the North Sea was monitored using meiobenthic abundance and nematode community structure. Hierarchical sampling included 54 subsamples nested within 18 cores within six stations within two transects. The spatial patterns of the meiofaunal populations and communities are presented in cm-scale (among subsamples), m-scale (among cores), km-scale (among stations) and 10 km-scale (between transects). The variance components analysis of meiofaunal abundances showed that km-scale and 10 km-scale represented 63–90% of total variance while m-scale and cm-scale provided only 10–37%. Different communities were found among stations rather than among cores or subsamples by detrended correspondence analysis ordination and clustering analysis. The main assemblage of meiofauna occurred at the km-scale. Nematode diversity was more powerful than meiofaunal abundance in detecting spatial variation at all scales. However, at least two replicates are required for monitoring when sampling using a 10 cm² subsampling core.     

Peculiarities of Water Circulation in the Southern Tatar Strait

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Satellite altimetry data have been used to study water circulation in the Tatar Strait region (the northern part of the Sea of Japan) for the time...     

Extracellular release of small and large molecules by phytoplankton in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Extracellular release by phytoplankton of small and large metabolites (molecular weight 〈and〉 500 d) is determined kinetically in various marine ecosystems including the eutrophic Scheldt estuary, the Belgian coastal zone and the oligotrophic English Channel. Kinetic curves show that while small metabolites are immediately released in the external medium, a lag phase is always observed in the release of large metabolites. Results indicate that 9–48% of the total excreted amount ends up in the small metabolites pool with no dependence on light intensity or nutritive conditions. Relative rates of heterotrophic uptake of the phytoplankton extracellular metabolites are calculated from the time dependent distribution of ¹⁴C labelled extracellular products. The data indicate that small molecules with high turnover rates (up to 25% h^?1) may occasionally be excreted by phytoplankton cells. The turnover time of high molecular weight excreted compounds is much longer. A correlation is found between the rate of production of these large extracellular metabolites and the exoenzymatic activity of the bacterial populations.     

Circulation and its seasonal variability in region around the Kerguelen Plateau

A coupled ice-ocean isopycnal numerical model of the Southern Ocean is established tostudy the circulation and its seasonal variability in the region around the Kerguelen Plateau. An analysis of the simulated results shows significant stripe-like structure and non-zonal feature of the Antarctic Cir-cumpolar Current (ACC) in this region. ACC begins to bifurcate and to turn its direction before meeting the plateau. The southernmost branch of ACC is near to the Antarctic coast and displays its strong interaction with the westward Antarctic Slope Current. The northern branch of ACC has a tendency of annual variations while the southern one varies in a semiannual cycle. The variation phases of both branches are coincident with that of the wind stress in this region.     

南大洋气旋气候与变化特征

A new climatology of cyclones in the Southern Ocean is generated by applying an automated cyclone detection and tracking algorithm(developed by Hodges at the Reading University) for an improved and relatively highresolution European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis during 1979–2013.A validation shows that identified cyclone tracks are in good agreement with a available analyzed cyclone product.The climatological characteristics of the Southern Ocean cyclones are then analyzed,including track,number,density,intensity,deepening rate and explosive events.An analysis shows that the number of cyclones in the Southern Ocean has increased for 1979–2013,but only statistically significant in summer.Coincident with the circumpolar trough,a single high-density band of cyclones is observed in 55°–67°S,and cyclone density has generally increased in north of this band for 1979–2013,except summer.The intensity of up to 70% cyclones in the Southern Ocean is less than 980 h Pa,and only a few cyclones with pressure less than 920 h Pa are detected for1979–2013.Further analysis shows that a high frequency of explosive cyclones is located in the band of 45°–55°S,and the Atlantic Ocean sector has much higher frequent occurrence of the explosive cyclones than that in the Pacific Ocean sector.Additionally,the relationship between cyclone activities in the Southern Ocean and the Southern Annular Mode is discussed.