Decadal-Scale Climate and Ecosystem Interactions in the North Pacific Ocean

Decadal-scale climate variations in the Pacific Ocean wield a strong influence on the oceanic ecosystem. Two dominant patterns of large-scale SST variability and one dominant pattern of large-scale thermocline variability can be explained as a forced oceanic response to large-scale changes in the Aleutian Low. The physical mechanisms that generate this decadal variability are still unclear, but stochastic atmospheric forcing of the ocean combined with atmospheric teleconnections from the tropics to the midlatitudes and some weak ocean-atmosphere feedbacks processes are the most plausible explanation. These observed physical variations organize the oceanic ecosystem response through large-scale basin-wide forcings that exert distinct local influences through many different processes. The regional ecosystem impacts of these local processes are discussed for the Tropical Pacific, the Central North Pacific, the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, and the California Current System regions in the context of the observed decadal climate variability. The physical ocean-atmosphere system and the oceanic ecosystem interact through many different processes. These include physical forcing of the ecosystem by changes in solar fluxes, ocean temperature, horizontal current advection, vertical mixing and upwelling, freshwater fluxes, and sea ice. These also include oceanic ecosystem forcing of the climate by attenuation of solar energy by phytoplankton absorption and atmospheric aerosol production by phytoplankton DMS fluxes. A more complete understanding of the complicated feedback processes controlling decadal variability, ocean ecosystems, and biogeochemical cycling requires a concerted and organized long-term observational and modeling effort. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

Tidal Mixing in the Kuril Straits and Its Impact on Ventilation in the North Pacific Ocean

A numerical study using a 3-D nonhydrostatic model has been applied to baroclinic processes generated by the K ₁ tidal flow in and around the Kuril Straits. The result shows that large-amplitude unsteady lee waves are generated and cause intense diapycnal mixing all along the Kuril Island Chain to levels of a maximum diapycnal diffusivity exceeding 10³ cm²s⁻¹. Significant water transformation by the vigorous mixing in shallow regions produces the distinct density and potential vorticity (PV) fronts along the Island Chain. The pinched-off eddies that arise and move away from the fronts have the ability to transport a large amount of mixed water (∼14 Sv) to the offshore regions, roughly half being directed to the North Pacific. These features are consistent with recent satellite imagery and in-situ observations, suggesting that diapycnal mixing within the vicinity of the Kuril Islands has a greater impact than was previously supposed on the Okhotsk Sea and the North Pacific. To examine this influence of tidal processes at the Kurils on circulations in the neighboring two basins, another numerical experiment was conducted using an ocean general circulation model with inclusion of tidal mixing along the islands, which gives a better representation of the Okhotsk Sea Mode Water than in the case without the tidal mixing. This is mainly attributed to the added effect of a significant upward salt flux into the surface layer due to tidal mixing in the Kuril Straits, which is subsequently transported to the interior region of the Okhotsk Sea. With a saline flux into the surface layer, cooling in winter in the northern part of the Okhotsk Sea can produce heavier water and thus enhance subduction, which is capable of reproducing a realistic Okhotsk Sea Mode Water. The associated low PV flux from the Kuril Straits to the open North Pacific excites the 2nd baroclinic-mode Kelvin and Rossby waves in addition to the 1st mode. Interestingly, the meridional overturning in the North Pacific is strengthened as a result of the dynamical adjustment caused by these waves, leading to a more realistic reproduction of the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) than in the case without tidal mixing. Accordingly, the joint effect of tidally-induced transport and transformation dominating in the Kuril Straits and subsequent eddy-transport is considered to play an important role in the ventilation of both the Okhotsk Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Quaternary phosphatized limestones with initial Fe-Mn mineralization from the Kammu Seamount (Milwaukee Seamounts, northern Pacific)

Phosphatized biogenic limestones and phosphorites with initial Fe-Mn mineralization dredged from the summit surface of the Kammu Seamount (Milwaukee Seamounts, northwestern Pacific) are studied. The rocks are largely composed of nannofossils and planktonic foraminifers with an admixture of benthic foraminifers, bryozoans, and other organic remains, presumably including bacterial ones. The nannofosssil and foraminiferal assemblages indicate the Quaternary age of the sediments, and their phosphatization is consistent with the phosphatization age determined previously based on nonequilibrium uranium (within the limits of 1 My). The age of phosphatization and the Fe-Mn mineralization in the sediments from Pacific seamounts that young implies the dependence of these ore-forming processes on oceanic environments favorable for ore accumulation rather than on their age.     

Organochlorine contamination in some odontoceti species from the North Pacific and Indian Ocean

Concentrations of persistent organochlorines were determined in the blubber and melon of 11 species of adult male odontocetis collected from the North Pacific, Indian Ocean and nearby seas. Mean concentrations of DDs (33 μg/g wet wt) were the highest followed by PCBs (32 μg/g wet wt), chlordane compounds (CHLs: 3.7 μg/g wet wt), HCHs (1.1 μg/g wet wt), and HCB (0.32 μg/g wet wt). Odontoceti species inhabiting temperate waters revealed maximum residual concentrations of these contaminants, and the elevated DDT and PCB residues detected seem to suggest that some of the present species might potentially be at high risk. Relatively high DDT concentrations were found in tropical water species, which could be attributed to the current usage of DDT in the tropics and the less movable nature of this compound via long-range atmospheric transport. The HCH levels in animals inhabiting cold and temperate waters were higher than those inhabiting tropical waters, a result that was perhaps reflective of atmospheric transport from the tropical source to the northern sinks. A similar pattern was also observed in PCBs, CHLs and HCB, probably indicating the ongoing discharge of these compounds from mid-latitudes as well as those originating in tropical regions.     

太平洋北赤道流表层流速及分叉点位置

确定太平洋北赤道流表层流速及分叉点位置的变化是海洋环境研究中的1个重要问题。使用1987～1998年的WOCE浮标资料,通过估算得到了季节平均和年平均意义下北赤道流表层流速(1989～1998)。计算结果显示:北赤道流表层流的流速冬季最大,夏季最小,春秋两季相仿。在厄尔尼诺发生年的第2年,夏季平均流速往往较大。对浮标轨迹的逐年分析表明表层北赤道流分叉点的位置在11°N～14 .7°N之间,从轨迹较为密集的4年的分析可以看出,表层流分叉点的位置具有年际变化,其中,2个ElNino年分叉点偏北。     

North Pacific Synthesis of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study: Overview

This special issue is comprised of 13 papers, including this overview, and focuses on the synthesis of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) in the North Pacific which took place from 1997 through 2003. The effort was led by the JGOFS North Pacific Synthesis Group, with the aim of quantifying CO₂ drawdown by physical and biological pumps in the North Pacific by identifying and studying the regional, seasonal to inter-annual variations in the key processes, and understanding their regulating mechanisms. Emphasis was placed on the similarities and differences of the biogeochemical regimes in the eastern and western subarctic Pacific. Effort was also made to address the future research directions which arose from the scientific findings during the North Pacific JGOFS process study. A brief overview of the papers from view points of CO₂ drawdown by physical and biological pumps, spatial variability, and temporal variability from seasonal to decadal scales is made, followed by suggestions for the directions of future research. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

边界条件对北太平洋自然^14C分布的影响

利用一个北太平洋海盆尺度环流模式模拟了北太平洋自然14C的分布和吸收.为了考察开边界与闭边界模式的不同以及不同的开边界条件对模拟结果的影响,相应地做了两个开边界的试验和一个闭边界试验.结果表明,由于自然14C的模拟需要长时间的积分才能达到稳态,因而边界的处理对模拟结果有很大的影响;在闭边界试验中,总体上模拟结果偏大,采用开边界条件打开南边界改变了闭边界中模拟结果偏大的状况.但是,在开边界试验中,边界处观测资料的影响也是显著的.当在边界考虑了出流和入流的不同时,与入流时采用零梯度边界条件的试验相比,入流时边界值给定为观测数据的试验得到了较好的模拟结果,与观测结果更为接近.     

北太平洋西部和印度洋东部及其邻近海域表层水体中137Cs的分布

对北太平洋西部海域、苏禄海及印尼海、中国南海、印度洋东部海域、孟加拉湾及安达曼海等表层水体中放射性核素137Cs的活度进行了测定。结果表明,上述海域表层水体中137Cs活度显示了较大的变化范围,最低值出现在南极附近的南大洋(1.1Bqm-3),较高的活度值则出现在北太平洋西部海域及中国南海(3Bqm-3)。在所研究水域范围内,137Cs活度的纬度分布特征并没有完全有效地反映出137Cs的全球理论大气沉降趋势及其纬度效应。综合本研究及Miyake等人(1988)的测定结果,我们计算出137Cs自表层海水中的析出速率在苏禄海及印尼海约为0.016/a,在孟加拉湾及安达曼海约为0.033/a,在中国南海约为0.029/a,这一结果明显低于西北太平洋日本沿海表层水体中137Cs的析出速率。这可能是因为在这些海域,横向及纵向的水体混合过程相对都较慢,而且颗粒物对137Cs的吸附析出过程也比较弱所致。