Last glacial sea-level changes and paleogeography of the Korea (Tsushima) Strait

The Korea (Tsushima) Strait is an important seaway through which the warm Tsushima Current flows into the East Sea (Japan Sea). A paleogeographic map constrained by a regional sea-level curve developed on the basis of a number of recent ¹⁴C radiocarbon dates suggests that the Korea Strait was not closed during the last glacial period. Rather, it was open as a channel-like seaway linking the western North Pacific and the East Sea. Some fraction of the paleo-Tsushima Current inflow presumably continued at that time through the Korea Strait. The activity of the paleo-Tsushima Current is evidenced by the distribution pattern of river-derived lowstand deposits, consisting of a beach/shoreface complex and lowstand deltaic wedges. Received: 16 April 1999 / Revision accepted: 25 February 2000     

Fossil diatom assemblages as paleoecological indicators of paleo-water environmental change in the Ulleung Basin,East Sea,Republic of Korea

The fossil diatom assemblage record from two sediment cores obtained from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Republic of Korea, revealed changes in the diatom assemblage zones in PG1 and PD3 core samples. The two sediment cores were δC¹⁴ dated and approximately represented the late Pleistocene–Holocene. The analysis of age zones in the PG1 core and PD3 core was assessed based on the frequency of variations, and occurrences of biostratigraphical fossil diatom species. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the sea level was lower than that at present and the Ulleung Basin became isolated from the Pacific Ocean. As a result, there would have been a limited Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) influence, and salinity would have decreased resulting in increased freshwater and coastal diatoms. The distribution pattern of diatoms presented in the cores was associated with changes in water temperature and salinity and the adding of terrigenous material brought about by the input of freshwater. Changes in the abundance of a tychopelagic diatom, Paralia sulcata, reflected the effect of the water currents. Diatom temperature (Td) values and the ratio of centric/pennate diatoms provided evidence of limited influences of the TWC and freshwater inflow. It is thought that all assemblage zones were influenced by the TWC, which had an important effect on the distribution and composition of fossil diatoms.     

The northward intruding eddy along the East coast of Korea

The current structures and their seasonal variations in the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) region, which plays a significant role in the northward transport of warm and saline waters, were described by combining the sea surface temperature (SST) data of consecutive satellite inferred (IR) images and hydrographic data. The SST patterns in winter-spring clearly showed that the small meander of thermal front originating from the Tsushima/Korea Strait formed close to the Korean coast and grew an isolated warm eddy with horizontal dimension of order 100 km. Such warm eddy began to intrude slowly northward from spring to summer. At that time, interactions with neighboring synoptic warm eddy [Ks] around the Ulleung Basin were found to have strongly influence the movement of the intruding eddy and its structural change. In autumn, after the northward movement stopped at the north of eddy [Ks], the relative stable northward current along the Korean coast were formed. The evidence from observational results does not support a persistent branching of the EKWC from the Tsushima/Korea Strait, but a seasonal episodic supply of warm and saline waters due to the northward intruding eddy process described above.     

日本海的末次盛冰期

日本海末次盛冰期的沉积层几乎都是以交替出现的深色纹层、浅色纹层状和均质沉积物为特征。根据日本海中部和南部两个岩心记录的末次盛冰期的沉积特征和表层海水温度变化,讨论了低海平面时期东亚季风对日本海沉积环境的控制作用。24.2～17.8cal.kaBP,日本海南部纹层沉积的分布均对应了夏季风的相对增强,表明季风降水输入是引起该时期日本海底层水含氧量变化的主要原因。在夏季风的控制下,低盐富营养的东海沿岸水的强弱变化使冲绳海槽北部表层海水温度也在24.2～17.8cal.kaBP期间出现低值并剧烈变化。30～24.2和17.8～15cal.kaBP,受增强的冬季风(夏季风减弱)影响,日本海水体的流通性较强,底层水溶解氧含量相对较高。对23～17.5cal.kaBP日本海的表层海水温度出现异常高值的原因存在很多争论,一般认为是由于季风降雨输入量大于蒸发量、表层水盐度普遍降低、水体出现密度分层、水层间的垂直交换受到限制所致。     

Circulation and currents in the southwestern East/Japan Sea: Overview and review

A review is made of circulation and currents in the southwestern East/Japan Sea (the Ulleung Basin), and the Korea/Tsushima Strait which is a unique conduit for surface inflow into the Ulleung Basin. The review particularly concentrates on describing some preliminary results from recent extensive measurements made after 1996. Mean flow patterns are different in the upstream and downstream regions of the Korea/Tsushima Strait. A high velocity core occurs in the mid-section in the upstream region, and splits into two cores hugging the coasts of Korea and Japan, the downstream region, after passing around Tsushima Island located in the middle of the strait. Four-year mean transport into the East/Japan Sea through the Korea/Tsushima Strait based on submarine cable data calibrated by direct observations is 2.4 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹). A wide range of variability occurs for the subtidal transport variation from subinertial (2–10 days) to interannual scales. While the subinertial variability is shown to arise from the atmospheric pressure disturbances, the longer period variation has been poorly understood.Mean upper circulation of the Ulleung Basin is characterized by the northward flowing East Korean Warm Current along the east coast of Korea and its meander eastward after the separation from the coast, the Offshore Branch along the coast of Japan, and the anticyclonic Ulleung Warm Eddy that forms from a meander of the East Korean Warm Current. Continuous acoustic travel-time measurements between June 1999 and June 2001 suggest five quasi-stable upper circulation patterns that persist for about 3–5 months with transitions between successive patterns occurring in a few months or days. Disappearance of the East Korean Warm Current is triggered by merging the Dok Cold Eddy, originating from the pinching-off of the meander trough, with the coastal cold water carried Southward by the North Korean Cold Current. The Ulleung Warm Eddy persisted for about 20 months in the middle of the Ulleung Basin with changes in its position and spatial scale associated with strengthening and weakening of the transport through the Korea/Tsushima Strait. The variability of upper circulation is partly related to the transport variation through the Korea/Tsushima Strait. Movements of the coastal cold water and the instability of the polar front also appear to be important factors affecting the variability.Deep circulation in the Ulleung Basin is primarily cyclonic and commonly consists of one or more cyclonic cells, and an anticyclonic cell centered near Ulleung Island. The cyclonic circulation is conjectured to be driven by a net inflow through the Ulleung Interplain Gap, which serves as a conduit for the exchange of deep waters between the Japan Basin in the northern East Sea and the Ulleung Basin. Deep currents are characterized by a short correlation scale and the predominance of mesoscale variability with periods of 20–40 days. Seasonality of deep currents is indistinct, and the coupling of upper and deep circulation has not been clarified yet.     

Recent sediment accumulation and origin of shelf mud deposits in the Yellow and East China Seas

Modern (last 100 yr) accumulation rates of shelf mud deposits in the Yellow and East China Seas were investigated using the distribution of excess ²¹⁰Pb (²¹⁰Pb_ex) in sediment core samples. Compilation and merger of new and previously published data helped clarify sediment accumulation in these seas. The estimated accumulation rates, together with data of suspended sediment concentrations, provided findings on the sediment budget, origin, and transport pathway of the mud deposits. The overall accumulation distribution in the Yellow and East China Sea shelf revealed a general, cross-shelf decreasing trend along the sediment dispersal system away from the rivers, except for the South Sea (SSM) and southeastern Yellow Sea (SEYSM) mud patches found along the Korean coast. Notably, ²¹⁰Pb_ex activity profiles within the SSM and the SEYSM yielded a relatively high accumulation rate of 2-5 mm/yr, implying a sedimentation rate of 4-15 × 10⁷ tons per year in this coastal zone. Such an annual accumulation rate is about one order of magnitude greater than the total sediment discharge (6-20 × 10⁶ tons/yr) from Korean rivers, suggesting an additional offshore source. The distribution pattern of the well-defined suspended plume clearly showed the possible transport and exchange of fine-grained sediments between the ECS shelf and the coastal area of Korea, especially during winter. Such a high accumulation in Korean coastal areas is attributable to the sediments supplied from the mud deposit of the ECS (i.e., SWCIM), with origins in Chinese rivers. Therefore, the Korean coastal area may be an important sink for some of Chinese river sediments being transported from the south by the Yellow Sea Warm Current.     

西北冰洋表层沉积物黏土矿物分布特征及物质来源

西北冰洋表层沉积物黏土矿物分析结果显示其黏土矿物组成的区域分布和变化具有明显的规律性:从楚科奇海到北冰洋深水区,随着水深的增加,蒙皂石和高岭石含量增高,绿泥石和伊利石含量降低。自西往东,伊利石结晶度值降低,化学指数升高。根据Q型聚类分析获得的黏土矿物组合特征,结合周缘陆地的地质背景、河流及洋流情况,对研究区进行了黏土矿物组合分区,讨论了其黏土矿物来源。楚科奇海表层沉积物黏土矿物组合在靠近阿拉斯加一侧海域以Ⅰ类为主,靠东西伯利亚海一侧主要有Ⅱ类、Ⅲ类和Ⅳ类,中部主要为Ⅵ类,主要是西伯利亚和阿拉斯加的火山岩、变质岩以及一些含高岭石的沉积物以及古土壤等,经风化、河流搬运入海,在北太平洋的3股洋流及西伯利亚沿岸流的作用下沉积形成的。西北冰洋深水区表层沉积物的黏土矿物组合以Ⅰ类和Ⅴ类为主,表明其沉积物来源为欧亚陆架和加拿大北极群岛周缘海域的海冰沉积和大西洋水体的搬运以及加拿大马更些河的河流物质输入。     

Numerical Experiments of the Influences of the Transport Variation through the Korea Strait on the Japan/East Sea Upper Layer Circulation

Numerical experiments were performed in order to investigate the effects of variations of the transport through the Korea/Tsushima Strait, an inlet of the Japan/East Sea, on the upper layer circulation in the JES based on a 10-month transport observation from May 1999 to March 2000 (Perkins et al., 2000). All external forcings to the model were annual mean fields, except the transport variation through the Korea Strait. In the experiments where the periodic variation of the transport repeated continuously sinusoidally by several periods, strong variability of sea surface height (SSH) was detected in the region extending from the Korea Strait to the Japanese coast due to the geostrophy of the buoyancy forcing at the Korea Strait. The region along the Korean coast is more sensitive to the long-term variations than the short-term (≤60-day period) ones. In two experiments forced by realistic and monthly mean transport, the difference of rms of sea surface height was largest at the Japanese coast and relatively large at the East Korean Warm Current separation region (128∼130°E, 39∼41°N) and to the east of Yamato Rise. The distribution of difference of eddy kinetic energy at 100 m depth between the two experiments was similar to that of the rms of SSH. In the distributions of mean SSH and mean kinetic energy at 100 m depth the realistic transport invokes eddy variability to interact with mean current resulting in the changes of the mean SSH and the mean kinetic energy at the East Korean Warm Current separation region, but it does not produce conspicuous changes in the mean fields of entire JES compared with the mean fields forced by the seasonal transport.     

Depositional environment in the southern Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Sea of Japan), during the last 48 000 years

The present study is based on the sedimentological data from a piston core KCES1 off the southern Ulleung Basin margin, the East Sea (Sea of Japan). The data include sediment color (L^*), X-ray radiographs, grain size distribution and AMS¹⁴C date. Four kinds of sediments (homogeneous, laminated, crudely laminated and hybrid sediments) are identified according to the characters of the sedimentary structures that were considered to reflect changes in bottom-water oxygenation. Alternations of dark laminated/crudely laminated sediments and light homogeneous sediments represent millennial-scale variations that are possibly associated with the high-resolution changes in the East Asian monsoon (EAM). The relative contributions of the East China Sea Coastal Water (ECSCW) and the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) were likely the main reasons for the repetition of the anoxic and oxic depositional conditions in the East Sea since the last 48 ka BP. During the interstadial, the strengthen summer EAM was attributed to the expansion of the ECSCW because of more humid climate in central Asia, and then more strongly low-salinity, nutrient-enriched water was introduced into the East Sea. The ventilation of deep water was restricted and therefore the dark laminated layer deposited under the anoxic bottom water condition. During the lowest stand of sea level in the last glacial maximum (LGM), the isolated East Sea dominated by stratiˉed water masses and the euxinic depositional environment formed. The homogenous sediments have been predominating since 17.5 ka BP indicating that the TWC has intruded into the East Sea gradually with the stepwise rise of sea level and the bottom water oxygen level was high. During the late Younger Dryas (YD) period, the last dark laminated layer deposited because the ventilation of bottom water was restricted by stronger summer EAM. The TWC strengthened and the bottom water became oxic again from 10.5 ka BP.     

中国东部海域中239+240Pu的来源与沉积过程研究

本文对东海及毗邻海域中239+240Pu比活度、240Pu/239Pu原子比值和239+240Pu累积通量或沉积通量数据进行整理,首次从大气沉降、海水中、生物体中、沉积物捕获器中以及沉积物中的239+240Pu 5个方面阐述了东海及毗邻海域中239+240Pu的地球化学行为。研究结果表明,全球大气沉降和太平洋核试验场输入的239+240Pu是东海海水和沉积物中239+240Pu的两个主要来源;在长江径流、浙闽沿岸流、台湾暖流、黑潮与上升流等水团的混合作用以及清除作用的影响下,东海近岸海水中239+240Pu浓度在时间上呈现被清除而减少的趋势,相应近岸浅水区沉积物中239+240Pu的埋藏深度高于远岸深水海域。在黑潮入侵和上升流的作用下,冲绳海槽区尤其是台湾岛东北部,沉积物中的239+240Pu比活度与沉积通量显著增大。同时,利用东海表层沉积物中239+240Pu比活度和240Pu/239Pu原子比值的相关关系证实了台湾东北部黑潮底层分支流的存在,并指示出台湾暖流与黑潮底层分支流可能交汇的海域位置。     

南黄海表层沉积物碳酸盐及Ca、Sr、Ba分布特征

依据表层沉积物碳酸盐及元素Ca、Sr、Ba特征,探讨了南黄海表层沉积物的来源及其动力成因。现代黄河物质及老黄河三角洲物质以高钙、高碳酸盐和高Ca/Sr比值为特征;海区东北部物质以低钙、低碳酸盐、低Ca/Sr与Sr/Ba比值为特征,长江物质以碳酸盐及CaO含量、Ca/Sr与Sr/Ba比值中等为特征。表层沉积物碳酸盐、CaO含量及Ca/Sr、Sr/Ba比值的分布对不同特征沉积物的搬运和沉积具有很好的指示意义,南黄海北部Sr/Ba低值带沿NE－SW向延伸大体反映了黄海暖流的入侵路线。     

The distinguishing of the Ob and Yenisei waters in the desalinated lenses of the Kara Sea in 1993 and 2007

In 1993 and 2007 when the expeditions of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology were performed in the Kara Sea, a significant part of its aquatic area was occupied by lenses of desalinated water. The fresh-water is supplied by the runoff of the Ob and Yenisei rivers, as well as by meltwaters. The report considers the features of the freshwater chemical transformation in the sea. It is shown that the contribution of meltwaters is small in the highly desalinated lenses (with salinity below 15‰) and the freshwater is supplied by the riverine runoff. It is also shown that, under definite conditions, it is possible to determine the relative shares of the Ob and Yenisei waters using the chemical parameters (the silicon and alkalinity). The data of 1993 when two lenses as such were found in the sea were confirmed; at that, the waters of the Yenisei and Ob rivers were prevailing in the western and northeastern lenses, respectively. In 2007, one lens was found in the treated area of the sea. It is shown that the chemical characteristics of the freshwater in the lens appeared to be sufficiently different from those of the Ob river but similar to the Yenisei river’s characteristics according to the data of 1993. A map of the Ob’s and the Yenisei’s water spreading over the sea’s aquatic area is presented.     

中国东部陆架表层沉积物粒度特征及其沉积环境浅析

对取自中国东部陆架海的209个表层沉积物样品进行了粒度分析及沉积物类型划分,探讨细颗粒沉积区分布格局与物源和环流体系的关系。结果表明,研究区底质类型主要有砂、粉砂质砂、泥质砂、砂质粉砂、砂质泥、粉砂和泥,个别站位含砾石。表层沉积物以粗颗粒砂质沉积为主,其主要分布在东海中北部、苏北浅滩、北黄海北部,其粒度特征主要为:平均粒径2～4Φ,分选差(分选系数>2),偏态极正偏(2～2.80),峰态很宽至宽(1.60～3.50);细颗粒泥质沉积主要分布在浙江沿岸至长江口外、苏北老黄河口外、南黄海中部、北黄海西南部及黄河口外的渤海海域,其粒度特征主要为:平均粒径6～7Φ,分选差至较差(分选系数1～2.5),偏态负偏(-1.50～-0.33)至近于对称(-0.33～+0.33),峰态很宽(>2.75)。从环流的流向与路径及邻近的河流物源角度,初步探讨了河流输入物质及环流体系对细颗粒沉积物沉积分布格局的影响,并初步推断了细颗粒沉积物的物源及基本输移路径。     

Late Quaternary sediments on the outer shelf of the Korea Strait and their paleoceanographic implications

Sedimentological and micropaleontological characteristics of core sediments from the outer shelf of the Korea Strait, which connects the northern East China Sea and the East Sea (Sea of Japan), were investigated to elucidate the paleoceanographic environment, especially the timing of the Kuroshio inflow, since the last glacial maximum. The core sediments, containing continuous records of the last 15,000 years, are characterized by a relatively high mud content (more than 50%, on average) and well-developed tide-influenced sedimentary structures. Their mineralogy suggests that the material originated from the paleo-Nakdong River system, which extended across the shelf of the Korea Strait during low sea-level periods. Planktonic foraminifers reveal a series of well-defined changes in paleoceanographic conditions during the late Pleistocene–Holocene. Down-core variations in the abundance of four foraminiferal assemblages, i.e., cold, coastal, tropical–subtropical, and Kuroshio water groups comprising characteristic planktonic species, suggest the occurrence of a distinct paleoenvironmental change in the surface water at 7,000 years b.p., i.e., from 15,000 to 7,000 years b.p., the area was influenced by coastal waters whereas since ca. 7,000 years b.p., it has been under the influence of open-sea water related to the Kuroshio Current flow, associated with both higher temperature and higher salinity. In particular, Pulleniatina obliquiloculata increased markedly in abundance at this time, documenting the inflow of the Kuroshio into the study area. These data indicate that the coastal water stage terminated at ca. 7,000 years b.p. when the warm Kuroshio and its major branch, the Tsushima Current, began to flow into the East Sea, as is the case today. The intrusion of the Tsushima Current through the Korea Strait after ca. 7,000 years b.p. resulted in abrupt changes in sedimentation rates and a dramatic increase in abundance of the Kuroshio indicator species, P. obliquiloculata.     

Spatial and temporal aspects of phytoplankton blooms in complex ecosystems off the korean coast from satellite ocean color observations

Complex physical, chemical and biological interactions off the Korean coast created several striking patterns in the phytoplankton blooms, which became conspicuous during the measurements of ocean color from space. This study concentrated on analyzing the spatial and temporal aspects of phytoplankton chlorophyll variability in these areas using an integrated dataset from a Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), Advanced Very High Resolution (AVHRR) sensor, and Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) sensor. The results showed that chlorophyll concentrations were elevated in coastal and open ocean regions, with strong summer and fall blooms, which appeared to spread out in most of the enclosed bays and neighboring waters due to certain oceanographic processes. The chlorophyll concentration was observed to range between 3 and 54 mg m^-3 inside Jin-hae Bay and adjacent coastal bays and 0.5 and 8 mg m^-3 in the southeast sea offshore waters, this gradual decrease towards oceanic waters suggested physical transports of phytoplankton blooms from the shallow shelves to slope waters through the influence of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) along the Tsushima Strait. Horizontal distribution of potential temperature (θ) and salinity (S) of water off the southeastern coast exhibited cold and low saline surface water (θ<19°C; S<32.4) and warm and high saline subsurface water (θ>12°C; S>34.4) at 75dBar, corroborating TWC intrusion along the Tsushima Strait. An eastward branch of this current was called the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), tracked with the help of CTD data and satellite-derived sea surface temperature, which often influenced the dynamics of mesoscale anticyclonic eddy fields off the Korean east coast during the summer season. The process of such mesoscale anticyclonic eddy features might have produced interior upwelling that could have shoaled and steepened the nutricline, enhancing phytoplankton population by advection or diffusion of nutrients in the vicinity of Ulleungdo in the East Sea.     

A Numerical Modeling of the Upper and the Intermediate Layer Circulation in the East Sea

Circulation in the upper and the intermediate layer of the East Sea is investigated by using a fine resolution, ocean general circulation model. Proper separation of the East Korean Warm Current from the coast is achieved by adopting the isopycnal mixing, and using the observed heat flux (Hirose et al., 1996) and the realistic wind stress (Na et al., 1992). The simulated surface circulation exhibits a remarkable seasonal variation in the flow patterns of the Nearshore Branch, the East Korean Warm Current and the Cold Currents. East of the Oki Bank, the Nearshore Branch follows the isobath of shelf topography from late winter to spring, while in summer and autumn it meanders offshore. The Nearshore Branch is accompanied by cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies in a fully developed meandering phase. The meandering and the eddy formation of the Nearshore Branch control the interior circulation in the Tsushima Current area. A recirculation gyre is developed in the region of the East Korean Warm Current in spring and grown up to an Ulleung Basin scale in summer. A subsurface water is mixed with the fresh surface water by winter convection in the northeastern coastal region of Korea. The well-mixed low salinity water is transported to the south by the Cold Currents, forming the salinity minimum layer (Intermediate Water) beneath the East Korean Warm Current water. The recirculation gyre redistributes the core water of the salinity minimum layer in the Ulleung Basin. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Surface circulation in the southwestern Japan/East Sea as observed from drifters and sea surface height

The mean circulation of the surface layer of the southwestern Japan/East Sea (JES) was examined using current measurements collected at 15 m by satellite-tracked drifters and merged sea level anomalies from satellite altimeters. The study of circulation patterns in this paper focused on the inflow passing through the western channel of the Korea Strait from the East China Sea. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of non-seasonal sea level anomalies revealed that significant energy in the circulation pattern of Ulleung Basin was controlled by the inflow conditions through the Korea Strait. Three circulation patterns were identified that depended on the initial relative vorticity of the inflow. When inflow had initially large negative vorticity, the flow gained more negative vorticity due to deepening of the bottom (stretching) and then turned right after entering the JES. The inflow then followed the path of the Tsushima Warm Current along the coast of Japan. When the inflow was strong, with a speed in excess of 55 cm/s and with a large positive vorticity, potential vorticity appeared to be conserved. In this case, the EKWC followed isobaths along the coast and then left the coast, following topographic features north of Ulleung-Do. The northward flowing jet developed inertial meandering after leaving the coast, which is a characteristic of many western boundary currents. The regular, bimonthly deployments of drifters in the western portion of the Korea Strait revealed that splitting or branching of the flow through the western channel of the Korea Strait occurred only 15% of the time. And splitting or branching rarely occurred during the fall and winter seasons, when the inflow splitting was previously reported in hydrographic surveys. The time-averaged circulation map of the EKWC and its seaward extension were considerably enhanced by using regularly sampled geostrophic velocities calculated from sea level anomalies to remove biases in the mean velocity that were caused by irregular spatial and temporal drifter observations. The East Korean Warm Current, a mean coastal current along the Korean coast, behaved like the simple model by Arruda et al. (2004) in which the generation of the Ulleung Warm Eddy and the meandering circulation pattern were well reproduced.     

中国东部陆架沉积环境对末次冰盛期以来海面阶段性上升的响应

到目前,还缺乏关于大型陆架系统对全球海面变化响应的研究,5年来我们对中国东部宽阔的陆架海底进行详细制图研究,结果表明:现代中国东部陆架海底沉积环境分布与末次冰盛期以来的海面变化之间有很好的响应关系;目前的陆架海底被3个沉积体系覆盖,即低海面期的古滨带、冰消期的海侵体系和高海面期的涡漩及近岸带沉积体系;末次冰期后期以来,可区分出3个快速海面上升期和3个慢速上升期。在快速上升期,海底形成了代表海岸快速移动的混杂沉积-海侵边界层,海岸平均移动速度10～22cm/a(最大64cm/a),缓慢上升期,形成了陆架广泛分布的潮流沙脊体系,三期沙脊体系之间有继承性演化关系。     

西北太平洋黑潮源区沉积特征及黑潮输入对东海沉积物的影响

在对海流和地质背景分析的基础上将源区黑潮划分为3个区域,即北赤道流区、吕宋岛以东海区和台湾东部黑潮主干区,归纳总结了其沉积物矿物组成、元素组分特征和物源研究结论,探讨了黑潮输入对东海沉积物的影响。总体看来,黑潮源区沉积物的主要外来源是菲律宾群岛、菲律宾岛弧、台湾河流输入和亚洲大陆风尘的输入。黑潮源区沉积物矿物分布受菲律宾海沟的阻隔、北赤道流与黑潮的营力作用、海底火山热液活动和水深影响较大,常量元素组成主要与海底地形和水深有关,稀土元素组成表现出具有明显陆源输入的边缘海沉积特征,Sr、Nd同位素组成的研究在该区主要用于追踪亚洲风尘输入。由于黑潮入侵东海多分支的复杂性,东海黑潮对陆架沉积物的影响尚需深入研究。进一步研究应在台湾东部沉积物物源分析、黑潮输入对东海沉积物影响的历史变化、多指标整合的综合分析方法、有效物源识别端元的构建等方面展开。深入研究黑潮源区沉积特征及物源可有效揭示黑潮流域变化、构造活动和气候变化等,且探明黑潮输入对东海陆架沉积物分布的影响有利于揭示东海生态环境变化和海洋资源环境的可持续利用。     

Supply of Heat by Tsushima Warm Current in the East Sea (Japan Sea)

A significant surface net heat loss appears around the Kuroshio and the Tsushima Warm Current regions. The area where the surface heat loss occurs should require heat to be supplied by the current to maintain the long-term annual heat balance. Oceanic heat advection in these regions plays an important role in the heat budget. The spatial distribution of the heat supply by the Tsushima Warm Current near the surface was examined by calculating the horizontal heat supply in the surface layer of the East Sea (the Japan Sea) (ESJS), directly from historical sea surface temperature and current data. We have also found a simple estimation of the effective vertical scale of heat supply by the current to compensate net heat loss using the heat supplied by the current in the surface 10 m layer. The heat supplied by the current for the annual heat balance was large in the Korea/Tsushima Strait and along the Japanese Coast, and was small in the northwestern part of the ESJS. The amount of heat supplied by the current was large in the northwestern part and small in the south-eastern part of the ESJS. These features suggest that the heat supplied by the Tsushima Warm Current is restricted to near the surface around the northeastern part and extends to a deeper layer around the southeastern part of the ESJS. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.