Surface layer temperature inversion in the Bay of Bengal

Surface layer temperature inversion occurring in the Bay of Bengal has been addressed. Hydrographic data archived in the Indian Oceanographic Data Center are used to understand various aspects of the temperature inversion of surface layer in the Bay of Bengal, such as occurrence time, characteristics, stability, inter-annual variability and generating mechanisms. Spatially organized temperature inversion occurs in the coastal waters of the western and northeastern Bay during winter (November–February). Although the inversion in the northeastern Bay is sustained until February (with remnants seen even in March), in the western Bay it becomes less organized in January and almost disappears by February. Inversion is confined to the fresh water induced seasonal halocline of the surface layer. Inversions of large temperature difference (of the order of 1.6–2.4°C) and thin layer thickness (10–20 m) are located adjacent to major fresh water inputs from the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Krishna and Godavari rivers. The inversion is stable with a mean stability of 3600×10^–8 m⁻¹. Inter-annual variability of the inversion is significantly high and it is caused by the inter-annual variability of fresh water flux and surface cooling in the northern Bay. Fresh water flux leads the occurrence process in association with surface heat flux and advection. The leading role of fresh water flux is understood from the observation that the two occurrence regions of inversion (the western and northeastern Bay) have proximity to the two low salinity (with values about 28–29‰) zones. In the western Bay, the East India Coastal Current brings less saline and cold water from the head of the Bay to the south-west Bay, where it advects over warm, saline water, promoting temperature inversion in this region in association with the surface heat loss. For inversion occurring in the northeastern Bay (where the surface water gains heat from atmosphere), surface advection of the less saline cold water from the head of the Bay and Irrawaddy basin is found to be the major causative factor.     

Structure and mechanisms of the Arabian Sea variability during the winter monsoon

In the southern Arabian Sea (between the Equator and 10°N), the shoaling of isotherms at subsurface levels (20 °C isotherm depth is located at ∼90 m) leads to cooling at 100 m by 2–3 °C relative to surrounding waters during the winter monsoon. The annual and interannual variations of this upwelling zone, which we call the Arabian Sea dome (ASD), are studied using results from an eddy-permitting ocean general circulation model in conjunction with hydrography and TOPEX/ERS altimeter data. The ASD first appears in the southeastern Arabian Sea during September–October, maturing during November–December to extend across the entire southern Arabian Sea (along ∼5°N). It begins to weaken in January and dissipates by March in the southwestern Arabian Sea. From the analysis of heat-budget balance terms and a pair of model control experiments, it is shown that the local Ekman upwelling induced by the positive wind-stress curl of the winter monsoon generates the ASD in the southeastern Arabian Sea. The ASD decays due to the weakening of the cyclonic curl of the wind and the westward penetration of warm water from the east (Southern Arabian Sea High). The interannual variation of the ASD is governed by variations in the Ekman upwelling induced by the cyclonic wind-stress curl. Associated with the unusual winds during 1994–1995 and 1997–1998 Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) periods, the ASD failed to develop. In the absence of the ASD during the IOD events, the 20 °C isotherm depth was 20–30 m deeper than normal in the southern Arabian Sea resulting in a temperature increase at 97 m of 4–5 °C. An implication is that the SST evolution in the southern Arabian Sea during the winter monsoon is primarily controlled by advective cooling: the shoaling of isotherms associated with the ASD leads to SST cooling.     

Surface wave simulation during winter with sea ice in the Bohai Sea

Sea ice can attenuate wave energy significantly when waves propagate through ice covers.In this study,a third-generation wave model called simulating wave nearshore(SWAN)was advanced to include damping of wave energy due to friction in the boundary layer below the ice.With the addition of an eddy viscosity wave-ice model,the resulting new SWAN model was applied to simulate wave height in the Bohai Sea during the freezing winter.Its performance was validated with available buoy data near the ice edge,and the new model showed an improvement in accuracy because it considered the ice effect on waves.We then performed a wave hindcast for the Bohai Sea during a freezing period in the winter of 2016 that had the severest ice conditions in recent years and found that the mean significant wave height changed by approximately 16.52%.In the Liaodong Bay,where sea ice concentration is highest,the change reached 32.57%,compared with the most recent SWAN model version.The average influence of sea ice on wave height simulation was also evaluated over a five-year(2013-2017)hindcast during January and February.We found that the wave height decrease was more significant in storm conditions even the eddy viscosity wave-ice model itself showed no advantage on damping stronger waves.     

Seasonal variability of sonic layer depth in the Central Arabian Sea

The seasonal variability of sonic layer depth (SLD) in the central Arabian Sea (CAS) (0 to 25°N and 62-66°E) was studied using the temperature and salinity (T/S) profiles from Argo floats for the years 2002–2006. The atmospheric forcing responsible for the observed changes was explored using the meteorological data from NCEP/NCAR and Quickscat winds. SLD was obtained from sound velocity profiles computed from T/S data. Net heat flux and wind forcing regulated SLD in the CAS. Up-welling and down-welling (Ekman dynamics) associated with the Findlater Jet controlled SLD during the summer monsoon. While in winter monsoon, cooling and convective mixing regulated SLD in the study region. Weak winds, high insolation and positive net heat flux lead to the formation of thin, warm and stratified sonic layer during pre and post summer monsoon periods, respectively.     

阿拉伯海上层海温的双峰特征

利用全球海洋Argo网格数据集、SODA月平均海洋数据集和CCMP风场数据,通过EOF分析,揭示了阿拉伯海5、50、100、200 m层海温全年2次增温、2次降温的双峰变化特征.结果表明,5 m层温度变化双峰信号出现在第一模态,其方差贡献率为75.79%,该信号主要受风场、太阳辐射及风生环流影响;50 m层温度变化双峰信号出现在第三模态,其方差贡献率为11.95%,该信号主要受风生环流影响;100 m层温度变化双峰信号出现在第一模态和第三模态,其中第一模态方差贡献率为52.03%,第三模态方差贡献率为9.55%.由100 m层第一模态可知,100 m层温度变化幅度最大、变化范围最广,是由于100 m层处于海洋温度变化最为剧烈的温跃层中.100 m层海温变化主要受风应力旋度(方向:向上为正)影响,风应力旋度为负时,大气对海洋的强迫导致局地海水辐合,温跃层加深,100 m层部分海域温度升高;风应力旋度为正时,大气对海洋的抽吸导致局地海水辐散,海洋深处的冷水上升,100 m层部分海域温度降低.     

Nitrogen dynamics during the Arabian Sea Northeast Monsoon

This investigation focused on the weaker and less well understood of the two Arabian Sea monsoonal wind phases, the NE Monsoon, which persists for 3–4 months in the October to February period. Historically, this period has been characterized as a time of very low nutrient availability and low biological production. As part of the US JGOFS Arabian Sea Process Study, 17 stations were sampled on a cruise in January 1995 (late NE Monsoon) and, 15 stations were sampled on a cruise in November 1995 (early NE Monsoon). Only the southern most stations (10° and 12°N) and one shallow coastal station were as nutrient-depleted as had been expected from the few relevant prior studies in this region. Experiments were conducted to ascertain the relative importance of different nitrogenous nutrients and the sufficiency of local regeneration processes in supplying nitrogenous nutrients utilized in primary production. Except for the southern oligotrophic stations, the euphotic zone concentrations of NO₃⁻ were typically 5–10-fold greater than those of NO₂⁻ and NH₄⁺. There was considerable variation (20–40-fold) in nutrient concentration both within and between the two sections on each cruise. All nitrogenous nutrients were more abundant (2–4-fold) later in the NE Monsoon. Strong vertical gradients in euphotic zone NH₄⁺ concentration, with higher concentrations at depth, were common. This was in contrast to the nearly uniform euphotic zone concentrations for both NO₃⁻ and NO₂⁻. Half-saturation constants for uptake were higher for NO₃⁻ (1.7 μmol kg⁻¹ (s.d.=0.88, n=8)) than for NH₄⁺ (0.47 μmol kg⁻¹ (s.d.=0.33, n=5)). Evidence for the suppressing effect of NH₄⁺ on NO₃⁻ uptake was widespread, although not as severe as has been noted for some other regions. Both the degree of sensitivity of NO₃⁻ uptake to NH₄⁺ concentration and the half-saturation constant for NO₃⁻ uptake were correlated with ambient NO₃⁻ concentration. The combined effect of high affinity for low concentrations of NH₄⁺ and the effect of NH₄⁺ concentration on NO₃⁻ uptake resulted in similarly low f-ratios, 0.15 (s.d.=0.07, n=15) and 0.13 (s.d.=0.08, n=17), for early and late observations in the NE Monsoon, respectively. Stations with high f-ratios had the lowest euphotic zone NH₄⁺ concentrations, and these stations were either very near shore or far from shore in the most oligotrophic waters. At several stations, particularly early in the NE Monsoon, the utilization rates for NO₂⁻ were equal to or greater than 50% the utilization rates for NO₃⁻. When converted with a Redfield C : N value of 6.7, the total N uptake rates measured in this study were commensurate with measurements of C productivity. While nutrient concentrations at some stations approached levels low enough to limit phytoplankton growth, light was shown to be very important in regulating N uptake at all stations in this study. Diel periodicity was observed for uptake of all nitrogenous nutrients at all stations. The amplitude of this periodicity was positively correlated with nutrient concentration. The strongest of these relationships occurred with NO₃⁻. Ammonium concentration strongly influenced the vertical profiles for NO₃⁻ uptake as well as for NH₄⁺ uptake. Both NO₂⁻ and NH₄⁺ were regenerated within the euphotic zone at rates comparable to rates of uptake of these nutrients, and thus maintenance of mixed layer concentrations did not require diffusive or advective fluxes from other sources. Observed turnover times for NH₄⁺ were typically less than one day. Rapid turnover and the strong light regulation of NH₄⁺ uptake allowed the development and maintenance of vertical structure in NH₄⁺ concentration within the euphotic zone. In spite of the strong positive effect of light on NO₂⁻ uptake and its strong negative effect on NO₂⁻ production, the combined effects of much longer turnover times for this nutrient and mixed layer dynamics resulted in nearly uniform NO₂⁻ concentrations within the euphotic zone. Responses of the NE Monsoon planktonic community to light and nutrients, in conjunction with mixed layer dynamics, allowed for efficient recycling of N within the mixed layer. As the NE Monsoon evolved and the mixed layer deepened convectively, NO₂⁻ and NO₃⁻ concentrations increased correspondingly with the entrainment of deeper water. Planktonic N productivity increased 2-fold, but without a significant change the new vs. recycled N proportionality. Consequently, NO₃⁻ turnover time increased from about 1 month to greater than 3 months. This reflected the overriding importance of recycling processes in supplying nitrogenous nutrients for primary production throughout the duration of the NE Monsoon. As a result, NO₃⁻ supplied to the euphotic zone during the NE Monsoon is, for the most part, conserved for utilization during the subsequent intermonsoon period.     

A cold pool south of Indo-Sri Lanka channel and its intrusion into the Southeastern Arabian Sea during winter

During winter, south of the Indo-Sri Lanka Channel (ISLC), the observed sea-surface temperature (SST) distribution shows a distinct mini-cold pool (MCP) with relatively cooler waters (SST<28 °C). All the available satellite and in-situ measurements are utilized to characterize and explain the mechanisms that govern the evolution of the observed MCP. During December–January, the northeasterly surface winds blow through the ISLC manifesting a patch of strong winds in the south with peak intensity of about 10 m/s, enhance surface turbulent heat losses and drive near-surface vertical mixing resulting in the observed cooling. The vertical temperature profiles in this region also show cooling and deepening of the near-surface isothermal layer from November to January. This cooling occurs episodically on an intra-seasonal time scale with a typical periodicity of 8–15 days and is stronger when the surface winds intensify, surface net heat losses are larger and the near-surface circulation is more pronounced. The cooling episodes varied in number, intensity, duration and spatial extent in each winter during 1998–2006. The cooler surface waters from this MCP flow initially southwestward and are then topographically steered northwestward by the Maldives Island Chain. The resultant near-surface circulation also appears to strengthen the amplitude of the near-surface thermal inversions observed in the SouthEastern Arabian Sea (SEAS).     

The oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea during 1995

This paper focuses on the characteristics of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) as observed in the Arabian Sea over the complete monsoon cycle of 1995. Dissolved oxygen, nitrite, nitrate and density values are used to delineate the OMZ, as well as identify regions where denitrification is observed. The suboxic conditions within the northern Arabian Sea are documented, as well as biological and chemical consequences of this phenomenon. Overall, the conditions found in the suboxic portion of the water column in the Arabian Sea were not greatly different from what has been reported in the literature with respect to oxygen, nitrate and nitrite distributions. Within the main thermocline, portions of the OMZ were found that were suboxic (oxygen less than ∼4.5 μM) and contained secondary nitrite maxima with concentrations that sometimes exceeded 6.0 μM, suggesting active nitrate reduction and denitrification. Although there may have been a reduction in the degree of suboxia during the Southwest monsoon, a dramatic seasonality was not observed, as has been suggested by some previous work. In particular, there was not much evidence for the occurrence of secondary nitrite maxima in waters with oxygen concentrations greater than 4.5 μM. Waters in the northern Arabian Sea appear to accumulate larger nitrate deficits due to longer residence times even though the denitrification rate might be lower, as evident in the reduced nitrite concentrations in the northern part of the basin. Organism distributions showed string relationships to the oxygen profiles, especially in locations where the OMZ was pronounced, but the biological responses to the OMZ varied with type of organism. The regional extent of intermediate nepheloid layers in our data corresponds well with the region of the secondary nitrite maximum. This is a region of denitrification, and the presence and activities of bacteria are assumed to cause the increase in particles. ADCP acoustic backscatter measurements show diel vertical migration of plankton or nekton and movement into the OMZ. Daytime acoustic returns from depth were strong, and the dawn sinking and dusk rise of the fauna were obvious. However, at night the biomass remaining in the suboxic zone was so low that no ADCP signal was detectable at these depths. There are at least two groups of organisms, one that stays in the upper mixed layer and another that makes daily excursions. A subsurface zooplankton peak in the lower OMZ (near the lower 4.5 μM oxycline) was also typically present; these animals occurred day and night and did not vertically migrate.     

A near-inertial current event in the homogeneous deep layer of the northern Sea of Japan during winter

Under strong surface wind forcing during winter, direct current observations in the northern Sea of Japan show the existence of strong near-inertial currents in the deep water that is characterized by the extremely homogeneous vertical structures of temperature and salinity. However, the mechanism generating internal waves in the deep water of the northern Sea of Japan has not been well understood. In this study, to clarify the dynamical link between the surface wind forcing and near-inertial currents in the deep water of the northern Sea of Japan, we drive a general circulation model taking into account realistic wind stress, ocean bottom and land topography. In the northern Sea of Japan, the numerical results show that vertically coherent horizontal currents with a speed of ~ 0.05 m s^?1 are excited throughout the homogeneous deep water. A two-layer model successfully reproduces the pattern of the horizontal current velocities shown by the general circulation model, indicating that internal waves emanate westward from the northwestern coast of Japan through coastal adjustment to the strong wind forcing event and, while propagating into the ocean interior, they excite evanescent near-inertial response throughout the lower layer below the interface.     

Variations of sea surface temperature and primary productivity during Heinrich and Dansgaard-Oeschger events in the northeastern Arabian Sea

Sea surface temperatures (SST) and primary productivities have been reconstructed for the northeastern Arabian Sea during the past 65,000 years, using C₃₇-alkenones. Comparison of this SST record with '¹⁸O from Greenland ice core GISP2 shows striking similarities, indicating an apparent linkage between the climate of the Arabian Sea with that of the northern North Atlantic, most probably via atmospheric and/or oceanic circulation. These rapid SST changes are in the long term overlain by insolation changes at 30°N.     

Mixed layer variability in Northern Arabian Sea as detected by an Argo float

Seasonal evolution of surface mixed layer in the Northern Arabian Sea (NAS) between 17° N–20.5° N and 59° E-69° E was observed by using Argo float daily data for about 9 months, from April 2002 through December 2002. Results showed that during April - May mixed layer shoaled due to light winds, clear sky and intense solar insolation. Sea surface temperature (SST) rose by 2.3 °C and ocean gained an average of 99.8 Wm⁻². Mixed layer reached maximum depth of about 71 m during June - September owing to strong winds and cloudy skies. Ocean gained abnormally low ∼18 Wm⁻² and SST dropped by 3.4 °C. During the inter monsoon period, October, mixed layer shoaled and maintained a depth of 20 to 30 m. November - December was accompanied by moderate winds, dropping of SST by 1.5 °C and ocean lost an average of 52.5 Wm⁻². Mixed layer deepened gradually reaching a maximum of 62 m in December. Analysis of surface fluxes and winds suggested that winds and fluxes are the dominating factors causing deepening of mixed layer during summer and winter monsoon periods respectively. Relatively high correlation between MLD, net heat flux and wind speed revealed that short term variability of MLD coincided well with short term variability of surface forcing.     

Living planktonic foraminifera during the late summer monsoon period in the Arabian Sea

During the late summer monsoon living planktonic foraminifera were collected in the southeastern Arabian Sea between 3°N and 15°N by using six vertical plankton tows. Sixteen species of planktonic foraminifera were identified. Among them, Globigerinoides ruber and Globigerinoides sacculifer are the most abundant species, while the ecologically most important species Globigerina bulloides is very rare. The low abundance of G. bulloides can be explained by the warming of the surface water in combination with deepening of the mixed layer, since this species preferentially dwells in nutrient-rich upwelling waters. The population density of planktonic foraminifera ranges between 31 and 185 specimens per 10⁻³ m³. The low absolute numbers of planktonic foraminifera are similar to the numbers which were reported before from the non-upwelling areas in the Arabian Sea. The low absolute numbers and the collected foraminiferal assemblages are therefore highly indicative of the Arabian Sea non-upwelling areas. Particularly significant are the low absolute and relative numbers of the non-spinose species Globorotalia menardii and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei. The absence of these species indicate the relatively low nutrient levels in this area at the tail end of the summer monsoon period.     

Waves in the nearshore waters of northern Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon

Waves at 15 m water depth in the northern Arabian Sea are measured during the summer monsoon for a period of 45 days and the characteristics are described. The significant wave height varied from 1.1 to 4.5 m with an average value of 2.5 m. 75% of the wave height at the measurement location is due to the swells arriving from the south-west and the remaining is due to the seas from south-west to north-west. Wave age of the measured data indicates that the waves in the nearshore waters of northern Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon are swells with young sea.     

Picophytoplankton dynamics and production in the Arabian Sea during the 1995 Southwest Monsoon

Phytoplankton community structure is expected to shift to larger cells (e.g., diatoms) with monsoonal forcing in the Arabian Sea, but recent studies suggest that small primary producers remain active and important, even in areas strongly influenced by coastal upwelling. To better understand the role of smaller phytoplankton in such systems, we investigated growth and grazing rates of picophytoplankton populations and their contributions to phytoplankton community biomass and primary productivity during the 1995 Southwest Monsoon (August–September). Environmental conditions at six study stations varied broadly from open-ocean oligotrophic to coastal eutrophic, with mixed-layer nitrate and chlorophyll concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 11.5 μM NO₃ and 0.16 to 1.5 μg Chl a. Picophytoplankton comprised up to 92% of phytoplankton carbon at the oceanic stations, 35% in the diatom-dominated coastal zone, and 26% in a declining Phaeocystis bloom. Concurrent in situ dilution and ¹⁴C-uptake experiments gave comparable ranges of community growth rates (0.53–1.05 d⁻¹ and 0.44–1.17 d⁻¹, to the 1% light level), but uncertainties in C:Chl a confounded agreement at individual stations. Microzooplankton grazing utilized 81% of community phytoplankton growth at the oligotrophic stations and 54% at high-nutrient coastal stations. Prochlorococcus (PRO) was present at two oligotrophic stations, where its maximum growth approached 1.4 d⁻¹ (two doublings per day) and depth-integrated growth varied from 0.2 to 0.8 d⁻¹. Synechococcus (SYN) growth ranged from 0.5 to 1.1 d⁻¹ at offshore stations and 0.6 to 0.7 d⁻¹ at coastal sites. Except for the most oligotrophic stations, growth rates of picoeukaryotic algae (PEUK) exceeded PRO and SYN, reaching 1.3 d⁻¹ offshore and decreasing to 0.8 d⁻¹ at the most coastal station. Microzooplankton grazing impact averaged 90, 70, and 86% of growth for PRO, SYN, and PEUK, respectively. Picoplankton as a group accounted for 64% of estimated gross carbon production for all stations, and 50% at high-nutrient, upwelling stations. Prokaryotes (PRO and SYN) contributed disproportionately to production relative to biomass at the most oligotrophic station, while PEUK were more important at the coastal stations. Even during intense monsoonal forcing in the Arabian Sea, picoeukaryotic algae appear to account for a large portion of primary production in the coastal upwelling regions, supporting an active community of protistan grazers and a high rate of carbon cycling in these areas.     

Monsoon-driven biogeochemical processes in the Arabian Sea

Although it is nominally a tropical locale, the semiannual wind reversals associated with the Monsoon system of the Arabian Sea result annually in two distinct periods of elevated biological activity. While in both cases monsoonal forcing drives surface layer nutrient enrichment that supports increased rates of primary productivity, fundamentally different entrainment mechanisms are operating in summer (Southwest) and winter (Northeast) Monsoons. Moreover, the intervening intermonsoon periods, during which the region relaxes toward oligotrophic conditions more typical of tropical environments, provide a stark contrast to the dynamic biogeochemical activity of the monsoons. The resulting spatial and temporal variability is great and provides a significant challenge for ship-based surveys attempting to characterize the physical and biogeochemical environments of the region. This was especially true for expeditions in the pre-satellite era.Here, we present an overview of the dynamical response to seasonal monsoonal forcing and the characteristics of the physical environment that fundamentally drive regional biogeochemical variability. We then review past observations of the biological distributions that provided our initial insights into the pelagic system of the Arabian Sea. These evolved through the 1980s as additional methodologies, in particular the first synoptic ocean color distributions gathered by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, became available. Through analyses of these observations and the first large-scale physical–biogeochemical modeling attempts, a pre-JGOFS understanding of the Arabian Sea emerged. During the 1990s, the in situ and remotely sensed observational databases were significantly extended by regional JGOFS activities and the onset of Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor ocean color measurements. Analyses of these new data and coupled physical–biogeochemical models have already advanced our understanding and have led to either an amplification or revision of the pre-JGOFS paradigms. Our understanding of this complex and variable ocean region is still evolving. Nonetheless, we have a much better understanding of time–space variability of biogeochemical properties in the Arabian Sea and much deeper insights about the physical and biological factors that drive them, as well as a number of challenging new directions to pursue.     

Biogeochemical ocean-atmosphere transfers in the Arabian Sea

Transfers of some important biogenic atmospheric constituents, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), molecular nitrogen (N₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), nitrate , ammonia (NH₃), methylamines (MAs) and dimethylsulphide (DMS), across the air–sea interface are investigated using published data generated mostly during the Arabian Sea Process Study (1992–1997) of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS). The most important contribution of the region to biogeochemical fluxes is through the production of N₂ and N₂O facilitated by an acute, mid-water deficiency of dissolved oxygen (O₂); emissions of these gases to the atmosphere from the Arabian Sea are globally significant. For the other constituents, especially CO₂, even though the surface concentrations and atmospheric fluxes exhibit extremely large variations both in space and time, arising from the unique physical forcing and associated biogeochemical environment, the overall significance in terms of their global fluxes is not much because of the relatively small area of the Arabian Sea. Distribution and air–sea exchanges of some of these constituents are likely to be greatly influenced by alterations of the subsurface O₂ field forced by human-induced eutrophication and/or modifications to the regional hydrography.     

Zooplankton herbivory in the Arabian Sea during and after the SW monsoon, 1994

Microzooplankton herbivory in the Arabian Sea was measured using dilution experiments towards the end of the SW monsoon in September and during the intermonsoon to NE monsoon period in November–December 1994. Microzooplankton grazing resulted in a turnover of phytoplankton stocks that ranged from 11 to 49% per day. This was equivalent to grazing fluxes of between 1 and 17 mg C m^-3 d^-1. Depth-integrated microzooplankton herbivory ranged between 161 and 415 mg C m^-2 d^-1 during the SW monsoon cruise, and between 110 and 407 mg C m^-2 d^-1 during the intermonsoon period. Microzooplankton grazed between 4 and 60% of daily primary production, with higher percentages found during the intermonsoon season. Phytoplankton growth rates during the SW monsoon ranged from 0.3 to 1.8 d^-1, with lower values in upwelling waters and higher values in downwelling and oligotrophic areas. During the intermonsoon period, phytoplankton growth was more uniform across the basin and averaged 0.68±0.15 d^-1. Microzooplankton abundance in experimental samples varied between 2800 and 16 162 cells l^-1, equivalent to a biomass of between 1.1 and 7.2 mg C m^-3. The mean cell carbon content of microzooplankton was similar in both periods and ranged from 0.33 to 0.55 ng C cell^-1. Microzooplankton were smallest in downwelling waters and largest in oligotrophic waters. Average clearance rates in those taxa that took up fluorescently-labelled algae ranged from 0.2 to 14 μl ind^-1 hr^-1. Average mesozooplankton grazing rates, derived from biomass data, varied from 19 to 92 mg C m^-2 d^-1; these rates accounted for removal of between 4 and 12% of the daily primary production. Mesozooplankton herbivory was most pronounced in upwelling and downwelling waters and reduced in stratified oligotrophic waters during the SW monsoon period. Microzooplankton herbivory was greater than the average mesozooplankton herbivory at all stations, during both the SW monsoon and intermonsoon periods.     

定深温度约束下的南海海域温度剖面反演

为快速获取大范围、准实时的海洋内部结构,海面遥感数据被广泛应用于构建温度剖面垂直结构,但卫星遥感仅能获得较为准确的海洋表面或者近表层数据。为了提高全海深温度剖面的反演精度,本文以水下固定深度处温度为约束,通过径向基函数神经网络生成海表面温度和海平面高度异常等海表遥感数据与温度剖面之间的非线性映射,并对约束深度选取的理论依据进行讨论。南海海域温度剖面的反演结果表明,第1阶经验正交函数系数可以表征温跃层的垂直位移,而第1阶经验正交函数基函数极值点对应深度处的温度与第1阶经验正交函数系数之间具有强相关性。当增加该深度处温度为约束时,温跃层的反演精度比仅使用海面遥感数据约提高0.35℃,反演温度剖面的平均均方根误差约为0.33℃。     

冬春季黄海温度锋面的多时间尺度变化及主控因素分析

海洋锋面强度变化对陆源物质输运和全球物质循环有重要作用。冬春季节,中国东部陆架区西太平洋边界流分支与沿岸流之间形成了海洋温度锋。为探究冬季风暴和陆架环流双重影响下温度锋面的多时间尺度变化及主控因素,本文以黄海为研究区,分别在年代际尺度和天气尺度,利用信号分解和可解释深度学习方法,研究了低纬度驱动的环流系统和高纬度驱动的冬季风暴对锋面变化的耦合作用。在年代际尺度,通过使用经验正交函数分解和集合经验模态分解的方法,将北黄海的温度变化与黄海暖流强度相联系。研究结果表明,黄海的海表温度经验正交函数（EOF）分解第一模态的空间分布有明显的黄海暖流—沿岸流体系特征;海表温度EOF第一模态时间序列与黄海暖流强度指标的相关性良好,且受低频率厄尔尼诺‒南方涛动信号调控。在天气尺度,对卷积神经网络−长短时记忆网络（CNN-LSTM）模型进行训练并使用可解释性指标进行分析,结果发现无风或弱风条件下,海洋锋面主要由压力梯度力和科里奥利力的地转平衡维持;但在冬季风暴条件下,受开尔文波传播和切变锋破碎的影响,流场的低频波动成为导致锋面强度变化的主因。本文研究结果表明,大数据及机器学习方法是在众多海洋参数间建立联系,并发现一些独特物理海洋过程的重要手段,具有广阔的应用前景。     

Plankton net community production and dark respiration in the Arabian Sea during September 1994

Plankton community net and gross production and dark respiration were determined from in vitro changes in dissolved inorganic carbon and dissolved oxygen during September 1994 along a southeast offshore transect in the Arabian Sea. Surface rates of gross production decreased from 17±0.7 mmol C m^-3 d^-1 at a coastal upwelling station to 3±0.8 mmol C m^-3 d^-1 at the most offshore station. The euphotic zone at the time of sampling was predominantly heterotrophic, with integrated net community production values ranging from 15±7 mmol C m^-2 d^-1 inshore to −253±32 mmol C m^-2 d^-1 offshore. Calculations of the respiration attributable to the major plankton groups could account for 61–87% of the dark community respiration measured at the inshore stations, but only 15–26% of the community respiration determined offshore. Comparison of the fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon and oxygen revealed a tendency for higher respiratory quotients than those calculated for organic metabolism prevailing at the offshore stations.