Modelling nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in a mesocosm pelagic ecosystem in Laizhou Bay in China

A model of nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in mesocosm experiments was established on the basis of a summary and synthesis of the existing models. The established model comprised seven state variables(DIN,PO4-P,DON,DOP,phytoplankton,zooplankton and detritus) and five modules - phytoplankton,zooplankton,dissolved inorganic nutrients,dissolved organic nutrients and detritus. Comparison with the in situ experimental data in Laizhou Bay at the end of August 2002 showed that this model could properly simulate t...     

Modeling study of seasonal variation of the pelagic-benthic ecosystem characteristics of the Bohai Sea

Based on experiment data of the Sino-German comprehensive investigations in the Bohai Sea in 1998 and 1999, a simple coupled pelagic-benthic ecosystem multi-box model is used to simulate the ecosystem seasonal variation. The pelagic sub-model consists of seven state variables： phytoplankton, zooplankton, TIN, TIP, DOC, POC and dissolved oxygen （DO）. The benthic sub-model includes macro-benthos, meiobenthos, bacteria, detritus, TIN and TIP in the sediment. Besides the effects of solar radiation, water temperature and the nutrient from sea bottom exudation, land-based inputs are considered. The impact of the advection terms between the boxes is also considered. Meanwhile, the effects of the micro- bial-loop are introduced with a simple parameterization. The seasonal variations and the horizontal distributions of the ecosystem state variables of the Bohai Sea are simulated. Compared with the observations, the results of the multi-box model are reasonable. The modeled results show that about 13% of the photosynthesis primary production goes to the main food loop, 20% transfers to the benthic domain, 44% is consumed by the respiration of phytoplankton, and the rest goes to DOC. Model results also show the importance of the microbial food loop in the ecosystem of the Bohai Sea, and its contribution to the annual zooplankton production can be 60%-64%.     

A Model Study on Dynamical Processes of Phytoplankton inLaizhou Bay

A three-dimensional ecosystem model, using a PIC （Particle-In-Cell） method, is developed to reproduce the annual cycleand seasonal variation of nutrients and phytoplankton biomass in Laizhou Bay. Eight state variables, i.e., DIN （dissolved inorganicnitrogen）, phosphate, DON （dissolved organic nitrogen）, DOP （dissolved organic phosphorus）, COD （chemical oxygen demand）,chlorophyll-a （Chl-a）, detritus and the zooplankton biomass, are included in the model. The model successfully reproduces the ob-served temporal and spatial variations of nutrients and Chl-a biomass distributions in the bay. The nutrient concentrations are at highlevel in winter and at low level in summer. Double-peak structure of the phytoplankton （PPT） biomass exists in Laizhou Bay, corre-sponding to a spring and an autumn bloom respectively. Several numerical experiments are carried out to examine the nutrient limita-tion, and the importance of the discharges of the Yellow River and Xiaoqinghe River. Both DIN limitation and phosphate limitationexist in some areas of the bay, with the former being more significant than the latter. The Yellow River and Xiaoqinghe River are themain pollution sources of nutrients in Laizhou Bay. During the flood season, the algal growth is inhibited in the bay with the YellowRiver discharges being excluded in the experiment, while in spring, the algal growth is enhanced with the Xiaoqinghe River ex-cluded.     

Diagnosis of Physical and Biological Controls on PhytoplanktonDistribution in the Sargasso Sea

The linkage between physical and biological processes is studied by applying a one-dimensional physical-biologicalcoupled model to the Sargasso Sea. The physical model is the Princeton Ocean Model and the biological model is a five-componentsystem including phytoplankton, zooplankton, nitrate, ammonium, and detritus. The coupling between the physical and biologicalmodel is accomplished through vertical mixing which is parameterized by the level 2.5 Mellor and Yamada turbulence closurescheme. The coupled model investigates the annual cycle of ecosystem production and the response to external forcing, such as heatflux, wind stress, and surface salinity, and the relative importance of physical processes in affecting the ecosystem. Sensitivity ex-periments are also carried out, which provide information on how the model bio-chemical parameters affect the biological system.The computed seasonal cycles compare reasonably well with the observations of the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study （BATS）.The spring bloom of phytoplankton occurs in March and April, right after the weakening of the winter mixing and before the estab-lishment of the summer stratification. The bloom of zooplankton occurs about two weeks after the bloom of phytoplankton. The sen-sitivity experiments show that zooplankton is more sensitive to the variations of biochemical parameters than phytoplankton.     

COUPLED PHYSICAL-ECOLOGICAL MODELLING IN THE CENTRAL PART OF JIAOZHOU BAY Ⅱ.COUPLED WITH AN ECOLOGICAL MODEL

Sharpies‘ 1-D physical rrozlel maploying tide-wind driven turbulence closure and surface heating-cooling physics, was coupled with an eculogical rnodet with 9-biochemical components: phytoplankton, zooplankton, shellfish, autotmphic and heterotrophic bacterioplankton, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), suspended detritus and sinking particles to simulate the armual evolution of ecosystem in thecentral part of Jiaozhou Bay. The coupled modeling results showed that the phytoplankton shading effectcould reduce seawater temperamre by 2℃, so that photosynthesis efficiency should be less than 8% ; that the loss of phytoplankton by zooplankton grazing in winter tended to be compensated by phytoplankton advection and diffusion from the otrtside of the Bay; that the incidem irradiance intensity could be the mostimportant factor for phytoplankton grcr, wth rate; and that it was the bacterial secondary prnduction that maintained the maximum zooplankton biomass in winter usually observed in the 1990s, indicating that themicrobial food loop was extremely important for ecosystem study of Jiaozhou Bay.     

EXAMINATION OF SILICATE LIMITATION OF PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN JIAOZHOU BAY, CHINA——I. SILICATE BEING A LIMITING FACTOR OF PHYTOPLANKTON PRIMARY PRODUCTION

Jiaozhou Bay data collected from May 1991 to February 1994, in 12 seasonal investigations, and provided the authors by the Ecological Station of Jiaozhou Bay, were analyzed to determine the spatiotemporal variations in temperature, light, nutrients (NO3^--N, NO2^--N, NH4^ -N, SIO3^2--Si, PO4^3--P), phytoplankton, and primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. The results indicated that only silicate correlated well in time and space with, and had important effects on, the characteristics, dynamic cycles and trends of, primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. The authors developed a corresponding dynamic model of primary production and silicate and water temperature. Eq. ( 1 ) of the model shows that the primary production variation is controlled by the nutrient Si and affected by water temperature; that the main factor controlling the primary production is Si; that water temperature affects the composition of the structure of phytoplankton assemblage; that the different populations of the phytoplankton assemblage occupy different ecological niches for C, the apparent ratio of conversion of silicate in seawater into phytoplankton biomas and D, the coefficient of water temperature‘s effect on phytoplankton biomass. The authors researched the silicon source of Jiaozhou Bay, the biogeochemical sediment process of the silicon, the phytoplankton predominant species and the phytoplankton structure. The authors considered silicate a limiting factor of primary production in Jiaozhou Bay, whose decreasing concentration of silicate from terrestrial source is supposedly due to dilution by current and uptake by phytoplankton; quantified the silicate assimilated by phytoplankton, the intrinsic ratio of conversion of silicon into phytoplankton biomass, the proportion of silicate uptaken by phytoplankton and diluted by current; and found that the primary production of the phytoplankton is determined by the quantity of the silicate assimilated by them. The phenomenon of apparently high plant-nutrient concentTations but low phytoplankton biomass in some waters is reasonably explained in this paper.     

A coupled ice-ocean ecosystem model for 1-D and 3-D applications in the Bering and Chukchi Seas

Primary production in the Bering and Chukchi Seas is strongly influenced by the annual cycle of sea ice. Here pelagic and sea ice algal ecosystems coexist and interact with each other. Ecosystem modeling of sea ice associated phytoplankton blooms has been understudied compared to open water ecosystem model applications. This study introduces a general coupled ice-ocean ecosystem model with equations and parameters for 1-D and 3-D applications that is based on 1-D coupled ice-ocean ecosystem model development in the landfast ice in the Chukchi Sea and marginal ice zone of Bering Sea. The biological model includes both pelagic and sea ice algal habitats with 10 compartments： three phytoplankton （pelagic diatom, flagellates and ice algae： D, F, and Ai） , three zooplankton （copepods, large zooplankton, and microzooplankton ： ZS, ZL, ZP） , three nutrients （ nitrate ＋ nitrite, ammonium, silicon ： NO3 , NH4, Si） and detritus （Det）. The coupling of the biological models with physical ocean models is straightforward with just the addition of the advection and diffusion terms to the ecosystem model. The coupling with a multi-category sea ice model requires the same calculation of the sea ice ecosystem model in each ice thickness category and the redistribution between categories caused by both dynamic and thermodynamic forcing as in the physical model. Phytoplankton and ice algal self-shading effect is the sole feedback from the ecosystem model to the physical model.     

Influence of Seawater Temperature on Phytoplankton Growth in Jiaozhou Bay, China

The phytoplankton reproduction capacity (PRC), as a new concept regarding chlorophyll-a and primary production (PP) is described. PRC is different from PP, carbon assimilation number (CAN) or photosynthetic rate ( P^B ) . PRC quantifies phytoplankton growth with a special consideration of the effect of seawater temperature. Observation data in Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, China, collected from May 1991 to February 1994 were used to analyze the horizontal distribution and seasonal variation of the PRC in Jiaozhou Bay in order to determine the characteristics, dynamic cycles and trends of phytoplankton growth in Jiaozhou Bay; and to develop a corresponding dynamic model of seawater temperature vs. PRC. Simulation curves showed that seawater temperature has a dual function of limiting and enhancing PRC. PRC‘s periodicity and fluctuation are similar to those of the seawater temperature. Nutrient silicon in Jiaozhou Bay satisfies phytoplankton growth from June 7 to November 3. When nutrients N, P and Si satisfy the phytoplankton growth and solar irradiation is sufficient, the PRC would reflect the influence of seawater temperature on phytoplankton growth. Moreover, the result quantitatively explains the scenario of one-peak or two-peak phytoplankton reproduction in Jiaozhou Bay, and also quantitatively elucidates the internal mechanism of the one- or two-peak phytoplankton reproduction in the global marine areas.     

Environmental capacity of petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants in Jiaozhou Bay, China: Modeling and calculation

An environmental capacity model for the petroleum hydrocarbon pollutions (PHs) in Jiaozhou Bay is constructed based on field surveys, mesocosm, and parallel laboratory experiments. Simulated results of PHs seasonal successions in 2003 match the field surveys of Jiaozhou Bay resaonably well with a highest value in July. The Monte Carlo analysis confirms that the variation of PHs concentration significantly correlates with the river input. The water body in the bay is reasonably subjected to self-purification processes, such as volatilization to the atmosphere, biodegradation by microorganism, and transport to the Yellow Sea by water exchange. The environmental capacity of PHs in Jiaozhou Bay is 1500 tons per year IF the seawater quality criterion (Grade Ⅰ/Ⅱ, 0.05 mgL-1) in the region is to be satisfied. The contribution to self-purification by volatilization, biodegradation, and transport to the Yellow Sea accounts for 48%, 28%, and 23%, respectively, which make these three processes the main ways of PHs purification in Jiaozhou Bay.     

A statistical dynamics model of the marine ecosystem and its application in Jiaozhou Bay

Models of marine ecosystem dynamics play an important role in revealing the evolution mechanisms of marine ecosystems and in forecasting their future changes. Most traditional ecological dynamics models are established based on basic physical and biological laws, and have obvious dynamic characteristics and ecological significance. However, they are not flexible enough for the variability of environment conditions and ecological processes found in offshore marine areas, where it is often difficult to obtain parameters for the model, and the precision of the model is often low. In this paper, a new modeling method is introduced, which aims to establish an evolution model of marine ecosystems by coupling statistics with differential dynamics. Firstly, we outline the basic concept and method of inverse modeling of marine ecosystems. Then we set up a statistical dynamics model of marine ecosystems evolution according to annual ecological observation data from Jiaozhou Bay. This was done under the forcing conditions of sea surface temperature and surface irradiance and considering the state variables of phytoplankton, zooplankton and nutrients. This model is dynamic, makes the best of field observation data, and the average predicted precision can reach 90% or higher. A simpler model can be easily obtained through eliminating the terms with smaller contributions according to the weight coefficients of model differential items. The method proposed in this paper avoids the difficulties of obtaining and optimizing parameters, which exist in traditional research, and it provides a new path for research of marine ecological dynamics.     

A model study on dynamical processes of phytoplankton in Laizhou Bay

A three-dimensional ecosystem model, using a PIC (Particle-In-Cell) method, is developed to reproduce the annual cycle and seasonal variation of nutrients and phytoplankton biomass in Laizhou Bay. Eight state variables, i.e., DIN (dissolved inorganic nitrogen), phosphate, DON (dissolved organic nitrogen), DOP (dissolved organic phosphorus), COD (chemical oxygen demand), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), detritus and the zooplankton biomass, are included in the model. The model successfully reproduces the observed temporal and spatial variations of nutrients and Chl-a biomass distributions in the bay. The nutrient concentrations are at high level in winter and at low level in summer. Double-peak structure of the phytoplankton (PPT) biomass exists in Laizhou Bay, corresponding to a spring and an autumn bloom respectively. Several numerical experiments are carried out to examine the nutrient limitation, and the importance of the discharges of the Yellow River and Xiaoqinghe River. Both DIN limitation and phosphate limitation exist in some areas of the bay, with the former being more significant than the latter. The Yellow River and Xiaoqinghe River are the main pollution sources of nutrients in Laizhou Bay. During the flood season, the algal growth is inhibited in the bay with the Yellow River discharges being excluded in the experiment, while in spring, the algal growth is enhanced with the Xiaoqinghe River excluded.     

EXAMINATION OF SILICATE LIMITATION OF PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN JIAOZHOU BAY, CHINA I. SILICATE BEING A LIMITING FACTOR OF PHYTOPLANKTON PRIMARY PRODUCTION

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＴｈｅｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎｏｆｐｈｙｔｏｐｌａｎｋｔｏｎｉｓｔｈｅｆｉｒｓｔｔａｃｈｅｉｎｔｈｅｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎｂｙｍａｒｉｎｅｏｒｇａｎｉｓｍｓａｎｄｉｎｔｈｅｍａｒｉｎｅｆｏｏｄｃｈａｉｎ .Ｋｎｏｗｌｅｄｇｅｏｆｐｒｉｍａｒｙｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎｉｎｍａｒｉｎｅｗａｔｅｒｓｉｓｐｒｅｒｅｑｕｉｓｉｔｅｆｏｒｅｘｐｌｏｉｔａｔｉｏｎａｎｄｍａｎａｇｅｍｅｎｔｏｆｔｈｅｏｃｅａｎ’ｓｌｉｖｉｎｇｒｅｓｏｕｒｃｅｓ.Ｔｈｅｐｒｉｍａｒｙｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎｉｎｍａｒｉｎ…     

EXAMINATION OF SILICATE LIMITATION OF PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN JIAOZHOU BAY, CHINA Ⅰ. SILICATE BEING A LIMITING FACTOR OF PHYTOPLANKTON PRIMARY PRODUCTION

Jiaozhou Bay data collected from May 1991 to February 1994, in 12 seasonal investigations, and provided the authors by the Ecological Station of Jiaozhou B ay, were analyzed to determine the spatiotemporal variations in temperature, light, nutrients (NO-3-N, NO-2-N, NH+4-N, SiO2-3-Si, PO3-4-P), phytoplankton, and primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. The results indicated that only silicate correlated well in time and space with, and had important effects on, the characteristics, dynamic cycles and trends of, primary production in Jiaozhou Bay. The authors developed a corresponding dynamic model of primary production and silicate and water temperature. Eq.(1) of the model shows that the primary production variation is controlled by the nutrient Si and affected by water temp erature; that the main factor controlling the primary production is Si; that water temper ature affects the composition of the structure of phytoplankton assemblage; that the different populations of the phytoplankton assemblage occupy different ecologica l niches for C, the apparent ratio of conversion of silicate in seawater into phytoplankton biomas and D, the coefficient of water temperature's effect on phytoplankton biomass. The authors researched the silicon source of Jiaozhou Bay , the biogeochemical sediment process of the silicon, the phytoplankton predominan t species and the phytoplankton structure. The authors considered silicate a limit ing factor of primary production in Jiaozhou Bay, whose decreasing concentration of silicate from terrestrial source is supposedly due to dilution by current and up take by phytoplankton; quantified the silicate assimilated by phytoplankton, the intrins ic ratio of conversion of silicon into phytoplankton biomass, the proportion of silicate uptaken by phytoplankton and diluted by current; and found that the primary production of the phytoplankton is determined by the quantity of the silicate assimilated by them. The phenomenon of apparently high plant-nutrient concentrations but low phytoplankton biomass in some waters is reasonably explained in this paper.     

Examination of Silicate Limitation of Primary Production in Jiaozhou Bay, North ChinaⅢ.Judgment Method, Rules and Uniqueness of Nutrient Limitation Among N, P, and Si

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＮａｎｄＰｉｎｐｕｔｔｅｄｉｎｔｏＪｉａｏｚｈｏｕＢａｙｂｙｒｉｖｅｒｓａｎｄｂｙｓｅｗａｇｅｅｆｆｌｕｅｎｔｓｏｆｃｉｔｉｅｓ ,ｈａｖｅｍａｄｅｔｈｅＢａｙｂｅｃｏｍｅｍｏｒｅａｎｄｍｏｒｅｅｕｔｒｏｐｈｉｃｄａｙｂｙｄａｙ .Ｓｈｅｎ ( 1994)ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔｔｈａｔｐｈｙｔｏｐｌａｎｋｔｏｎｇｒｏｗｔｈｗａｓｌｉｍｉｔｅｄｂｙｔｈｅｃｈａｎｇｅｆｒｏｍｎｉｔｒｏｇｅｎｔｏｐｈｏｓｐｈｏｒｏｕｓ ;ａｎｄｔｈａｔｔｈｅｓｉｌｉｃａｔｅｃｏｎｃｅｎｔｒａｔｉｏｎｉｎＪｉａｏｚｈ…     

Examination of Silicate Limitation of Primary Production in Jiaozhou Bay,North China：Ⅲ.Judgment Method ,Rules and Uniqueness of Nutrient Limitation Among N,P,and Si

Analysis and comparison of Jiaozhou Bay data collected from May 1991 to February 1994 (12 seasonal investigations) provided by the Ecological Station of Jiaozhou Bay revealed the characteristic spatiotemporal variation of the ambient concentration Si∶DIN and Si∶16P ratios and the seasonal variation of Jiaozhou Bay Si∶DIN and Si∶16P ratios showing that the Si∶DIN ratios were <1 throughout the year in Jiaozhou Bay; and that the Si∶16P ratios were <1 throughout Jiaozhou Bay in spring, autumn and winter. The results proved that silicate limited phytoplankton growth in spring, autumn and winter in Jiaozhou Bay. Analysis of the Si∶DIN and Si∶P ratios showed that the nutrient Si has been limiting the growth of phytoplankton throughout the year in some Jiaozhou Bay waters; and that the silicate deficiency changed the phytoplankton assemblage structure. Analysis of discontinuous 1962 to 1998 nutrient data showed that there was no N or P limitation of phytoplankton growth in that period. The authors consider that the annual cyclic change of silicate limits phytoplankton growth in spring, autumn and winter every year in Jiaozhou Bay; and that in many Jiaozhou Bay waters where the phytoplankton as the predominant species need a great amount of silicate, analysis of the nutrients N or P limitation of phytoplankton growth relying only on the N and P nutrients and DIN∶P ratio could yield inaccurate conclusions. The results obtained by applying the rules of absolute and relative limitation fully support this view. The authors consider that the main function of nutrient silicon is to regulate and control the mechanism of the phytoplankton growth process in the ecological system in estuaries, bays and the sea. The authors consider that according to the evolution theory of Darwin, continuous environmental pressure gradually changes the phytoplankton assemblage's structure and the physiology of diatoms. Diatoms requiring a great deal of silicon either constantly decrease or reduce their requirement for silicon. This will cause a series of huge changes in the ecosystem so that the whole ecosystem requires continuous renewal, change and balancing. Human beings have to reduce marine pollution and enhance the capacity of continental sources to transport silicon to sustain the continuity and stability in the marine ecosystem. This study was funded by the NSFC (No. 40036010) and subsidized by Special Funds from the National Key Basic Research Program of P. R. China (G199990437), the Postdoctoral Foundation of Ocean University of Qingdao, the Director's Foundation of the Beihai Monitoring Center of the State Oceanic Administration and the Foundation of Shanghai Fisheries University.