Deep and Bottom Currents in the Challenger Deep,Mariana Trench,Measured with Super-Deep Current Meters

The bottom currents in the Challenger Deep, the deepest in the world, were measured with super-deep current meters moored at 11°22′ N and 142°35′ E, where the depth is 10915 m. Three current meters were set at 9687 m, 10489 m and 10890 m at the station in the center of the Challenger Deep for 442 days from 1 August 1995 to 16 October 1996. Although rotor revolutions in 60 minutes of recording interval were zero for 37.5% of the time, the maximum current at the deepest layer of 10890 m was 8.1 cm s⁻¹, being composed of tidal currents, inertia motion and long period variations. Two current meters were set at 6608 m and 7009 m at a station 24.9 km north of the center for 443 days from 31 July 1995 to 16 October 1996, and two current meters at 6214 m and 6615 m at a station 40.9 km south of the center for 441 days from 2 August 1995 to 16 October 1996. The mean flow at 7009 m depth at the northern station was 0.7 cm s⁻¹ to 240°T, and that at 6615 m depth at the southern station was 0.5 cm s⁻¹ to 267°T. A westward mean flow prevailed at the stations, and no cyclonic circulation with mean flows of the opposite directions was observed in the Mariana Trench at a longitude of 142°35′ E. Power spectra of daily mean currents showed three spectral peaks at periods of 100 days, 28–32 days and 14–15 days. The peak at 100 day period was common to the power spectra.     

马里亚纳海沟万米级水文观测研究

深渊观测是开展深渊科学研究的前提。文章介绍了2020年7月"东方红3"船在马里亚纳海沟"挑战者深渊"附近完成的一次海洋调查。基于船载温盐深综合剖面测量系统获取的万米级剖面数据,分析全海深的温盐性质,并依据Thorpe尺度方法和细尺度参数化方法,进一步估算不同深度层的湍动能耗散率。结果表明:"挑战者深渊"的深层海水十分稳定, 3 000—5 000 dbar的温盐特征与下层绕极水相同;受弱层结背景下的内潮影响, 5 000—8 000 m的耗散率显著提升。本次调查获取的万米级水文剖面为马里亚纳海沟的深渊探索提供了数据方面的支撑。     

Super-deep CTD measurements in the Izu-Ogasawara trench and a comparison of geostrophic shears with direct measurements

CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) data at five stations across the Izu-Ogasawara Trench at 34°N were examined. Geostrophic velocity was in accordance with the directly measured currents. Above the trench floor, potential temperature increased at a rate of 0.6 m°C/1000 db from 8000 db to 9417 db, and salinity increased from 8300 db to the bottom. Potential density was almost constant at 7100–8700 db, and it increased to the bottom. Above the eastern and western flanks, inversion of potential density was indicated in the bottom layers with an increase of potential temperature and a decrease of salinity, suggesting geothermal heating and outflow of ground water.     

马里亚纳海沟“挑战者深渊”最深点水深探测

2011²012年,海洋六号船采用EM122多波束测深系统在马里亚纳海沟最深海域"挑战者深渊"进行的多波束水深测量,通过对测深资料进行分析处理,获得了高精度海底地形图,揭示了马里亚纳海沟挑战者深渊附近海底地形呈近东西向延伸,有西部、中部和东部三个洼地,它们由10800m等深线圈闭,长轴方向与海沟方向一致。洼地底部水深大于10900m,地形较为平坦。三个洼地最深区域分别由10916m、10904m和10915m等深线圈闭。三个洼地最大水深为10917m(误差小于20m),位于西部洼地内,中心位置为142°12.14'E,11°19.92'N。该处也是马里亚纳海沟最深点。     

马里亚纳海沟水深探测及“挑战者深渊”海底地形特征

"海洋六号"综合调查船先后于2011、2012年,利用EM122多波束测深系统在马里亚纳海沟最深海域"挑战者深渊"进行了全覆盖水深测量,获得了区域内详细的海底地形资料,揭示了马里亚纳海沟在区内呈近东西向延伸以及海沟两侧斜坡地形迥异、不对称的特点,南北两侧不同的地形地貌特征反映了马里亚纳海沟形成过程中两侧不同的次生构造活动影响。"挑战者深渊"区内有西部、中部和东部3个洼地,其中,西部洼地较深,其中心位置(142°12.14'E,11° 19.92'N)水深10 917 m,是马里亚纳海沟的最深点。     

Water masses and decadal variability in the East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Water masses in the East Sea are newly defined based upon vertical structure and analysis of CTD data collected in 1993–1999 during Circulation Research of the East Asian Marginal Seas (CREAMS). A distinct salinity minimum layer was found at 1500 m for the first time in the East Sea, which divides the East Sea Central Water (ESCW) above the minimum layer and the East Sea Deep Water (ESDW) below the minimum layer. ESCW is characterized by a tight temperature–salinity relationship in the temperature range of 0.6–0.12 °C, occupying 400–1500 m. It is also high in dissolved oxygen, which has been increasing since 1969, unlike the decrease in the ESDW and East Sea Bottom Water (ESBW). In the eastern Japan Basin a new water with high salinity in the temperature range of 1–5 °C was found in the upper layer and named the High Salinity Intermediate Water (HSIW). The origin of the East Sea Intermediate Water (ESIW), whose characteristics were found near the Korea Strait in the southwestern part of the East Sea in 1981 [Kim, K., & Chung, J. Y. (1984) On the salinity-minimum and dissolved oxygen-maximum layer in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), In T. Ichiye (Ed.), Ocean Hydrodynamics of the Japan and East China Seas (pp. 55–65). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers], is traced by its low salinity and high dissolved oxygen in the western Japan Basin. CTD data collected in winters of 1995–1999 confirmed that the HSIW and ESIW are formed locally in the Eastern and Western Japan Basin. CREAMS CTD data reveal that overall structure and characteristics of water masses in the East Sea are as complicated as those of the open oceans, where minute variations of salinity in deep waters are carefully magnified to the limit of CTD resolution. Since the 1960s water mass characteristics in the East Sea have changed, as bottom water formation has stopped or slowed down and production of the ESCW has increased recently.     

Rare-earth element geochemistry reveals the provenance of sediments on the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep

The hadal zone represents one of the last great frontiers in modern marine science,and deciphering the provenance of sediment that is supplied to these trench settings remains a largely unanswered question.Here,we examine the mineralogical and geochemical composition of a sediment core(core CD-1)that was recovered from the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench.Major element abundances and rare-earth element patterns from these sediments require inputs from both terrigenous dust and locally sourced volcanic debris.We exploit a two-endmember mixing model to demonstrate that locally sourced volcanic material dominates the sediment supply to the Challenger Deep(averaging^72%).The remainder,however,is supplied by aeolian dust(averaging^28%),which is consistent with adjacent studies that utilized Sr-Nd isotopic data.Building on a growing database,we strengthen our understanding of Asian aeolian dust input into the northwestern Pacific,which ultimately improves our appreciation of sedimentation in,and around,the hadal zone.     

Seasonal Cycle of Vertical Structure and Deep Water Renewal in the Clyde Sea

Two strings of moored current meters deployed between March 1993 and May 1994, together with monthly CTD surveys, provide the first comprehensive set of observations over the seasonal cycle in the Clyde Sea. In the summer, a strong thermal stratification maintained a partial isolation of the deep waters. In winter, the stratification was weaker, and a 1 °C temperature inversion was persistent from November to the end of March. Rapid inflow of dense water from the North Channel of the Irish Sea served to re-establish the strong stratification in the spring. The mean rate of exchange was estimated from the salinity (practical salinity scale) and mass budgets to be 1·1×10⁴ m³ s⁻¹, indicating an average flushing time for the Clyde Sea of 3–4 months.Episodic increases in deep water salinity indicated that bottom water renewal occurred throughout the winter. Intense renewal events were observed in March 1993 and February 1994, when the North Channel density was near its seasonal maximum, and were coincident with periods of high wind stress. In the month prior to these rapid spring inflows, the basin bottom salinity reached its seasonal minimum, indicating that the effects of mixing dominated over renewal at this time. A marked inflow in the summer was inferred from the salinity budget, and observed as a salinity increase at a depth of 90 m. A 2-layer flow was observed in the Arran Deep basin throughout the year, the surface flow forming part of a clockwise circulation about Arran, with an opposing bottom layer circulation. This surface circulation prevents freshwater from entering the Kilbrannan Sound, leaving this area relatively susceptible to deep water mixing by the wind.At a station in the north of the basin, the internal tidal current was observed to have an amplitude of 2–3 cm s⁻¹, which is half the amplitude of the barotropic tide. The energy available to mix the water column mixing associated with the internal tide at this position is estimated to be 0·01 mWm⁻², which is 2 orders of magnitude less than wind mixing. The kinetic energy density in the Clyde Sea was found to be predominantly in low frequency oscillations (<1·0 cycles per day), the seasonal variation exhibiting some correlation with the wind.     

CTD与颠倒温度表、盐度计方法的系统比较

2007年8月渤海及北黄海断面调台中使用ALEC CTD和颠倒温度表、盐度计获取同站同步断面水温、盐度和深度资料,并对调查结果进行差值和相关性分析,发现使用CTD与传统方式获取的调查数据绝对差值小,相关性强,可以认为经过了相关计量单位的标定后,CTD数据与颠倒温度表、盐度计数据可以一并使用.     

Water masses and currents of deep circulation southwest of the Shatsky Rise in the western North Pacific

We conducted full-depth hydrographic observations in the southwestern region of the Northwest Pacific Basin in September 2004 and November 2005. Deep-circulation currents crossed the observation line between the East Mariana Ridge and the Shatsky Rise, carrying Lower Circumpolar Deep Water westward in the lower deep layer (θ<1.2 °C) and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) and North Pacific Deep Water (NPDW) eastward in the upper deep layer (1.3–2.2 °C). In the lower deep layer at depths greater than approximately 3500 m, the eastern branch current of the deep circulation was located south of the Shatsky Rise at 30°24′–30°59′N with volume transport of 3.9 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³ s⁻¹) in 2004 and at 30°06′–31°15′N with 1.6 Sv in 2005. The western branch current of the deep circulation was located north of the Ogasawara Plateau at 26°27′–27°03′N with almost 2.1 Sv in 2004 and at 26°27′–26°45′N with 2.7 Sv in 2005. Integrating past and present results, volume transport southwest of the Shatsky Rise is concluded to be a little less than 4 Sv for the eastern branch current and a little more than 2 Sv for the western branch current. In the upper deep layer at depths of approximately 2000–3500 m, UCDW and NPDW, characterized by high and low dissolved oxygen, respectively, were carried eastward at the observation line by the return flow of the deep circulation composing meridional overturning circulation. UCDW was confined between the East Mariana Ridge and the Ogasawara Plateau (22°03′–25°33′N) in 2004, whereas it extended to 26°45′N north of the Ogasawara Plateau in 2005. NPDW existed over the foot and slope of the Shatsky Rise from 29°48′N in 2004 and 30°06′N in 2005 to at least 32°30′N at the top of the Shatsky Rise. Volume transport of UCDW was estimated to be 4.6 Sv in 2004, whereas that of NPDW was 1.4 Sv in 2004 and 2.6 Sv in 2005, although the values for NPDW may be slightly underestimated, because they do not include the component north of the top of the Shatsky Rise. Volume transport of UCDW and NPDW southwest of the Shatsky Rise is concluded to be approximately 5 and 3 Sv, respectively. The pathways of UCDW and NPDW are new findings and suggest a correction for the past view of the deep circulation in the Pacific Ocean.     

On the total geostrophic circulation of the Indian Ocean: flow patterns, tracers, and transports

The large-scale circulation of the Indian Ocean has several major components. There is a cyclonic gyre in the far southwest with its axis along about 60°S. It extends to the bottom. North of this the Circumpolar Current flows eastward south of 40°S to more than 3000 m. The axis of the great anticyclonic gyre lies along 35°S to 40°S down to about 2000 m. Below there the western end shifts northward and the axis lies along the central and southeast Indian ridges, with southward flow west of the ridges and northward flow on the east side.There is a westward flow along 10°S to 15°S, which includes water from the Pacific, through the Banda Sea. The flow near the equator is eastward down to the depth of the ridge near 73°E. Flow within both the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal is cyclonic down to great depth.There is a southward flow along the coast of Africa in the upper 2000 m joining the Circumpolar Current, and a southward flow along the coast of Australia that does not reach the Circumpolar Current.Below 2500 m there is a northward flow from the Circumpolar Current along the east coast of Madagascar and on into the Somali and Arabian basins.     

Preliminary results of in-situ XCTD/CTD comparison test

The current status of XCTD manufactured by the Tsurumi Seiki Co. is described based on XCTD/CTD comparison tests conducted in the Pacific and Indian Ocean in November 1996 and January 1997 respectively. The falling rates of used probes are generally consistent and differences between individual probes stay within a small range of +/−5 m through the full depth range (0–1000 m), although the rate is slightly different from the depth-time equation provided by the manufacturer. Temperature and salinity accuracy is estimated to be better than 0.05°C and 0.05 psu respectively. Comparison of vertical temperature/salinity sections of XCTD/CTD constructed separately along a line on which XCTD stations locate midway of CTD stations. The hydrographic structures obtained are generally consistent, and the difference of surface dynamic height (referred to 1000 db) is 0.03 dyn m in RMS.     

Variability of Currents off the Northern Coast of New Guinea

The variability of the New Guinea Coastal Current (NGCC) and New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent (NGCUC) were examined from one year time series of current data from ADCP moorings at 2°S, 142°E and 2.5°S, 142°E. Change in the hydrographic structure induced by monsoonal wind forcing was also examined from hydrographic data along the 142°E covering consecutively two winter seasons and two summer seasons. The westward NGCUC was observed to persist year around. The annual mean depth of the current core was 220 m, the mean speed of the zonal component was 54 cm/s with a standard deviation of 15 cm/s at the 2.5°S site. Velocity fluctuations at 20–30 day period were observed year around. Seasonal reversal of the surface intensified NGCC was clearly observed. In the boreal summer characterized by the southeasterly monsoon, westward currents of over 60 cm/s were dominant in the surface layer. The warm, low-salinity layer thickened at this time and sloped down toward the New Guinea coast from the equator. This surface water accumulation may be caused by onshore Ekman drift at the New Guinea coast, combined with weak Ekman upwelling at the equator. In the boreal winter, an eastward surface current developed to 100 cm/s extending down to 100 m depth in response to the northwesterly monsoonal winds. Coastal upwelling was indicated in this season and the surface water accumulated at the equator due to Ekman convergence. Shipboard ADCP data indicated that the NGCUC intensified in boreal summer as the width and depth of the NGCUC increased.     

1998年2—3月台湾海峡中,北部温,盐周日变化过程的分析

本文分别位于台湾海峡中部和北部两个连续观测站１９９８年２－３月的ＣＴＤ资料进行分析,认为北部测站在观测期间经历了低温,低盐水入侵的过程,但此过程只显著影响到３０ｍ层,温盐垂直结构有时出现单跃层,有时出现阶梯结构;而中部测站盐度垂直均匀,温度垂直梯度也较小,已不受闽浙沿岸水的影响。     

A lightweight vertical rosette for deployment in ice-covered waters

A lightweight modular rosette system has been developed that can be launched and recovered from aircraft in ice-covered waters through a 12 in. diameter hole in the ice. The small diameter is achieved by the modular design, in which a CTD module is attached to the end of a conducting cable and water bottle modules (four 4-L bottles per module) are positioned vertically above it. A novel tripping mechanism based on melting a link of monofilament line is used to close the water bottles at the desired depths. After launching the rosette, the cast proceeds like a normal rosette cast with the traces of temperature, salinity, oxygen and other desired sensors being displayed on a computer screen during the down and up casts and tripping the bottles electronically at the desired depths on the up cast. A Seabird 19+ CTD and Seabird 43 oxygen sensor are mounted in the CTD module and data acquisition and bottle tripping are controlled using a Seabird 33 deck unit and Seabird's SeaSave software run on a laptop computer. Deployment and recovery are done in a heated tent attached to the aircraft to prevent the water from freezing. After recovery the bottle modules are placed in coolers with bags of snow to stabilize the cooler temperature close to 0 °C, which is within ±1.8 °C of the in situ temperature, and the modules are transported back to a base camp for subsampling and sample processing. This system has been used to collect over 250 water samples in the ice-covered Lincoln Sea and the quality of the samples for dissolved gases and other constituents has been excellent.     

Deep hydrographic structure along 12°N and 13°N in the Philippine Sea

Hydrographic casts down to the bottom along two zonal sections at 12°N and 13°N (from 144°E to 127°E) were made with a CTD. Their analysis verified the existence of cold and saline abyssal water between the Mariana Ridge and the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. This result provides evidence of flow into the Philippine Sea through the deep gap called the Yap-Mariana Junction. The properties of deep water are variable in the West Mariana basin but quite homogeneous in the Philippine Basin, indicating the transitional nature in the West Mariana Basin and the existence of older bottom water in the Philippine Basin. A close examination suggests that the bottom water is slightly colder in the western part of the Philippine Basin than in the eastern part of the basin. This slightly colder deep water with a hundred kilometer scale in the western Philippine Basin might be related to a broad western boundary current flowing equatorward along the eastern rise of the Philippine Trench.     

Reactive mercury in the eastern North Atlantic and southeast Atlantic

The vertical distribution of reactive mercury has been measured at two stations in the eastern North Atlantic and one station in the southeast Atlantic in conjunction with the IOC Open Ocean Baseline Survey. The average concentrations of reactive Hg in vertical profiles ranged from 0.70 to 1.07 pM with the highest values found at the northeast Atlantic stations and the lowest at the southeast station. No significant concentration gradients were found below the surface mixed layer at the two stations in the eastern North Atlantic. At station 7, in the southeast Atlantic, an increase in reactive Hg was noted in the water adjacent to the mixed layer (35–200 m) which was coincident with an oxygen depletion, down to 20% saturation at 200 m. The concentration of reactive Hg in the North Atlantic Deep Water (0.48–1.34 pM), the Antarctic Intermediate Water (0.47 pM), the Antarctic Bottom Water (0.67–1.25 pM), and the Mediterranean Outflow Water (0.83–1.06 pM) were noted. The trends in Hg concentration in the water masses between stations showed the concentration decreasing with distance from the water mass source except for Hg in the Antarctic Bottom Water. The increase noted in this water mass was attributed to mixing with North Atlantic Deep Water and or release from bottom sediments.     

Bathymetry of Molloy Deep: Fram Strait between Svalbard and Greenland

The sea floor of Fram Strait, the over 2500 m deep passage between the Arctic Ocean and the Norwegian-Greenland Sea, is part of a complex transform zone between the Knipovich mid-oceanic ridge of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea and the Nansen-Gakkel Ridge of the Arctic Ocean. Because linear magnetic anomalies formed by sea-floor spreading have not been found, the precise location of the boundary between the Eurasian and the North American plate is unknown in this region. Systematic surveying of Fram Strait with SEABEAM and high resolution seismic profiling began in 1984 and continued in 1985 and 1987, providing detailed morphology of the Fram Strait sea floor and permitting better definition of its morphotectonics. The 1984 survey presented in this paper provided a complete set of bathymetric data from the southernmost section of the Svalbard Transform, including the Molloy Fracture Zone, connecting the Knipovich Ridge to the Molloy Ridge; and the Molloy Deep, a nodal basin formed at the intersection of the Molloy Transform Fault and the Molloy Ridge. This nodal basin has a revised maximum depth of 5607 m water depth at 79°8.5N and 2°47E.     

A precise bathymetric map of the world’s deepest seafloor,Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench

Data from three bathymetric surveys by R/V Kairei using a 12-kHz multibeam echosounder and differential GPS were used to create an improved topographic model of the Challenger Deep in the southwestern part of the Mariana Trench, which is known as the deepest seafloor in the world. The strike of most of the elongated structures related to plate bending accompanied by subduction of the Pacific plate is N70°E and is not parallel to the trench axis. The bending-related structures were formed by reactivation of seafloor spreading fabric. Challenger Deep consists of three en echelon depressions along the trench axis, each of which is 6–10 km long, about 2 km wide, and deeper than 10,850 m. The eastern depression is the deepest, with a depth of 10,920 ± 5 m.     

海水温盐深剖面测量技术综述

温盐深是反应海洋物理学特性的重要参数,是海洋水文观测的基本要素。CTD剖面仪(Conductivity-Temperature-Depth profiler)是进行海水温盐剖面观测的主要仪器,利用CTD剖面仪可精确测得水下不同深度上海水的温度和电导率参数,进而能够推算出海水盐度、密度、声速等相关信息,对于海洋经济开发、海上国防建设、海洋环境保护等都具有非常重要的意义。本文介绍了温盐深剖面测量技术的基本原理与发展现状,对几种典型的温盐深测量设备及各种海洋观测平台中搭载的CTD传感器进行了介绍,论述了CTD传感器的标定和测试技术,并对其发展趋势进行了分析。