Phytoplankton biomass and size fractions in surface waters of the Australian sector of the southern ocean

We collected surface water along the 142nd E meridian from Tasmania to Antarctica in December 1999. We measured temperature, salinity and total chlorophyll a; additionally, we collected suspended particle size fractions and used fluorometric analysis to determine the quantity of chlorophyll a in each of four cell size classes: picoplankton (<3 μm), two nanoplankton fractions (3–10 μm and 10–20 μm) and microplankton (> 20 μm). Changes in temperature and salinity show that we crossed 6 water masses separated by 5 fronts. We found low abundance (<0.2 mg m⁻³) of chlorophyll in all size classes, with the exception of higher values near the continent (0.2 to 0.4 mg m⁻³). Lowest chlorophyll values (<0.1 mg m⁻³) were found in the Polar Frontal Zone (51° to 54°S). Microplankton made up the largest portion of total chlorophyll throughout most of the region. We conclude that biomass of all phytoplankton fractions, especially pico-and nanoplankton, was constrained by limiting factors, most probably iron, throughout the region and that ecosystem dynamics within a zone are not circumpolar but are regionalized within sectors.     

Effects of an Artificial Breakwater on the Distributions of Planktonic Microbial Communities

The summer distributions of planktonic microbial communities (heterotrophic and phtosynthetic bacteria, phtosynthetic and heterotrophic nanoflagellates, ciliate plankton, and microphytoplankton) were compared between inner and outer areas of Lake Sihwa, divided by an artificial breakwater, located on the western coast of Korea, in September 2003. The semienclosed, inner area was characterized by hyposaline surface water (<17 psu), and by low concentrations of dissolved oxygen (avg. 0.4 mg L¹) and high concentrations of inorganic nutrients (nitrogenous nutrients >36 μM, phosphate <4 μM) in the bottom layer. Higher densities of heterotrophic bacteria and nanoflagellates also occurred in the inner area than did in the outer area, while microphytoplankton (mainly diatoms) occurred abundantly in the outer area. A tiny tintinnid ciliate, Tintinnopsis nana, bloomed into more than 10⁶ cells L¹ at the surface layer of the inner area, while its abundance was much lower (10³-10⁴ cells L¹) in the outer area of the breakwater. Ciliate abundance was highly correlated with heterotrophic bacteria (r = 0.886, p < 0.001) and heterotrophic flagellates (r = 0.962, p < 0.001), indicating that rich food availability may have led to theT. nana bloom. These results suggest that the breakwater causes the eutrophic environment in artificial lakes with limited flushing of enriched water and develops into abundant bacteria, nanoflagellates, and ciliates.     

普里兹湾陆缘水边界的变化

利用１９９８年１１月－１９９９年２月中国第１５次南极考察资料,讨论了普里兹湾附近陆缘水边界（ＣＷＢ）两侧的水团分布,以及ＣＷＢ的中心位置、锋面宽度、锋面强度、锋面的垂直深度和垂直厚度等物理特征的空间变化。并与１９９２年１２月－１９９３年２月中国第９次南极考察资料进行了比较,说明了ＣＷＢ的时间２变化。同时,还进一步分析了ＣＷＢ两侧海水运动的各向异性,以及动力高度场的形势,指出了动力高度槽,ＣＷＢ锋面     

Northward transport of pacific summer water along the Northwind Ridge in the Western Arctic Ocean

The recent sea-ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean is not spatially uniform, but is disproportionally large around the Northwind Ridge and Chukchi Plateau compared to elsewhere in the Canada Basin. In the Northwind Ridge region, Pacific Summer Water (PSW) delivered from the Bering Sea occupies the subsurface layer. The spatial distribution of warm PSW shows a quite similar pattern to the recent ice retreat, suggesting the influence of PSW on the sea-ice reduction. To understand the regionality of the recent ice retreat, we examine the dynamics and timing of the delivery of the PSW into this region. Here, we adopt a two-layer linearized potential vorticity equation to investigate the behavior of Rossby waves in the presence of a topographic discontinuity in the high latitude ocean. The analytical results show a quite different structure from those of mid-latitude basins due to the small value of β. Incident barotropic waves excited by the sea-ice motion with large annual variation can be scattered into both barotropic and baroclinic modes at the discontinuity. Since the scattered baroclinic Rossby wave with annual frequency cannot propagate freely, a strong baroclinic current near the topographic discontinuity is established. The seasonal variation of current near the topographic discontinuity would cause a kind of selective switching system for shelf water transport into the basin. In our simple analytical model, the enhanced northward transport of summer water and reduced northward transport of winter water are well demonstrated. The present study indicates that these basic dynamics imply that a strengthening of the surface forcing during winter in the Canada Basin could cause sea-ice reduction in the Western Arctic through the changes of underlying Pacific Summer Water.     

东海黑潮及琉球群岛以东海流研究进展

东海是西太平洋的一个边缘海,它西部有广阔的大陆架,东面以九州岛、琉球群岛(由奄美诸岛、冲绳诸岛、先岛诸岛组成)和台湾岛连线为界,具有较深的海槽。黑潮是一支高温、高盐、高流速的西边界流,它起源于菲律宾以东海域、流经台湾东岸进入东海,沿东海大陆架外缘向东北向流动，穿越吐噶喇海峡返回太平洋。通常的把自台湾东北端起至吐噶喇海峡一段称为东海黑潮。此外,在琉球群岛以东海域也常年存在一支稳定的西边界流,称为琉球海流。 对于东海黑潮和琉球海流的硏究,主要起步于20世纪80年代,通过进行中日联合调查研究、中日副热带环流调查研究等,取得了许多重要成果,苏纪兰(1994)、袁耀初(2000，Yuan,2006)、管秉贤(2002)等人都做过评述。本文基于以上研究评述,主要叙述200年以来对东海黑潮及琉球海流的硏究新进展。     

Change of multifractal thermal characteristics in the western Philippine sea upper layer during internal wave-soliton propagation

The upper layer (above 140 m depth) temperature in the western Philippine Sea near Taiwan was sampled using a coastal monitoring buoy (CMB) with 15 attached thermistors during July 28–August 7, 2005. The data were collected every 10 min at 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 m using the CMB sensors, and every 15 sec at 15 different depths between 25 m and 140 m. Internal waves and solitons were identified from the time-depth plot of the temperature field. Without the internal waves and solitons, the power spectra, structure functions, and singular measures (representing the intermittency) of temperature field satisfy the power law with multi-scale characteristics at all depths. The internal waves do not change the basic characteristics of the multifractal structure. However, the internal solitons change the power exponent of the power spectra drastically, especially in the low wave number domain; they also break down the power law of the structure function and increase the intermittency parameter. The physical mechanisms causing these different effects need to be explored further.     

Kuroshio extension variability explored through assimilation of TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data into a quasi-geostrophic model

Mesoscale features in the eastward extension of the Kuroshio were investigated using assimilation of TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) data into a three-layer quasi-geostrophic model. The T/P data exhibited an elongated state of the southern recirculation gyre in 1993–95 and 1997, between whose two periods the gyre had a contracted state in 1995–96. A few stationary eddies were located in the southern gyre during the contracted state. The baroclinic instability, which was indicated by the phase shift from the uppermost-to the lowest-layer anomalies toward the downstream side, was evident near the Kuroshio Extension (KE) path. Since the instability never appeared in the artificial model without bottom topography, the topographic barrier for the eastward flow in the lowest layer was a necessary condition for the instability. The instability synchronized with the transition in the western region of the KE axis from the elongated to the contracted states. This evolution was interpreted as if the baroclinic instability played some part in the KE states and was a trigger for the transition from the elongated to the contracted states.     

Further evidence for non-reemergence of winter SST anomalies in the North Pacific eastern subtropical mode water area

Following our previous study (Sugimoto and Hanawa, 2005b), we further investigate the reason why reemergence of winter sea surface temperature anomalies does not occur in the North Pacific eastern subtropical mode water (NPESTMW) area, despite its occurrence in the North Pacific subtropical mode water and North Pacific central mode water areas. We use vertical temperature and salinity profiles of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment Hydrographic Program and Argo floats with high vertical and temporal resolution, together with heat flux data through the sea surface. We point out first that one of the causes for non-occurrence of reemergence is that the thickness of NPESTMW is very thin. In addition to this basic cause, two major reasons are found: a vigorous mixing in the lower portion of NPESTMW and less heat input from the atmosphere in the warming season. Since, in the lower portion of NPESTMW and deeper, the stratification is favorable for salt-finger type convection to occur compared with the other mode water areas, vigorous mixing takes place. This is confirmed by both a large Turner Angle there and the existence of staircase structures in vertical temperature and salinity profiles. From the viewpoint of heat input, the NPESTMW area gradually gains heat in the warming season compared with other mode water areas. As a result, NPESTMW cannot be capped so quickly by the shallow summer mixed layer, and water properties of NPESTMW are to be gradually modified, even in the upper portion.     

Geomorphological evidence for upslope canyon-forming processes on the northern KwaZulu-Natal shelf,SW Indian Ocean,South Africa

A geomorphological and statistical analysis of slope canyons from the northern KwaZulu-Natal continental margin is documented and compared with submarine canyons from the Atlantic margin of the USA. The northern KwaZulu-Natal margin is characterized by increasing upslope relief, concave slope-gradient profiles and features related to upslope growth of the canyon forms. Discounting slope-gradient profile, this morphology is strikingly similar to canyon systems of the New Jersey slope. Several phases of canyon incision indicate that downslope erosion is also an important factor in the evolution of the northern KwaZulu-Natal canyon systems. Despite the strong similarities between the northern KwaZulu-Natal and New Jersey slope-canyon systems, key differences are evident: (1) the concavity of the northern KwaZulu-Natal slope, contrasting with the ∼linear New Jersey slope; (2) the relative isolation of the northern KwaZulu-Natal canyons, rather than the dense clustering of the New Jersey canyons; and (3) the absence of strongly shelf-breaching canyons along the northern KwaZulu-Natal margin. In comparison with the New Jersey margin, we surmise a more youthful stage of canyon evolution, a result of either the canyons themselves being younger or the formative processes being less active. Less complicated patterns of erosion resulting from reduced sediment availability have developed in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The reduction in slope concavity on the New Jersey margin may be the result of grading of the upper slope by intensive headward erosion, a process more subdued—or less evident—on the KwaZulu-Natal margin.     

Spatial and temporal variability of heat content above the thermocline in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract-Heat content of the upper layer above the 20℃ isotherm in the tropical Pacific Ocean isestimated by using the sea temperature data set with a resolution 2°latitude×5°longitude (1980～1993)for the water depths (every 10 m) from 0 m to 400 m, and its temporal and spatial variabilities are an-alyzed. (1) The temporal variability indicates that the total heat in the upper layer of the equatorial Pa-cific Ocean is charcterized by the interannual variability. The time series of the equatorial heat anomaly5 months lead that of the El Nino index at the best positive lag correlation between the two, and theformer 13 months lag behind the latter at their best negative lag correlation. Therefore the equatorialheat content can be used as a better predictor than the El Nino index for a warm or cold event. In addi-tion, it is also found that less heat anomaly in the equator corresponds to the stronger warm events inthe period (1980～1993) and much more heat was accumulated in the 4 years including 1992/1