Bulk particulate organic carbon in the East China Sea: Tidal influence and bottom transport

Five oceanographic surveys were carried out in the East China Sea (ECS) and Yellow Sea from 1999 to 2003. In all, seven different sections were surveyed, but one section (the PN section) was observed on every cruise. Two time-series stations were also surveyed, one located at the Changjiang River mouth, the other over the continental shelf in the PN section.We identified biogeochemical characteristics for waters close to the Changjiang Estuary and in the Kuroshio waters (KW), respectively. Resuspension is a strong feature near bottom over the ECS continental shelf, with suspended matter values 13 times higher than that for the surface. A model of particulate organic carbon (POC) dynamics based on a rectangle equation reveals that POC concentration close to the Changjiang Estuary varies with a semidiurnal period of ∼13 h, coinciding with the tidal period. The upper limit for POC residence times in the seasons we covered over the shelf are estimated to be on the order of weeks and generally increase seaward from near the Changjiang Estuary to the KW. Short POC residence times suggest that POC in the ECS is rapidly exported from euphotic waters.A nepheloid layer, observed as elevated suspended matter in near the bottom of the water column, is important in particle transfer over the shelf, especially in winter when the residual current flows mainly eastward. Cross-shelf transport of POC via the nepheloid layer is estimated to be 0.22 × 10¹² g yr⁻¹. Comparison with other work indicates that POC transport is ∼2% of the Changjiang POC input.     

2016年中国沿海海平面上升显著成因分析及影响

使用中国沿海及西北太平洋区域的水位、海温、气温、气压和风等水文气象资料,详细分析了2016年中国沿海海平面显著升高的成因及影响。分析结果表明:（1）2012-2016年,中国沿海海平面处于准2 a、4 a、准9 a和准19 a周期振荡的高位,几个周期振荡高位叠加,对该时段海平面上升起了一定的作用;（2）2016年,中国沿海气温和海温较1993-2011年的平均值分别高0.7℃与0.5℃,均处于1980年以来高位;气压较1993-2011年的平均值低0.2 hPa;（3）2016年4月、9月、10月和11月,中国沿海海平面均达到1980年以来同期高位,这4个月的风场距平值在东海以南均明显偏大,且以偏南向和向岸风为主,风生流使得海水向岸堆积,沿海长时间以增水为主,对当月局部海平面上升的贡献率达到40%~80%;（4）2016年,中国沿海降水总体偏多,局部区域降水量达到历史同期最高,加上沿海径流量的增加,对沿海局部海平面升高有一定贡献;（5）2016年9-10月,有5个台风相继影响我国南部沿海,持续的风暴潮增水导致台风影响期间的海平面高于当月平均海平面70~360 mm,风暴潮和洪涝灾害给当地造成直接经济损失超过30亿元。     

基于多源遥感数据的日本海内波特征研究

日本海特殊的地理位置和复杂的地形使得该海域内波表征极为复杂,遥感是大范围观测内波的有效手段,已被广泛应用于内波的探测研究。本文利用MODIS、GF-1和ENVISAT ASAR遥感影像,开展了日本海内波特征研究。通过提取内波波峰线,生成了日本海内波空间分布图;获取了内波的波峰线长度和传播速度,并基于非线性薛定谔方程反演了内波振幅。研究结果表明,日本海内波分布范围宽广,不仅大陆架沿海区内波分布密集,深海盆地也探测到了大量内波;日本海北部45°N附近海域有少量内波出现,利用高分影像探测到朝鲜陆架浅海区有大量小尺度内波,大和海盆、大和隆起的西南部海域没有发现内波。日本海内波波峰线长达100多千米,深海区的传播速度大于1 m/s;浅海区内波振幅约10 m左右,深海区可达60 m以上。     

墨西哥Sureste盆地盐相关圈闭发育特征

Sureste盆地位于墨西哥湾南部,为系统研究该区盐相关圈闭。基于第1手的地质、钻井、油田和地球物理资料,从盆地构造演化阶段、沉积充填特征、盐岩活动期次出发,系统分析了圈闭成因、发育特征、空间展布规律。结合盆地勘探程度指出,Comalcalco次盆东部侏罗—白垩系盐核背斜圈闭和Reforma褶皱带中北部牛津阶和基末利阶盐核背斜圈闭、伸展盐筏断块圈闭为最有潜力勘探目标,为该盆地盐上勘探目标的优选提供了科学依据。     

Morphology of Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau from high resolution bathymetry

Newly collected, high resolution multi-beam sonar data are combined with previous bathymetry data to produce an improved bathymetric map of Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau. Bathymetry data show that two massifs within Shatsky Rise are immense central volcanoes with gentle flank slopes declining from a central summit. Tamu Massif is a slightly elongated, dome-like volcanic edifice; Ori Massif is square shaped and smaller in area. Several down-to-basin normal faults are observed on the western flank of the massifs but they do not parallel the magnetic lineations, indicating that these faults are probably not related to spreading ridge faulting. Moreover, the faults are observed only on one side of the massifs, which is contrary to expectations from a mechanism of differential subsidence around the massif center. Multi-beam data show many small secondary cones with different shapes and sizes that are widely-distributed on Shatsky Rise massifs, which imply small late-stage magma sources scattered across the surface of the volcanoes in the form of lava flows or explosive volcanism. Erosional channels occur on the flanks of Shatsky Rise volcanoes due to mass wasting and display evidence of down-slope sediment movement. These channels are likely formed by sediments spalling off the edges of summit sediment cap.     

The potential hydrothermal systems unexplored in the Southwest Indian Ocean

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents possess complex ecosystems and abundant metallic mineral deposits valuable to human being. On-axial vents along tectonic plate boundaries have achieved prominent results and obtained huge resources, while nearly 90% of the global mid-ocean ridge and the majority of the off-axial vents buried by thick oceanic sediments within plates remain as relatively undiscovered domains. Based on previous detailed investigations, hydrothermal vents have been mapped along five sections along the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) with different bathymetry, spreading rates, and gravity features, two at the western end (10°–16°E Section B and 16°–25°E Section C) and three at the eastern end (49°–52°E Section D, 52°–61°E Section E and 61°–70°E Section F). Hydrothermal vents along the Sections B, C, E and F with thin oceanic crust are hosted by ultramafic rocks under tectonic-controlled magmatic-starved settings, and hydrothermal vents along the Section D are associated with exceed magmatism. Limited coverage of investigations is provided along the 35°–47°E SWIR (between Marion and Indomed fracture zones) and a lot of research has been done around the Bouvet Island, while no hydrothermal vents has been reported. Analyzing bathymetry, gravity and geochemical data, magmatism settings are favourable for the occurrence of hydrothermal systems along these two sections. An off-axial hydrothermal system in the southern flank of the SWIR that exhibits ultra-thin oceanic crust associated with an oceanic continental transition is postulated to exist along the 100-Ma slow-spreading isochron in the Enderby Basin. A discrete, denser enriched or less depleted mantle beneath the Antarctic Plate is an alternative explanation for the large scale thin oceanic crust concentrated on the southern flank of the SWIR.     

The influence of increased iron concentration on survival and growth of seedlings and young plants of eelgrass Zostera marina

Iron (Fe) is an essential nutrient for plants but toxic at high concentrations. We subjected seedlings and young plants of eelgrass Zostera marina to different seawater iron concentrations (500, 600, 700, 800, 1,000 and 1,500 μg/L) for 30 days under controlled laboratory conditions. Natural seawater without added iron (500 μg/L) was used as reference seawater. No sediments were provided to avoid iron scavenging by particle surfaces in the sediment. We measured plant response in terms of survivorship, morphology, growth rate and productivity. Survival analysis combined with morphological, dynamic and productive assessment suggested that the optimum seawater iron concentration for the establishment of Z. marina seedlings and young plants is 700 μg/L. The no observed effect concentration, lowest observed effect concentration, lethal concentration that caused an increase in mortality to 10% of that of the control, and the effect concentration that caused a decrease in growth to 10% of that of the control values of young plants were significantly lower than those of seedlings, implying an increased sensitivity to high Fe concentrations (>1,000 μg/L). This study further develops our understanding of the physiological ecology of the early life stages of Z. marina and provides data that could prove helpful in the development of successful eelgrass restoration and conservation.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zostera marina</Emphasis> seed burial can be enhanced by Manila clam <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ruditapes philippinarum</Emphasis>: A microcosm study

Seagrass seed bank plays a key role in the regeneration of new vegetation when seagrasses are removed by the natural or man-made disaster. Various factors may affect the development of sediment seed bank. We conducted a microcosm experiment to test the effects of burrowing and feeding activities of Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum on the burial of Zostera marina seeds in sediments. The effects of lasting time (3-hour, 1-day, 3-day, 7-day, 14-day and 28-day), clam density (0, 2, 4 and 8 clams with shell length of 3 cm in each microcosm) and clam size (shell length of 2, 3 and 4 cm at 4-clam density) on seed burial were examined in plastic microcosm cores (30 cm high × 10 in inner diameter) in a 28-day period. Results showed that the seed burial depth significantly increased with time, the density and the size of clams. No seeds were buried in the sediment in the cores without clams during the whole experiment period. For the 3-cm clams, about 91.61% of the seeds were buried in the sediment at the end of the experiment in the high-density treatment (8 clams at each core); while in the medium and low-density treatments (4 and 2 clams in each core, respectively), about 76.93% and 60.61% of the seeds were buried in the sediment, respectively. For the size treatments, large (4 cm) clams buried 89.56% of the seeds at the end of the experiment, much more than those of medium (3 cm, 76.93%) and small (2 cm, 61.50%) size clams. During the whole experiment period, nearly all of the buried seeds were at a depth of from 0 cm to 5 cm. These results suggested that Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum may play an important positive role in seagrass seed bank dynamics in the field.     

Crustal structure of the Southwest Subbasin,South China Sea,from wide-angle seismic tomography and seismic reflection imaging

The Southwest Subbasin (SWSB) is an abyssal subbasin in the South China Sea (SCS), with many debates on its neotectonic process and crustal structure. Using two-dimensional seismic tomography in the SWSB, we derived a detailed P-wave velocity model of the basin area and the northern margin. The entire profile is approximately 311-km-long and consists of twelve oceanic bottom seismometers (OBSs). The average thickness of the crust beneath the basin is 5.3 km, and the Moho interface is relatively flat (10–12 km). No high velocity bodies are observed, and only two thin high-velocity structures (~7.3 km/s) in the layer 3 are identified beneath the northern continent-ocean transition (COT) and the extinct spreading center. By analyzing the P-wave velocity model, we believe that the crust of the basin is a typical oceanic crust. Combined with the high resolution multi-channel seismic profile (MCS), we conclude that the profile shows asymmetric structural characteristics in the basin area. The continental margin also shows asymmetric crust between the north and south sides, which may be related to the large scale detachment fault that has developed in the southern margin. The magma supply decreased as the expansion of the SWSB from the east to the west.     

浅谈新一轮海洋功能区划修编——以山东省为例

海洋功能区划(2011—2020年)的实施,为海域审批管理、协调各行业用海、海洋环境保护等方面提供了重要依据。生产用海逐年大致呈减少趋势,而生态用海面积大致呈增加趋势。用海项目的结构变化反映了海洋功能区划的协调作用,对优化海洋产业结构,转变经济增长方式具有积极的作用。通过对现行海洋功能区划的研究,新一轮的海洋功能区划修编在以下几个方面提出了建议:(1)区划范围应扩大至毗邻区或更远距离。(2)保留区的划定应该慎之又慎,对各个保留区的管理要求和管控措施应该因地适宜。(3)矿产能源区的划定应重点应为海上风电、海水淡化、潮汐能等海洋可再生能源。(4)海域基本功能分区不仅要合理增加兼容功能,而且要明确兼容功能的量化指标。(5)避免出现自然岸线保有率等目标缺少管理法规和可操作性的问题。