Optimization of dissolved urea measurements in coastal waters with the combination of a single reagent and high temperature

Urea is an unstable and intermediate organic nitrogenous compound present in coastal environments and is derived from the excretion of some aquatic organisms and wastewater discharges. Urea plays an important role in the nitrogen cycle, where it is utilized by algae, including diatoms. However, there are very limited relevant data on the production, consumption, and degradation of urea because of the lack of appropriate measurement techniques. The conventional method is based on the formation of a colored product when urea reacts with diacetyl monoxime in a sulfuric acid solution. We examined the optimal conditions for the formation of the colored product; specifically, we evaluated different temperatures (22–80 °C), reaction times, mixing ratios of color reagents, and sample storage times. Application of the single mixed color-developing reagent (COLDER) at 70 °C resulted in the optimal formation of the colored product within a short reaction time of 60 min. This method was then used to measure dissolved urea in different coastal environments. The concentrations detected were as follows: 0.65–0.72, 0.49–0.58, and 1.09–2.28 µM urea-N at coral reef, seagrass, and mangrove sites, respectively. Our results showed high precision (SD = 0.02, CV = 1.2%), a low detection limit (0.03 µM urea-N), and a high recovery rate (94–99%). In summary, this high-temperature procedure for urea measurements should be valuable for obtaining high-precision data that can further the understanding of urea dynamics and its role in coastal ecosystems.     

Long-term change and variation of salinity in the western North Pacific subtropical gyre revealed by 50-year long observations along 137°E

The 137°E repeat hydrographic section for 50 winters during 1967–2016 has been analyzed to examine interannual to interdecadal variations and long-term changes of salinity and temperature in the surface and intermediate layers of the western North Pacific, with a particular focus on freshening in the subtropical gyre. Rapid freshening on both isobars and isopycnals began in the mid-1990s and persisted for the last 20 years in the upper main thermocline/halocline in the western subtropical gyre. In addition, significant decadal variability of salinity existed in the subtropical mode water (STMW), as previously reported for the shallower layers. An analysis of the 144°E repeat hydrographic section during 1984–2013 supplemented by Argo profiling float data in 2014 and 2015 revealed that the freshening trend and decadal variability observed at 137°E originated in the winter mixed layer in the Kuroshio Extension (KE) region and was transmitted southwestward to 137°E 1–2 years later in association with the subduction and advection of STMW. The mechanism of these changes and variations in the source region was further investigated. In addition to the surface freshwater flux in the KE region pointed out by previous studies, the decadal KE variability in association with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation likely contributes to the decadal salinity variability through water exchange between the subtropics and the subarctic across the KE. Interdecadal change in both the surface freshwater flux and the KE state, however, failed to explain the rapid freshening for the last 20 years.     

A note on ocean surface drift with application to surface velocities measured with HF Radar

The ocean drift current consists of a (local) pure drift current generated by the interaction of wind and waves at the sea surface, to which the surface geostrophic current is added vectorially. We present (a) a similarity solution for the wave boundary layer (which has been validated through the prediction of the 10-m drag law), from which the component of pure drift current along the direction of the wind (and hence the speed factor) can be evaluated from the 10-m wind speed and the peak wave period, and (b) a similarity solution for the Ekman layers of the two fluids, which shows that under steady-state neutral conditions the pure drift current lies along the direction of the geostrophic wind, and has a magnitude 0.034 that of the geostrophic wind speed. The co-existence of these two similarity solutions indicates that the frictional properties of the coupled air-sea system are easily evaluated functions of the 10-m wind speed and the peak wave period, and also leads to a simple expression for the angle of deflection of the pure drift current to the 10 m wind. The analysis provides a dynamical model for global ocean drift on monthly and annual time scales for which the steady-state neutral model is a good approximation. In particular, the theoretical results appear to be able to successfully predict the mean surface drift measured by HF Radar, which at present is the best technique for studying the near surface velocity profile.     

Exponential leap-forward gradient scheme for determining the isothermal layer depth from profile data

Two distinct layers usually exist in the upper ocean. The first has a near-zero vertical gradient in temperature (or density) from the surface and is called the isothermal layer (or mixed layer). Beneath that is a layer with a strong vertical gradient in temperature (or density), called the thermocline (or pycnocline). The isothermal layer depth (ILD) or mixed layer depth (MLD) for the same profile varies depending on the method used to determine it. Also, whether they are subjective or objective, existing methods of determining the ILD do not estimate the thermocline (pycnocline) gradient. Here, we propose a new exponential leap-forward gradient (ELG) method of determining the ILD that retains the strengths of subjective (simplicity) and objective (gradient change) methods and avoids their weaknesses (subjective methods are threshold-sensitive and objective methods are computationally intensive). This new method involves two steps: (1) the estimation of the thermocline gradient G _th for an individual temperature profile, and (2) the computation of the vertical gradient by averaging over gradients using exponential leap-forward steps. Such averaging can filter out noise in the profile data. Five existing methods of determining the ILD (difference, gradient, maximum curvature, maximum angle, and optimal linear fitting methods) as well as the proposed ELG method were verified using global expendable bathythermograph (XBT) temperature and conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) datasets. Among all the methods considered, the ELG method yielded the highest skill score and the lowest Shannon information entropy (i.e., the lowest uncertainty).     

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.     

Seismic and well logging interpretation for evaluation of the lower Bahariya reservoir,southwest Qarun (SWQ) Field,Gindi Basin,Egypt

This paper focuses on seismic and well log interpretations for evaluating the sandstones of the Cenomanian Bahariya Formation in the southwest Qarun Field, Gindi Basin, northern Western Desert of Egypt. The seismic profiles display a clear anticlinal structure intersected by reverse faults in the study area. This faulted anticline has been interpreted to be one of the Syrian arc system folds formed by Upper Cretaceous tectonic inversion, which resulted from the NW movement of the African Plate relative to Laurasia. This anticline has been recommended as a target for exploration by the present work as it may represent a structural trap for hydrocarbon accumulation. The sandstones of the Lower Bahariya Formation in the southwest Qarun Field display good reservoir characteristics. The interpretation of the available well log data for the SWQ-21 and SWQ-25 wells for the Lower Bahariya Formation reflects a good reservoir quality for oil production in its topmost part. This reservoir possesses low S_W (<50%), high porosity (16%), low S_W/S_XO and low BVW (<0.09) which all reflect a high potential for oil production.     

Acoustic monitoring using bamboo set net in the Southern Sea of Korea

High-temporal resolution profiles of acoustic backscatter were collected from a traditional bamboo set net along the coast of the Southern Sea, Korea, using sideward-looking multi-beam imaging sonar. These data were used to examine the impact of variations in tidal cycles and current speeds on the bamboo set net. The relatively high influx of fish during the nighttime compared to the low influx and high outflux of fish during the daytime suggests visual avoidance of the net by the fish during the daytime. The observed diel variation in the captured fish flux was significantly correlated with the current speed (day: r = 0.35, p = 0.002, night: r = 0.60, p < 0.001). The ratio of influx and outflux of fish, and current speed were correlated in a linear relationship (day: r = 0.45, p < 0.001; night: r = 0.56, p < 0.001). The fish activity of those inhabiting the bamboo set nets appears to be greatly influenced by day-night differences and current speed. The present study enhances understanding of fish behavior via utilization of a bamboo set net in the coastal zone.     

Spatio-temporal variability in sea surface temperatures for the Yellow Sea based on MODIS dataset

The spatio-temporal variabilities in sea surface temperature (SST) were analyzed using a time series of MODIS datasets for four separate regions in the Yellow Sea (YS) that were located along a north-south axis. The space variant temporal anomaly was further decomposed using an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) for estimating spatially distributed SST. The monthly SSTs showed similar temporal patterns in each region, which ranged from 2.4°C to 28.4°C in the study years 2011 to 2013, with seasonal cycles being stronger at the higher latitudes and weaker at the lower latitudes. Spatially, although there were no significant differences among the four regions (p < 0.05) in any year, the geographical distribution of SST was characterized by an obvious gradient whereby SST decreased along the north-south axis. The monthly thermal difference among regions was largest in winter since the SST in the southeast was mainly affected by the Yellow Sea Warm Currents. The EOF1 mode accounted for 56% of the total spatial variance and exhibited a warming signal during the study period. The EOF2 mode accounted for 8% of the total variance and indicated the warm current features in the YS. The EOF3 mode accounted for 6% of the total variance and indicated the topographical features. The methodology used in this study demonstrated the spatio-temporal variabilities in the YS.     

<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.