Response of Eucalanus bungii to oceanographic conditions in the western subarctic Pacific Ocean: Retrospective analysis of the Odate Collections

To evaluate their response to oceanographic conditions, interannual variations in seasonal abundance of Eucalanus bungii were investigated in zooplankton samples collected from the Oyashio Current system from 1960 to 2002. Large decadal changes were observed in seasonal timing and population age-structure. During the early 1970s and 1990s, E. bungii were abundant until mid-summer, but during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the season of maximum abundance was limited to spring and early summer. From the late 1970s to early 1980s, spring–summer abundance of newly recruited young copepodites (C1–C2) declined significantly, and an even more pronounced decline was observed for the abundance of the late copepodite stages (C3–C5). Monthly population structure showed that young of the year stopped development at C3 during the late 1970s to early 1980s, but molted into late copepodite stages in the other decades. Seasonal weakening of the Aleutian Low Pressure System estimated from North Pacific Index (NPI) was rapid during the late 1970s to early 1980s, and the NPI was positively correlated with phosphate concentrations at sea surface, spring–summer abundance of the young copepodites stages, and the extended duration of the season of high abundance. These results suggest that the decadal decline of copepod abundance originated at the early life stages, and was associated with a shift of atmospheric and oceanographic conditions. As possible biological mechanisms, we propose reduced egg production, lower survival for the portion of the annual cohort with late birth date, and overwintering of the survivors at younger stages.     

Fortnightly shifts of intrusion depth of oceanic water into Ise Bay

To clarify the time change in water exchanges between Ise Bay and the adjacent ocean, repeated hydrographic observations were conducted along the longitudinal section in Ise Bay. The results show that the mixing condition at the bay mouth (Irago Strait) changed fortnightly in summer. During the spring tides, the strait water below the pycnocline was well-mixed and nearly homogeneous. By contrast, it was weakly stratified during the neap tide. There is a strong negative correlation between the tidal range and the density difference between the upper and lower layers at the strait. In summer, the intrusion depth of oceanic water into the bay and consequent hydrographic conditions inside the bay changed frequently according to the tidal strength. During the spring tides a prominent bottom front was created at the bay mouth, indicating that the strait water, which is a mixture of oceanic and bay waters, intruded through the middle layer. On the other hand, during the neaps, cold and saline oceanic water intruded through the bottom layer into the bay. The intrusion depth is significantly correlated with the tidal range. It is considered that the wellmixed strait water, which has a density equivalent to the middle layer inside the bay, is lighter than the bottom bay water and thus intrudes through the middle layer during the spring tides, while insufficient mixing makes the bottom water at the strait heavier than the bay water, leading to the bottom intrusion during the neap tides.     

A model on the turbulent wind field over wind-waves in curvilinear co-ordinates

The wave-induced fluctuations of wind velocity over wind-waves measured in the wind tunnel experiment (Ichikawa andImasato, 1976) are compared with the numerical results estimated by a linear model (Model II) on the turbulent wind field over a dominant component of wind-waves. In the Model II, the undulation of mean air flow is introduced by adopting the curvilinear co-ordinates, and the existence of viscous sublayer and the influence of underlying wind-waves to background atmospheric turbulence are taken into account. The numerical results estimated by the Model II are in good agreement with the experimental results. The good agreement, which was not obtained from the previous model (Model I) in the Cartesian co-ordinates, is shown to be attributed to the undulating mean flow introduced in the Model II.     

Air-Sea Interaction, Coastal Circulation and Primary Production in the Eastern Arabian Sea: A Review

Air-sea interaction, coastal circulation and primary production exhibit an annual cycle in the eastern Arabian Sea (AS). During June to September, strong southwesterly winds (4∼9 m s⁻¹) promote sea surface cooling through surface heat loss and vertical mixing in the central AS and force the West India Coastal Current equatorward. Positive wind stress curl induced by the Findlater jet facilitates Ekman pumping in the northern AS, and equatorward-directed alongshore wind stress induces upwelling which lowers sea surface temperature by about 2.5°C (compared to the offshore value) along the southwestern shelf of India and enhances phytoplankton concentration by more than 70% as compared to that in the central AS. During winter monsoon, from November to March, dry and weak northeasterly winds (2–6 m s⁻¹) from the Indo-China continent enhance convective cooling of the upper ocean and deepen the mixed layer by more than 80 m, thereby increasing the vertical flux of nutrients in the photic layer which promotes wintertime phytoplankton blooms in the northern AS. The primary production rate integrated for photic layer and surface chlorophyll-a estimated from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, both averaged for the entire western India shelf, increases from winter to summer monsoon from 24 to 70 g C m⁻²month and from 9 to 24 mg m⁻², respectively. Remotely-forced coastal Kelvin waves from the Bay of Bengal propagate into the coastal AS, which modulate circulation pattern along the western India shelf; these Kelvin waves in turn radiate Rossby waves which reverse the circulation in the Lakshadweep Sea semiannually. This review leads us to the conclusion that seasonal monsoon forcing and remotely forced waves modulate the circulation and primary production in the eastern AS. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Atmospheric correction scheme for GLI with absorptive aerosol correction

The present study proposes an atmospheric correction scheme for Advanced Earth Observation Satellite II (ADEOS-II)/Global Imager (GLI) ocean color retrieval that corrects for the atmospheric absorptive aerosol effect. Radiative transfer simulations were conducted assuming a non-absorptive model aerosol with a soot-type aerosol at various mixture ratios. The results indicate that while the spectral dependency of aerosol reflectance does not change in the longer (>550 nm) wavelength region, the reflectance at shorter wavelengths is highly variable and depends on the mixture ratio. The influence of aerosol absorption was also investigated using GLI data from ocean areas adjacent to Japan in the presence of absorptive Siberian fire smoke aerosol in the spring of 2003. The spectral curvature of the aerosol was estimated from the data obtained. An empirical, iterative scheme that detects and evaluates the influence of absorptive aerosols was developed by comparing 380 nm GLI-observed aerosol reflectance with predicted reflectances derived using an in-water optical model. To evaluate the performance of this scheme, satellite-derived normalized water-leaving radiances were compared with those measured from a ferry servicing Nagasaki and Fukue. The results of data acquired on March 20, 2003, indicate that this absorption correction scheme improved root mean square estimation error for normalized water-leaving radiance by approximately 40% in the 380, 400, and 412 nm bands. This atmospheric correction algorithm was used as a part of the second version of the GLI standard ocean color data process system at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).     

Spatial Heterogeneity in Distributions of Chlorophyll a Derivatives in the Subarctic North Pacific during Summer

The distribution of chlorophyll a derivatives was examined in samples collected from the subarctic North Pacific during July to September 1997. Pheophorbide a, pheophytin a and pyropheophorbide a as determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were the major derivatives recorded. The distribution patterns of chlorophyll a and its derivatives showed a strong vertical and horizontal heterogeneity. Patches with high concentration of derivatives seemed to be associated with high concentration of chlorophyll a. A clear east-west gradient was observed in both chlorophyll a and pheophorbide a integrated from the surface to 100 m depth with significantly higher amounts of both the pigments in the Western Subarctic Gyre and in the Bering Sea than in the Alaskan Gyre. In contrast, no apparent gradient was observed in the integrated pyropheophorbide a and pheophytin a. Grazing experiments conducted with the copepod (Neocalanus cristatus) and salp (Cyclosalpa bakeri) fed on five species of phytoplankton cultures, showed a marked difference in the composition of the derivatives in their fecal pellets. Pyropheophorbide a was dominant in the copepod fecal pellet regardless of the phytoplankton species fed on. In the salp, however, pheophytin a and pheophorbide a were found in the fecal pellets, the relative concentrations varying with the algal food. Spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of the derivatives is considered to reflect local variations in dominant herbivorous processes.     

A comparative study of the photosynthetic activity among three temperate seagrass species in Northern Japan

The photosynthetic activity of Zostera marina, Zostera asiatica and Phyllospadix iwatensis shoots from populations of Hokkaido (Northern Japan) was determined using the pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometer. Several fluorescence parameters were measured as a function of irradiance and leaf age: electron transport rate (ETR), quantum yield, photochemical quenching (qP) and non‐photochemical quenching (NPQ). The leaf age determined by the leaf position in the shoot bundle strongly influenced the photosynthetic activity of Z. marina, Z. asiatica and P. iwatensis. Young leaves had the maximum electron transport rate (Zm: Leaf 1 = 15.7, Leaf 2 = 16.3; Za: Leaf 1 = 13.0, Leaf 2 = 12.2; and Pi: Leaf 1 = 12.5, Leaf 2 = 11.7) and showed higher photoprotection (NPQ) than old leaves. Among the studied seagrass species, Z. marina had the highest photosynthetic activity (ETR_max = 15.3), in accordance with the highest production in the field in comparison with the other two seagrass species. The PAM fluorometry technique showed to be effective in determining intraspecific (among‐leaves) and interspecific (among‐species) variation in seagrass photosynthetic activity.     

Warm water intrusion from the Kuroshio into the coastal areas south of Japan

Sea surface temperature (SST) has been measured in the south of Japan using a thermometer set up in the ferry boat to investigate the characteristics of the warm water intrudes into the coastal areas from the Kuroshio. Time series analysis was applied to the SST data with satellite images and hydrographic observation data from April 1987 to September 1989. The results indicate that the warm Kuroshio water intruded into the coastal areas on the Enshu-nada and the Kumano-nada Seas intermittently with periods of about 50 and 20 days associated with the fluctuation of the Kuroshio path and the Kuroshio frontal disturbance respectively. The intrusion with a 50-day period was dominant when the Kuroshio took a stationary small meander path (B- and C-types). The warm water spread to the west at 20 cm s^–1, and was estimated to have a depth of 150 m at least and supply enough heat to make up the loss due to the evaporation in the coastal area. During the straight path of the Kuroshio, it was detected that the warm water intruded into coastal areas only with a 20-day period. The warm water that intrudes with a period of 20 days spreads to the west at 25 cm s^–1 in a small scale.     

3≈6 Months Variation of Sea Surface Height in the South China Sea and Its Adjacent Ocean

Sea surface height (SSH) variations with a period of 36 months (SSH36 variations) in the South China Sea (SCS) and its adjacent ocean are intensively investigated using six years of TOPEX/POSEIDON-derived SSH data. The results show that there appears higher energy of SSH36 variations in the east of the Luzon Strait and in some areas of the SCS, both of which are correlated with each other. The SSH36 variations usually propagate westward in the subtropical region of the northern Pacific Ocean and turn northward in the east of the Luzon Strait while they sometimes propagate into the SCS through the Luzon Strait with the phase speed of about 11–12 cm/s, which may be considered as Rossby waves. It can be inferred that the SSH36 variations are strongly associated with current structures and eddies in the SCS because of their significant intensiveness. The SSH variations with the period of 6 months are more dominant than those with the other periods in the SCS.