A preliminary study of carbon system in the East China Sea

In the central part of the East China Sea, the activity of CO₂ in the surface water and total carbonate, pH and alkalinity in the water column were determined in winter and autumn of 1993. The activity of CO₂ in the continental shelf water was about 50 ppm lower than that of surface air. This decrease corresponds to the absorption of about 40 gC/m²/yr of atmospheric CO₂ in the coastal zone or 1 GtC/yr in the global continental shelf, if this rate is applicable to entire coastal seas. The normalized total carbonate contents were higher in the water near the coast and near the bottom. This increase toward the bottom may be due to the organic matter deposited on the bottom. This conclusion is supported by the distribution of pH. The normalized alkalinity distribution also showed higher values in the near-coast water, but in the surface water, indicating the supply of bicarbonate from river water. The residence time of the East China Sea water, including the Yellow Sea water, has been calculated to be about 0.8 yr from the excess alkalinity and the alkalinity input. Using this residence time and the excess carbonate, we can estimate that the amount of dissolved carbonate transported from the coastal zone to the oceanic basin is about 70 gC/m²/yr or 2 GtC/yr/area-of-global-continental-shelf. This also means that the rivers transport carbon to the oceans at a rate of 30 gC/m²/yr of the coastal sea or 0.8 GtC/yr/ area-of-global shelf, the carbon consisting of dissolved inorganic carbonate and terrestrial organic carbon decomposed on the continental shelf.     

Coupling of life cycles of the copepods Calanus chilensis and Centropages brachiatus to upwelling induced variability in the central-southern region of Chile

A time series of zooplankton sampling carried out at Station 18 off Concepción (36°S, 73°W) from August 2002 to December 2003 allowed the study of annual life cycles of the copepods Calanus chilensis and Centropages brachiatus in association with environmental variability in the coastal upwelling zone. Changes in the abundance of eggs, nauplii, and copepodids were assessed from samples taken at a mean time interval of ca. 20 days. Upwelling variability in near-surface waters was reflected in seasonal changes in salinity, water column stratification, and oxycline depth, as well as a weak seasonal signal in sea surface temperature (1-2 °C). Both copepods exhibited similar life cycles, characterized by continuous reproduction throughout the year. Estimates of generation times, as a function of temperature, were 25-30 days for C. chilensis and 27-35 days for C. brachiatus, predicting about 12 and 10 generations a year, respectively. These estimates were consistent with reproduction pulses observed in the field. It was thus suggested that copepods may grow under non-limiting food conditions in this upwelling area. However, despite continuous reproduction, there were abrupt changes in population sizes along with the disappearance of early naupliar and copepodid stages taking place even during the upwelling season (spring/summer). These changes were attributed to sudden increases in mortality taking place in spring or early summer, after which the populations remained at low levels through the fall and winter. It is thus suggested that, in addition to variability in the physical environment, biological interactions modulating changes in copepod mortality should be considered for understanding copepod life cycles in highly productive upwelling systems.     

High Precision Geoid Models HKGEOID-2000 for Hong Kong and SZGEOID-2000 for Shenzhen, China

High precision geoid models HKGEOID-2000 for Hong Kong and SZGEOID-2000 for Shenzhen, China, have been developed with a hybrid approach of so-called sequential processing, using high precision GPS/leveling data, land and sea gravity anomalies, and digital terrain models. These two local geoid models have the same 1-km resolution. The estimated accuracy (external accuracy) is better than 1.7 cm for HKGEOID-2000 and 1.4 cm for SZGEOID-2000. Some common areas are covered by HKGEOID-2000 and SZGEOID-2000. So these two geoid models, along with high quality GPS/leveling data collected on the overlapping areas, can be used to detect the systematic bias between HKGEOID-2000 and SZGEOID-2000, as well as the difference between Hong Kong Principal Datum and 1956 yellow sea height datum of China, yielding RMS errors of 1.011 m and 1,003 m, respectively. Moreover, HKGEOID-2000, along with GPS ellipsoidal heights, is employed to determine the errors of the “orthometric heights” from purely trigonometric heighting, yielding an RMS error of 0.102 m. The combination of SZGEOID-2000 and GPS ellipsoidal heights has been used to replace the traditional spirit leveling and mapping, called GPS mapping.     

Annual Cycle of Zooplankton Biomass, Abundance and Species Composition in the Neritic Area of the Balearic Sea, Western Mediterranean

Abstract. Seasonal changes in zooplankton biomass, abundance and species composition were studied at a neritic station in the Balearic Sea between April 1993 and May 1994. Sampling was carried out every 10 days in a zone influenced by the main current circulating through the Mallorca channel. Three main peaks of zooplankton biomass and abundance were observed: (1) at the beginning of summer when the thermocline developed, (2) in autumn when the thermocline broke down, and (3) in early spring. The smaller zooplankton fraction (100–250 μm) comprised on average 32 % of the total biomass and 73 % of total abundance. Copepods were the predominant group (64 % of the total abundance) with Clausocalanus, Oithona and Paracalanus being the most abundant genera. Paracalanus parvus, Clausocalanus furcatus, Acartia clausi, Oithona plumifera, Temora stylifera, Centropages typicus and Oncaea mediterranea were found to be the most important species in the area. Other abundant groups were cladocerans (15 %) and meroplankton larvae (12 %), both of which were particularly numerous during the stratified period. The copepod community was characterized by the above‐cited perennial species, which were abundant during the cycle studied. However, the influence of the hydrological conditions of the Balearic Sea, such as the Atlantic water influx and the physical structure of the water column (stratification and mixing), promoted the observed variability in zooplankton as well as the appearance of characteristic species during the annual cycle.     

The Reproductive Cycle of Ophioderma brevispinum (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea)

Abstract. .The reproductive cycle of the brittlestar Ophioderma brevispinum is described using histological and organ index data for a population in Massachusetts, U.S.A. The cycle consists of a one month mid-summer spawning phase followed by gametogenesis and gradual gonadal growth during the winter, and greatly accelerated gonadal growth from May to June. At the end of the spawning season, oogonia proliferate near the base of the ovary, and a continuous layer of spermatogonia lines the testis. As oocytes grow to a maximum diameter of 350 um, yolk granules accumulate and the cytoplasm becomes less basophilic. Prior to spawning, the testis becomes branched and sulcate, and a whorl of spermatozoa produced by columns of spermatids accumulates in the lumen. Comparisons between the reproductive cycles of different populations of O. brevispinum and its congeners support the hypothesis that temperature may be a critical exogenous factor, but definitely not the only factor, in the initiation and duration of the growth and spawning phases of the ophiuroid reproductive cycle.     

Nonparametric Estimates of the Sea State Bias for the Jason-1 Radar Altimeter

The Jason-1 sea state bias (SSB) is analyzed in depth from the first year of GDR products. Compared to previous missions, this work benefits from two aspects of the empirical determination of the SSB from the altimetric data themselves. First, from a methodological point of view, a nonparametric technique (NP) has been developed and largely tested on TOPEX/Poseidon 1, GFO and Envisat data. The NP estimator has proven to be a useful tool in the SSB estimation, and it is now mature enough to be used for a refined analysis. On the other hand, the SSB can be extracted from three different data sets (crossovers, collinear data, and residuals) with different characteristics. It is then possible to cross calibrate various estimations of the SSB models and to determine the most accurate one. A systematic comparison is made between these different estimates for the Jason-1 altimeter. The collinear and crossover data sets yield very similar estimates despite their difference of spatial and temporal distributions. These SSB models assure consistency with the TOPEX mission when comparing Jason-1 and TOPEX residuals during the tandem phase. Thanks to the present work, the impact of the short wavelengths filtering on the SSB estimation is evidenced. More generally, our understanding of potential errors affecting the sea surface height and their impact onto the SSB estimation is also improved.     

Locomotor activity rhythm in the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica elvers

Under artificial LD cycles(6,12,18 L),the elvers of Japanese eel,Anguilla japonica,showed a 24 h cycle of locomotor activity rhythm being most active at light transitions:the eels' activity rose to a primary peak after lights-off,followed by a quiescent period during which they buried into the shelters or lying motionlessly on sand for most of the time,and then reached a secondary peak before lights-on.Elvers could resynchronize their activity rhythm with a new photo cycle within 4 d.Moreover,their activity level at dark phase significantly increased as the light period was prolonged:higher activity levels during shorter dark period.However,the elvers did not display clearly the existence of a circadian rhythm under constant light or dark conditions.The timing of daily activity rhythm evidenced in the Japanese eels may occur through the action of the LD cycles with a weak participation of an endogenous circadian system.In all the LD cycles,over 99% of the activity occurred in the dark phase,indicating that the eels were always nocturnally active no matter what time of day it might be.Under 12 L conditions,the eels' activity level and the time outside sand were significantly elevated both at light and dark phases as temperature increased from 10~15 to 20~25 ℃.The activity rhythm pattern(i.e.,two peaks occurring around light transitions) did not apparently change among temperatures.However,in contrast with the primary activity peaks immediately after lights-off at 20 and 25 ℃,the timing of the primary peaks at 10 and 15 ℃ showed a latency of a few hours following lights-off,indicating the inhibiting effect of low temperature on the eels' activity.     

Reproductive Cycle of the Caribbean Feather Star Nemaster rubiginosa (Echinodermata: Crinoidea)

Abstract. The reproductive cycle of the comatulid crinoid Nemaster rubiginosa from Discovery Bay, Jamaica is described histologically. The cycle is annual and may be divided into (1) a "resting" phase (summer) in which most adults possess immature, unsexable gonads, (2) a recovery phase (early fall) marked by the re-initiation of gametogenesis and rapid gonadal growth, (3) a breeding phase (late fall and winter) during which the gonads are mature and repeated spawning likely takes place, and (4) a post-spawning phase (spring) during which relict gametes are removed from the shrinking gonads. Although unsexable individuals predominate during the "resting" phase, a small proportion of the adult population is unsexable at all times of the year. The reproductive condition of animals in the same month in two successive years was very similar, suggesting that the timing of reproduction is quite predictable from year to year. The re-initiation of gametogenesis in the early fall is correlated with both rising sea temperature and shortening daylength, and the October to March breeding season corresponds to the period of short daylengths at the study site. The well-defined and synchronized annual reproductive cycle of Nemaster rubiginosa contrasts with the more prolonged and variable reproductive cycles reported for other tropical crinoids and points to a diversity of breeding patterns among tropical crinoids.     

欧氏六线鱼Hexagrammos otakii Jordan & Starks性腺发育的周年变化研究

根据对青岛附近水域欧氏六线鱼（已达性成熟年龄）性腺周年宏观和组织学观察，性腺发育可分为：①重复发育Ⅱ期；②开始成熟期；③接近成熟期；④临产期或产卵期；⑤产后期。按性腺指数变化并结合性腺组织切片确定，欧氏六线鱼性腺发育在青岛海区一年一个周期，繁殖期在１０月下旬至１２月，繁殖盛期是１１月下旬至１２月中旬。