Simulation of upper-ocean biogeochemistry with a flexible-composition phytoplankton model: C, N and Si cycling in the western Sargasso Sea

We report the first application of a biogeochemical model in which the major elemental composition of the phytoplankton is flexible, and responds to changing light and nutrient conditions. The model includes two phytoplankton groups: diatoms and non-siliceous picoplankton. Both fix C in accordance with photosynthesis-irradiance relationships used in other models and take up NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁺ (and Si(OH)₄ for diatoms) following Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The model allows for light dependence of photosynthesis and NO₃⁻ uptake, and for the observed near-total light independence of NH₄⁺ uptake and Si(OH)₄ uptake. It tracks the resulting C/N ratios of both phytoplankton groups and Si/N ratio of diatoms, and permits uptake of C, N and Si to proceed independently of one another when those ratios are close to those of nutrient-replete phytoplankton. When the C/N or Si/N ratio of either phytoplankton group indicates that its growth is limited by N, Si or light, uptake of non-limiting elements is controlled by the content of the limiting element in accordance with the cell-quota formulation of Droop (J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K 54 (1974) 825).We applied this model to the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site in the western Sargasso Sea. The model was tuned to produce vertical profiles and time courses of [NO₃⁻], [NH₄⁺] and [Si(OH)₄] that are consistent with the data, by adjusting the kinetic parameters for N and Si uptake and the rate of nitrification. The model then reproduces the observed time courses of chlorophyll-a, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, biogenic silica, primary productivity, biogenic silica production and POC export with no further tuning. Simulated C/N and Si/N ratios of the phytoplankton indicate that N is the main growth-limiting nutrient throughout the thermally stratified period and that [Si(OH)₄], although always limiting to the rate of Si uptake by diatoms, seldom limits their growth rate. The model requires significant nitrification in the upper 200 m to yield realistic time courses and vertical profiles of [NH₄⁺] and [NO₃⁻], suggesting that NO₃⁻ is not supplied to the upper water column entirely by physical processes. A nitrification-corrected f-ratio (f_NC), calculated for the upper 200 m as: (NO₃⁻ uptake—nitrification)/(NO₃⁻ uptake+NH₄⁺ uptake) has annual values ranging from only 0.05–0.09, implying that 90–95% of the N taken up annually by phytoplankton is supplied by biological regeneration (including nitrification) in the upper 200 m. Reported discrepancies between estimates of organic C export based on seasonal chemical changes and POC export measured at the BATS site can be almost completely resolved if there is significant regeneration of NO₃⁻ via organic-matter decomposition in the upper 200 m.     

Incorporation of aged dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by oceanic particulate organic carbon (POC): An experimental approach using natural carbon isotopes

Incorporation of ¹⁴C-depleted (old) dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on/into particulate organic carbon (POC) has been suggested as a possible mechanism to explain the low Δ¹⁴C-POC values observed in the deep ocean [Druffel, E.R.M., Williams, P.M., 1990. Identification of a deep marine source of particulate organic carbon using bomb ¹⁴C. Nature, 347, 172–174.]. A shipboard incubation experiment was performed in the Sargasso Sea to test this hypothesis. Finely ground dried plankton was incubated in seawater samples from the deep Sargasso Sea, both with and without a biological poison (HgCl₂). Changes in parameters such as biochemical composition and carbon isotopic signatures of bulk POC and its organic compound classes were examined to study the roles of sorptive processes and biotic activity on POC character. Following a 13-day incubation, the relative abundance of the acid-insoluble organic fraction increased. Abundances of extractable lipids and total hydrolyzable amino acids decreased for both treatments, but by a greater extent in the non-poisoned treatment. The Δ¹⁴C values of POC recovered from the non-poisoned treatment were significantly lower than the value of the unaltered plankton material used for the incubation, indicating incorporation of ¹⁴C-depleted carbon, most likely DOC. The old carbon was present only in the lipid and acid-insoluble fractions. These results are consistent with previous findings of old carbon dominating the same organic fractions of sinking POC from the deep Northeast Pacific [Hwang, J., Druffel, E.R.M., 2003. Lipid-like material as the source of the uncharacterized organic carbon in the ocean? Science, 299, 881–884.]. However, the Δ¹⁴C values of POC recovered from the poisoned treatment did not change as much as those from the non-poisoned treatment suggesting that biological processes were involved in the incorporation of DOC on/into POC.     

Model Simulations of Carbon Sequestration in the Northwest Pacific by Direct Injection

The direct disposal of CO₂ into the ocean interior represents a possible means to help mitigate rising levels of atmospheric CO₂. Here, we use three different versions of an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) to simulate the direct injection of liquid CO₂ near Tokyo. Our results confirm that direct injection can sequester large amounts of CO₂ from the atmosphere when disposal is made at sufficient depth (80–100% of the carbon injected at 3000 m remains in the ocean after 500 years) but show that the calculated efficiency is rather sensitive to the choice of physical model. Moreover, we show, for the first time in an OGCM and under a reasonable set of economic assumptions, that sequestration effectiveness is quite high for even shallow injections. However, the severe acidification that accompanies injection and the impossibility of effectively monitoring injected plumes argue against the large-scale viability of this technology. Our coarse-grid models show that injection at the rate of 0.1 Pg-C/yr lowers pH near the site of injection by as much as 0.7–1.0 pH-unit. Such pH anomalies would be much larger in more finely gridded models (and in reality) and have potential to severely harm deep-sea organisms. We also show that, after several hundred years, one would effectively need to survey the entire ocean in order to accurately verify the inventory of injected carbon. These results suggest that while retention may be sufficient to justify disposal costs, other practical problems will limit or at best delay widespread deployment of this technology.     

Salinity-Temperature Relations and Morphotypes of a Mixed Population of Coccoid Cyanobacteria from a Hot, Hypersaline Pond in Israel

Abstract. A mixed population of unicellular and colonial cyanobacteria was transferred into culture from a hypersaline helio-thermal pond in the vicinity of the Dead Sea. The entire complex of strains, incubated in Dead Sea water of varying salinity and temperature, showed a pronounced shift of the maximal growth from a salinity of 72 g l^-1 at 30 ^oC up to 142 g 1^-1 at 50 ^oC. Over the above range of salinities and temperatures, these cyanobacteria were capable of about four divisions per day, providing that any increase in salinity was coupled with the suitable increase in temperature. The above peculiar adaptation can explain the prominent success of this group of microorganisms in the extreme and unstable ecological conditions of hypersaline habitats. Amounts of slime accumulating in the cultures were proportional to the incubation temperature.     

New directions in black carbon organic geochemistry

In the past 30 years, the field of black carbon (BC) research has expanded broadly, stretching from its traditional core in the atmospheric sciences into oceanography, soil science, and even anthropology. Results produced in this period of expansion have been exciting: BC has been detected in many important geochemical pools, and interesting new research directions open as we learn about the role of this byproduct of biomass burning in the carbon cycle. Especially important research directions will be the quantification of BC loss processes (both biotic and abiotic), measurement of BC decomposition products in environmentally relevant reservoirs, and exploration of the interactions between BC and its host organo-mineral matrix, including the role of BC in pedogenesis.However, along with exciting results, we have also seen apparent discrepancies between BC studies. These discrepancies occur at least in part because of a lack of a common language, common methods, and a common model of BC. This paper lays out the framework many BC researchers use to understand the role of BC in the carbon cycle, discussing the ‘combustion continuum’ BC model and the methodological continuum that this model implies.     

ENSO循环相关的海洋异常信号传播特征及其机制

通过分析最新的海洋模式同化资料(EstimatingtheCirculationandClimateoftheOcean,EC CO),研究了ENSO循环相关的海洋异常信号在太平洋中的传播过程。研究发现,导致ENSO位相变化的温跃层异常信号主要从北太平洋西传而来,该区与赤道东太平洋相反的温跃层异常信号到达西太暖池区,再从西太暖池沿赤道传到东太平洋,可使ENSO向反位相发展。该异常信号沿赤道东传过程中热带西南太平洋也会出现类似的温跃层异常变化,但是随着异常信号东移和从南太平洋东边界10°S左右传来的反异常信号入侵,热带西南太平洋的异常信号逐渐减弱并消失。稳定性分析表明,北太平洋较大面积区域存在斜压不稳定性或正压不稳定性,有利于ENSO相关的温跃层异常信号以Rossby波形式有效地西传;而在南太平洋,不稳定区的面积较小,且主要局限于海盆东侧,因而传播较弱,这样就造成了ENSO信号在太平洋南、北半球的非对称传播。一般来说,ENSO信号主要在以赤道波导区、东边界、北太平洋纬向区域和西边界组成的回路中循环,在南半球的传播不明显。     

海洋沉积物中碳的来源、迁移和转化

人类活动每年向大气排放的CO2约为65亿t，其中留在大气中的约占50%，大洋吸收约16亿-20亿t，陆地生态系统大约吸收0.7亿~1.4亿t(Bates，2001；Battle et al.，2000),还有大约13亿t找不到去处，称为大气CO2丢失项，而陆架边缘海有可能是这丢失项的去处。近海沉积物是大气二氧化碳的接受者，同时当条件合适时沉积物中的碳又可被释放重新进入水体乃至大气中，是碳循环中的重要源与汇，因此海洋沉积物在碳循环中的作用是全球碳循环的一个关键环节。虽然近十年来这方面的研究已经引起众多学者的关注，对沉积物中的碳循环进行了较大量的研究，取得了一系列成果，但海洋沉积物在碳循环中的作用和过程至今并未查清，具体体现在海洋沉积物在海洋碳循环中起什么作用？起多大作用？在哪些方面影响和控制海洋碳循环？这些均需要科学家们长期的艰苦努力，以便在更深入、更系统和更高层次上研究解决困扰当今人类的涉及碳循环这一重大环境科学问题。 海洋沉积物为海洋环境中的一个主要研究对象，其中的碳与水体-生物体以及大气、入海河流等进行着不间断的交换、大气中的气体碳经过复杂的海洋生物地球化学过程转化为水体中的溶解碳，再变为颗粒碳，经沉降最终形成沉积物，在适宜的条件下上述的反过程同样会发生。因此，研究海洋沉积物中的碳在其循环中的作用是非常困难的。碳是最主要的生源要素，更是生命活动能流、物流中最重要的元素，几乎所有的生物地球化学循环过程都与它有关，因而有关碳循环的研究是目前全球变化研究的热点。许多国际研究计划均以此为核心研究内容。如国际地圈与生物圈计划(IGBP)中的全球海洋通量联合研究(JGOFS)、全球生态系统动力学(GLOBEC)以及上层海洋与低层大气研究计划(SOLAS)等(唐启升，2001；宋金明，2000)。碳循环研究以 JGOFS计划2001年基本结束为标志，通过近十几年的研究，取得了丰硕的成果，系统了解了海洋循环的过程及界面碳通量，对全球碳循环也有了一个初步的了解。为进一步深入开展这方面的研究作者从海洋沉积物中碳的形态与来源、海水及颗粒物中碳与沉积物碳的关系、表层沉积物再悬浮对碳循环的影响以及沉积物中碳的早期成岩作用等几个方面阐述了海洋沉积物中碳循环目前的研究进展。     

Seasonal Cycle Analysis of the Nitrate Nitrogen and Nitrite Nitrogen in the Bohai Sea

During 1985～1987,the concentration of nitrate nitrogen was higher in the Laizhou Bay and the Bohai Bay while that of nitrite nitrogen was higher in the Liaodong Bay and the Bohai Bay,The concentration of nitrate nitrogen was highest in winter and lowest in summer while that of nitrite nitrogen was highest in autumn and lowest in spring .the seasonal variation of the concentration of nitrate nitrogen was maximum in the Laizhou Bay and the Bohai Bay while that of the concentration of nitrite nitrogen was maximum in the Liaodong Bay.There was a great difference in the concentration of nitrate nitrogen between the surface and the bottom in autumn and in the concentration of nitrite nitrogen between the surface and the bottom in summer.The main reason for the seasonal variations of the concentration of nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen was the marine biochemical process.The nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen in the Bohai Sea basically maintained a quasi-equilibrium state seasonal cycle,The quesi-equilibrium state seasonal cycle of nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen at the bottom was stable while that at the surface was liable to variations caused by other factors.     

Spatio-temporal distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon and net community production in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas

As part of the 2002 Western Arctic Shelf–Basin Interactions (SBI) project, spatio-temporal variability of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was employed to determine rates of net community production (NCP) for the Chukchi and western Beaufort Sea shelf and slope, and Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean. Seasonal and spatial distributions of DIC were characterized for all water masses (e.g., mixed layer, halocline waters, Atlantic layer, and deep Arctic Ocean) of the Chukchi Sea region during field investigations in spring (5 May–15 June 2002) and summer (15 July–25 August 2002). Between these periods, high rates of phytoplankton production resulted in large drawdown of inorganic nutrients and DIC in the Polar Mixed Layer (PML) and in the shallow depths of the Upper Halocline Layer (UHL). The highest rates of NCP (1000–2850 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) occurred on the shelf in the Barrow Canyon region of the Chukchi Sea and east of Barrow in the western Beaufort Sea. A total NCP rate of 8.9–17.8×10¹² g for the growing season was estimated for the eastern Chukchi Sea shelf and slope region. Very low inorganic nutrient concentrations and low rates of NCP (<15–25 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹) estimated for the mixed layer of the adjacent Arctic Ocean basin indicate that this area is perennially oligotrophic.     

太阳能海水淡化技术

文章论述应用太阳能集热和太阳能光伏发电系统进行蒸馏淡化和膜法淡化的海水淡化方法。与传统动力源和热源相比 ,太阳能具有安全、环保等优点 ,将太阳能采集与脱盐工艺两个系统结合是一种可持续发展的海水淡化技术