Characteristics of the transition Layer in the South China Sea in 1998

CTD data on standard levels coolected during July and December in 1998 and the cubic spline interpolating method were used to study the characteristics of the transition layer temperature and salinity.The thermocline undergoes remarkable seasonal variation in the South China Sea (SCS),and especially in the region of the north shelf where the thermocline disappears in december.The thermocline is stronger and thicker in July than in December,There is no obvious seasonal variation in the halocline.Due to the upper Ekman transport caused by monsoon over the SCS,the thermocline slopes upward in July and downward in december from east to west in the northern SCS.The characteristics of the thermocline and halocline are influenced by local eddies in the SCS.The Zhujiang diluted flow influences significantly the SCS shelf‘s halocline.     

Warming in the Northwestern Indian Ocean Associated with the El Nio Event

This paper investigates possible warming effects of an El Nino event on the sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) in the northwestern Indian Ocean. Most pure positive Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) events (without an El Nino event co-occurring) have a maximum positive SSTA mainly in the central Indian Ocean south of the equator, while most co-occurrences with an El Nino event exhibit a northwest-southeast typical dipole mode. It is therefore inferred that warming in the northwestern Indian Ocean is closely related to the El Nino event. Based on the atmospheric bridge theory, warming in the northwestern Indian Ocean during co-occurring cases may be primarily caused by relatively less latent heat loss from the ocean due to reduced wind speed. The deepened thermocline also contributes to the warming along the east coast of Africa through the suppressed upwelling of the cold water. Therefore, the El Nino event is suggested to have a modulating effect on the structure of the dipole mode in the tropical Indian Ocean.     

夏季北黄海不同性质悬浮体分布特征及其控制因素分析

为了探讨夏季不同性质悬浮体在研究区的分布特征及其控制因素,于2016年6—7月在北黄海使用LISST-100X(C)型激光粒度仪和CTD测量了悬浮体浓度和水体温度、浊度、荧光叶绿素浓度数据。结合现场水文数据对不同粒径悬浮体的分布规律进行分析。结果表明,夏季研究区悬浮体含有大量以生源颗粒为主的粗颗粒(128μm),其浓度在下层水体较低,在远岸层结水体的温跃层附近最高。粒径128μm的细颗粒浓度与浊度分布趋势一致,主要反映陆源无机颗粒的变化。其浓度整体呈近岸高远岸低、下层高上层低的分布特征;在成山头近岸海域最高,并且在鲁北沿岸浅水与远岸深水之间存在浓度锋。潮混合作用和温跃层是影响悬浮体浓度空间分布的主要控制因素。潮混合作用促使鲁北沿岸出现陆架温度锋,阻碍沿岸细颗粒物质向海输运;成山头近岸较强的潮混合作用导致当地沉积物再悬浮,使该区域细颗粒浓度最高。温跃层不仅阻碍了下层细颗粒物质向上扩散,还对上层沉降下来的颗粒有"累积"作用。此外,跃层附近丰富的浮游植物对粗颗粒浓度高值区的形成有促进作用。     

Planktonic Foraminiferal Assemblage Variations of Ontong-Java Plateau during Late Quaternary and Their Implications for Paleotemperature in the Western Pacific Warm Pool

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 807A was recovered from the Ontong-Java plateau, western equatorial Pacific. Quantitative analysis of planktonic foraminifera, combined with oxygen and carbon isotope data, reveals the glacial-interglacial variations of sea-surface temperature and the upper water vertical structure in this region during the late Quaternary. Our results indicate that since 530 ka sea-surface temperature (SST) and the depth of thermocline (DOT) have changed significantly in the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP). The average glacial-interglacial annual SST difference was up to 4.2 ℃ , and the DOT fluctuations could exceed more than 100 m, further suggesting the instability of the WPWP. The spectral analyses of SST and DOT reveal two dominating cyclicities--the typical 100 ka cycle and the semi-precessional cycle, which is significant in the tropical spectrum, indicating that late Quaternary paleoceanographic changes in the study area were influenced not only by a high latitude forcing but also by tropic-driving factors.     

Estimation of wind-forced internal seiche amplitudes in lakes and reservoirs, with data from British Columbia, Canada

Analyses of observations from four lakes in British Columbia, Canada, compare estimates of the amplitude of thermocline deflections to predictions of wind-driven internal seiche amplitudes made using the Wedderburn number,W. The study sites range from the 750 m diameter Brenda Mines pit-lake to the 107 km long Kootenay Lake. Causal filtering of the wind data with a frequency cut-off based on the fundamental baroclinic time-scale is critical for correct calculation ofW. With the filtering incorporated, good comparison betweenW, its integral equivalent the Lake numberL _N and the observations can be made. In all but the mine pit-lake, upwelling or near-upwelling conditions (W≈1) were encountered.     

Distinctive Precursory Air–Sea Signals between Regular and Super El Ni os

Statistically different precursory air–sea signals between a super and a regular El Ni no group are investigated, using observed SST and rainfall data, and oceanic and atmospheric reanalysis data. The El Ni no events during 1958–2008 are first separated into two groups: a super El Ni no group(S-group) and a regular El Ni no group(R-group). Composite analysis shows that a significantly larger SST anomaly(SSTA) tendency appears in S-group than in R-group during the onset phase[April–May(0)], when the positive SSTA is very small. A mixed-layer heat budget analysis indicates that the tendency difference arises primarily from the difference in zonal advective feedback and the associated zonal current anomaly(u).This is attributed to the difference in the thermocline depth anomaly(D) over the off-equatorial western Pacific prior to the onset phase, as revealed by three ocean assimilation products. Such a difference in D is caused by the difference in the wind stress curl anomaly in situ, which is mainly regulated by the anomalous SST and precipitation over the Maritime Continent and equatorial Pacific.     

Stable isotopic records of the glacial deep-water properties in the South China Sea

Based on the oxygen and carbon stable isotopic records of benthic foraminifera in nine deep-sea cores of the South China Sea (SCS), the bathymetric profiles of δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C since the last glacial maximum (LGM) are preliminarily established. The bathymetric gradients of deep-water δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in the SCS are obviously greater during the LGM than during the Holocene, showing the existence of the deep thermocline and nutricline at water depth of about 2 000 m. Particularly, the differences in δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C between the LGM and Holocene, from which the ice-volume effect and the global mean shift have been subtracted respectively, are positive values at water depths of 1 000–2 500 m in the SCS. This indicates the existence of deep-water mass with relatively cool temperature or higher salinity, better ventilation and more δ¹³C within the water depth range of the SCS during the LGM, which is distinctly different from that at present. These changes further confirm the existence of the glacial “North Pacific Deep Water” which, however, is possibly confined to the water depth range of 1 000–2 500 m. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 49576286 and 49732060).     

北太平洋副热带海洋环流气候变化研究

北太平洋副热带环流的变化在全球气候变化和热量的经向输送中占重要地位。本文对近10年有关北太平洋副热带海洋环流气候变化的研究进行了综述。主要研究成果有：用卫星高度计首次观测到全球海洋Rossby波的传播特征；确定了气候意义下北太平洋副热带逆流为2支．揭示了其中一支与北太平洋模态水的存在有关，另一支是夏威夷群岛附近海洋．大气-陆地相互作用的结果；首次发现了台湾以东黑潮流量有显著的准100天振荡等。本文还提出了在北太平洋副热带环流研究中目前存在的新科学问题。     

西风爆发、次表层暖水东移与厄尔尼诺现象

利用最近20 a的大气海洋资料,分析了厄尔尼诺事件与赤道太平洋西风异常以及赤道太平洋次表层海温之间的关系.结果表明,赤道西太平洋(5°S～5°N,120°～160°E)和赤道中东太平洋(5°S～5°N,160°E～160°W)西风异常都存在着与厄尔尼诺周期一致的年际变化,但前者还包含有显著的2～3个月季节内振荡.赤道西太平洋次表层冷暖水东移也呈现年和年际时间尺度的振荡周期.在厄尔尼诺发生前,赤道西太平洋次表层海水出现持续性增暖,赤道西太平洋西风异常频率加快,强度增强.随后赤道中太平洋(160°E～160°W)出现持续性(3个月以上)强西风异常(即西风爆发),并进一步向东扩展,同时次表层暖水沿着赤道波导东移到赤道东太平洋混合层,导致赤道东太平洋海表大面积异常增暖,形成一次厄尔尼诺现象.最后,模式模拟了1980～1984年赤道太平洋海温的变化,进一步证实了赤道纬向西风异常对暖水东移起着重要的作用.     

Particle flux through the Huanghai Sea cold water mass

Settling particulate matter （SPM） was collected by using sediment traps at four stations in a survey section from Qingdao to Cheju-do, across the Huanghai Sea cold water mass （HSCWM）, in August 2002. The sediment traps were planted in three layers： the upper layer of the thermocline （ULT） above the HSCWM, the lower layer of the thermocline （LLT）, and the bottom layer of water column （BL）. To determine the particle flux, the contents of organic carbon （POC）, organic nitrogen （PON）, total carbon （PC）, and total phosphorous （PP） in SPM were analyzed, and two flux models （Ⅰ and Ⅱ） were improved to calculate the resuspension ratio, with an assumption in Model Ⅰ that the vertical flux of SPM in the LLT equals the net vertical flux of SPM in the whole water column. An X value, i.e., the fraction of the resuspension flux originating from the surficial sediments nearby the sampling station, was deduced from Model Ⅰ to estimate the contribution of lateral currents to the total resuspension flux. The results showed that inorganic particles, fecal pellets, and miscellaneous aggregates were the major types of SPM in the HSCWM, and the contents of POC, PON, PC, and PP all decreased with water depth. A great deal of fecal pellets found in the LLT indicates that the main space producing biogenic SPM is the thermocline, and especially the LLT, where the C/N ratio is lower than that in the ULT. The resuspension ratios, 90%-96% among stations, imply strong impact ofresuspension on particle flux in the BL. These values were not significantly different between the two flux models, suggesting that the hypothesis in Model Ⅰ that the flux in the LLT equaling the net flux to the bottom is acceptable for shallow waters with stratification like the HSCWM. The POC export ratio from the HSCWM ranges from 35% to 68%. It benefits from the short sinking distance in shallow water. The upwelling in the HSCWM enhanced the POC flux through the water mass, and the lateral currents provides up to being greater than 50% ofresuspension flux in the BL according to evaluation of the X value.