Year aridity index patterns in northwest China and the relationship to summer North Atlantic sea surface temperature

Aim to linking the variability of drought in northwest China to the oceanic influence of North Atlantic SSTs at the background of global warming and at the regional climate change shifting stages, year aridity index variations in northwest China and summer North Atlantic sea surface temperature （SST） variations are examined for the 44 a period of 1961-2004 using singular value decomposition （SVD） analysis. Results show that the SST anomalies （SSTA）in the North Atlantic in summer reflected three basic models. The first SVD mode of SST pattern shows a dipole - like variation with the positive center located at southwest and negative center at northeast of extratropical North Atlantic. And it strongly relates to the positive trend in AI variation in northwest China. The second coupled modes display the coherent positive anomalies in extratropical North Atlantic SST and the marked opposite trend of AI variability between north and south of Xinjiang. In addition, the lag correlation analysis of the first mode of SSTA and geopotential heights at 500 hPa variations also shows that the indication of the former influencing the latter configuration, which result in higher air temperature and less precipitation when the SSTA in the North Atlantic Ocean in summer motivated Eurasian circulation of EA pattern, further to influence the wet - dry variations in northwest China by the ocean-to - atmosphere forcing.     

Coastal environmental assessment and management by ecological simulation in Yeoja Bay, Korea

An eco-hydrodynamic model was used to estimate the carrying capacity of pollutant loads and response of water quality to environmental change in Yeoja Bay, Korea. An energy-system model also was used to simulate the fluctuation in nutrients and organic matter in the bordering wetland. Most water quality factors showed a pulsed pattern, and the concentrations of nutrients and organic matter of seawater increased when input loads of nutrients increased due to freshwater discharge. The well-developed tidal zones and wetlands in the northern area of the bay were highly sensitive to input loads. Residence times of water, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) within the bay were estimated to be about 16 days, 43.2 days, and 50.2 days, respectively. Water quality reacted more sensitively to the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus input than to COD. A plan to reduce the present levels of COD and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) by 20–30% and DIN by at least 50% in pollutant loads is needed for satisfying the target water quality criteria. The natural removal rate of nutrients in wetlands by reeds was assessed to be approximately 10%.     

Water level variations in the Neuse and Pamlico Estuaries,North Carolina due to local and remote forcing

Water level time series records from the Neuse and Pamlico River Estuaries were statistically compared to local and distant wind field data, water level records within the Pamlico Sound and also coastal ocean sites to determine the relative contribution of each time series to water levels in the Neuse and Pamlico Estuaries. The objectives of this study were to examine these time series data using various statistical methods (i.e. autoregressive, empirical orthogonal function analysis (EOF), exploratory data analysis (EDA)) to determine short- and long-time-scale variability, and to develop predictive statistical models that can be used to estimate past water level fluctuations in both the Neuse Estuary (NE) and Pamlico Estuary (PE). Short- and long-time-scale similarities were observed in all time series of estuarine, Pamlico Sound and subtidal coastal ocean water level and wind component data, due to events (nor'easters, fronts and tropical systems) and seasonality. Empirical orthogonal function analyses revealed a strong coastal ocean and wind field contribution to water level in the NE and PE. Approximately 95% of the variation was captured in the first two EOF components for water level data from the NE, sound and coastal ocean, and 70% for the PE, sound and coastal ocean. Spectral density plots revealed strong diurnal signals in both wind and water level data, and a strong cross correlation and coherency between the NE water level and the North/South wind component. There was good agreement between data and predictions using autoregressive statistical models for the NE (R² = 0.92) and PE (R² = 0.76). These methods also revealed significant autoregressive lags for the NE (days 1 and 3) and for the PE (days 1, 2 and 3). Significant departures from predictions are attributed to local meteorological and hydrological events. The autoregressive techniques showed significant predictive improvement over ordinary least squares methods. The results are considered within the context of providing long time-scale hindcast data for the two estuaries, and the importance of these data for multidisciplinary researchers and managers.     

Distribution of phytoplankton community in relation to environmental parameters in cage culture area of Sepanggar Bay,Sabah, Malaysia

This paper covers spatial and temporal variation in phytoplankton communities and physico-chemical water properties in the cage culture area of Sepanggar Bay, Sabah, Malaysia based on field measurement conducted during July 2005 to January 2006 to study the spatial and temporal variation in phytoplankton communities and physico-chemical water properties of the bay. Phytoplankton samples and water parameters data were collected from five different stations located inside the bay during Southwest, Interseasonal and Northeast monsoons. Forty phytoplankton genera, representatives of 23 families, were found in the study area with a mean abundance of 1.55 ± 1.19 × 10⁶ cells L⁻¹. Most of these genera belong to diatoms (82.17%), Dinoflagellates (17.55%) and cyanobacteria (0.29%). Three genera were found to be dominant (>10%) in phytoplankton abundance and these were Coscinodiscus spp. (36.38%), Chaetoceros spp (17.65%) and Bacteriastrum spp. (10.98%). The most dominant genus was Coscinodiscus spp. which showed high abundance during all monsoons and stations (except Station 3). Among the seven environmental parameters tested in this study, water temperature, pH and suspended sediment concentration were found to be significantly different between monsoons. On the other hand, no significant differences were found between stations for the studied physico-chemical parameters. A clear differences in phytoplankton densities were observed between monsoons and stations with higher mean abundances during interseasonal monsoon (2.40 ± 1.37 × 10⁶ cells L⁻¹) and at station five (2.05 ± 0.74 × 10⁶ cells L⁻¹), respectively. Conversely, the diversity indices, both Shannon–Wiener (H^′)$\left(H^{\prime }\right)$ and Pielou (J^′)$\left(J^{\prime }\right)$, showed no significant difference throughout stations and monsoons (except (H^′)$\left(H^{\prime }\right)$ for monsoons). Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) results demonstrated temporal differences in phytoplankton community structure with highly diverse phytoplankton assemblage. Through cluster analysis five groups of phytoplankton were attained (at 40% similarity level) though no marked separation of the taxonomic classes pointed towards the constant pattern of the phytoplankton assemblage in the studied area.     

Isotopic,trace element and nutrient characterization of coastal waters from Ubatuba inner shelf area,south-eastern Brazil

Stable isotopes, tritium, radium isotopes, radon, trace elements and nutrients data were collected during two sampling campaigns in the Ubatuba coastal area (south-eastern Brazil) with the aim of investigating submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the region. The isotopic composition (δD, δ¹⁸O, ³H) of submarine waters was characterised by significant variability and heavy isotope enrichment. The stable isotopes and tritium data showed good separation of groundwater and seawater groups. The contribution of groundwater in submarine waters varied from a few % to 17%. Spatial distribution of ²²²Rn activity concentration in surface seawater revealed changes between 50 and 200 Bq m⁻³ which were in opposite relationship with observed salinities. Time series measurements of ²²²Rn activity concentration in Flamengo Bay (from 1 to 5 kBq m⁻³), obtained by in situ underwater gamma-spectrometry showed a negative correlation between the ²²²Rn activity concentration and tide/salinity. This may be caused by sea level changes as tide effects induce variations of hydraulic gradients, which increase ²²²Rn concentration during lower sea level, and opposite, during high tides where the ²²²Rn activity concentration is smaller. The estimated SGD fluxes varied during 22–26 November between 8 and 40 cm d⁻¹, with an average value of 21 cm d⁻¹ (the unit is cm³/cm² per day). The radium isotopes and nutrient data showed scattered distributions with offshore distance and salinity, which implies that in a complex coast with many small bays and islands, the area has been influenced by local currents and groundwater–seawater mixing. SGD in the Ubatuba area is fed by coastal contaminated groundwater and re-circulated seawater (with small admixtures of groundwater), which claims for potential environmental concern with implications on the management of freshwater resources in the region.     

Theoretical Model and Dynamic Analysis of Soft Yoke Mooring System

As a popular solution for mooring an FPSO （Floating Production, Storage and Offloading） permanently in shallow water, the soft yoke mooring system has been widely used in ocean oil production activities in the Bohai Bay of China. In order to simulate the interaction mechanism and conduct dynamic analysis of the soft yoke mooring system, a theoretical model with basic dynamic equations is established. A numerical iteration algorithm based on error estimation is developed to solve the equations and calculate the dynanfic response of the mooring system due to FPSO motions. Validation is conducted by wave basin experimentation. It is shown that the numerical simulation takes only a few iteration times and the final errors are small. Furthermore, the calculated results of both the static and dynamic responses agree well with those ones obtained by the model test. It indicates that the efficiency, the precision, the reliability and the validity of the developed numerical algorithm and program are rather good. It is proposed to develop a real-time monitoring system to further monitor the dynamic performance of the FPSO with a soft yoke mooring system under various real sea environments.     

Review of recent findings on the water masses and circulation in the East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Recent findings on water masses, biogeochemical tracers, deep currents and basin-scale circulation in the East/Japan Sea, and numerical modeling of its circulation are reviewed. Warming continues up to 2007 despite an episode of bottom water formation in the winter of 2000–2001. Water masses have definitely changed since the 1970s and further changes are expected due to the continuation of warming. Accumulation of current data in deep waters of the East/Japan Sea reveals that the circulation in the East/Japan Sea is primarily cyclonic with sub-basin scale cyclonic and anticyclonic cells in the Ulleung Basin (Tsushima Basin). Our understanding of the circulation of intermediate water masses has been deepened through high-resolution numerical studies, and the implementation of data assimilation has had initial success. However, the East/Japan Sea is unique in terms of the fine vertical structures of physical and biogeochemical properties of cold water mass measured at the highest precision and their rapid change with the global warming, so that full understanding of the structures and their change requires in-depth process studies with continuous monitoring programs.     

Isotopic tracers for water masses in the coastal region of eastern Hokkaido

In this study we used two stable isotopes, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O, for water mass classification in the coastal region off eastern Hokkaido. δ¹³C* values, which were corrected for the biological effect, and δ ¹⁸O values up to 300 m depth suggested that the isotopic character of the onshore and offshore water in the southern Okhotsk Sea, the Nemuro Strait and the western North Pacific could be explained by the mixing of three source waters: the Oyashio water (OYW), Soya Warm Current water (SWCW) and East Sakhalin Current water (ESCW). In summer, δ ¹³C*-δ ¹⁸O plots indicated mixing between SWCW from the southern Okhotsk Sea and OYW in the Pacific coast of southeastern Hokkaido, while temperature-salinity plots of the onshore water showed minimal difference from the offshore OYW. In winter, on the other hand, the mixed water of ESCW and OYW (or SWCW) appeared in the Pacific coastal region, distributed as cold, low salinity onshore water. Finally, we estimated mixing ratios of OYW, SWCW and ESCW in the coastal region of western North Pacific using their mean values of δ ¹³C* and δ ¹⁸O as endmembers. These results suggest seasonal and yearly changes of water mass combination en route from the southern Okhotsk Sea to the western North Pacific.     

栖霞市马家窑金矿床成矿流体地球化学特征

马家窑金矿床是胶东地区比较典型的石英脉型金矿床代表,属中低温热液矿床,成矿流体盐度较低,气相成分以H2O,CO2为主,其次是Na^＋,Ca^＋和Cl^-,K^＋和F^-较贫,流体的成分与大气降水热液相类似。成矿流体的H,O同位素值则反映大气降水在不同温度和不同水／岩值条件下与栖霞超单元回龙夼单元交换后的分布特征,认为马家窑金矿床的成矿热液属大气降水成因。