Biological Responses to Seasonally Varying Fluxes of Organic Matter to the Ocean Floor: A Review

Deep-sea benthic ecosystems are sustained largely by organic matter settling from the euphotic zone. These fluxes usually have a more or less well-defined seasonal component, often with two peaks, one in spring/early summer, the other later in the year. Long time-series datasets suggest that inter-annual variability in the intensity, timing and composition of flux maxima is normal. The settling material may form a deposit of “phytodetritus” on the deep-seafloor. These deposits, which are most common in temperate and high latitude regions, particularly the North Atlantic, evoke a response by the benthic biota. Much of our knowledge of these responses comes from a few time-series programmes, which suggest that the nature of the response varies in different oceanographic settings. In particular, there are contrasts between seasonal processes in oligotrophic, central oceanic areas and those along eutrophic continental margins. In the former, it is mainly “small organisms” (bacteria and protozoans) that respond to pulsed inputs. Initial responses are biochemical (e.g. secretion of bacterial exoenzymes) and any biomass increases are time lagged. Increased metabolic activity of small organisms probably leads to seasonal fluctuations in sediment community oxygen consumption, reported mainly in the North Pacific. Metazoan meiofauna are generally less responsive than protozoans (foraminifera), although seasonal increases in abundance and body size have been reported. Measurable population responses by macrofauna and megafauna are less common and confined largely to continental margins. In addition, seasonally synchronised reproduction and larval settlement occur in some larger animals, again mainly in continental margin settings. Although seasonal benthic responses to pulsed food inputs are apparently widespread on the ocean floor, they are not ubiquitous. Most deep-sea species are not seasonal breeders and there are probably large areas, particularly at abyssal depths, where biological process rates are fairly uniform over time. As with other aspects of deep-sea ecology, temporal processes cannot be encapsulated by a single paradigm. Further long time-series studies are needed to understand better the nature and extent of seasonality in deep-sea benthic ecosystems. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

成都经济区天降水与下渗水元素地球化学特征及土壤元素输入输出通量

论文研究了成都经济区天降水和下渗水中元素含量、在农田耕层中的输入输出通量及其影响因素.研究表明,研究区雨水中含有大量SO2-4、NO-3等酸性物质,雨水中SO2-4 >NO-3>Cl-.雨水中Ca2 和NH 4含量最高,且NH 4>Ca2 >K >Na >Mg2 .雨水的pH与阴、阳离子摩尔浓度差值具有显著相关性.下渗水中以Ca2 为主要阳离子,且Ca2 >Na >Mg2 >K >NH 4;HCO-3为主要阴离子,且HCO-3>NO-3>SO2-4>Cl->F-,下渗水pH与阳、阴离子摩尔浓度差值具有显著相关性.不同地区雨水中Pb>As>Cd>Se>Hg,下渗水中Pb>As>Se>Cd>Hg,因此,Cd、Pb、Se和Hg等元素累积在耕层中,而As则被下渗水携带迁移出耕层进入地下水.由降雨输入土壤中的Cd通量均大于下渗水输出Cd的通量,局部地区As下渗通量高于雨水输入通量的5.45～13.16倍.土壤中元素的下渗比与土壤质地、pH有关.     

Modelling of the vertical fluxes of nitric acid,ammonia, and ammonium nitrate

Results from numerical investigations regarding the exchange of HNO₃, NH₃, and NH₄NO₃ between the atmosphere and the biosphere are presented. The investigations were performed with a modified inferential method which is based on the generally accepted micrometeorological ideas of the transfer of momentum, sensible heat and matter near the Earth's surface and the chemical reactions among these nitrogen compounds. This modified inferential method calculates the micrometeorological quantities (such as the friction velocity and the fluxes of sensible and latent heat), the height-invariant fluxes of the composed chemically conservative trace species with group concentrationsc ₁=[HNO₃]+[NH₄NO₃] (total nitrate),c ₂=[NH₃]+[NH₄NO₃] (total ammonia), andc ₃=[HNO₃]-[NH₃] as well as the fluxes of the individual nitrogen compounds. The parameterization of the fluxes is based on the flux-gradient relationships in the turbulent region of the atmospheric surface layer. The modified inferential method requires only the data of wind velocity, temperature, humidity and concentrations (HNO₃, NH₃, and NH₄NO₃) measured at a reference height by stations of a monitoring network.     

On global forces of nature driving the Earth’s climate. Are humans involved?

The authors identify and describe the following global forces of nature driving the Earth’s climate: (1) solar radiation as a dominant external energy supplier to the Earth, (2) outgassing as a major supplier of gases to the World Ocean and the atmosphere, and, possibly, (3) microbial activities generating and consuming atmospheric gases at the interface of lithosphere and atmosphere. The writers provide quantitative estimates of the scope and extent of their corresponding effects on the Earth’s climate. Quantitative comparison of the scope and extent of the forces of nature and anthropogenic influences on the Earth’s climate is especially important at the time of broad-scale public debates on current global warming. The writers show that the human-induced climatic changes are negligible.     

青藏高原东部牧区雪灾的环流型及水汽场分析

冬、春季雪灾是青藏高原东部牧区重要的灾害性天气。本文利用历史天气图和国家气象中心T106L19全球模式的分析值格点资料，分析了青藏高原东部牧区近20年来冬，冬季降雨的天气形势和水汽场。结果表明，北脊南槽型、乌山脊型、阶梯槽型和国境槽型是造成高原东部牧区降雪的四类主要环流型；在高原东部牧区强降雪天气过程时气柱可降水量有明显增加，记要降雪区与水汽通量辐合区吻合，主要水汽来自孟加拉湾地区。     

Determination of Area-Averaged Water Vapour Fluxes with Large Aperture and Radio Wave Scintillometers over a Heterogeneous Surface – Flevoland Field Experiment

A large aperture scintillometer (LAS) andradio wave scintillometer (RWS)were installed over a heterogeneous areato test the applicability of the scintillation method.The heterogeneity in the area, whichconsisted of many plots, was mainly caused bydifferences in thermal properties ofthe crops; the variations in theaerodynamic roughness lengthwere small. The water vapour fluxesderived from the combined LAS-RWSsystem, also known as the two-wavelengthmethod, agreed fairly well with the aggregatedwater vapour fluxes derived from in-situeddy covariance measurements. The water vapourfluxes derived from a stand-alone LASare also presented. It was found that a single LASand an estimate of the area averagedavailable energy (using a simple parameterisationscheme) can provide also reasonablearea-averaged water vapour fluxes.     

Atmospheric nitrogen inputs into the North Sea: effect on productivity

The ANICE (Atmospheric Nitrogen Inputs into the Coastal Ecosystem) project addressed the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen to the North Sea, with emphasis on coastal effects. ANICE focused on quantifying the deposition of inorganic nitrogen compounds to the North Sea and the governing processes. An overview of the results from modelling and experimental efforts is presented. They serve to identify the role of the atmosphere as a source of biologically essential chemical species to the marine biota. Data from the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory (UK) are used to evaluate the effect of short episodes with very high atmospheric nitrogen concentrations. One such episode resulted in an average deposition of 0.8 mmol N m⁻² day⁻¹, which has the potential to promote primary productivity of 5.3 mmol C m⁻² day⁻¹. This value is compared to long-term effects determined from model results. The total calculated atmospheric deposition to the North Sea in 1999 is 948 kg N km⁻¹, i.e. 0.19 mmol N m⁻² day⁻¹ which has the potential to promote primary productivity of 1.2 mmol C m⁻² day⁻¹. Detailed results for August 1999 show strong gradients across the North Sea due to adjacent areas where emissions of NO_x and NH₃ are among the highest in Europe. The average atmospheric deposition to the southern part of the North Sea in August 1999 could potentially promote primary production of 2.0 mmol C m⁻² day⁻¹, i.e. 5.5% of the total production at this time of the year in this area of the North Sea. For the entire study area the atmospheric contribution to the primary production per m² is about two-third of this value. Most of the deposition occurs during short periods with high atmospheric concentrations. This atmospheric nitrogen is almost entirely anthropogenic in origin and thus represents a human-induced perturbation of the ecosystem.     

Simulation of marine boundary layer characteristics using a 1-D PBL model over the Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-99

The characteristic features of the marine boundary layer (MBL) over the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon and the factors influencing it are investigated. The Bay of Bengal and Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX) carried out during July–August 1999 is the first observational experiment under the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP). A very high-resolution data in the vertical was obtained during this experiment, which was used to study the MBL characteristics off the east coast of India in the north and south Bay of Bengal. Spells of active and suppressed convection over the Bay were observed, of which, three representative convective episodes were considered for the study. For this purpose a one-dimensional multi-level PBL model with a TKE-ε closure scheme was used. The soundings, viz., the vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, zonal and meridional component of wind, obtained onboard ORV Sagar Kanya and from coastal stations along the east coast are used for the study. The temporal evolution of turbulent kinetic energy, marine boundary layer height (MBLH), sensible and latent heat fluxes and drag coefficient of momentum are simulated for different epochs of monsoon and monsoon depressions during BOBMEX-99.The model also generates the vertical profiles of potential temperature, specific humidity, zonal and meridional wind. These simulated values compared reasonably well with the observations available from BOBMEX.     

地表非均匀性对区域平均水分通量参数化的影响

次网格尺度地表非均匀性对于网格区平均通量具有重要影响。若将网格区视为均一地表 ,并不能真实描述地 气通量交换过程 ,且可造成很大误差。文中从理论上证明 ,区域平均水分通量的变化率可分解为两部分 :第一部分为区域水分通量的算术平均变化率 ;第二部分为非均匀性所引起的水分通量变化率扰动 ,它与区域内土壤水分空间分布的变差系数有关。数值试验表明 ,地表土壤水分的水平空间变差系数集中反映了区域内土壤水分分布的非均匀程度 ,不同土壤对同样的非均匀程度其敏感性是不同的。变差系数愈大 ,非均匀性愈强 ,在相同的土壤水分平均值下 ,不同土壤类型对地表非均匀程度的敏感性并不相同。例如沙土和粘土受非均匀性的影响就可相差数十倍。