A Reconstruction of Observed Profiles in the Sea East of Japan Using Vertical Coupled Temperature-Salinity EOF Modes

It is important to estimate hard-to-observe parameters in the ocean interior from easy-to-observe parameters. This study therefore demostrates a reconstruction of observed temperature and salinity profiles of the sea east of Japan (30°≈40°N, 140°≈150°E). The reconstruction was done by estimating suboptimal state from several values of the observed profiles and/or sea surface dynamic height (SDH) calculated from the profiles. The estimation used a variational method with vertical coupled temperature-salinity empirical orthogonal function (EOF) modes. Profiles of temperature and salinity in the subtropical region are effectively reconstructed from in situ temperature profile data, or sea surface temperature (SST) and SDH. For example, the analyzed temperature field from SST and SDH has an accuracy to within 1°C in the subtropical region. Salinity in the sea north of Kuroshio, however, is difficult to estimate because of its complex variability which is less correlated with temperature than in the subtropical region. Sea surface salinity is useful to estimate the subsurface structure. We also show the possibility that the estimation is improved by considering nonlinearity in the equation calculating SDH from temperature and salinity analysis values in order to examine the misfit between analysis and observation. Analysis using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry data instead of SDH was also performed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A New Methodology for Incorporating Tide Gauge Data in Sea Surface Topography Models

As part of the Vertical Offshore Reference Frames (VORF) project sponsored by the U. K. Hydrographic Office, a new model for Sea Surface Topography (SST) around the British Isles has been developed. For offshore areas (greater than 30 km from the coast), this model is largely derived from satellite altimetry. However, its accuracy and level of detail have been enhanced in coastal areas by the inclusion of not only the 60 PSMSL tide gauges with long-term records around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland but also some 385 gauges established at different epochs and for different observation spans by the U. K. Admiralty. All tide gauge data were brought into a common reference frame by a combination of datum models and direct GPS observations, but a more significant challenge was to bring all short-term sea level observations to an unbiased value at a common epoch. This was achieved through developing a spatial-temporal correlation model for the variations in mean sea level around the British Isles, which in turn meant that gauges with long-term observation spans could be used as control points to improve the accuracy of Admiralty gauges. It is demonstrated that the latter can contribute point observations of mean sea level (MSL) with a precision of 0.078 m. A combination of least squares collocation and interpolation was developed to merge the coastal point and offshore gridded data sets, with particular algorithms having to be developed for different configurations of coastal topology. The resulting model of sea surface topography is shown to present a smooth transition from inshore coastal areas to offshore zones. Further benefits of the techniques developed include an enhanced methodology for detecting datum discontinuities at permanent tide gauges.     

Algorithm for HF radar vector current measurements

A new algorithm is proposed, called the stream function method (SFM) for producing vector current maps from radial data measured by dual-site high frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR). In SFM, a scalar stream function is constructed under some oceanographic assumptions. The function describes the two-dimensional (2-D) ocean surface water motion and is used to obtain the distribution of vector currents. The performance of SFM is evaluated using simulated radial data, which demonstrates that SFM has advantages over typical vectorial combination methods (VCM) both in error acceptance and robustness, and excels another method based on least-squares fitting (LSF) in recovering the complicated current models. Furthermore, SFM is capable of providing the total currents based on radials from single-site radar. We also test the assumptions of horizontal non-divergence in the simulation. The new algorithm is applied to the field experiment data of Wuhan University’s ocean state measuring and analyzing radar (OSMAR), collected in the coastal East China Sea during April 11–17, 2004. Quantitative comparisons are given between radar results by three current algorithms and in-situ current meter measurements. Preliminary analysis of the vertical current shear is given based on the current meter measurements.     

Spatial variability in the partial pressures of CO2 in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas

In the summers of 1999 and 2003, the 1st and 2nd Chinese National Arctic Research Expeditions measured the partial pressure of CO₂ in the air and surface waters (pCO₂) of the Bering Sea and the western Arctic Ocean. The lowest pCO₂ values were found in continental shelf waters, increased values over the Bering Sea shelf slope, and the highest values in the waters of the Bering Abyssal Plain (BAP) and the Canadian Basin. These differences arise from a combination of various source waters, biological uptake, and seasonal warming. The Chukchi Sea was found to be a carbon dioxide sink, a result of the increased open water due to rapid sea-ice melting, high primary production over the shelf and in marginal ice zones (MIZ), and transport of low pCO₂ waters from the Bering Sea. As a consequence of differences in inflow water masses, relatively low pCO₂ concentrations occurred in the Anadyr waters that dominate the western Bering Strait, and relatively high values in the waters of the Alaskan Coastal Current (ACC) in the eastern strait. The generally lower pCO₂ values found in mid-August compared to at the end of July in the Bering Strait region (66–69°N) are attributed to the presence of phytoplankton blooms. In August, higher pCO₂ than in July between 68.5 and 69°N along 169°W was associated with higher sea-surface temperatures (SST), possibly as an influence of the ACC. In August in the MIZ, pCO₂ was observed to increase along with the temperature, indicating that SST plays an important role when the pack ice melts and recedes.     

厦门东海域定置网渔获鱼类种类组成及其季节变化

2003年7月～2004年6月对厦门东部海域的定置网渔获鱼类进行采样分析．结果表明厦门东海域至少有鱼类242种，隶属于19个目81科145属，主要是沿岸近底层和底栖的小型鱼类．以鲈形目种类最多，共计127种，占总数的52．5％、经济种类有116种．主要优势种有：青鳞小沙丁鱼、孔鳞小沙丁鱼、斑鲦、马拉邦虫鳗、裸鳍虫鳗、中华须鳗、前鳞鲻、眶棘双边鱼、多鳞鳝、皮氏叫姑鱼、短棘银鲈、列牙垒幸4、黄斑蓝子鱼、褐蓝子鱼、锯塘鳢、锻虎鱼类、褐菖鲇、绿鳍鱼、鳄鲡、卵鳎、中华单角鲍等．渔获种类在秋季及冬初最多，夏季较多，而冬末和春初最少．渔获种类的季节变化比较明显，与海洋表层水温变化有关，种类的月更替率比较高．     

湄洲湾泥沙活动及海底冲淤变化

湄洲湾沙源少,海水含沙量低,平均值10～20g/m~3。冬季受东北季风及浙闽沿岸流影响,湾口含沙量高,达到34g/m~3;夏季受径流影响,湾内含沙量相对偏高,达到16g/m~3。泥沙的运移趋势:主航道基本朝外,两侧朝里。受强潮流作用,深槽及水下潮流冲沟受到冲刷,斜坡及潮坪略有淤积。     

Use of Continuous Plankton Recorder information in support of marine management: applications in fisheries, environmental protection, and in the study of ecosystem response to environmental change

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey was conceived from the outset as a programme of applied research designed to assist the fishing industry. Its survival and continuing vigour after 70 years is a testament to its utility, which has been achieved in spite of great changes in our understanding of the marine environment and in our concerns over how to manage it. The CPR has been superseded in several respects by other technologies, such as acoustics and remote sensing, but it continues to provide unrivalled seasonal and geographic information about a wide range of zooplankton and phytoplankton taxa. The value of this coverage increases with time and provides the basis for placing recent observations into the context of long-term, large-scale variability and thus suggesting what the causes are likely to be. Information from the CPR is used extensively in judging environmental impacts and producing quality status reports (QSR); it has shown the distributions of fish stocks, which had not previously been exploited; it has pointed to the extent of ungrazed phytoplankton production in the North Atlantic, which was a vital element in establishing the importance of carbon sequestration by phytoplankton.The CPR continues to be the principal source of large-scale, long-term information about the plankton ecosystem of the North Atlantic. It has recently provided extensive information about the biodiversity of the plankton and about the distribution of introduced species. It serves as a valuable example for the design of future monitoring of the marine environment and it has been essential to the design and implementation of most North Atlantic plankton research.     

Effect of dispersion on impulsive waves

The generation and propagation of surface waves resulting from suddenly created disturbances over water surfaces is investigated. The initial boundary conditions defining the disturbance are given either by a velocity of the free surface, an initial elevation of the free surface or a pressure impulsively applied on the free surface. It is shown that the corresponding three forms of solutions are related by a simple time derivative. Linear solutions are obtained in the cases where the wave motion is assumed to be nondispersive, mildly dispersive and fully dispersive, as well as in the case where the motion is given by the method of stationary phase. Criteria are established to indicate the limit of validity of each method.     

南黄海表层沉积物中氮的区域地球化学特征

通过分级浸取分离的方法获得了南黄海表层沉积物不同形态的氮，首次探讨其分布的区域性特征：南黄海表层沉积物中各形态氮在不同测线上均呈现出波状分布。B测线的基本上呈现出中部海域高，两边海域低，而西部海域又略高于东部海域的趋势，D和E测线的基本上呈现出西高、东低的趋势，C测线的则呈现出西低、东高的趋势，F测线的变化趋势比较平缓，从整体上看，SOEF—N和TN的分布呈现出西部海区比东部海区低的趋势。受各测线上沉积物种类差异的影响，自北向南各形态氮的变化幅度逐渐减小，其中SOEF-N在各测线上的变化幅度最大，且自北向南降幅最大。受水动力及沉积物粒度的影响，不同形态氮在黄海槽内各站位沉积物中的含量较高。沉积物中各形态氮在不同测线上的分布还表明，陆源输入对南黄海沉积物中氮测线分布有较小的影响，海洋自生氮对南黄海表层沉积物中氮的形态、含量与分布具有重要影响。