Effects of suction-dredging for cockles on non-target fauna in the Wadden Sea

Suction dredging for cockles removes large cockles from tidal flats and may also cause mortality of non-target fauna and make the habitat less suitable for some species. This study examines whether suction dredging for cockles on tidal flats of the Dutch Wadden Sea had affected densities of non-target fauna, directly after fishing and one year later. Densities of non-target fauna in two randomly chosen undredged locations were compared to densities at the surrounding heavily commercially dredged area. A significant negative effect of cockle dredging on densities of 0-group Macoma balthica was observed and this effect persisted one year after dredging. The dredged area appeared to be less suitable for settlement of mussels Mytilus edulis. No significant effects of dredging on the mudsnail Hydrobia ulvae and on 0 and 1-group C. edule were found. For the mobile young Macoma balthica it seems unlikely that the effect found after one year was still due to the mortality caused by dredging and this suggests that the habitat was less suitable as a consequence of dredging. Thus, even in the highly dynamic ecosystem of the Wadden Sea, effects of bottom disturbance by cockle dredging may persist after one year.     

Barotropic Response of the Sea of Okhotsk to Wind Forcing

We have examined wind-induced circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk using a barotropic model that contains realistic topography with a resolution of 9.25 km. The monthly wind stress field calculated from daily European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Re-Analysis data is used as the forcing, and the integration is carried out for 20 days until the circulation attains an almost steady state. In the case of November (a representative for the winter season from October to March), southward currents of velocity 0.1–0.3 m s⁻¹ occur along the bottom contours off the east of Sakhalin Island. The currents are mostly confined to the shelf (shallower than 200 m) and extend as far south as the Hokkaido coast. In the July case (a representative for the summer season from April to September), significant currents do not occur, even in the shallow shelves. The simulated southward current over the east Sakhalin shelf appears to correspond to the near-shore branch of the East Sakhalin Current (ESC), which was observed with the surface drifters. These seasonal variations simulated in our experiments are consistent with the observations of the ESC. Dynamically, the simulated ESC is interpreted as the arrested topographic wave (ATW), which is the coastally trapped flow driven by steady alongshore wind stress. The volume transport of the simulated ESC over the shelf reaches about 1.0 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹) in the winter season, which is determined by the integrated onshore Ekman transport in the direction from which shelf waves propagate. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The CANALES experiment (1996-1998). Interannual, seasonal, and mesoscale variability of the circulation in the Balearic Channels

Repeated hydrographic casts, mooring time series and satellite sea surface temperature collected during the CANALES experiment (1996–98) are used to describe the thermohaline circulation in the Balearic Channels (western Mediterranean) and to analyze its variability. Mass transports are estimated by inverse calculations. The role played by each channel in the meridional water exchange is clarified: the Ibiza Channel funnels southward cool, saline, northern waters whereas the Mallorca Channel appears as the preferred route for the northward progression of warm, fresh, southern waters. A neat interannual trend is revealed by the continuous decrease of the amount of Western Mediterranean Intermediate Waters (WIW) brought by the Northern Current, reflecting the increase in temperature of the winter mixed layer in the northern Mediterranean that occurred each year between 1996 and 1998. A clear seasonal signal was also seen in the transport of the Northern Current which decreased from 1 to 1.4 Sv in winter to < 0.5 Sv in summer. The current intensified again in fall. A number of mesoscale eddies, from 20 to 70 km in size, most of them anticyclonic vortex eddies were brought by the unstable Northern Current, these eddies strongly perturbed the water exchange in the Ibiza Channel forcing retroflections of northern waters back to the north-east into the Balearic Current. These eddies either stayed stalled for several months in the Gulf of Valencia to the north of the channel, or were slowly funnelled southward through the channel narrows. A decreasing trend was observed in the mesoscale activity of the Northern Current between 1996 and 1998. Conversely, large, anticyclonic eddies, 150-km diameter, progressively invaded the Algerian Basin to the south of the channels in 1997–98 and forcing northward inflows (up to 0.75 Sv) of fresh and warm waters of Atlantic origin (AW) into the Mallorca Channel. The marked interannual differences observed in both northern and southern eddy activity may be linked to the interannual variability of the large scale thermohaline circulation.     

南海罗斯贝变形半径的地理及季节变化

根据南海 1°× 1°网格的标准层季节平均温、盐度资料 ,在未引入Boussinesq近似条件下 ,采用改进的Thompson Haskell算法求解线性化斜压海洋水平大尺度波的垂直结构方程 (重力内波方程 ) ,从而得到了南海各网格点的第一斜压重力波相速度和相应的罗斯贝变形半径 ,并探讨其地理分布和季节变化特征 ,以期有助于南海环流和中尺度涡旋以及有关海洋侧边界效应的研究。     

Variation in Water Masses on Shelf of Northern Bering Sea in September 2016-2018

Abstract

Based on hydrological data obtained during the 7th to 9th Chinese National Arctic Research Expeditions in the summers of 2016–2018, the main water structure on the shelf of the northern Bering Sea and the volume and heat fluxes of the Bering Strait throughflow were analyzed. Distinct variability was identified in the three Pacific water masses feeding the strait - Anadyr Water (AW), Bering Shelf Water (BSW) and Alaskan coastal water (ACW). Overall, the temperature and salinity of the entire section increased each year, with 2018 showing significant anomalies, i.e., a temperature anomaly of up to 1?°C and a maximum salinity anomaly of 2. From 2016 to 2018, the extent of the ACW gradually narrowed in the eastern part of this section, while the AW expanded eastward each year. The net volume transport through each of the three sections increased poleward from 1.65?Sv to 2.76?Sv, with the AW increasing from 0?Sv to 1.03?Sv, the BSW varying between 0.52–1.65?Sv, and the ACW gradually decreasing from 1.04?Sv to disappearing completely. The net heat fluxes were also poleward, varying between 25.77 TW and 61.50 TW, and showing a significant increase. Significant variations in magnitude and extent were observed in each water mass of the Bering Strait throughflow, which could produce widespread effects in the Arctic Ocean and the global ocean beyond.     

Seasonal and annual variations of marine sinking particulate flux during 1993~1996 in the central South China Sea

A total of 67 samples from the upper and lower sediment traps in the central South China Sea were analyzed, which were collected during 1993~1996. It is indicated that the distribution of stable isotope values, surface primary productivity, fluxes of total particulate matter, carbonate, biogenic opal, organic carbon, planktonic foraminiferal species and their total amount exhibit obviously seasonal and annual fluctuations. High values of the fluxes occurred in the prevailing periods of the northeastern and southwestern monsoons, and the low values occurred during the periods between the two monsoons. The fluxes of some planktonic foraminiferal species (Globigerinoides sacculifer, G. ruber, Globigerinita glutinata, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei) and their percentages also exhibit two prominent peaks during the prevailing periods of the northeastern and southwestern monsoons respectively, while those of Globigerina bulloides, Globorotalia menardii and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata only exhibit one peak in the prevailing periods of the northeastern monsoon. In addition, fluxes and percentages of Globigerinoides sacculifer and Globorotalia menardii as well as the fluxes of carbonate and total amount of planktonic foraminifera decrease gradually from 1993 to 1996, and those of Globigerina bulloides, Globigerinita glutinata and biogenic opal increase gradually from 1993 to 1996. The fluxes of carbonate and organic carbon in the upper trap are higher than those in the lower one. The study indicates that the seasonal and annual variations of the sediment fluxes and planktonic foraminiferal species are mainly controlled by the changes of surface primary productivity and hydrological conditions related to the East Asian monsoon. The lower carbonate and organic carbon fluxes in the lower trap are related to the dissolution.     

东亚冬夏季风对热带印度洋秋季海温异常的响应

利用多年的Reynolds月平均海表温度资料和NCEP/NCAR全球大气再分析资料,分析了热带印度洋秋季海表温度距平(SSTA)与后期东亚冬夏季风强度变化的关系。结果表明,热带印度洋秋季SSTA的主要模态是全区一致(USB)型和偶极子(IOD)型,USB型模态主要代表热带印度洋秋季SSTA的长期变化趋势,而IOD型模态主要反映热带印度洋秋季SSTA的年际变化。热带印度洋秋季海温气候变率中既存在着明显的ENSO信号,也有独立于ENSO的变率特征,独立于ENSO的热带印度洋秋季SSTA变化的主要模态仍是USB型和IOD型。前期秋季USB模态与东亚冬季风及东亚副热带夏季风之间为负相关关系;与前期正(负)IOD模态相对应,南海夏季风强度偏弱(强),而东亚副热带夏季风强度偏强(弱)。USB型和IOD型模态对后期东亚冬、夏季风强度变化的影响是独立于ENSO的,但ENSO起到了调节二者相关显著程度的作用。     

南海北部主要经济鱼类体长与体重关系

文中根据1997～1999年和2001～2002年期间在南海北部底拖网调查的43种共33 389尾鱼的体长（叉长、肛长）和体重数据,应用统计分析方法对各鱼种体长与体重关系进行分析.结果表明,43种鱼分别隶属于4目16科25属,相关系数R^2的范围为0.764～0.993,相关系数R^2值相对较高,其中58%的R^2值超过0.95.幂指数b值范围为2.50～3.44,平均2.90.盒须图分析表明,50%的b值在2.79～3.01范围.经初步分析,43种主要经济鱼类中,有16种为等速生长、22种负的异速生长和5种正的异速生长.     

Ecological characteristics of Walleye pollock eggs and larvae in the southeastern Bering Sea during the late 1970s

Walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) is an ecologically and economically important groundfish in the eastern Bering Sea. Its population size fluctuates widely, driving and being driven by changes in other components of the ecosystem. It is becoming apparent that dramatic shifts in climate occur on a decadal scale, and these “regime shifts” strongly affect the biota. This paper examines quantitative collections of planktonic eggs and larvae of pollock from the southeastern Bering Sea during 1976–1979. Mortality, advection, and growth rates were estimated, and compared among the years encompassing the 1970s’ regime shift. These data indicate that pollock spawning starts in late February over the basin north of Bogoslof Island. Over the shelf, most spawning occurs north of Unimak Island near the 100 m isobath in early or mid April. Pollock eggs are advected to the northwest from the main spawning area at 5–10 cm/sec. Larvae are found over the basin north of Bogoslof Island in April, and over the shelf between Unimak Island and the Priblof Islands in May. Compared to 1977, the spawning period appeared to be later in 1976 (a cold year) and earlier in 1978 (a warm year) in the study area. At the lower temperatures in 1976, egg duration would be longer and thus egg mortality would operate over a longer period than in the other years. Mean larval growth appeared to be lower in 1976 than in 1977 and 1979. Estimated egg mortality rate in 1977 was 0.6 in April and 0.3 in early May.