Phytoplankton, nutrients and hydrography in the frontal zone between the Southwest Indian Subtropical gyre and the Southern Ocean

A survey was made of the Southwest Indian Ocean frontal region between 30 and 50°E containing the Agulhas Return, Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts. From CTD, SeaSoar and extracted samples the distribution of nitrate, silicate and chlorophyll a is shown to be strongly linked to the front and water mass structure, varying zonally and meridionally. Surface chlorophyll a concentrations were low to the north and south leaving a band of elevated chlorophyll between the Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts. The low concentration of chlorophyll a to the north, in Subtropical Water, was clearly due to nitrate limitation. Between the Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts, where the chlorophyll a concentrations were highest, the surface layer showed silicate depletion limiting diatom growth. South of the Subantarctic Front there were deep extending, low concentrations of chlorophyll a, but despite plentiful supplies of macro-nutrients and a well-stratified surface layer, high concentrations of chlorophyll a were absent. Changes from west to east were associated with the meandering of the Southern Ocean Fronts, especially the Subtropical Front, and their strength and proximity to each other. Concentrations of chlorophyll a peaked where the Agulhas Return, Subtropical and Subantarctic Fronts were in close proximity. Combined frontal structures appear to have particularly pronounced vertical stability and are associated with enhanced upwelling of nutrients and leakage of nutrients across the front. Light levels are high within the shallow stable layer. Such conditions are clearly favourable for biological growth and support the development of larger-celled phytoplankton communities.     

Stratified convection with multiple states

A simplified box model of the cooling of a salt-stratified ocean is analyzed analytically and numerically. A large isothermal basin of salt water has a layer of fresh water at the surface. Beside this is a small basin, cooled from above and connected to the large basin by horizontal tubes at the top, middle and bottom. For small cooling rate, fresh water enters the small basin, is cooled and leaves through the middle tube. For greater cooling rate, the fresh water leaves the small basin through the middle and bottom tube. If the top tube is smaller than the deeper tubes and the fresh water layer is sufficiently shallow, flow in the middle tube reverses at a critical cooling rate. In this case, a mixture of salt and fresh water is cooled and leaves the bottom tube. Increased cooling produces much greater flow rate; consequentially temperature increases rather than decreases in the small basin. A relaxation heat flow condition results in multiple equilibria. One of the stable modes has fresh surface water descending in the small basin and flowing out through the middle and bottom tube. The other has a greater rate of flow of both fresh and salty water (through the middle tube) into the basin with the flow of mixed salty water out of the bottom tube. Implications for deep convection in the ocean are discussed.     

A dipole mode at thermocline layer in the tropical Indian Ocean

Temperature data at different layers of the past 45 years were studied and we found adiploe mode in the thermocline layer (DMT): anomalously cold sea temperature off the coast of Sumatra and warm sea temperature in the western Indian Ocean. First, we analyzed the temperature and the temperature anomaly (TA) along the equatorial Indian Ocean in different layers. This shows that stronger cold and warm TA signals appeared at subsurface than at the surface in the tropical Indian O-cean. This result shows that there may be a strong dipole mode pattern in the subsurface tropical Indian Ocean. Secondly we used Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) to analyze the TA at thermocline layer. The first EOF pattern was a dipole mode pattern. Finally we analyzed the correlations between DMT and surface tropical dipole mode (SDM), DMT and Nino 3 SSTA, etc. and these correlations are strong.     

Spatial and temporal variability of heat content above the thermocline in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract-Heat content of the upper layer above the 20℃ isotherm in the tropical Pacific Ocean isestimated by using the sea temperature data set with a resolution 2°latitude×5°longitude (1980～1993)for the water depths (every 10 m) from 0 m to 400 m, and its temporal and spatial variabilities are an-alyzed. (1) The temporal variability indicates that the total heat in the upper layer of the equatorial Pa-cific Ocean is charcterized by the interannual variability. The time series of the equatorial heat anomaly5 months lead that of the El Nino index at the best positive lag correlation between the two, and theformer 13 months lag behind the latter at their best negative lag correlation. Therefore the equatorialheat content can be used as a better predictor than the El Nino index for a warm or cold event. In addi-tion, it is also found that less heat anomaly in the equator corresponds to the stronger warm events inthe period (1980～1993) and much more heat was accumulated in the 4 years including 1992/1     

Seasonal Variability of Near-Surface Heat Budget of Selected Oceanic Areas in the North Tropical Indian Ocean

The results obtained from an Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM), the Modular Ocean Model 2.2, forced with the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data, and observational data have been utilized to document the climatological seasonal cycle of the upper ocean response in the Tropical Indian Ocean. We address the various roles played by the net surface heat flux and the local and remote ocean dynamics for the seasonal variation of near-surface heat budget in the Tropical Indian Ocean. The investigation is based in seven selected boxes in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Equatorial Indian Ocean. The changes of basin-wide heat budget of ocean process in the Arabian Sea and the Western Equatorial Indian Ocean show an annual cycle, whereas those in the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean show a semi-annual cycle. The time tendency of heat budget in the Arabian Sea depends on both the net surface heat flux and ocean dynamics while on the other hand, that in the Bay of Bengal depends mainly on the net surface flux. However, it has been found that the changes of heat budget are very different between western and eastern regional sea areas in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, respectively. This difference depends on seasonal variations of the different local wind forcing and the different ocean dynamics associated with ocean eddies and Kelvin and Rossby waves in each regional sea areas. We also discuss the comparison and the connection for the seasonal variation of near-surface heat budget among their regional sea areas. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

中国多金属结核开辟区间隙水中铜、锰、镍的分布规律

通过对东北太平洋海域中国多金属结核开辟区沉积物间隙水中铜、锰、镍等微量元素的详细研究表明,锰主要受沉积环境的影响,其含量的变化范围在0.16～8.61μg/dm3之间;铜和镍则主要与表层海水的初级生产力有关,研究区内间隙水中铜和镍含量的变化范围分别为0.16～20.8和0.80～3.12μg/dm3,且这些元素在沉积物—水界面处均存在最大浓度梯度.利用“Fick扩散定律”计算表明,锰在研究区主要是从上覆海水向沉积物扩散,是沉积物中锰的主要来源之一;而铜和镍则是从沉积物向上覆海水扩散,是底层海水中铜和镍的主要来源。与表层海水中铜和镍向底层海水的输送通量计算结果相比,底层海水中铜和镍的含量主要受沉积物的控制.     

Estimating the geostrophic velocity obtained by HF radar observations in the upstream area of the Kuroshio

A method to extract geostrophic current in the daily mean HF radar data in the Kuroshio upstream region is established by comparison with geostrophic velocity determined from the along-track altimetry data. The estimated Ekman current in the HF velocity is 1.2% (1.5%) and 48° (38°)-clockwise rotated with respect to the daily mean wind in (outside) the Kuroshio. Furthermore, additional temporal smoothing is found necessary to remove residual ageostrophic currents such as the inertial oscillation. After removal of the ageostrophic components, the HF geostrophic velocity agrees well with that from the altimetry data with rms difference 0.14 (0.12) m/s in (outside) the Kuroshio.     

东南印度洋各锋位置和走向的季节变化及其与风场变化的关系

利用剖面浮标的温盐观测资料和上层温度观测资料以及ECCO风应力数据研究了东南印度洋各主要海洋锋的位置、走向和风场的季节变化,并初步分析了亚热带锋(STF)和亚南极锋(SAF)的成锋机制.季节平均的夏季和冬季厄加勒斯锋(AF)分别可以延伸到80°E和82°E,AF在多数情况下可能与SAF和南亚热带锋(SSTF)汇合共同通过Kerguelen-Amsterdam Passage.在克尔盖伦海台以东海盆区,冬季SAF和PF的路径均比夏季偏南,在其他海域二者路径的季节差别不大.克尔盖伦海台以东的深海盆由北向南正负风应力旋度高值中心交替出现,且位置季节变化很小.85°~105°E之间零风应力旋度线位置冬季比夏季偏北.STF位于辐聚区,埃克曼抽吸导致的表层水辐聚可能是STF产生和维持的原因.SAF位置的季节南北摆动幅度小于风应力零旋度线的季节摆动幅度,夏季SAF位置略偏于风应力正旋度区,而冬季大多位于负旋度区,因此风应力旋度不是SAF形成的直接原因.     

北太平洋赤道海域表层沉积物的热释光特征及其指示意义

热释光是矿物晶体接受环境核辐射作用后积蓄起来的能量在受到热激发时以光的形式释放出来的一种物理现象,它与晶体损伤、晶体中杂质混入等原因所导致的晶格缺陷有关.热释光强度的大小主要取决于自然界中长寿命放射性元素(238U,235U,230Th,40K及其子体)的衰变,与其他物理、化学、生物或人类活动无关.热释光特征能有效反映晶体形成的环境条件.热释光方法的制样简单、测量快捷,因此在辐射学、核工业、核医学、环境学、农业、考古学、地质学等领域都得到了广泛的应用.在陆地地质学上热释光方法在地质年代测定[1,2]、地层对比[3]、矿物世代划分[4]、矿床含矿评价[4,5]、陨石形成热的历史恢复[6]以及地质事件识别[7]等方面都取得了不少成果.