西北太平洋深海海山的一种蛇尾新记录

Ophioleila elegans是一种非常少见的蛇尾。2014年大洋35航次中利用“蛟龙”号载人潜器在西北太平洋麦哲伦海山链的采薇平定海山水深1660m处采集到2株该种标本。该种首次发现于夏威夷海山相似的生境当中,本次采集到的样品是继首次发现之后的再次公开报道。本文中对该种的形态学特征,如腕部骨骼等,进行了更加详细的研究,同时基于COI序列进行系统发育分析。形态和系统发育分析的结果都表明,Ophioleila属与辐蛇尾科更加接近。     

深海海底光缆敷设施工余量控制的原理和控制软件的应用

为解决深海有中继海底光缆项目技术难题,中国海底电缆建设有限公司开发了海底光缆敷设施工控制软件,填补我国相关领域的空白。文章介绍海底光缆敷设施工余量控制的原理和控制软件的操作流程:海底光缆余量包括区域余量、底部余量和释放余量,余量控制是海底光缆敷设施工中最关键的核心技术环节,应用控制软件可极大地降低计算量和提高计算精确度,并可通过在施工中不断调整计划,从而极大地提高施工质量,具有传统人工计算不可比拟的优势。     

Coral assemblages and reef growth in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Western Pacific Ocean)

Reef development varies considerably around the high, raised‐limestone islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Here we examine the modern assemblages at 30 sites for coral composition, colony density, colony size, and fidelity. We defined four reef types and hypothesize the presence of environmentally driven ecological stasis, whereby the environment continuously selects for coral species membership, defines colony sizes, and over time creates the noted reef types. Our results show that constructional spur‐and‐groove reefs supported significantly larger coral‐colony sizes and higher coral species richness compared with high‐relief interstitial framework, low‐relief incipient, and non‐constructional coral assemblages. Non‐constructional reefs supported much smaller coral colony sizes, despite similar population densities, and were consistently found in association with high wave exposure. The distinct coral assemblages found on interstitial framework and low‐relief incipient reefs were not affiliated with any wave exposure regime, but were located adjacent to large watersheds and on islands with unique geological history. These assemblages were nested within the spur‐and‐groove species pool. Overall, modern coral cover was well predicted by bathymetric slope and watershed size, while species richness was additively influenced by two proxies of pollution, suggesting the latter is better suited for establishing management targets. In contrast with previous studies that suggested modern assemblages were biologically controlled in the CNMI, we show reef assemblages and reef development are highly influenced by long‐term environmental forcing.     

A review of the climatological characteristics of landfalling Gulf hurricanes for wind, wave, and surge hazard estimation

The climatological characteristics of landfalling Gulf of Mexico hurricanes are presented, focusing on the basic parameters needed for accurately determining the structure and intensity of hurricanes for ocean response models. These include the maximum sustained wind, radius of maximum winds, the Holland-B parameter, the peripheral or far-field pressure, the surface roughness and coefficient of drag, and the central pressure for historical hurricanes in the Gulf.Despite evidence of a slight increase in the annual number of named storms over the past 50 years, presently there is no statistically significant trend in tropical storms, hurricanes, or major hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the long-term variability of tropical cyclones in the Gulf reflects the observed variability in the Atlantic basin as a whole. Analyses of hurricane winds from multiple sources suggest the presence of a bias toward overestimating the strength of winds in the HURDAT dataset from 7% to 15%. Results presented comparing HURDAT with other sources also show an overestimation of intensity at landfall, with an estimated bias of ~10%.Finally, a review of recent studies has shown that hurricane frequencies and intensities appear to vary on a much more localized scale than previously believed. This exacerbates the sampling problem for accurate characterization of hurricane parameters for design and operational applications.     

Delineation of the 85°E ridge and its structure in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin,Eastern Continental Margin of India (ECMI), from seismic reflection imaging

The passive Eastern Continental Margin of India (ECMI) evolved during the break up of India and East Antarctica in the Early Cretaceous. The 85°E ridge is a prominent linear aseismic feature extending from the Afanasy Nikitin Seamounts northward to the Mahanadi basin along the ECMI. Earlier workers have interpreted the ridge to be a prominent hot spot trail. In the absence of conclusive data, the extension of the ridge towards its northern extremity below the thick Bengal Fan sediments was a matter of postulation. In the present study, interpretation of high resolution 2-D reflection data from the Mahanadi Offshore Basin, located in the northern part of the ridge, unequivocally indicates continuation of the ridge across the continent–ocean boundary into the slope and shelf tracts of the ECMI. Its morphology and internal architecture suggest a volcanic plume related origin that can be correlated with the activity of the Kerguelen hot spot in the nascent Indian Ocean. In the continental region, the plume related volcanic activity appears to have obliterated all seismic features typical of continental crust. The deeper oceanic crust, over which the hot spot plume erupted, shows the presence of linear NS aligned basement highs, corresponding with the ridge, underlain by a depressed Moho discontinuity. In the deep oceanic basin, the ridge influences the sediment dispersal pattern from the Early Cretaceous (?)/early part of Late Cretaceous times till the end of Oligocene, which is an important aspect for understanding the hydrocarbon potential of the basin.     

Reef status in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll,Maldives) five years before the mass mortality event of 1998

The Maldives was severely hit by massive coral bleaching and subsequent mortality in 1998. The results of reef monitoring in the following years have supported contrasting views about their recovery potential, partly because of the scarcity of information on the situation before 1998. Quantitative data on coral assemblages collected in 1993 in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll) may provide a base-line for the evaluation of the present status of the Maldivian reefs. Five years before the 1998 mortality, most coral communities appeared to be similar, in terms of both coral cover and growth-form composition, to those described in 1958 and 1964, notwithstanding increased human pressure and local events such as minor bleaching episodes in 1987 and crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) attacks in 1989. Three lessons can be learnt from these results to help to understand the present situation, some ten years after the 1998 mass mortality. First, Maldivian reefs proved in the past to be capable of maintaining flourishing coral life despite various disturbances. Second, four years had been sufficient for complete reef recovery after a (minor) bleaching event. Third, recovery after both COTS attack and bleaching follows a predictable path suggesting that the presence of a three-dimensional community structure, which should reduce post settlement mortality of coral recruits, is essential for rapid coral recovery. As coral recruitment remains high and large tabular Acropora colonies are now reappearing, it is expected that Maldivian reefs should return to their original condition within the next few years.     

Introducing a transferable fishing day management regime for Pacific Island countries

On 1 December 2007, eight ‘Small Island Developing States’ in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean implemented a management regime restricting the total number of days fished by tuna purse seine vessels within their waters, commonly referred to as the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS). The VDS is seen as one component of management arrangements to reduce fishing mortality on bigeye and yellowfin tuna, constrain fishing effort, and increase the rate of return from access fees by Distant Water Fishing Nations.     

基于形态法的西北太平洋柔鱼种群结构研究

西北太平洋柔鱼是我国鱿钓渔业重要捕捞对象,种群结构是渔业生物学研究的基础内容.文中根据2007年7~10月40°N~45°N,151°E~158°E海域连续采集的1 342尾柔鱼样本,测定其胴长(ML)、腕长等12项形态指标,利用正态线性转化、主成分分析和判别分析等方法研究雌雄个体的种群结构.结果表明,该海域雌、雄柔鱼均存在大小2个种群.均数差异显著性表明,雌性个体2个种群在MW/ML和FW/ML存在显著差异,雄性个体在MW/ML和AL_3/ML存在显著差异,但其形态差异仍属于种内差异.主成分分析和逐步判别分析的判别准确率(雌性60.3%,雄性60.1%),说明所划分的种群在部分形态比指标上差异明显.研究认为,形态学指标可初步区分西北太平洋柔鱼种群,但需结合其他生态学指标和耳石等硬组织进一步划分.     

多变量分位数回归构建印度洋大眼金枪鱼栖息地指数

以0～300m水层加权平均水温、50～150m水层的温差和氧差及其交互变量为影响因子,运用分位数回归法,寻找出环境变量与大眼金枪鱼(Thunnus obesus)延绳钓钓获率的最佳上界分位数回归方程,计算出栖息地指数(HSI),并应用地理信息系统(GIS)软件绘制各月HSI空间分布图。研究表明:大眼金枪鱼延绳钓钓获率(HR)依加权平均水温(x)、温差(y)、氧差(z)与的最佳上界分位数回归方程为HR0.70=-15.596+2.124x-0.003x3+0.033xyz-0.036y2z+0.107yz2-0.337z3;HSI空间分布为:16°S—10°N印度洋海域HSI高于0.7,HSI>0.8的海域随季节发生显著变化,马达加斯加外海至100°E、16°S—26°S海域常年存在一片HSI<0.4的区域,26°S—40°S海域的HSI介于0.4～0.5,40°S以南海域HSI<0.4,东非外海季节性地出现一片HSI<0.6的海域。利用多个环境变量的栖息地指数模型来预测分析大洋金枪鱼资源分布效果较好。     

Large bio-geographical shifts in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean: From the subpolar gyre, via plankton, to blue whiting and pilot whales

Pronounced changes in fauna, extending from the English Channel in the south to the Barents Sea in the north-east and off Greenland in the north-west, have occurred in the late 1920s, the late 1960s and again in the late 1990s. We attribute these events to exchanges of subarctic and subtropical water masses in the north-eastern North Atlantic Ocean, associated with changes in the strength and extent of the subpolar gyre. These exchanges lead to variations in the influence exerted by the subarctic or Lusitanian biomes on the intermediate faunistic zone in the north-eastern Atlantic. This strong and persistent bottom-up bio-physical link is demonstrated using a numerical ocean general circulation model and data on four trophically connected levels in the food chain – phytoplankton, zooplankton, blue whiting, and pilot whales. The plankton data give a unique basin-scale depiction of these changes, and a long pilot whale record from the Faroe Islands offers an exceptional temporal perspective over three centuries. Recent advances in simulating the dynamics of the subpolar gyre suggests a potential for predicting the distribution of the main faunistic zones in the north-eastern Atlantic a few years into the future, which might facilitate a more rational management of the commercially important fisheries in this region.