Water level variations in the Neuse and Pamlico Estuaries,North Carolina due to local and remote forcing

Water level time series records from the Neuse and Pamlico River Estuaries were statistically compared to local and distant wind field data, water level records within the Pamlico Sound and also coastal ocean sites to determine the relative contribution of each time series to water levels in the Neuse and Pamlico Estuaries. The objectives of this study were to examine these time series data using various statistical methods (i.e. autoregressive, empirical orthogonal function analysis (EOF), exploratory data analysis (EDA)) to determine short- and long-time-scale variability, and to develop predictive statistical models that can be used to estimate past water level fluctuations in both the Neuse Estuary (NE) and Pamlico Estuary (PE). Short- and long-time-scale similarities were observed in all time series of estuarine, Pamlico Sound and subtidal coastal ocean water level and wind component data, due to events (nor'easters, fronts and tropical systems) and seasonality. Empirical orthogonal function analyses revealed a strong coastal ocean and wind field contribution to water level in the NE and PE. Approximately 95% of the variation was captured in the first two EOF components for water level data from the NE, sound and coastal ocean, and 70% for the PE, sound and coastal ocean. Spectral density plots revealed strong diurnal signals in both wind and water level data, and a strong cross correlation and coherency between the NE water level and the North/South wind component. There was good agreement between data and predictions using autoregressive statistical models for the NE (R² = 0.92) and PE (R² = 0.76). These methods also revealed significant autoregressive lags for the NE (days 1 and 3) and for the PE (days 1, 2 and 3). Significant departures from predictions are attributed to local meteorological and hydrological events. The autoregressive techniques showed significant predictive improvement over ordinary least squares methods. The results are considered within the context of providing long time-scale hindcast data for the two estuaries, and the importance of these data for multidisciplinary researchers and managers.     

Rapid invasion of Crassostrea gigas into the German Wadden Sea dominated by larval supply

Invasions of non-indigenous species into coastal habitats have been a frequent phenomenon in the last decades, sometimes with significant impact on the receiving ecosystem. However, the understanding of the entire process and especially the relative importance of larval supply and local recruitment remains unclear. In this study, we simulate the invasion of a benthic invertebrate into a previously uncolonised habitat over several years and validate the results with field data. Therefore, we present field data from a monitoring programme revealing the rapid invasion of the oyster Crassostrea gigas into the East Frisian Wadden Sea, North Sea, between 2003 and 2005. The applied model combines a simple, spatially-explicit population dynamics model for the adult stage with a particle tracking model for the larval stage of the life cycle. Simulation results are able to reproduce the large-scale pattern of the field data and indicate a domination of larval supply on the population dynamics in the early stage of the invasion. Though monitoring and simulations suggest a single larval source outside the study area in the west, the population dynamics in the eastern part is only explainable with an additional source within the study area attributed to an unintentional input of juveniles by mussel fishery. High sensitivities to uncertain parameters result in distinct deviations between monitoring and simulations at particular sites. Especially the impact of site-specific variations of the post-settlement mortality underlines the variability of local recruitment conditions and indicates the need for spatially resolved information for exact predictions.     

A real-time, event-triggered storm surge forecasting system for the state of North Carolina

A new real-time, event-triggered storm surge prediction system has been developed for the State of North Carolina to assist emergency managers, policy-makers and other government officials with evacuation planning, decision-making and resource deployment during tropical storm landfall and flood inundation events. The North Carolina Forecast System (NCFS) was designed and built to provide a rapid response assessment of hurricane threat, accomplished by driving a high-resolution, two-dimensional, depth-integrated version of the ADCIRC (Advanced Circulation) coastal ocean model with winds from a synthetic asymmetric gradient wind vortex. These parametric winds, calculated at exact finite-element mesh node locations and directly coupled to the ocean model at every time step, are generated from National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast advisories the moment they are inserted into the real-time weather data stream, maximizing the number of hours of forecast utility. Tidal harmonic constituents are prescribed at the open water boundaries and applied as tidal potentials in the interior of the ocean model domain. A directional surface roughness parameterization that modulates the wind speed at a given location based on the types of land cover encountered upwind, a forest canopy sheltering effect, and a spatially varying distribution of Manning’s–n friction coefficient used for computing the bottom/channel bed friction are also included in the storm surge model. Comparisons of the simulated wind speeds and phases against their real meteorological counterparts, of model elevations against actual sea surface elevations measured by NOAA tide gauges along the NC coast, and of simulated depth-averaged current velocities against Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data, indicate that this new system produces remarkably realistic predictions of winds and storm surge.     

Establishment and closure of the directed Florida whiting (Menticirrhus americanus) fishery and implications for North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) conservation and management

Today, ocean and coastal marine resource management is extremely complex. Marine resource managers are charged with conserving and managing many diverse species. Southern kingfish (Menticirrhus americanus), commonly known as whiting, are found from southern New England to Florida. During the fall through winter, western North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) are primarily found in the coastal nearshore waters off South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, overlapping the whiting's range and habitat.     

Heterogenous zircons from Mesozoic igneous rocks in the North China Craton and their tectonic implications

Based on a synthesis of zircon inheritance from Mesozoic igneous rocks in the eastern portion of the North China Craton （NCC） , it is proposed that inherited zircons with Neoproterozoie ages identified from these rocks are of a heterogenous derivation from the Yangtze/South China block, rather than from the NCC itself. The mechanism that introduces these zircons incorporated into the NCC is likely by tectonic underplating during the Triassic continental subduction of the Yangtze block beneath the NCC. Tectonic addition of abundant crustal materials represented by the heterogenous zircons into the NCC, probably along Moho or weak interfaces within the NCC＇s crust, led to the crustal thickening in the NCC. These heterogenous materials, either as （partial） source rocks or as contaminants of the magmas generated during an extension environment following the crustal thickening, were reworked and therefore have significant contribution to petrogenesis of the Mesozoic igneous rocks. The crustal thickening resulted from the tectonic underplating, as indicated by the distribution extent of the heterogenous zircons, is spatially similar to that of the lithospheric thinning, with both mainly occurring in the eastern segment of the NCC. This is probably suggestive of an intrinsic relation between the thickening and thinning events during the Mesozoic evolution of the NCC.     

北黄海盆地地质构造特征及其在油气勘探中的意义

通过对近年来在北黄海盆地的油气勘探认识的总结,结合区域地质研究成果,从盆地的基底结构、地质结构和主要构造类型等方面对北黄海盆地的地质构造特征进行了分析。提出北黄海盆地是在前中生代结晶基底之上发展起来的,盆地经历了走滑拉分(J3-K1)、断陷(E2-E3)、拗陷(N—Q)3次主要的沉降作用过程,形成了下、中、上3个构造层,在盆地内发育了断裂、褶皱和潜山3种基本构造类型。盆地的这种构造特征为盆地内油气的生成运聚提供了物质基础和边界条件,特别是晚侏罗世—早白垩世由于走滑拉分形成的下构造层具有较好的生烃物质基础,同时还有良好的圈闭发育条件,后期的构造改造也有利于油气的生成聚集,应是北黄海盆地的主要勘探对象。     

Dissolved organic nitrogen dynamics in the North Sea: A time series analysis (1995–2005)

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) dynamics in the North Sea was explored by means of long-term time series of nitrogen parameters from the Dutch national monitoring program. Generally, the data quality was good with little missing data points. Different imputation methods were used to verify the robustness of the patterns against these missing data. No long-term trends in DON concentrations were found over the sampling period (1995–2005). Inter-annual variability in the different time series showed both common and station-specific behavior. The stations could be divided into two regions, based on absolute concentrations and the dominant times scales of variability. Average DON concentrations were 11 μmol l⁻¹ in the coastal region and 5 μmol l⁻¹ in the open sea. Organic fractions of total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) averaged 38 and 71% in the coastal zone and open sea, respectively, but increased over time due to decreasing dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations. In both regions intra-annual variability dominated over inter-annual variability, but DON variation in the open sea was markedly shifted towards shorter time scales relative to coastal stations. In the coastal zone a consistent seasonal DON cycle existed with high values in spring–summer and low values in autumn–winter. In the open sea seasonality was weak. A marked shift in the seasonality was found at the Dogger Bank, with DON accumulation towards summer and low values in winter prior to 1999, and accumulation in spring and decline throughout summer after 1999. This study clearly shows that DON is a dynamic actor in the North Sea and should be monitored systematically to enable us to understand fully the functioning of this ecosystem.     

5月南极涛动对青藏高原西部夏季气温影响的诊断分析

青藏高原是全球气候变暖最敏感的地区之一,是北半球夏季最大的热源,其气候响应受到广泛关注。然而,有关南极涛动与青藏高原夏季气温的关系和机理知之甚少。为了研究南极涛动与青藏高原夏季气温的关系,基于1979—2020年英国东安哥拉大学气候研究中心（CRU）的逐月气温、美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）的逐月海表面温度和大气环流再分析数据以及南极涛动指数等数据,采用相关、回归、合成分析等方法进行研究。结果表明,北半球夏季青藏高原西部气温与5月南极涛动存在显著负相关,即当5月南极涛动异常偏弱时,夏季青藏高原西部气温异常偏高。其影响过程为,南极涛动为正位相时,在南印度洋中高纬地区出现“负-正-负”的经向“三极子”海温模态,该模态可持续到夏季,在印度洋形成异常的纬向-垂直环流,相应在热带西印度洋和东印度洋-海洋性大陆之间的降水异常导致热带正“偶极子”降水模态,通过该降水模态在青藏高原西部引起异常反气旋环流和下沉运动,有利于高原西部气温偏高。研究结果显示,海洋的热惯性在“延长”南极涛动影响过程中起着重要的桥梁作用,可为青藏高原夏季气温预测提供科学依据。     

A new understanding of Demala Group complex in Chayu Area,southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Evidence from zircon U-Pb and mica 40Ar/39Ar dating

The Chayu area is located at the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This region was considered to be in the southeastward extension of the Lhasa Block, bounded by Nujiang suture zone in the north and Yarlung Zangbo suture zone in the south. The Demala Group complex, a set of high-grade metamorphic gneisses widely distributed in the Chayu area, is known as the Precambrian metamorphic basement of the Lhasa Block in the area. According to field-based investigations and microstructure analysis, the Demala Group complex is considered to mainly consist of banded biotite plagiogneisses, biotite quartzofeldspathic gneiss, granitic gneiss, amphibolite, mica schist, and quartz schist, with many leucogranite veins. The zircon U-Pb ages of two granitic gneiss samples are 205 ± 1 Ma and 218 ± 1 Ma, respectively, representing the ages of their protoliths. The zircons from two biotite plagiogneisses samples show core-rim structures. The U-Pb ages of the cores are mainly 644 –446 Ma, 1213 –865 Ma, and 1780 –1400 Ma, reflecting the age characteristics of clastic zircons during sedimentation of the original rocks. The U-Pb ages of the rims are from 203 ± 2 Ma to 190 ± 1 Ma, which represent the age of metamorphism. The zircon U-Pb ages of one sample taken from the leucogranite veins that cut through granitic gneiss foliation range from 24 Ma to 22 Ma, interpreted as the age of the anatexis in the Demala Group complex. Biotite and muscovite separates were selected from the granitic gneiss, banded gneiss, and leucogranite veins for ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. The plateau ages of three muscovite samples are 16.56 ± 0.21 Ma, 16.90 ± 0.21 Ma, and 23.40 ± 0.31 Ma, and the plateau ages of four biotite samples are 16.70 ± 0.24 Ma, 16.14 ± 0.19 Ma, 15.88 ± 0.20 Ma, and 14.39 ± 0.20 Ma. The mica Ar-Ar ages can reveal the exhumation and cooling history of the Demala Group complex. Combined with the previous research results of the Demala Group complex, the authors refer that the Demala Group complex should be a set of metamorphic complex. The complex includes not only Precambrian basement metamorphic rock series, but also Paleozoic sedimentary rock and Mesozoic granitic rock. Based on the deformation characteristics, the authors concluded that two stages of the metamorphism and deformation can be revealed in the Demala Group complex since the Mesozoic, namely Late Triassic-Early Jurassic (203 –190 Ma) and Oligocene –Miocene (24 –14 Ma). The early stage of metamorphism (ranging from 203 –190 Ma) was related to the Late Triassic tectono-magmatism in the area. The anatexis and uplifting-exhumation of the later stage (24 –14 Ma) were related to the shearing of the Jiali strike-slip fault zone. The Miocene structures are response to the large-scale southeastward escape of crustal materials and block rotation in Southeast Tibet after India-Eurasia collision.©2021 China Geology Editorial Office.