Management of the precious coral fishery in Taiwan: Progress and perspectives

Precious corals have been commercially exploited because of their legendary and cultural importance for many centuries in the Mediterranean and for almost one century in the Northwest Pacific. Although the precious coral fishery in Taiwan dates back to the 1920s, relevant studies on biology and ecology of resources are relatively scarce. The management of the precious coral fishery in Taiwan was officially instituted in January 2009, when data on the catch and effort of the fishery were recorded. In this study, the catch-effort data of the fishery were examined to explore the temporal and spatial patterns in composition and abundance of Corallium and Paracorallium spp. around Taiwan. A total landing of 3233.0 and 2906.8 kg precious corals were recorded for 2009 and 2010, respectively. Less than 5% of those amounts were from live colonies. A high proportion of fossilized colonies in the catch reflect the non-selective nature of the fishing gear; however, the factors that cause colonies to collapse are not exclusive to the impact of the fishery. Momo coral was dominant in the production for both years, followed by Miss coral. The total production of precious corals correlated positively with fishing efforts, while a weak relationship was found between the production of live colonies and fishing efforts. The fishing efforts mainly aggregated in designated fishing ground A (DFG-A) for both years, while the production of live colonies mainly occurred in DFG-E. The monthly occurrence rate of live colonies decreased over the past 2 years. Although fluctuating significantly, the CPUE of dominant species exhibited an apparent decreasing pattern. High aggregation of the fishing efforts in specific regions and low numbers of live colonies in the production should be carefully taken into account when amending management regulations in the future. The establishment of marine protected areas, in addition to the strict controls that already apply, should be considered to not only sustain the population structure of the sessile animals but also their function in the marine ecosystem.     

泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应及其对天然气水合物赋存的影响

泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应对天然气水合物赋存的影响是探索泥底辟/泥火山发育区水合物赋存规律的关键问题。笔者在分析总结国外泥底辟/泥火山流体热异常及其对天然气水合物赋存之影响的基础上,重点探讨了我国南海北部陆坡珠江口盆地神狐海域SH5站位未钻获水合物的原因及泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应对天然气水合物赋存的影响。当初寄予厚望的位于泥底辟之上的SH5站位未成功钻遇水合物的原因是晚期泥底辟刺穿水合物稳定带使深部高温流体沿着泥底辟和断裂通道上侵,该过程致使水合物稳定带温度场升高进而导致早期形成的水合物发生分解,因此,泥底辟/泥火山的流体热效应会直接制约水合物的赋存。探索泥底辟/泥火山流体热效应及其对水合物成藏的影响,不仅为丰富和完善流体渗漏构造环境下天然气水合物成藏动力学研究与勘探提供了热力学理论依据,而且对天然气水合物勘探开发及资源潜力评价等具有重要的指导意义。     

海洋在线监测浮标在赤潮监测中的应用研究

利用布设在广西区钦州湾的GX11、GX13两套实时在线监测浮标, 研究钦州湾2016年5月发生的红色赤潮藻(Akashiwo sanguinea)赤潮前后实时监测数据的变化情况。结果表明赤潮的暴发与消退受水文气象因素影响, 当寒流过后, 出现风速降低、气温迅速回升, 尤其是气温呈现昼夜温差小的天气状况时, 应重点监控实时在线浮标监测数据的变化。赤潮过程中pH、溶解氧浓度、叶绿素浓度存在明显的昼夜变化规律并高于正常范围, 三种环境要素具有显著的正相关; 当实时在线浮标监测中发现pH、溶解氧浓度、叶绿素浓度呈现较明显联动的强烈波动, 并且数值相对正常范围迅速升高时, 可进行赤潮预警及布置现场调查; pH、溶解氧浓度、叶绿素浓度的实时在线监测可作为预警环境要素, 为赤潮预警提供科学参考。     

Basin modeling of the Late Miocene Zeit source rock in the Sudanese portion of Red Sea Basin: Implication for hydrocarbon generation and expulsion history

The Late Miocene Zeit Formation is exposed in the Red Sea Basin of Sudan and represents an important oil-source rock. In this study, five (5) exploratory wells along Red Sea Basin of Sudan are used to model the petroleum generation and expulsion history of the Zeit Formation. Burial/thermal models illustrate that the Red Sea is an extensional rift basin and initially developed during the Late Eocene to Oligocene. Heat flow models show that the present-day heat flow values in the area are between 60 and 109 mW/m². The variation in values of the heat flow can be linked to the raise in the geothermal gradient from margins of the basin towards offshore basin. The offshore basin is an axial area with thick burial depth, which is the principal heat flow source.The paleo-heat flow values of the basin are approximately from 95 to 260 mW/m², increased from Oligocene to Early Pliocene and then decreased exponentially prior to Late Pliocene. This high paleo-heat flow had a considerable effect on the source rock maturation and cooking of the organic matter. The maturity history models indicate that the Zeit Formation source rock passed the late oil-window and converted the oil generated to gas during the Late Miocene.The basin models also indicate that the petroleum was expelled from the Zeit source rock during the Late Miocene (>7 Ma) and it continues to present-day, with transformation ratio of more than 50%. Therefore, the Zeit Formation acts as an effective source rock where significant amounts of petroleum are expected to be generated in the Red Sea Basin.     

Intertidal macrofauna and environmental stress at a riverine–marine boundary

A field experiment was carried out to test the effect of pore water salinity on the macrobenthic assemblages in an estuarine region of the Tagus estuary (Portugal) subjected to wide fluctuations in salinity. The conditions at the experimental site ranged from freshwater (minimum salinity 0.2) to mesohaline (maximum salinity 15.3). The experimental site was affected by an unexpected deposition of fluid mud during summer. Redundancy Analysis discriminated the experimental treatments along the first canonical ordination axis. The analysis also revealed an experimental gradient of increasing environmental stress, in which the minimal presence of organisms corresponded to treatments representing a high level of environmental stress. Sediment dynamics and saline fluctuations were the major factors that, together, determined the low macrofaunal abundance and species diversity at the experimental site. The most abundant macrofaunal species in this harsh environment were the polychaetes Hediste diversicolor and Streblospio shrubsolii.     

Distribution and Acoustic Characteristics of Shallow Gas in the Korea Strait Shelf Mud off SE Korea

Shallow gas in the Korea Strait shelf mud (KSSM) off SE Korea, revealed by high-resolution subbottom profiles, is associated with acoustic blanking, acoustic turbidity, seepages with plumes in the water column, and seafloor depressions. The acoustic blanking, characterized by strong, consistent top reflection and wipeout below, is most dominant. The seaward edge of the acoustic blanking zone generally coincides with the 100-m water-depth contour, suggesting that the water depth (the pressure) may control the distribution of shallow gas. The acoustic turbidity, characterized by diffuse top reflection, is a dark smear, partially blanking the data below. The seepages with plumes, characterized by vertical smearing and disturbed seafloor, are seen only along the shallowest, landward edge of the acoustic blanking zone. This may suggest that the decreased gas solubility at shallow water depths, caused by the lowered pressure, increases the volume of free gas in the sediments, facilitating the gas escape. The seafloor depressions, interpreted as pockmarks, are accompanied by cone-shaped acoustic masking, which is probably the reflection from a narrow vent of gas. The gas-related acoustic anomalies appear to occur mostly in the upper, recent mud of the KSSM. Neither permeable beds nor faults, which can act as vertical migration pathways for deep thermogenic gas, are evident in the recent mud. We interpret that the bacterial degradation of organic matter in situ is the main source for the gas in the KSSM. The upwelling off SE Korea may be an important source for the increased organic matter in the area.     

山东部分海域红藻的鉴定与多样性分析

在山东青岛、威海和烟台近海海域的潮间带进行采样调查,共采取36株红藻样本,对其形态学特征进行了详细的观察.结果显示,所采集的样本在色泽、大小、形态、叶状体形状等外观上均有一定差异,但部分样本间差别并不明显.同时作者采用分子系统学的方法,从藻类样本中分离了rbcL基因片段,并进行了序列分析,利用 rbcL 基因建立了分子系统进化树,对样品间的亲缘关系及多样性进行了系统分析.结果表明,本研究采得的红藻样本有很好的多样性,分别与 GenBank 中已报道的红藻门中的16个属亲缘关系较近.在青岛、烟台和威海3个海域的红藻样本呈现不同的多样性,并且同一属的样品表现出很好的属内种间多样性.     

渤海西部2次赤潮过程的气象因子对比分析

利用加密自动站资料、NCEP/NCAR 1°×1°再分析资料、海表温度(SST)资料和常规观测资料等气象资料,对2009年5月31日—6月13日和2012年5月18—28日发生在渤海西部海域的2场相似气象因子影响下的典型高影响赤潮过程进行了对比分析。初步结果表明:(1)2场高影响赤潮过程都发生在春末夏初的赤潮高发期,持续时间在10天以上;(2)赤潮爆发前期,伴随有暖湿气流影响形成适度降水,渤海西部的周平均海表温度(SST)升温明显,且SST≥16.2℃,赤潮发生海域为SST的暖脊控制,对赤潮过程的潜势预报有明显的指示意义;(3)850 h Pa以下层次的温度迅速上升,近地层西南暖湿气流的加强和地面6 m/s以下偏南、东南气流在渤海西部海域的汇合,利于渤海西部海洋浮游生物积聚和突发性繁殖,是赤潮形成的重要气象因子特征。     

A Bingham-plastic model for fluid mud transport under waves and currents

Simplified equations of fluid mud motion, which is described as Bingham-Plastic model under waves and currents, are presented by order analysis. The simplified equations are non-linear ordinary differential equations which are solved by hybrid numerical-analytical technique. As the computational cost is very low, the effects of wave current parameters and fluid mud properties on the transportation velocity of the fluid mud are studied systematically. It is found that the fluid mud can move toward one direction even if the shear stress acting on the fluid mud bed is much smaller than the fluid mud yield stress under the condition of wave and current coexistence. Experiments of the fluid mud motion under current with fluctuation water surface are carried out. The fluid mud transportation velocity predicted by the presented mathematical model can roughly match that measured in experiments.     

Dispersal of the Zhujiang River (Pearl River) derived sediment in the Holocene

High-resolution Chirp profiling and coring reveals an elongated(ca. 400 km) Holocene Zhujiang River(Pearl River)-derived mud area(maximum thickness 20 m) extending from the Zhujiang River Delta, southwestward off the Guangdong coast, to the Leizhou Peninsula. Two depo-centers, one proximal and one distal, are identified. On the continental shelf off the west Guangdong Province, the mud is deposited in water depth shallower than 50 m; while to the southeast of the Zhujiang River Estuary, the mud area can extend to the-120 m isobath. A combined analysis with the stratigraphic sequences of other muddy deposits in the Western Pacific marginal seas(mainly Changjiang(Yangtze) and Huanghe(Yellow) Rivers derived) indicates that the initiation of the Zhujiang River muddy deposit can be further divided into two stages: Stage 1 is before the mid-Holocene sea-level highstand(ca. 7.0 cal. ka BP), the proximal mud was mostly deposited after 9.0 cal. ka BP, when the sea-level rose slowly after the Meltwater Pulse-1C; Stage 2, after the mid-Holocene sealevel highstand, clinoform developed on the continental shelf off the west Guangdong Province, extending ca. 400 km from the Zhujiang River Estuary. The proximal clinoform thins offshore, from ca. 10 m thickness around 5–10 m water depth to less than 1–2 m around 20–30 m water depth. In addition, we also find a developed distal clinoform in the east of the Leizhou Peninsula.