Thermal fronts and cross-frontal heat flux in the southern Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea

Synoptic features in/around thermal fronts and cross-frontal heat fluxes in the southern Huanghai./Yellow Sea and East China Sea （HES） were examined using the data collected from four airborne expendable bathythermograph surveys with horizontal approxmately 35 km and vertical 1 m（from the surface to 400 m deep） spacings. Since the fronts are strongly affected by HES current system, the synoptic thermal features in/around them represent the interaction of currents with surrounding water masses. These features can not be obtained from climatological data. The identified thermal features are listed as follows ： （ 1 ） multiple boundaries of cold water, asymmetric thermocline intrusion, locally-split front by homogeneous water of approxmately 18 ℃, and mergence of the front by the Taiwan Warm Current in/around summertime southern Cheju - Changjiang/Yangtze front and Tsushima front; （2） springtime frontal eddy-like feature around Tsushima front; （3） year-round cyclonic meandering and summertime temperature-inversion at the bottom of the surface mixed layer in Cheju - Tsushima front; and （4） multistructure of Kuroshio front. In the Kuroshio front the mean variance of vertical temperature gradient is an order of degree smaller than that in other HES fronts. The southern Cheju- Changjiang front and Cheju -Tsushima front are connected with each other in the summer with comparable cross-frontal temperature gradient. However, cross-frontal heat flux and lateral eddy diffusivity are stronger in the southern Cheju - Changjiang front. The cross-frontal heat exchange is the largest in the mixing zone between the modified Huanghai Sea bottom cold water and the Tsushima Warm Current, which is attributable to enhanced thermocline intrusions.     

2009-2010年冬季南海东北部中尺度过程观测

根据南海北部陆架陆坡海域2009-2010年冬季航次的CTD调查资料,发现西北太平洋水在上层通过吕宋海峡入侵南海,其对南海东北部上层水体温盐性质的影响自东向西呈减弱趋势,影响范围可达114°E附近。入侵过程中受东北部海域反 气旋式涡旋(观测期间,其中心位于20.75°N,118°E附近) 的影响,海水的垂向和水平结构发生了很大变化,特别是涡旋中心区域,上层暖水深厚,混合层和盐度极大值层显著深于周边海域。该暖涡在地转流场、航载ADCP观测海流及卫星高度计资料中均得到了证实。暖涡的存在还显著影响了海水化学要素的空间分布,暖涡引起的海水辐聚将上层溶解氧含量较高的水体向下输运,使次表层的暖涡中心呈现高溶解氧的分布特征。     

Effects of cold eddy on phytoplankton production and assemblages in Luzon strait bordering the South China Sea

The biochemical effects of a cold-core eddy that was shed from the Kuroshio Current at the Luzon Strait bordering the South China Sea (SCS) were studied in late spring, a relatively unproductive season in the SCS. The extent of the eddy was determined by time-series images of SeaWiFS ocean color, AVHRR sea surface temperature, and TOPEX/Jason-1 sea surface height anomaly. Nutrient budgets, nitrate-based new production, primary production, and phytoplankton assemblages were compared between the eddy and its surrounding Kuroshio and SCS waters. The enhanced productivity in the eddy was comparable to wintertime productivity in the SCS basin, which is supported by upwelled subsurface nitrate under the prevailing Northeastern Monsoon. There were more Synechococcus, pico-eucaryotes, and diatoms, but less Trichodesmium in the surface water inside the eddy than outside. Prochlorococcus and Richelia intracellularis showed no spatial differences. Water column-integrated primary production (IPP) inside the eddy was 2–3 times that outside the eddy in the SCS (1.09 vs. 0.59 g C m⁻²d⁻¹), as was nitrate-based new production (INP) (0.67 vs. 0.25 g C m⁻²d⁻¹). INP in the eddy was 6 times that in the Kuroshio (0.12 g C m⁻²d⁻¹). IPP and INP in the eddy were higher than the maximum production values ever measured in the SCS basin. Surface chlorophyll a concentration (0.40 mg m⁻³) in the eddy equaled the maximum concentration registered for the SCS basin and was higher than the wintertime average (0.29 ± 0.04 mg m⁻³). INP was 3.5 times as great and IPP was doubled in the eddy compared to the wintertime SCS basin. As cold core eddies form intermittently all year round as the Kuroshio invades the SCS, their effects on phytoplankton productivity and assemblages are likely to have important influences on the biogeochemical cycle of the region.     

湖泊蒸发观测与计算方法研究进展

湖泊蒸发是连接湖泊水分循环与能量平衡的关键纽带之一,认识湖泊蒸发过程对于理解湖-气间相互作用机制十分重要。然而,由于湖泊的形态结构、地理位置和气候背景不同,各湖泊在不同时间尺度上的蒸发特征不同。湖泊蒸发存在复杂的物理驱动过程、时间尺度相关的反馈以及空间异质性。准确地捕捉并量化湖泊蒸发过程,仍是湖沼学、水文学和气象学等学科的重要研究内容。本文首先介绍了湖泊蒸发的主要观测手段,然后概述了湖泊蒸发在日内、季节、年际、年代际四种不同时间尺度的变化特征;梳理了不同时间尺度各要素对湖泊蒸发的影响,以及湖泊蒸发与湖泊面积和深度等形态结构特性及纬度和海拔等地理因素之间的关系;对自涡度相关技术等高精度仪器应用以来的湖泊蒸发研究进展做出了总结。     

水动力条件对沉积物-水界面氧通量的影响

氧环境决定了水体沉积物中各种生命所需元素的最终归趋,沉积物-水界面是水相与沉积物相氧传递的重要场所,而水动力条件是影响沉积物-水界面氧传递的重要因素.选择三峡库区一级支流御临河为研究对象,根据长年监测数据建立实验室模型,采用声学多普勒流速测试仪及微电极测试系统构建了非侵入式涡度相关测试系统,探究了不同水动力条件对沉积物-水界面氧通量的影响.结果表明：水体静止状态下沉积物-水界面溶解氧浓度随时间的增加而减少,非静止状态下随时间的增加而增加;沉积物-水界面氧通量随水体流速的增加而增加.根据氧通量求解对应流速下垂直涡动扩散系数并进行线性拟合,当水体流速为0.01~0.14 m/s时,垂直涡动扩散系数与水体流速的相关性最好,此时沉积物-水界面氧通量的传递以涡动扩散为主导.     

变分同化框架通过背景误差协方差构建动力平衡约束的研究进展

通过背景误差协方差构建动力平衡约束是变分同化框架设计的重要环节。它不仅帮助实现变量间的协同分析,提高观测使用效率,还能改善变分极小化问题的性状。本文在系统梳理通过背景误差协方差引入动力平衡约束的方式、流程的基础上,对求解目前全球和有限区域变分同化系统普遍采用的准地转平衡和静力平衡约束的共性问题和存在的不足作了归纳总结。分析了求解准地转平衡约束的三类方案:动力平衡方程方案、统计方案和动力-统计相结合方案的优缺点。对照比较了不同垂直离散方案下求解静力平衡约束时遇到的欠定问题的表现以及解决途径。最后,展望了基于背景误差协方差构建动力平衡约束在赤道等特殊地区、高分辨率同化系统、以及集合-变分混合同化系统发展中面临的挑战和机遇。     

Deep‐water dunes on drowned isolated carbonate terraces (Mozambique Channel,south‐west Indian Ocean)

Subaqueous sand dunes are common bedforms on continental shelves dominated by tidal and geostrophic currents. However, much less is known about sand dunes in deep‐marine settings that are affected by strong bottom currents. In this study, dune fields were identified on drowned isolated carbonate platforms in the Mozambique Channel (south‐west Indian Ocean). The acquired data include multibeam bathymetry, multi‐channel high‐resolution seismic reflection data, sea floor imagery, a sediment sample and current measurements from a moored current meter and hull‐mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler. The dunes are located at water depths ranging from 200 to 600 m on the slope terraces of a modern atoll (Bassas da India Atoll) and within small depressions formed during tectonic deformation of drowned carbonate platforms (Sakalaves Seamount and Jaguar Bank). Dunes are composed of bioclastic medium size sand, and are large to very large, with wavelengths of 40 to 350 m and heights of 0·9 to 9·0 m. Dune migration seems to be unidirectional in each dune field, suggesting a continuous import and export of bioclastic sand, with little sand being recycled. Oceanic currents are very intense in the Mozambique Channel and may be able to erode submerged carbonates, generating carbonate sand at great depths. A mooring located at 463 m water depth on the Hall Bank (30 km west of the Jaguar Bank) showed vigorous bottom currents, with mean speeds of 14 cm sec^?1 and maximum speeds of 57 cm sec^?1, compatible with sand dune formation. The intensity of currents is highly variable and is related to tidal processes (high‐frequency variability) and to anticyclonic eddies near the seamounts (low‐frequency variability). This study contributes to a better understanding of the formation of dunes in deep‐marine settings and provides valuable information about carbonate preservation after drowning, and the impact of bottom currents on sediment distribution and sea floor morphology.     

Integrating lysimeter drainage and eddy covariance flux measurements in a groundwater recharge model

Abstract

Field-scale water balance is difficult to characterize because controls exerted by soils and vegetation are mostly inferred from local-scale measurements with relatively small support volumes. Eddy covariance flux and lysimeters have been used to infer and evaluate field-scale water balances because they have larger footprint areas than local soil moisture measurements. This study quantifies heterogeneity of soil deep drainage (D) in four 12.5-m² repacked lysimeters, compares evapotranspiration from eddy covariance (ET_EC) and mass balance residuals of lysimeters (ETwb_Lys), and models D to estimate groundwater recharge. Variation in measured D was attributed to redirection of snowmelt infiltration and differences in lysimeter hydraulic properties caused by surface soil treatment. During the growing seasons of 2010, 2011 and 2012, ETwb_Lys (278, 289 and 269 mm, respectively) was in good agreement with ET_EC (298, 301 and 335 mm). Annual recharge estimated from modelled D was 486, 624 and 613 mm for three calendar years 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. In summary, lysimeter D and ET_EC can be integrated to estimate and model groundwater recharge.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis     

Circulation in the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) during winter—spring

This study is devoted to oceanographic features of the semi-enclosed Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. The data were recorded in winter—spring 1999 on the R/V Meteor cruise leg 44/2. Temperature and salinity profiles were measured at six positions (I—VI). The shipboard NarrowBand Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (NB ADCP) 150 kHz continuously recorded current profiles down to 350 m en route. The research revealed that the current near the Strait of Tiran front (position VI) represents a semidiurnal signal of an internal tide wave (∼12 h period; 0.2 ms⁻¹ amplitude) that might be generated by the barotropic tide at the sill of the Strait. A sequence of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddy pairs is found along the axis of the Gulf of Aqaba during winter-spring seasons. These sub-mesoscale signals are dominant above the main thermocline and might be caused by wind forcing and the narrowness of the Gulf; it might remain in other seasons with different dimensions in relation to the depth of thermocline. The total diameter of each pair was twice the baroclinic Rossby radius (R ≈ 10 km). A single anti-cyclonic eddy was observed in the upper 300 m in the northern tip of the Gulf with a diameter of about 5–8 km.     

日本海环流研究综述

日本海作为东北亚地区最大的边缘海,是西北太平洋上的重要海区。由于特殊的地理位置和复杂的地形,使得日本海的环流结构呈现独有特征,如日本海内的亚极地锋现象,复杂多变的涡旋,北部形成的深水团等。概述了日本海环流状况,着重介绍了对马海峡、郁陵海盆环流情形和日本海特征水团;总结了目前仍存在的争议问题,如对马暖流源头、对马暖流空间结构等;指出了目前日本海尚待解决的科学问题,如对马暖流流量的长期变化及其原因、东韩暖流消失现象及其机制、日本海特征水的传播路径及其影响因素、日本海的某些变化产生原因及其与全球变化的响应等。