Assessment of spatial variation in carbon utilization by benthic and pelagic invertebrates in a temperate South African estuary using stable isotope signatures

Stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) were used to evaluate the spatial variations in carbon flow from primary producers to consumers at two sites in the temperate and permanently open Kariega Estuary on the southeastern coast of South Africa during October 2005 and February 2006. One site was located opposite a salt marsh while the second was upstream of the marsh. Except for significantly enriched δ¹³C values of Zostera capensis and surface sediments near the salt marsh, the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N signatures of the producers were similar between sites. The invertebrates were clustered into groups roughly corresponding to the predominant feeding modes. The suspension feeders showed δ¹³C values closest to the seston, whereas the deposit feeders, detritivores and scavengers/predators had more enriched δ¹³C values reflecting primary carbon sources that were likely a combination of seston, Spartina maritima and Z. capensis at the upstream site, with an increased influence of benthic algae and Z. capensis at the salt marsh site. The δ¹⁵N signatures of the consumers showed a stepwise continuum rather than distinct levels of fractionation, indicating highly complex trophic linkages and significant dietary overlap among the species. Consumers exhibited significantly enriched δ¹³C values at the salt marsh site, an effect that was attributed to enriched Z. capensis detritus in this region in addition to increased phytoplankton biomass in their diets compared with invertebrates living upstream. The data reinforce the concept that between-site variations in the stable isotope ratios of consumers can result not only from dietary shifts, but also from alterations in the isotope ratios of primary producers.     

南大洋普里兹湾基于234Th/238U不平衡法的POC输出通量研究

中国第22次南极科学考察(2005年11月至2006年3月)期间,测定了南极普里兹湾海域5个站位的从表层至150 m水深的不同层位水样中溶解态和颗粒态234Th,238U的放射性比活度以及颗粒有机碳.利用234Th/238U在上层水体中的不平衡,计算了南极普里兹湾上层水体中234Th的平均停留时间和输出通量.结果显示,随着纬度的增加,上层水体中颗粒态和溶解态234Th的平均停留时间总体趋向减小,并在中纬度站位出现了最低值,分别为1~8和29~48 d,而颗粒态和溶解态234Th的输出通量则在中纬度站位出现了最大值,分别为21~38和26~39 dpm/(m3·d).运用箱型清除模式,利用两种不同的方法估算了各水柱中从真光层底部输出的POC通量,平均值分别达到104.7 mmol/(m2·d)(E法)和120.6 mmol/(m2·d)(B法),表明南极普里兹湾夏季存在很高的新生产力,它将会对该海域碳的生物泵过程产生重要作用.     

The morphodynamic modelling of tidal sand waves on the shoreface

An artificial sand wave on the Dutch shoreface of the North Sea has been studied in conditions with relatively strong tidal currents in the range of 0.5 to 1 m/s and sediments in the medium sand size range of 0.2 to 0.5 mm. The sand wave is perpendicular to the tidal current and has a maximum height and length of the order of 5 m and 1 km, respectively. The sand wave is dynamically active and shows migration rates of the order of a few metres per year. A numerical morphodynamic model (DELFT3D model) has been used to simulate the morphological behaviour of the sand wave in the North Sea. This model approach is based on the numerical solution of the three-dimensional shallow water equations in combination with a surface wave propagation model (wind waves) and the advection–diffusion equation for the sediment particles with online bed updating after each time step. The model results show that the sand wave grows in the case of dominant bed-load transport (weak tidal currents; relatively coarse sediment; small roughness height; low waves) and that the sand wave decays in the case of dominant suspended transport (strong currents, relatively fine sediment, large roughness height; storm waves).     

东海浮游翼足类(Pteropods)数量分布的研究

根据1997～2000年东海海域23°30'～33°00'N,118°30'～128°00'E的4个季节海洋调查资料,运用定量、定性方法,探讨了东海浮游翼足类总丰度的平面分布、季节变化及变化的动力学机制.结果表明,东海翼足类总丰度和出现频率有明显的季节变化,均为秋季最高,夏季次之,春季最低;总丰度在各个季节基本上呈东海南部高于北部、外海高于近海的分布趋势;春季的尖笔帽螺(Creseis acicula)、夏季的锥笔帽螺(Creseis virgula)、秋季的蝴蝶螺(Desmopterus papilio)和冬季的马蹄螔螺(Limacina trochiformis)是导致总丰度季节变化的最主要的种类;冬、春和夏3个季节丰度变化及4季总丰度的变化同表层或10m层水温有非常显著的线性相关关系,与底层温度及盐度的相关关系不显著.夏季翼足类高丰度区位于台湾暖流与黑潮暖流的分支处;从夏季到秋季,翼足类随着台湾暖流向北扩展,并在与长江冲淡水,闽浙沿岸水团,黄海水团等交汇处形成高丰度(大于500×10-2个/m3)和较高丰度(250×10-2～500×10-2个/m3)分布区.水温和海流是影响东海翼足类总丰度分布的主要环境因素.     

“大洋一号”勘查技术体系的设计与建设

介绍了"大洋一号"远洋科学考察船在近1年的改装施工后所建立的现代化船舶勘查技术体系.由于引进了世界先进的调查设备,自主研发和改造了深海浅地层岩芯钻等大型调查设备,自主设计并完成了网络信息集成系统,同时对实验室、住舱等工作、生活环境进行了改造,"大洋一号"远洋科学考察船已集成了具有高精度水下定位、全覆盖地形地貌、可视化海底取样、地球物理(重、磁、震、浅地层)、深拖(声学、光学)、成矿环境(水文、化学)和生物等专业设备的联合探测分析系统,实现了各系统的科学同步作业和信息融合,大大提高了我国海洋科学考察工作的效率和管理水平,使我国的深海探测技术和方法基本实现了与国际接轨.     

Variability in the nutritional value of the major copepods in Cape Cod Bay (Massachusetts, USA) with implications for right whales

The North Atlantic right whale, a seriously endangered species, is found in Cape Cod Bay (Massachusetts, USA) during the winter and early spring. During their residency in these waters, these whales are frequently observed feeding. This study evaluated spatial and temporal changes in the chemical composition (carbon weight and C/N ratio) of the food resource targeted by the right whales in Cape Cod Bay. The three taxa measured (Centropages typicus, Pseudocalanus spp., and Calanus finmarchicus) had highly variable chemical compositions resulting from the different life strategies and from fluctuations in their surrounding environment. The impact of seasonal variability in the energy densities of the food resource of right whales was calculated and compared to the energetic requirements of these whales. Calculations indicated that differences in the nutritional content of the zooplankton prey in Cape Cod Bay could have a considerable effect on the nutrition available to the right whales. Therefore, it is likely that using more precise estimates of the energetic densities of the prey of right whales would lead to a re‐evaluation of the adequacy of the food resource available to these whales in the North Atlantic.     

Roles of Continental Shelves and Marginal Seas in the Biogeochemical Cycles of the North Pacific Ocean

Most marginal seas in the North Pacific are fed by nutrients supported mainly by upwelling and many are undersaturated with respect to atmospheric CO₂ in the surface water mainly as a result of the biological pump and winter cooling. These seas absorb CO₂ at an average rate of 1.1 ± 0.3 mol C m⁻²yr⁻¹ but release N₂/N₂O at an average rate of 0.07 ± 0.03 mol N m⁻²yr⁻¹. Most of primary production, however, is regenerated on the shelves, and only less than 15% is transported to the open oceans as dissolved and particulate organic carbon (POC) with a small amount of POC deposited in the sediments. It is estimated that seawater in the marginal seas in the North Pacific alone may have taken up 1.6 ± 0.3 Gt (10¹⁵ g) of excess carbon, including 0.21 ± 0.05 Gt for the Bering Sea, 0.18 ± 0.08 Gt for the Okhotsk Sea; 0.31 ± 0.05 Gt for the Japan/East Sea; 0.07 ± 0.02 Gt for the East China and Yellow Seas; 0.80 ± 0.15 Gt for the South China Sea; and 0.015 ± 0.005 Gt for the Gulf of California. More importantly, high latitude marginal seas such as the Bering and Okhotsk Seas may act as conveyer belts in exporting 0.1 ± 0.08 Gt C anthropogenic, excess CO₂ into the North Pacific Intermediate Water per year. The upward migration of calcite and aragonite saturation horizons due to the penetration of excess CO₂ may also make the shelf deposits on the Bering and Okhotsk Seas more susceptible to dissolution, which would then neutralize excess CO₂ in the near future. Further, because most nutrients come from upwelling, increased water consumption on land and damming of major rivers may reduce freshwater output and the buoyancy effect on the shelves. As a result, upwelling, nutrient input and biological productivity may all be reduced in the future. As a final note, the Japan/East Sea has started to show responses to global warming. Warmer surface layer has reduced upwelling of nutrient-rich subsurface water, resulting in a decline of spring phytoplankton biomass. Less bottom water formation because of less winter cooling may lead to the disappearance of the bottom water as early as 2040. Or else, an anoxic condition may form as early as 2200 AD. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Distribution characteristics of zooplankton biomass in the East China Sea

On the basis of the data of oceanographic survey in the East China Sea in four seasons during 1997-2000 (23°30'~33°00'N, 118°30'-128°E), the variation of total biomass and diet biomass of zooplankton and their spatial-temporal distribution and relationship with the fishing ground of Engraulis japonicus are approached and analyzed. The results show that the average biomass is 65.32 mg/m3 in four seasons, autumn (86.18 mg/m3) being greater than summer (69.18 mg/m3) greater than spring (55.67 mg/m3) greater than winter (50.33 mg/m3). The average value of diet zooplankton biomass is 40.9 mg/m3. The trends of horizontal distribution both in the total biomass and the diet biomass of zooplankton are similar. The high biomass region (250-500 mg/m3) is very limited, only accounting for 1% of the investigation area. Seasonal variation of the biomass is very remarkable in the west and north parts of East China Sea coastal waters ( 29°30'N,125°E). The horizontal distribution of diet zooplankton depends on the     

Sediment-starved sand ridges on a mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner shelf off west-central Florida

High-resolution side-scan mosaics, sediment analyses, and physical process data have revealed that the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic, inner shelf of west-central Florida supports a highly complex field of active sand ridges mantled by a hierarchy of bedforms. The sand ridges, mostly oriented obliquely to the shoreline trend, extend from 2 km to over 25 km offshore. They show many similarities to their well-known counterparts situated along the US Atlantic margin in that both increase in relief with increasing water depth, both are oriented obliquely to the coast, and both respond to modern shelf dynamics. There are significant differences in that the sand ridges on the west-central Florida shelf are smaller in all dimensions, have a relatively high carbonate content, and are separated by exposed rock surfaces. They are also shoreface-detached and are sediment-starved, thus stunting their development. Morphological details are highly distinctive and apparent in side-scan imagery due to the high acoustic contrast. The seafloor is active and not a relict system as indicated by: (1) relatively young AMS ¹⁴C dates (<1600 yr BP) from forams in the shallow subsurface (1.6 meters below seafloor), (2) apparent shifts in sharply distinctive grayscale boundaries seen in time-series side-scan mosaics, (3) maintenance of these sharp acoustic boundaries and development of small bedforms in an area of constant and extensive bioturbation, (4) sediment textural asymmetry indicative of selective transport across bedform topography, (5) morphological asymmetry of sand ridges and 2D dunes, and (6) current-meter data indicating that the critical threshold velocity for sediment transport is frequently exceeded. Although larger sand ridges are found along other portions of the west-central Florida inner shelf, these smaller sand ridges are best developed seaward of a major coastal headland, suggesting some genetic relationship. The headland may focus and accelerate the N–S reversing currents. An elevated rock terrace extending from the headland supports these ridges in a shallower water environment than the surrounding shelf, allowing them to be more easily influenced by currents and surface gravity waves. Tidal currents, storm-generated flows, and seasonally developed flows are shore-parallel and oriented obliquely to the NW–SE trending ridges, indicating that they have developed as described by the Huthnance model. Although inner shelf sand ridges have been extensively examined elsewhere, this study is the first to describe them in a low-energy, sediment-starved, dominantly mixed siliciclastic/carbonate sedimentary environment situated on a former limestone platform.