Variations of the Kuroshio Axis South of Kyushu in Relation to the Large Meander of the Kuroshio

The characteristics of the Kuroshio axis south of Kyushu, which meanders almost sinusoidally, are clarified in relation to the large meander of the Kuroshio by analyzing water temperature data during 1961–95 and sea level during 1984–95. The shape of the Kuroshio axis south of Kyushu is classified into three categories of small, medium, and large amplitude of meander. The small amplitude category occupies more than a half of the large-meander (LM) period, while the medium amplitude category takes up more than a half of the non-large-meander (NLM) period. Therefore, the amplitude and, in turn, the curvature of the Kuroshio axis is smaller on average during the LM period than the NLM period. The mean Kuroshio axis during the LM period is located farther north at every longitude south of Kyushu than during the NLM period, with a slight difference west of the Tokara Islands and a large difference to the east. A northward shift of the Kuroshio axis in particular east of the Tokara Islands induces small amplitude and curvature of the meandering shape during the LM period. During the NLM period, the meandering shape and position south of Kyushu change little with Kuroshio volume transport. In the LM formation stage, the variation of the Kuroshio axis is small west of the Tokara Islands but large to the east due to a small meander of the Kuroshio. In the LM decay stage, the Kuroshio meanders greatly south of Kyushu and is located stably near the coast southeast of Kyushu. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

台湾海峡上升流区夏季溶解氧的特征

本文根据1983—1984年,1987—1988年台湾海峡中北部海域调查资料,着重讨论了该海域夏季溶解氧分布特征及其与上升流、生物活动的关系。该上升流区温度、盐度、溶解氧含量及其饱和度的特征值分别为24.4℃,34.3,4.49mlO_2/L和93％。溶解氧含量及其饱和度与温度呈正相关关系,与盐度呈负相关关系。     

Natural expansion and experimental manipulation of seagrass (Zostera spp.) abundance and the response of infaunal invertebrates

A study of an expanding seagrass bed on the south-west coast of British Columbia, Canada involved documentation and explanation of the pattern of expansion of the vegetation as well as documentation and experimental investigation of the accompanying changes in the distribution of infaunal invertebrates. Expansion followed a major environmental change, improved water clarity initiated in 1969 when a causeway blocked access to the site for silty Fraser River water. The original eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed expanded landward over 30 m year⁻¹, probably causing more and more water to be retained in the bed at low tide and thus improving its own habitat. More rapid expansion occurred from 1979–1983 after Z.japonica colonized at the landward edge of the eelgrass bed and in a separate intertidal area. Expansion ceased around 1983 coincident with, but probably independent of, further construction.Burrowing shrimp (Callianassa californiensis) decreased in abundance between 1977 and 1984 in areas where the two seagrasses colonized. Short-term experiment over one summer and fall showed that removal of all shoots allowed adult shrimp and tube worms to colonize the sediment while addition of shoots of Z. japonica by transplanting caused temporary decreases in shrimp abundance. After a few weeks an established shrimp population destroyed the transplants. Among reasonable alternate hypotheses for the decline in Callianassa, the effect of sediment texture can be eliminated, but either direct negative effects of seagrass, i.e. inhibition of the burrowing of adult shrimp or of settlement of juveniles, or indirect effects, i.e. the harboring of more predators of shrimp in seagrass beds, deserve further study.     

软土海岸地区测量控制点标志的设立

分析了软土、湿地、滩涂地区特殊地理环境对测量控制点的影响;主要探讨了此类地区控制点标志的设计、施工。借助于建筑桩基技术和道桥施工方法,首次成功实现了某三角洲湿地滩涂地区统一布网。几年来,结合滩涂湿地测量、海岸防护和滩涂开发工程对部分控制点进行了初步检测,给出了部分检测数据。应用和检测均表明:桩基标石可较好地解决软土、湿地、滩涂地区控制点布设难题,显著提高软土海岸地区测量控制点标志的稳固性,从而延长控制网的可使用期。     

台湾海峡南部灯光围网捕捞的水温选择及其季节变化

对1989－1998年台湾海峡南部渔场生产记录资料分析结果表明：灯光围网捕捞主要捕捞年适宜水温16．1－30℃，年较佳水温20．1－30℃，年最佳选择水温21．2－29℃。环境水温过高或过低，不利于灯光围网生产。各季度的选择水温，冬季为21．2－24℃，春季为21．1－27℃，夏季为26．1－29℃，秋季为25．1－28℃；各月选择水温为该月环境水温的中间值至偏高2℃，多数比中间值偏高1－2℃。选择水温范围的宽幅3－5℃；随环境水温升高或降低，鱼类对水温选择发生同的、同步的变化，是一种渐进的过程；在环境水温上升或持续高温，温跃层存在、底层低温涌升水强盛的条件下，灯光围网的作业效率均受影响。     

台湾海峡西岸第四纪沉积层中的老红砂

本文对采自福建沿海的老红砂作了粒度分析、矿物鉴定和石英电镜扫描。结果表明,组成老红砂的成分主要为中细砂,砂含量大于70%,粘土和粉砂含量较少。概率累积曲线多为跳跃、悬浮两段式,其次为滚动、跳跃、悬浮三段式。轻矿物以石英为主,长石含量居次。含量较高的重矿物有磁铁矿、钛铁矿、白钛石,其次有锆石、赤铁矿、褐铁矿、电气石、绿帘石等。文章对老红砂的成因提出一些粗浅的看法。     

Circulation and currents in the southwestern East/Japan Sea: Overview and review

A review is made of circulation and currents in the southwestern East/Japan Sea (the Ulleung Basin), and the Korea/Tsushima Strait which is a unique conduit for surface inflow into the Ulleung Basin. The review particularly concentrates on describing some preliminary results from recent extensive measurements made after 1996. Mean flow patterns are different in the upstream and downstream regions of the Korea/Tsushima Strait. A high velocity core occurs in the mid-section in the upstream region, and splits into two cores hugging the coasts of Korea and Japan, the downstream region, after passing around Tsushima Island located in the middle of the strait. Four-year mean transport into the East/Japan Sea through the Korea/Tsushima Strait based on submarine cable data calibrated by direct observations is 2.4 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹). A wide range of variability occurs for the subtidal transport variation from subinertial (2–10 days) to interannual scales. While the subinertial variability is shown to arise from the atmospheric pressure disturbances, the longer period variation has been poorly understood.Mean upper circulation of the Ulleung Basin is characterized by the northward flowing East Korean Warm Current along the east coast of Korea and its meander eastward after the separation from the coast, the Offshore Branch along the coast of Japan, and the anticyclonic Ulleung Warm Eddy that forms from a meander of the East Korean Warm Current. Continuous acoustic travel-time measurements between June 1999 and June 2001 suggest five quasi-stable upper circulation patterns that persist for about 3–5 months with transitions between successive patterns occurring in a few months or days. Disappearance of the East Korean Warm Current is triggered by merging the Dok Cold Eddy, originating from the pinching-off of the meander trough, with the coastal cold water carried Southward by the North Korean Cold Current. The Ulleung Warm Eddy persisted for about 20 months in the middle of the Ulleung Basin with changes in its position and spatial scale associated with strengthening and weakening of the transport through the Korea/Tsushima Strait. The variability of upper circulation is partly related to the transport variation through the Korea/Tsushima Strait. Movements of the coastal cold water and the instability of the polar front also appear to be important factors affecting the variability.Deep circulation in the Ulleung Basin is primarily cyclonic and commonly consists of one or more cyclonic cells, and an anticyclonic cell centered near Ulleung Island. The cyclonic circulation is conjectured to be driven by a net inflow through the Ulleung Interplain Gap, which serves as a conduit for the exchange of deep waters between the Japan Basin in the northern East Sea and the Ulleung Basin. Deep currents are characterized by a short correlation scale and the predominance of mesoscale variability with periods of 20–40 days. Seasonality of deep currents is indistinct, and the coupling of upper and deep circulation has not been clarified yet.