Chemical characteristics and estimation on the vertical flux of N, P, Si in upwelling area of Taiwan Strait

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Variability in the Canary Islands area of filament-eddy exchanges

The physical background to a suite of biological studies carried out in the Canary Islands upwelling region is presented. The area is unique in that the coastal transition zone is spanned by an archipelago of islands that shed mesoscale eddies of diameter 50–100 km into the alongshore flow. A recurrent filament and eddy system was sampled intensively to study the changing properties of waters as they are advected towards the open ocean in the filament and to investigate the exchanges between filament and eddies. The system was more complex than previously revealed. In early August, a single filament extended offshore from near Cape Juby. Two weeks later, a second filament had developed slightly farther north and extended offshore to merge with the first at 100 km offshore. The merged filament was entrained around a recurrent, topographically trapped cyclonic eddy and interacted with transient cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies shed from the island of Gran Canaria. Between the two filaments and the coast, a pair of counter-rotating eddies re-circulated water parcels for several weeks. Surface layer drifters cycled around this near-shore re-circulation several times before following convoluted paths that demonstrate significant exchange between continental shelf and open ocean waters.     

The evolution of oceanic and atmospheric anomalies in the northeast Pacific during the El Niño and La Niña events of 1995–2001

From late 1995 through early 2001, three major interannual climate events occurred in the tropical Pacific; the 1995–97 La Niña (LN), 1997–98 El Niño (EN), and 1998–2001 LN. We analyze atmospheric and upper oceanic anomalies in the northeast Pacific (NEP) during these events, and compare them to anomalies both elsewhere in the north and tropical Pacific, and to typical EN and LN anomaly patterns. The atmospheric and oceanic anomalies varied strongly on intraseasonal and interannual scales. During the 1995–97 LN and 1997–98 EN, the Northeast Pacific was dominated by negative SLP and cyclonic wind anomalies, and by upper ocean temperature and sea surface height (SSH) anomalies. The latter were positive along the North American west coast and in the NEP thermal anomaly pool (between Hawaii, Vancouver Island, and Baja California), and negative in the central north Pacific. This atmospheric/oceanic anomaly pattern is typical of EN. An eastward shift in the atmospheric teleconnection from east Asia created EN-like anomalies in the NEP during the 1995–97 LN, well before the 1997–98 EN had begun. The persistence of negative sea-level pressure (SLP) and cyclonic wind anomalies in the NEP during the 1997–98 EN intensified pre-existing upper oceanic anomalies. Atmospheric anomalies were shifted eastward during late 1996–early 1998, leading to a similar onshore shift of oceanic anomalies. This produced exceptionally strong positive upper ocean temperature and SSH anomalies along the west coast during the 1997–98 EN, and explains the unusual coastal occurrences of several species of large pelagic warm-water fishes. The growth and eastward shift of these pre-existing anomalies does not appear to have been linked to tropical Pacific EN anomalies until late 1997, when a clear atmospheric teleconnection between the two regions developed. Prior to this, remote atmospheric impacts on the NEP were primarily from east Asia. As the 1998–2001 LN developed, NEP anomalies began reversing toward the typical LN pattern. This led to predominantly negative SLP and cyclonic wind anomalies in the NEP, and upper ocean temperature and SSH anomalies that were mainly negative along the west coast and positive in the central north Pacific. The persistence of these anomalies into mid-2001, and a number of concurrent biological changes in the NEP, suggest that a decadal climate shift may have occurred in late 1998.During 1995–2001, NEP oceanic anomalies tracked the overlying atmospheric anomalies, as indicated by the maintenance of a characteristic spatial relationship between these anomalies. In particular, wind stress curl and SSH anomalies in the NEP maintained an inverse relationship that strengthened and shifted eastward toward the west coast during late 1996–early 1998. This consistent relationship indicates that anomalous Ekman transport driven by regional atmospheric forcing was an important contributor to temperature and SSH anomalies in the NEP and CCS during the 1997–98 EN. Other studies have shown that coastal propagations originating from the tropical Pacific also may have contributed to coastal NEP anomalies during this EN. Our results indicate that at least some of this coastal anomaly signal may have been generated by regional atmospheric forcing within the NEP.     

Upwelling into the thermocline of the Pacific Ocean

The established “island rule” and the recently introduced “separation formula” are combined to yield an analytical expression for the total upwelling into the thermocline in the Pacific. The combination of the two is achieved with the use of a hybrid model containing a stratified upper layer, a thick (slowly moving) homogenous intermediate layer and an inert lower layer. Both the upper and the intermediate layers are subject to diabatic cooling and heating (which need not be specified) and there is an exchange of mass between the two active layers. An attempt is made to examine the above analytical (hybrid) model numerically. Ideally, this should be done with a complete two-and-a-half layer model (with upwelling and downwelling), but such a model is much too complex for process-oriented studies (due to the required parameterization of vertical mixing). Consequently, we focus our attention on verifying that the separation formula and the island rule are consistent with each other in a much simpler, layer-and-a-half model (without upwelling). We first verified that the new “separation formula” provides a reasonable estimate of the wind-induced transport in an island-free basin. We then compare the wind-induced transport predicted by the separation formula and the island rule in an idealized basin containing an island. We show that in these idealized situations the two methods give results that are consistent with each other and the numerics. We then turned to an application of the (hybrid) two-and-a-half layer model to the Pacific where, in contrast to the idealized layer-and-a-half models (where the two methods address the same water mass), the two methods address two different water masses. While the separation formula addresses only thermocline water (σ_θ<26.20), the island rule addresses all the water down to 27.5σ_θ (i.e., both the upper and intermediate layer). This is why the application of the two methods to the Pacific gives two different results — an application of the formula gives zero warm water transport whereas an application of the island rule gives 16 Sv. Namely, the difference between the amount predicted by the island rule (16 Sv) and the amount predicted by the separation formula (zero) enters the Pacific as intermediate water and is then somehow upwelled into the thermocline. The upwelling should take place north of the southern western boundary currents separation (40°S).     

The marine ecosystem off Peru: What are the secrets of its fishery productivity and what might its future hold?

The marine ecosystem located off the coast of central and northern Peru has stood as the “world’s champion” producer, by far, of exploitable fish biomass, generally yielding more than 20 times the tonnage of fishery landings produced by other comparable regional large marine ecosystems of the world’s oceans that operate under similar dynamic contexts and are characterized by comparable, or even greater, basic primary production. Two potentially contributing aspects are discussed from a framework of interregional comparative pattern recognition: (1) the advantageous low-latitude situation that combines strong upwelling-based nutrient enrichment with low wind-induced turbulence generation and relatively extended mean “residence times” within the favorable upwelling-conditioned near-coastal habitat and (2) the cyclic “re-setting” of the system by ENSO perturbations that may tend to interrupt malignant growth of adverse self-amplifying feedback loops within the nonlinear biological dynamics of the ecosystem.There is a developing scientific consensus that one of the more probable consequences of impending global climate changes will be a general slowing of the equatorial Pacific Walker Circulation and a consequent weakening of the Pacific trade wind system. Since the upwelling-favorable winds off Peru tend to flow directly into the Pacific southeast trade winds, a question arises as to the likely effect on the upwelling-producing winds that power the productivity of the regional coastal ecosystems of the Peru–Humboldt Current zone. It is argued that the effects will in fact be decoupled to the extent that upwelling-favorable winds will actually tend to increase off Peru. Data demonstrative of this decoupling are presented. A tendency for less intense El Niño episodes in the future is also suggested. These conclusions provide a framework for posing certain imponderables as to the future character of the Peruvian marine ecosystem and of the fisheries it supports.     

Intra-seasonal and inter-annual variations in phytoplankton biomass,primary production and bacterial production at North West Cape,Western Australia: Links to the 1997–1998 El Niño event

Phytoplankton biomass, community and size structure, primary production and bacterial production were measured at shelf and continental slope sites near North West Cape, Western Australia (20.5°S–22.5°S) over two summers (October–February 1997–1998 and 1998–1999), and in April 2002. The North West Cape region is characterized by upwelling-favorable, southwesterly winds throughout the summer. Surface outcropping of upwelled water is suppressed by the geostrophic pressure gradients and warm low-density surface waters of the southward flowing Leeuwin Current. Strong El Niño (ENSO) conditions (SOI <0) prevailed through the summer of 1997–1998 which resulted in lower sea levels along the northwestern Australian coast and a weaker Leeuwin Current. La Niña conditions prevailed during the 1998–1999 summer and in April 2002. During the summer of 1997–1998, the North West Cape region was characterized by a shallower thermocline (nutricline), resulting in larger euphotic zone stocks of inorganic nitrogen and silicate over the continental slope. There was evidence for episodic intrusions of upper thermocline waters and the sub-surface chlorophyll maximum onto the outer continental shelf in 1997–1998, but not in 1998–1999. Pronounced differences in phytoplankton biomass, community size structure and productivity were observed between the summers of 1997–1998 and 1998–1999 despite general similarities in irradiance, temperature and wind stress. Phytoplankton primary production and bacterial production were 2- to 4-fold higher during the summer of 1997–1998 than in 1998–1999, while total phytoplankton standing crop increased by<2-fold. Larger phytoplankton (chiefly diatoms in the >10 μm size fraction) made significant contributions to phytoplankton standing crop and primary production during the summer of 1997–1998, but not 1998–1999. Although there were no surface signs of upwelling, primary production rates near North West Cape episodically reached levels (3–8 g C m⁻² day⁻¹) characteristic of eastern boundary Ekman upwelling zones elsewhere in the world. Bacterial production (0.006–1.2 g C m⁻² day⁻¹) ranged between 0.6 and 145 percent (median=19 percent) of concurrent primary production. The observed differences between years and within individual summers suggest that variations in the Leeuwin Current driven by seasonal or ENSO-related changes in the Indonesian throughflow region may have episodic, but significant influences on pelagic productivity along the western margin of Australia.     

长江中下游地区成矿深部动力学机制：远震层析成像证据

长江中下游成矿带是我国东部重要的矿产资源基地。前人研究认为该地区的成矿作用与中生代大规模岩浆活动密切相关,但关于成矿的深部动力学机制仍存在着分歧。本研究利用远震层析成像方法获得了研究区下方整个上地幔内的三维速度结构,采取以下措施:(1)46个固定台站和67个流动台站记录的678个远震事件的17000余条P波波形;(2)利用改进的多道互相关技术直接从波形数据中提取相对走时残差信息,提高了数据处理的精度和效率;(3)地壳校正消除地壳不均匀性的影响;(4)检测板测试最佳网格间隔,水平方向为0.5°×0.5°,垂向为50~100km,从而可以保证结果的可靠性。最终的层析成像结果表明成矿带地区下方的上地幔内存在"两高一低"的速度异常体,浅部的高速体可解释为现存的岩石圈,深部的高速体则为拆沉的岩石圈,而夹在中间的低速体为上涌的软流圈热物质发源地。我们的成像结果为成矿的拆沉模式提供了有力支持。该模式认为岩石圈的拆沉导致软流圈物质减压熔融,底侵在壳幔边界,最终爆发大规模岩浆活动和成矿作用。结果清楚地显示出拆沉的岩石圈已经下沉至上地幔底部,而且在其上方存在着明显的软流圈热物质。此外,成像结果还显示出深部的高、低速体的走向与成矿带走向基本一致,并且由南至北逐渐变浅。这些特征与成矿带的成矿阶段密切相关。但遗憾的是,成像结果无法提供软流圈物质起源的信息,有待今后进一步研究。     

Inorganic carbon dynamics during northern California coastal upwelling

Coastal upwelling events in the California Current System can transport subsurface waters with high levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to the sea surface near shore. As these waters age and are advected offshore, CO₂ levels decrease dramatically, falling well below the atmospheric concentration beyond the continental shelf break. In May 2007 we observed an upwelling event off the coast of northern California. During the upwelling event subsurface respiration along the upwelling path added ∼35 μmol kg⁻¹ of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to the water as it transited toward shore causing the waters to become undersaturated with respect to Aragonite. Within the mixed layer, pCO₂ levels were reduced by the biological uptake of DIC (up to 70%), gas exchange (up to 44%), and the addition of total alkalinity through CaCO₃ dissolution in the undersaturated waters (up to 23%). The percentage contribution of each of these processes was dependent on distance from shore. At the time of measurement, a phytoplankton bloom was just beginning to develop over the continental shelf. A box model was used to project the evolution of the water chemistry as the bloom developed. The biological utilization of available nitrate resulted in a DIC decrease of ∼200 μmol kg⁻¹, sea surface pCO₂ near ∼200 ppm, and an aragonite saturation state of ∼3. These results suggest that respiration processes along the upwelling path generally increase the acidification of the waters that are being upwelled, but once the waters reach the surface biological productivity and gas exchange reduce that acidification over time.     

Bacterial distribution and nutrient limitation in relation to different water masses in the coastal and northwestern South China Sea in late summer

In order to study heterotrophic bacterial responses to upwelling in the northern South China Sea (SCS) and the influence of the Pearl River estuarine coastal plume, two cruises were conducted to investigate the distribution of bacterial abundance (BA) in September-October 2004 and 2005, along with measurements of inorganic nutrients, particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC and DOC) in 2004. Surface BA was 10±2×10⁸ cells l⁻¹ near the Pearl River estuary and 6±1×10⁸ cells l⁻¹ in oligotrophic offshore waters of the SCS in both 2004 and 2005. In contrast, BA was 15±3×10⁸ cells l⁻¹ in western coastal waters during the upwelling period in 2004, and decreased to 10±2×10⁸ cells l⁻¹ in 2005 when upwelling was absent, indicating that upwelling exerted a significant influence on BA (p<0.05). Nutrient addition experiments were conducted and showed that phosphorus availability limited bacterial growth in coastal upwelled waters and near the Pearl River estuary, while bacteria in offshore waters were mainly C limited. The upwelled waters brought up considerable amounts of nutrients to the surface (e.g. DOC ∼70 μM, DIN ∼4 μM and PO₄ ∼0.1 μM). However, P addition increased BA and bacterial production (BP) by 20±5% and 30±5%, respectively, in the upwelled water, which was higher than those near the Pearl River estuary (2±1% and 20±3%, respectively) (p<0.05). In the upwelled waters, phosphorus was low relative to nitrogen, which resulted in a high N:P ratio of 40:1 at the surface and hence potential P deficiency in bacteria. Consequently, there was a higher increase in BP in response to a PO₄ addition.     

南海东部海盆扩张过程的数值模拟

南海的形成演化一直是国内外关注的热点之一,南海的扩张发生在早渐新世-早中新世,并且在南海的扩张中至少包括一次洋脊跃迁.本文采用上升离散地幔流和热对流耦合模型模拟了南海东部海盆扩张、洋中脊跃迁和扩张停止后岩石圈的热结构演化和岩浆熔融过程.数值模拟结果表明,洋中脊跃迁是南海扩张中的一个重要的过程,由于洋脊跃迁使得在两洋脊之间形成一个部分熔融岩浆区,岩浆部分熔融的存在使洋脊之间海底火山分布也相对较多以及地形相对较高,同时造成南侧的洋脊两侧地形以及海山都分布不对称的现象,这反过来也能论证跃迁模型的可行性.