Impacts of alien ‘ecosystem engineers’ overwhelm interannual and seasonal shifts in rocky-shore community composition on Marcus Island,South Africa

The South African coastline has been invaded by numerous alien species. Rare pre-invasion (1980) and post-invasion datasets (2001 and 2012) exist for Marcus Island, a small land-tied island in Saldanha Bay, South Africa. These snapshot datasets of the island’s intertidal invertebrate community were complemented with monitoring across seasons, from 2014 to 2016. Invertebrate communities were compared among the summers of 1980, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 to assess interannual differences, while invertebrates and algae were monitored quarter-annually to assess seasonal changes. In addition, the population dynamics of the alien mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis were monitored. Differences in invertebrate communities between consecutive summers were significant but much smaller than changes induced by the arrival of alien species. Invertebrate and seaweed communities differed among years and shore zones but not among seasons, whereas species diversity differed among years, seasons and shore zones, with zones having the strongest influence. The invasion by M. galloprovincialis, and ensuing spatial and temporal variability in its recruitment, emerged as the most important factor influencing community composition, overshadowing interannual and seasonal changes. This work highlights that the impacts of alien species can be distinguished from natural variability by combining long-term monitoring with surveys at finer temporal scales. This is an important step in extending our understanding of the impacts of marine alien species.     

Tropical Cyclone Genesis Potential Index for Bay of Bengal During Peak Post-Monsoon (October-November) Season Including Atmosphere-Ocean Parameters

Several studies on tropical cyclone genesis potential index (GPI) mainly using atmospheric parameters (relative/absolute vorticity, relative humidity, vertical wind shear, potential instability, vertical velocity etc.) have been reported earlier. Though the ocean plays a vital role in the genesis and intensification of cyclones, no ocean parameter has been included in most of the studies. In this study, we have made an attempt to develop a new GPI for Bay of Bengal during peak post-monsoon (October-November) season including upper ocean heat content (UOHC) using the data for the period 1995–2015. It is found that the new GPI is better correlated with the total number of depressions, cyclones and severe cyclones (TNDC) compared with the existing GPI which was developed for the north Indian Ocean and presently used by India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi. The correlation has significantly enhanced (r=0.86:significant at >99% level) by using the first differences [year(0) –year(?1)] of the time series data. Since, the new GPI which considers atmosphere and ocean (UOHC) parameters, it appears to be more suitable for Bay of Bengal during the peak post-monsoon season.     

Upper Ocean Four-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal

A regional ocean circulation model with four-dimensional variational data assimilation scheme is configured to study the ocean state of the Indian Ocean region (65°E–95°E; 5°N–20°N) covering the Arabian Sea (AS) and Bay of Bengal (BoB). The state estimation setup uses 10 km horizontal resolution and 5 m vertical resolution in the upper ocean. The in-situ temperature and salinity, satellite-derived observations of sea surface height, and blended (in-situ and satellite-derived) observations of sea surface temperature alongwith their associated uncertainties are used for data assimilation with the regionally configured ocean model. The ocean state estimation is carried out for 61 days (1 June to 31 July 2013). The assimilated fields are closer to observations compared to other global state estimates. The mixed layer depth (MLD) of the region shows deepening during the period of assimilation with AS showing higher MLD compared to the BoB. An empirical forecast equation is derived for the prediction of MLD using the air–sea forcing variables as predictors. The surface and sub-surface (50 m) heat and salt budget tendencies of the region are also investigated. It is found that at the sub-surface, only the advection and diffusion temperature and salt tendencies are important.     

Seasonal Variability of Near-Surface Heat Budget of Selected Oceanic Areas in the North Tropical Indian Ocean

The results obtained from an Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM), the Modular Ocean Model 2.2, forced with the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data, and observational data have been utilized to document the climatological seasonal cycle of the upper ocean response in the Tropical Indian Ocean. We address the various roles played by the net surface heat flux and the local and remote ocean dynamics for the seasonal variation of near-surface heat budget in the Tropical Indian Ocean. The investigation is based in seven selected boxes in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Equatorial Indian Ocean. The changes of basin-wide heat budget of ocean process in the Arabian Sea and the Western Equatorial Indian Ocean show an annual cycle, whereas those in the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean show a semi-annual cycle. The time tendency of heat budget in the Arabian Sea depends on both the net surface heat flux and ocean dynamics while on the other hand, that in the Bay of Bengal depends mainly on the net surface flux. However, it has been found that the changes of heat budget are very different between western and eastern regional sea areas in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, respectively. This difference depends on seasonal variations of the different local wind forcing and the different ocean dynamics associated with ocean eddies and Kelvin and Rossby waves in each regional sea areas. We also discuss the comparison and the connection for the seasonal variation of near-surface heat budget among their regional sea areas. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

跨海大桥建设对胶州湾北部冬季结冰现象的影响

本文利用台站观测、卫星遥感以及专项调查等多种数据,综合分析了近年来胶州湾典型水文气象要素的变化特征及建桥前后水动力环境等的变化对冬季冰情的影响。结果显示,建桥以来冰情较重的年份冬季气温和年最低气温均处于近30年的低位,重冰期与年最低气温时段相吻合,且以跨海大桥为界,北部海湾结冰现象严重,而南部几乎无结冰。基于区域海洋水动力模型(ECOM)的模拟结果显示,跨海大桥建设可以从几个方面影响胶州湾北部海冰的生消,即大桥建设使胶州湾尤其是大桥北侧的水动力环境弱化,落潮时桥北侧水体堆积,涨潮时桥北侧向陆一侧水位减小;大桥对桥位南北1.5 km周围涨、落潮流场产生影响;流场的变化又使得悬浮物对流扩散和沉积物输运发生改变,大桥北侧局部区域水深变浅。     

台湾南湾秋末冬初水螅水母类的组成与分布

本文分析了2001年11月2～3日和12月8～10日在台湾南湾12个测站采集的表层和底层92份浮游动物样品,共鉴定水螅水母18种,其中8种是台湾周围海域的新记录.半口壮丽水母(Aglaura hemistoma)和四叶小舌水母(Liriope tetraphylla)为优势种,它们在11月和12月分别占水螅水母类总量的77％和94％以上.南湾水螅水母类的种类数和个体丰度均以12月(17种,3102×10~(-3)个/m~3)明显多于11月(6种,72×10~(-3)个/m~3).在冬季,外海高盐水团是影响水螅水母类分布的主要因素,盐度与水螅水母类多样性指数的相关关系显著,文章还比较了南湾与邻近海区水螅水母类的季节变化.     

Distribution of suspended particulate matter in the northern Bohai Bay in summer and its relation with thermocline

Field observations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Bohai Bay, China have not been widely reported. The aim of this paper is to describe the horizontal and vertical distribution of mass and volume concentrations of SPM, respectively, based on observed data at 312 stations in the northern Bohai Bay during summer of 2006. A numerical model ECOMSED coupled with a sediment transport module was also established to further discuss the mechanism of the thermocline effect on the vertical distribution of SPM. The mass concentrations of SPM exhibited high inshore values and low offshore values in the horizontal distribution; while in the vertical direction, characteristics of the volume concentration of SPM can be divided into two types: one with a sharp peak at depth of 10–15 m and another without. The peak value at the depth of the thermocline was resulted from concentrated phytoplankton. A numerical experiment further displayed that the thermocline can also prevent particles from being resuspended upward.     

胶州湾东岸滩涂环境的遥感监测

利用低潮位陆地卫星TM影像对胶州湾东岸碱厂白水分布与扩散进行监测。对研究区的子区影像在ENVI中进行增强、变换处理，提取白水、白泥分布与扩散信息，制作大比例尺影像地图，在GIS软件中计算其面积。结合实地验证和历史数据，分析表明，该污染源10多年来面积扩大了4倍，     

柘林湾表层沉积物重金属分布及污染初步评价

研究了柘林湾表层沉积物样品中7种重金属元素的质量分数及分布特征,并对其来源进行了分析。结果显示,调查海区Zn的平均质量分数为113.0μg/g±6.5μg/g、Cr为40.1μg/g±8.5μg/g、Mn为837.9μg/g±168.6μg/g、Cu为24.0μg/g±4.3μg/g、Pb为57.7μg/g±11.3μg/g、Ni为24.4μg/g±5.7μg/g、Fe为3.7%±0.4%。重金属主要来源于陆源风化产物,其质量分数反映了粤东地区的地质特点。分别以沉积物质量和香港环保署公布的标准,对柘林湾表层沉积物重金属污染进行了评估,结果表明:只有Pb在部分站位达到中度污染水平,其它重金属元素则只为轻度污染。