WEST: A northern California study of the role of wind-driven transport in the productivity of coastal plankton communities

The “Wind Events and Shelf Transport” (WEST) program was an interdisciplinary study of coastal upwelling off northern California in 2000–03. WEST was comprised of modeling and field observations. The primary goal of WEST was to better describe and understand the competing influences of wind forcing on planktonic productivity in coastal waters. While increased upwelling-favorable winds lead to increased nutrient supply, they also result in reduced light exposure due to deeper surface mixed layers and increased advective loss of plankton from coastal waters. The key to understanding high levels of productivity, amidst these competing responses to wind forcing, is the temporal and spatial structure of upwelling. Temporal fluctuations and spatial patterns allow strong upwelling that favors nutrient delivery to be juxtaposed with less energetic conditions that favor stratification and plankton blooms. Observations of winds, ocean circulation, nutrients, phytoplankton and zooplankton off Bodega Bay and Point Reyes (38°N) were combined with model studies of winds, circulation and productivity. This overview of the WEST program provides an introduction to the WEST special issue of Deep-Sea Research, including the motivation for WEST, a summary of study components, an integrative synthesis of major research results to-date, and background on conditions during field studies in May–June 2001 (the upwelling period on which this special issue is focused).     

Larval fish assemblages in nearshore coastal waters off central Chile: temporal and spatial patterns

In this study we identified spatial and temporal patterns in the distribution and abundance of larval stages of several fish species in nearshore waters off central Chile. Larvae were sampled monthly at two close (20 km apart) but contrasting localities, El Quisco and Las Cruces. Surveys corresponded to standard plankton tows stratified according to bathymetry and distance from shore. Our results indicate that at both localities: (1) there is a seasonal reproductive pattern for most of the species studied; (2) there is a seasonal-related change in larval species composition and abundance, with austral Winter–Spring being the time of greatest diversity; (3) larval stages of several species that, as adults occupy intertidal, estuarine–riverine, subtidal, benthic-demersal, epipelagic or mesopelagic habitats, are found within these coastal environments; (4) there is a distinctive cross-shelf pattern of larval distribution, which seems to correspond, at least for the intertidal species, with the shallower (<30 m depth) portion of area surveyed; and (5) there is a coupling between the patterns of distribution and abundance of the entire ichthyoplankton assemblage with short-term physical features such as wind forcing, Ekman transport, and local currents. Our findings suggest that both the specific composition as well as the abundance of larval fish species varies spatially and temporally and that this variability may result from the interaction of physical and biological factors at different scales.     

2006年夏季粤东至闽南近岸海域上升流的特征

利用2006年夏季粤东至闽南近岸海域海水的实测温度、盐度资料和海表温度、叶绿素0含量的卫星遥感资料,分析了该海域的上升流现象．结果表明：上升流区水体具有低温、高盐特征,其中心区域位于汕头至东山一带近岸海域．在汕头以西海域,外海深层低温高盐水沿海底地形向岸爬升形成上升流．汕头以东近岸海域的上升流为爬升至惠来近岸的外海水随沿岸流向东北方向运动,并在各地沿海底地形爬升所致．研究海域上升流区的水体属同一来源,均来自汕头西南外海．汕头以东近岸海域的上升流强度大于汕头以西,水温低于23．0℃、盐度高于34．00的外海水仅爬升至汕头以西近岸海表以下25m左右,但可出现在汕头以东近岸10m以浅海域．以研究海域海表温度低于27．5℃的沿岸低温区的面积来反映上升流的强度,通过对海表温度遥感数据的分析可知：7月初至7月中旬和7月28日至8月上旬,低温区域面积较大且较为稳定,上升流强度较大;7月19—27日期间和8月中旬以后,低温区域面积较小或短暂消失,上升流强度较弱．该上升流在2006年7—8月期间经历了强一弱-强．弱的短期变化过程．     

Recruitment of coastal fishes and oceanographic variability in central California

Recruitment of pelagic larval fishes to the nearshore environment is dependent on a suite of biological and physical processes operating at many spatial and temporal scales. Nearshore circulation processes associated with coastal upwelling are widely upheld as major determinants of year class strength for many rockfishes (Sebastes spp.), but the mechanism by which these processes drive recruitment is largely unknown. We used Standard Monitoring Units for the Recruitment of Fishes (SMURFs) to monitor recruitment of two rockfish complexes (Sebastes spp.) and cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) from March to September of 2004 and 2005 at 3 sites along the central California coast. We examined the relationship between recruitment of these fishes and measurements of oceanographic variability associated with upwelling dynamics, including in situ water temperature, AVHRR sea surface temperature, the Bakun upwelling index, and an index of alongshore surface water transport. We found that rockfish comprising the KCGB complex (Sebastes atrovirens, Sebastes caurinus, Sebastes carnatus, Sebastes chrysomelas) recruit during early summer, while fishes of the BYO complex (Sebastes melanops, Sebastes flavidus, Sebastes serranoides), as well as cabezon recruit during late summer. Our results provide limited support for an association between the arrival of juvenile pelagic rockfish and cabezon to the nearshore environment and physical processes related to upwelling and relaxation. Beyond the limitations of our bimonthly sampling scheme, the lack of a clear pattern may be related to the near absence of upwelling–relaxation cycles along this stretch of coast during these two study periods. Moreover, the settlement and recruitment of nearshore fishes may be closely tied to processes occurring earlier in the larval stage.     

Use of particle-size data to predict potential pelagic-fish yields of some southern African areas

A particle-size spectrum model is used to estimate standing stocks of some pelagic fish from measurements of phytoplankton chlorophyll in two exploited regions in southern Africa (southern Benguela and off South West Africa/Namibia) and in two unexploited regions (the Agulhas Bank and off the eastern Cape Province). The model is based on the assumption that equal biomasses occur in logarithmically equal size classes in the pelagic marine environment. Phytoplankton, with an equivalent spherical diameter ranging from 1 to 128 μm, occupy 21 size classes on the logarithmic scale. Two different size ranges are assumed for some commercial, pelagic fish species, equivalent to exploitation with two different purse-seine mesh sizes. A mesh of 12,7 mm would catch 8 size classes of pilchard, horse mackerel and anchovy whereas a mesh of 32 mm would catch only 3,3 size classes of pilchard and horse mackerel. From the model, the potential biomass of these commercial pelagic fish is estimated, after allowing for the presence of other commercial and non-commercial fish and other taxa in the exploited size range. Total pelagic fish production is estimated by assuming constant turnover rates of 1·y^?1 and 1,5·y^?1 when exploited with 32 and 12,7 mm mesh nets respectively. Consideration of the maximum and mean reported catches in the exploited areas indicates that only some 25 per cent of pelagic fish production is exploitable by man. On this basis, the unexploited Agulhas Bank region may yield some 400 000 metric tons (wet) of pelagic fish of the species considered, and the East Coast region some 90 000 tons. Exploitation in these regions cannot be recommended, because the Agulhas Bank is an important spawning ground for many pelagic species, and the fish in both regions probably act as a reserve buffer for the heavily exploited pelagic resource of the Western Cape.     

拉脊山-化隆变质核杂岩构造及其隆升机制探讨

中祁连拉脊山、化隆地区的变质核杂岩是由韧性变形的太古宙、元古宙化隆群变质岩系组成核; 由脆-韧性变形和经受了低压变质的中、上寒武统和岩体组成中间层; 由脆性变形和未变质的下白垩统组成盖层.变质核杂岩的组成与结构显示了对称伸展和隆升的特征.23~ 32Ma是快速隆升的时期.主剥离断层剪切位移量约25~ 27km, 并根据矿物对计算, 变质核杂岩的伸展变质温度约625~ 630℃, 变质深度约20km, 变质压力约为0.63GPa, 属偏低压型区域热流变质作用.从青藏高原热壳、热幔、厚壳的演化历史及构造隆升活动来看, 认为拉脊山、化隆变质核杂岩是地幔热隆引起地壳伸展的典型实例, 是研究青藏高原岩石圈结构和高原隆升的重要窗口.      

Strong CO2 outgassing from high nutrient low chlorophyll coastal waters off central Chile (30°S): The role of dissolved iron

Carbonate system parameters (pH and alkalinity) were used to estimate the coastal water CO₂ fluxes off central Chile (30°S) during September 2007. Coastal waters rich in nitrate and silicate were strongly CO₂ supersaturated and normally poor in chlorophyll a. MODIS satellite chlorophyll a data suggest that phytoplankton biomass remained particularly low during September 2007 although coastal waters were highly fertilized with nitrate and silicate. The phytoplankton gross primary productivity in macronutrient-rich waters was very low with the exception of shallow waters (e.g. within or near bays). Several iron-enrichment bottle experiments show that fCO₂ rapidly decreases during iron-enrichment treatments compared to controls. This suggests that iron limitation of phytoplankton growth (mainly diatoms) plays a role in maintaining high-CO₂ outgassing by preventing rapid interception of upwelled CO₂.     

珠江口以西陆架海域环流研究Ⅱ.

本文讨论了珠江口以西陆架海域夏季(6—9月)的上升流现象,文中选用了部分水文断面和温度递减量的图解,讨论了该海域上升流的影响范围、强度和位置及其特征。     

Spatio‐temporal variability of zooplankton biomass and environmental control in the Northern Benguela Upwelling System: field investigations and model simulation

Spatial and temporal distribution patterns of zooplankton are highly variable in the Northern Benguela Upwelling System. We studied the distribution of zooplankton (size class ≥ 0.33 mm) and used field data from four cruises that took place between March 2008 and February 2011, as well as simulation results of a regional ecosystem model. Remotely sensed sea surface temperatures (SST) and surface chlorophyll concentrations were analysed to investigate environmental influences on zooplankton biomass. The Intense Benguela Upwelling Index showed a distinct seasonal signal throughout the years and the highest upwelling peaks in August/September. Even though surface chlorophyll concentrations were very variable throughout the year, the highest concentrations were always detected in September, following the upwelling of nutrient‐rich water. In field catches, zooplankton biomass concentration in the upper 200 m was highest above the outer shelf and shelf‐break in December 2010 and February 2011, i.e. 6 months after the upwelling peaks. In contrast, zooplankton biomass simulated by the model in the surface water was highest in September. In March/April, biomass maxima were typically measured in the field at intermediate water depths, but the vertical distribution was also affected by extensive oxygen minimum zones. The ecosystem model reproduced this vertical pattern. Although general trends were similar, simulation data of zooplankton standing stocks overestimated the field data by a factor of 3. In upwelling systems, food webs are generally considered to be short and dominated by large cells. However, our field data indicate more small‐sized zooplankton organisms above the shelf than offshore.