Swath mapping of the seafloor and its application to deep-bottom fisheries in New Caledonia

A bottom longline fishery operated in the EEZ of New Caledonia from 1988 to 1991. Fishing focused on five seamounts with summits at depths ranging from 500 to 750 m. The target species was alfonsino, Beryx splendens. As the soundings available from marine charts were not detailed enough, the fishing masters had to make their own charts in order to set the gear in the right location. A series of 11 scientific cruises devoted to a research program on alfonsino was launched in late 1991. During the first scientific cruises, several days were spent mapping the seabed to improve the existing knowledge of the topography of three seamounts by coupling the EDO echosounder depth measurements to the GPS positions. As this procedure is slow, it is applicable to limited areas or, if a wider grid is used, to large zones to locate major structures such as ridges and seamounts. The emergence of the multibeam echosounder has greatly improved seabed mapping performance. This tool seems to fit the requirement of exploratory deep-bottom fishing particularly well, as it covers large areas while providing details of the bottom. The EM 12 was used to obtain bathymetry and imagery of the SE portion of the EEZ of New Caledonia, covering an approximate area of 70,000 km² in two weeks. For depths ranging from 500 to 4,500 m, the results were impressive. They confirmed the known major features and provided greater topographical detail, revealing fine unknown structures. They also provided information on the type of substratum, information which might influence the fishing strategy. Finally, they made it possible to obtain an accurate estimate of the exploitable area which in turn led to new stock estimates.     

A map series of the Southern East Pacific Rise and its flanks, 15° S to 19° S

Four large-scale bathymetric maps of the Southern East Pacific Rise and its flanks between 15° S and 19° S display many of the unique features of this superfast spreading environment including abundant seamounts (the Rano Rahi Field), axial discontinuities, discontinuity migration, and abyssal hill variation. Along with a summary of the regional geology, these maps will provide a valuable reference for other sea-going programs on-and off-axis in this area, including the Mantle ELectromagnetic and Tomography (MELT) experiment.     

A Holistic Approach to Upwelling and Downwelling along the South-West Coast of India

An attempt has been made to develop a holistic understanding of upwelling and downwelling along the south-west coast of India. The main objective was to elucidate the roles of different forcings involved in the vertical motion along this coast. The south-west coast of India was characterized by upwelling during the south-west monsoon (May to September) and by downwelling during the north-east monsoon and winter (November to February). The average vertical velocity calculated along the south-west coast from the vertical shift of the 26?°C isotherm is 0.57?m/day during upwelling and 0.698?m/day during downwelling. It was concluded that upwelling along the south-west coast of India is driven by offshore Ekman transport due to the alongshore wind, Ekman pumping, horizontal divergence of currents and by the propagation of coastally trapped waves. Whereas downwelling along the coast is driven only by convergence of currents and the propagation of coastally trapped Kelvin waves. Along the west coast of India, the downwelling-favorable Kelvin waves come from the equator and upwelling-favorable waves come from the Gulf of Mannar region.     

Structure of Subsurface Intrusion of the Oyashio Water into the Kuroshio Extension and Formation Process of the North Pacific Intermediate Water

In order to understand the actual formation process of the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), structure of subsurface intrusions of the Oyashio water and the mixing of the Oyashio and the Kuroshio waters in and around the Kuroshio Extension (KE) were examined on the basis of a synoptic CTD observation carried out in May-June 1992. The fresh Oyashio water in the south of Hokkaido was transported into KE region through the Mixed Water Region (MWR) in the form of subsurface intrusions along two main paths. The one was along the east coast of northern Japan through the First Branch of the Oyashio (FBO) and the other along the eastern face of a warm streamer which connected KE with a warm core ring through the Second Branch of the Oyashio (SBO). The fresh Oyashio water extended southward through FBO strongly mixed with the saline NPIW transported by the Kuroshio in the south of Japan (old NPIW) in and around the warm streamer. On the other hand, the one through SBO well preserved its original properties and extended eastward beyond 150°E along KE with a form of rather narrow band. The intrusion ejected Oyashio water lens with a diameter of 50–60 km southward across KE axis and split northward into the MWR involved in the interaction of KE and a warm core ring, which were supposed to be primary processes of new NPIW formation.     

North Pacific Subtropical Mode Waters Observed in Long XBT Cross Sections along 32.5°N Line

The S/V Shoyo, of the Hydrographic Department, Japan Coast Guard, has conducted high-density expendable bathythermograph (XBT) measurements along the 32.5°N line in the North Pacific every year from 1990 to 1993 as a part of the Japanese-World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). These XBT data are analyzed here, focusing on year-to-year variations of the inventory and core layer temperature (CLT) of the North Pacific subtropical mode water (NPSTMW). Large year-to-year changes are found in the NPSTMW CLTs estimated in longitudes between 140°E and 160°E. CLT values were found of 17.4°C in 1990, 17.1°C in 1991, 17.3°C in 1992 and 17.6°C in 1993. Inspection of the wintertime westerlies over the formation area and sea surface temperature distribution revealed that this change in CLT can be qualitatively attributed to the strength of atmospheric cooling in the formation area in the previous winter. Although a large year-to-year variation of NPSTMW inventory was also found, it is hard to state any relationship between CLT and atmospheric forcing. There is a possibility that different observational seasons may affect the inventory. It has also been found that the thermocline depth in 1991 was shallower in the sea area east of 180° than in 1992 and 1993. Associated with this change, the North Pacific central mode water (NPCMW), characterized by thermostad with temperatures ranging from 14°C to 11°C, appears in the sea area east of 180° in the 1992 and 1993 cross sections. The 1993 cross section, which ranged from the Japanese coast to the west coast of North America, possessed another thermostad in the surface layer, with a temperature of about 17°C in the eastern part of the cross section, off California. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Responses of CO2 in surface water in subtropical West Pacific to El Niño event

In order to investigate the relationships between the change of TCO2, △PCO2 and SST, current, upwelling and biological activities during El Nin(～)o event in the subtropical Pacific, the responses of TCO2 and △PCO2 in surface water in the subtropical Pacific during El Nin(～)o and La Nina have been simulated using a three-dimension carbon cycle model with biota pump. The results of numerical simulations show that TCO2 in sea water increases with reducing of SST during mature phase of El Nin(～)o in the subtropical West Pacific . At the same period , the Kuroshio in this region was weakened , the zonal currents were divergence , the upwelling carried the water with high concentrations of CO2 to the sea surface , so both of TCO2 and △PCO2 in surface water were increased . But TCO2 and △pCO2 were decreased during La Nina period. These simulated results confirmed the observations in 1982/1983 , 1986/1987 ,1991/1995 and 1997/1998 El Nin(～)o events .     

雅浦-马里亚纳海沟附近海域的精细地貌特征研究

利用西太平洋地区的雅浦-马里亚纳海沟附近海域的多波束水深数据,获得了9.8°N—13.2°N、132.2°E—145°E矩形区域内的高精度水深地形图。通过对精细地貌进行研究发现,马里亚纳海沟南部的洋坡上发育有大范围的地垒、地堑型地貌,雅浦海沟北部存在明显的分段性特征,菲律宾海盆和帕里西维拉海盆内存在不同展布方向的大规模脊-槽地貌。研究结果表明此处复杂的地形地貌特征主要受板块运动的控制。最后结合已有研究成果,对该区域的地形地貌进行了分类。     

西太平洋海山区构造分区图编制及玄武岩Nd同位素填图

基于公开的地球物理、地球化学数据以及国内外航次调查积累的海底地形等资料,笔者编制了西太平洋海山区1:500万构造分区图.西太平洋海山区构造分区图包括1幅主图和3幅辅图,主图为《西太平洋海山区构造分区图》,共划分出了3个一级板块、22个二级分区块体、12个三级分区块体,3幅辅图分别为《西太平洋海山区地质构造图》、《西太平...     

北太平洋副热带模态水盐度的年代际变化

副热带模态水(Subtropical Mode Water;STMW)在气候变化中起着重要作用。本文利用全球高分辨率数值模拟结果,研究了北太平洋STMW核心层盐度(Core Layer Salinity;CLS)的年代际变化及其物理机制。结果表明,CLS存在显著的年代际变化,其空间分布则与背景流场分布特征有关。侵蚀区CLS滞后生成区CLS约1~2年,这主要是海流平流输运引起的。生成区内,STMW的季节循环一般可分为生成期(12-4月)、隔离期(5-6月)和侵蚀期(7-11月),生成期混合层盐度(Mixed Layer Salinity;MLS)决定着隔离期和侵蚀期的CLS,而MLS年代际变化则主要由同太平洋年代际涛动存在负相关性的海表面淡水通量的变化引起。