Estimating the geostrophic velocity obtained by HF radar observations in the upstream area of the Kuroshio

A method to extract geostrophic current in the daily mean HF radar data in the Kuroshio upstream region is established by comparison with geostrophic velocity determined from the along-track altimetry data. The estimated Ekman current in the HF velocity is 1.2% (1.5%) and 48° (38°)-clockwise rotated with respect to the daily mean wind in (outside) the Kuroshio. Furthermore, additional temporal smoothing is found necessary to remove residual ageostrophic currents such as the inertial oscillation. After removal of the ageostrophic components, the HF geostrophic velocity agrees well with that from the altimetry data with rms difference 0.14 (0.12) m/s in (outside) the Kuroshio.     

Changes in soils and vegetation in a Mediterranean coastal salt marsh impacted by human activities

This paper reports changes in vegetation distribution and species cover in relation to soil factors and hydrology in a semiarid Mediterranean salt marsh adjacent to the Mar Menor saline lagoon. Species cover, soil salinity, and the groundwater level were monitored between 1991 and 1993 and between 2002 and 2004, and total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrates, ammonium and exchangeable phosphorus were measured in the soils in both study periods. In addition, three soil profiles were described in August 1992 and August 2004. The results indicate an elevation of the water table throughout the 13-year period, which was attributable to water flowing from areas with intensive agriculture. Flooding increased and soil salinity dropped in the most saline sites and increased in the least saline ones. The morphology of the soil profiles reflected the increase in flooding periods, due to the appearance of a greyer matrix in the deeper horizons and a more diffuse pattern of Fe mottles. Following these environmental changes, Sarcocornia fruticosa, Phragmites australis and Juncus maritimus strongly expanded at the wettest sites, which led to the disappearance of the original zonation pattern. The cover of Limonium delicatulum, in turn, decreased with the increase in moisture but increased following the increase in salinity. Changes in soil nutrients were only very evident in the sandy soils of the beach, probably due to the influence of organic debris deposited on the shoreline by the storms and due to the strong increase in the colonisation of this habitat by perennial species. According to the results obtained, control measures are needed in order to preserve habitat diversity in this and other salt marshes of this area. Monitoring of the vegetation distribution could be a useful tool to identify environmental impacts, in order to implement remedial actions.     

In situ and satellite observations of the eastward migration of the Western Alboran Sea Gyre

During October 2003 an intensive oceanographic survey (BIOMEGA) was carried out in the Alboran Sea, coinciding with a migration event of the Western Alboran Sea Gyre (WAG). The observations gathered during that cruise constitute the first field evidence of a migrated stage of the WAG. In this work we present the main differences between the 3D hydrodynamic fields observed during BIOMEGA and those corresponding to a WAG located at its usual position. The migration of the gyre was followed by satellite (altimetry and sea surface temperature) imagery. The causes of the gyre migration are explored in terms of the quasi-geostrophic tendency equation, in particular of the dynamics governing scales larger than the Rossby radius of deformation. It is shown that the steady state gyre must be almost equivalent barotropic and that the key process to break down the stationarity would be a density advection at gyre scale. The mechanisms to explain the migration of the WAG proposed by previous authors are discussed in light of the explanation proposed in this work.     

Steady Response of a Ventilated Thermocline to Enhanced Ekman Pumping

The steady response of the ventilated thermocline to an increase in Ekman pumping is investigated, focusing on the effect of the mixed layer depth distribution on the subsurface density anomaly. We consider only the subtropical gyre, and the mixed layer is assumed to be deep in the northwest and shallow elsewhere with a narrow transition zone separating the deep and shallow mixed layer regions. At the intersection of this narrow transition zone and the outcrop line, low potential vorticity fluid is subducted into and ventilates the thermocline. In such a situation, an enhancement of the Ekman pumping confined to the northern subtropical gyre leads to pronounced subsurface cold anomalies in the southern subtropics, which is free of anomalous forcing. These density anomalies are much greater than those that occur when either the mixed layer depth is zonally uniform or the Ekman pumping is enhanced in the whole subtropical gyre. They are caused by anomalous changes in the trajectory of the low potential vorticity fluid in response to anomalous Sverdrup flow. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

海冰板的环形屈曲的压缩破坏

在轴对称条件下，给出海冰板的环向屈曲面临载荷，从细观力学的观点分析了微裂纹开裂的条件，扩展方向并给出绕海洋平台柱腿冰的损伤区的尺度。所给出的临界半径是一个与冰材料力学特征，冰的微结构参数一海洋平台柱腿半径相关的特征参数。对现场所观察和测量的结构给出了解释和定量分析。     

南海北部海区上层水体平均声速场的变化

对所收集到的南海北部海区的温度、盐度和深度历史资料进行了声速的计算、统计与分析,结果表明该海区上层水体的平均声速场有较明显的年际变化:表层声速的平面分布显示出沿岸水与外海水强弱交替变化的特征,声速等值线的走向几乎与岸线平行,等声速线的值自近岸向外海增加,大陆架外缘海区声速的水平梯度较大;下层声速的分布以环流和水体共同作用的形式出现,50m层声速平面分布的趋势除冬季与表层稍为相似外,其余季节与表层有明显的差别,春、夏季节50m层声速自西向东增加,而秋季与其表层分布相反,自近岸向外海减小;声速的垂直分布受海水升温与降温的影响显著,春、夏季表层海水升温,海表声速最大,声速自海表随深度的增加而减小;秋、冬季表层附近水层降温,声速稍偏低,普遍出现正梯度现象,最大声速移至表层以下的水层,这个深度随季节的改变而改变,随海区的不同而不同.该海区的平均声速有年波动现象,表层波幅最大,随深度的增加波幅变小,至100m水层其波动的位相几乎与表层相反.     

解决山东水资源短缺的对策

分析了山东省水资源现状和存在的主要问题，针对山东省水资源的严重短缺，提出了在传统用水、治水的基础上，实施人工增雨工程，直接利用海水和海水淡化与节约用水，建立节水型社会，调整水源结构，更新用水观念，开发新水源，综合用水，综合治水的路子，只有这样才能长久解决水危机。     

黄、东海海域水团发育对底质沉积物分布的影响

通过对黄、东海海域底质沉积物中的细粒级粘土矿物组合特征和全粒级碳酸盐含量分析、对比上覆水团和悬浮体资料，探讨研究区水团发育消长对底质沉积物分布的影响作用。结果表明研究区可以划分为长江冲淡水影响的长江型物质沉积区；黄海水影响的黄河型物质沉积区和黑潮水以及东海次表层水影响的残留型物质沉积区。而水团发育消长可直接影响下伏底质的分布特征。黄河型物质沉积区与残留型物质沉积区的分界相应于黄海冷水向东南扩展与黑潮次中层混合水向陆架爬升互为消长的长期综合平衡位置，而黄海冷水向东南的扩展范围代表着黄河物质在陆架向东南扩展沉积的最大范围．     

重力异常垂向一阶导数的一种简便算法

利用拉格朗日插值导出了重力异常垂向一阶导数的计算公式，给出了地面以及地面之上不同高度的求导系数。该公式可以计算地面上的重力垂向一阶导数，还可以直接计算地面之上任意高度上的垂向一阶导数。鉴于该公式除系数不同外，与上延公式完全相同，因此，程序设计尤为简单。使用本公式对模型数据和实际资料进行了处理，证明了本算法的实用性。     

Freshening of the Intermediate Waters in the Northern South China Sea over the PastSix Decades

The properties of salinity in the South China Sea (SCS), a significant marginal sea connecting the Pacific andIndian Oceans, are greatly influenced by the transport of fresh water flux between the two oceans. However, the long-termchanges in the intermediate water in the SCS have not been thoroughly studied due to limited data, particularly in relationto its thermodynamic variations. This study utilized reanalysis data products to identify a 60-year trend of freshening in theintermediate waters of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), accompanied by an expansion of low-salinity water. Thestudy also constructed salinity budget terms, including advection and entrainment processes, and conducted an analysis ofthe salinity budget to understand the impacts of external and internal dynamic processes on the freshening trend of theintermediate water in the NSCS. The analysis revealed that the freshening in the northwest Pacific Ocean and theintensification of intrusion through the Luzon Strait at intermediate levels are the primary drivers of the salinity changes inthe NSCS. Additionally, a weakened trend in the intensity of vertical entrainment also contributes to the freshening in theNSCS. This study offers new insights into the understanding of regional deep sea changes in response to variations in boththermodynamics and oceanic dynamic processes.