Excess CO2 and pHexcess in the Intermediate Water Layer of the Northwestern Pacific

Excess CO₂ and pH_excess showing an increase in dissolved inorganic carbon and a decrease in pH from the beginning of the industrial epoch (middle of the 19th century) until the present time have been calculated in the intermediate water layer of the northwestern Pacific and the Okhotsk Sea. It is concluded that: (1) The Kuril Basin (Okhotsk Sea) and the Bussol' Strait areas are characterized by the greatest concentrations of excess CO₂ at isopycnal surfaces due to the processes of formation and transformation of intermediate water mass. (2) The largest difference in excess CO₂ concentration between the Okhotsk Sea and the western subarctic Pacific (about 8 µmol/kg) is found at the = 27.0. (3) The difference in excess CO₂ between the western subarctic Pacific and subtropical regions is significant only in the upper part of the intermediate water layer ( = 26.7–27.0). (4) About 10% of the excess CO₂ accumulation in the subtropical north Pacific is determined by water exchange with the subarctic Pacific and the Okhotsk Sea.     

烟威渔场盐度预报及分析

本文以我国北黄海的烟威渔场为研究对象,采用优选因子场预报模式,对盐度的时空变化进行预报试验。文中对所采用的统计预报方法,作了简要介绍。对影响本海区盐度变化的显著因子及预报结果作了初步分析。预报试验表明:预报的总体平均绝对误差为0.27‰,预报相对误差在18％左右,预报误差小于0.5‰的站数占总站数的85％,预报趋势与实测资料基本一致。     

中国南极中山锚地勘测

本文介绍了南极中山锚地的选择条件,勘测实施过程及水文、气象特点,并对测量区域作了分析研究与评价,科学地确定了适合科考船抛锚的锚地,致使“雪龙”船首次在中山锚地抛锚试抛成功,结束了中山站附近海域无锚地的历史。     

A Preliminary Study of Oceanic Bomb Radiocarbon Inventory in the North Pacific during the Last Two Decades

Radiocarbon and total carbonate data were obtained near the 1973 GEOSECS stations in the North Pacific along 30°N and along 175°E between 1993 and 1994. In these stations, we estimated radiocarbon originating from atomic bomb tests using tritium, trichlorofluoromethane and silicate contents. The average penetration depth of bomb radiocarbon during the two decades has deepened from 900 m to 1300 m. Bomb radiocarbon inventories above the average value for the whole North Pacific were found widely in the western subtropical region around 30°N both in the 1970s and 1990s, and its area in the 1990s was broader than that in the 1970s. In most of the North Pacific, while the bomb radiocarbon has decreased above 25.4, the bomb radiocarbon flux below 25.4 was over 1 × 10¹² atom m^-2yr^-1 in the subtropical region around 30°N. In the tropical area south of 20°N, the bomb radiocarbon inventory below 25.4 increased from zero to over 10 × 10¹² atom m^-2 during the last three decades. These distributions suggest that the bomb radiocarbon removed from the surface is currently accumulated with bomb ¹⁴C flux of over 1 × 10¹² atom m^-2yr^-1 below 25.4 in the subtropical region, mainly by advection from the higher latitude, and that part of the accumulated bomb ¹⁴C gradually spread southward with about 30 years.     

Alkaline phosphatase activity and its relationship to inorganic phosphorus in the transition zone of the North-western African upwelling system

The enzymatic activity of alkaline phosphatase (APA) was studied in the transition zone between the African upwelling system and the open ocean waters of the Canary Islands region. This region is recurrently dominated by the presence of upwelling filaments that may transport nutrient-enriched waters out into the open ocean before nutrients become exhausted by plankton. Turnover rates by APA were generally low in the whole region, but detectable in all the measurements carried out. On average, turnover rates were higher in the upwelling stations, and APA in those waters seemed to be mainly generated by heterotrophic bacteria to supply easily assimilable organic C. APA outside the upwelling area showed an inverse hyperbolic relationship with increasing phosphate, suggesting the presence of both constitutive and Pi-inducible APA. In these offshore waters, a threshold of 0.1 μM of phosphate could be defined for the regulatory function of Pi on APA. Thus, APA in nutrient-poor waters seemed to be induced to compensate for Pi-deficiency. Turnover rates in the filaments showed basal (probably constitutive) levels, whereas they increased in the surrounding waters, where phosphate concentration presumably did not satisfy plankton P-demands. The fertilising effect of the filaments and associated cyclonic eddies extended to at least 175 km offshore, where basal alkaline phosphatase activities were still found. The magnitude of this effect depends probably on the intensity of upwelling events and the degree of recirculation of filament water back to the coastal jet.     

Management of the commons for biodiversity: lessons from the North Pacific

The North Pacific has the world's largest groundfish fisheries, with a value in excess of $1 billion annually. The North Pacific also is home to the largest population of Steller sea lions (SSL), an ancient species that is now endangered. Decline of the western stock of SSL in the 1970–1990s coincided with the US nationalization and exponential growth in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands groundfish fishery.The article treats five aspects of the competition between the fishery and protection of the endangered species. First, we analyze competition of interests in the use, management, and preservation of the North Pacific commons, including offshore and near-shore fisheries, environmental organizations, governments (federal, state, and local), and the scientific community. Second, the article compares and contrasts provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Magnuson–Stevens Act (as amended in 1996 by the Sustainable Fisheries Act).Third, we examine the regulatory environment with a focus on the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and its relationship to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. We illustrate how NMFS establishes fishery management plans and the methods, such as crafting biological opinions and environmental-impact-statements, it uses to resolve conflicts. Fourth, we investigate how the dual pressures on the agency—to increase fisheries production for the benefit of the industry and to preserve endangered marine species—have affected its culture (behavioral norms and operational codes). Then, the article explains agency changes in terms of crises, competition among affected interests, and development of new scientific knowledge.The article concludes by drawing lessons from the SSL controversy in the North Pacific which may pertain to national and global biodiversity conflicts. These concern the role of law in biodiversity protection, the role of science, and agency capacity for change.     

The Formation and Circulation of the Intermediate Water in the Japan Sea

In order to clarify the formation and circulation of the Japan/East Sea Intermediate Water (JESIW) and the Upper portion of the Japan Sea Proper Water (UJSPW), numerical experiments have been carried out using a 3-D ocean circulation model. The UJSPW is formed in the region southeast off Vladivostok between 41°N and 42°N west of 136°E. Taking the coastal orography near Vladivostok into account, the formation of the UJSPW results from the deep water convection in winter which is generated by the orchestration of fresh water supplied from the Amur River and saline water from the Tsushima Warm Current under very cold conditions. The UJSPW formed is advected by the current at depth near the bottom of the convection and penetrates into the layer below the JESIW. The origin of the JESIW is the low salinity coastal water along the Russian coast originated by the fresh water from the Amur River. The coastal low salinity water is advected by the current system in the northwestern Japan Sea and penetrates into the subsurface below the Tsushima Warm Current region forming a subsurface salinity minimum layer. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

北太平洋亚热带环流区表层水中226Ra和228Ra的分布与变化

对1999年9～10月采自北太平洋亚热带环流区的19份表层海水样品的Ra同位素分析表明。研究海域表层水中的^226Ra、^228Ra放射性比度分别介于0．67～0．92、0．08～0．30Bq／m^3之间，平均值分别为0．74、0．11Bq/m^3．^226Ra/^228Ra)A．R．活度比的变化范围为0．11～0．44，平均值为0．19．上述数值明显低于近岸海域水体的相应值，表现为典型的开阔大洋水的特征．从空间分布的特征看，研究海域Ra同位素含量与^226Ra/^228Ra)A.R.值均呈均匀分布态势．将本研究结果与历史数据进行对比后发现，本研究获得的^226Ra、^228Ra放射性比度比20世纪60～80年代得到的数据来得低，可能与水体层化作用加强导致的Ra补充量的减少以及生物生产力升高导致的Ra迁出量的增加有关．北太平洋亚热带环流区表层水中Ra同位素的时间变化与文献报道的该海域叶绿素a、硅酸盐、磷酸盐含量与初级生产力的历史变化趋势相吻合．