Response to Thrift's “The future of geography”

Reviews and observations about the status of the discipline of geography, no matter how positive, invariably raise programmatic concerns. These concerns have a long history that arise from geography's struggles to find an identity that embraces its many parts and yet are consistent with the logic by which the academy partitions knowledge. Pedagogy and research historically claimed by geography is currently being reinvented and relabeled under such headings as “integrated environmental science” and “spatial science”, and these developments have the potential to change the breadth of the “geographic imagination”. Several observations about dominant explanatory perspectives and substantive domains of geographic enquiry are also provided.     

春、秋季考洲洋海水质量状况及评价方法初探

文章利用2017年11月（秋季）和2018年4月（春季）对惠州考洲洋海域开展的两个航次水环境调查数据,分析了考洲洋海域表层溶解氧（DO）、化学需氧量(COD)、无机氮(DIN)、无机磷(DIP)和石油类（OIL）等典型水质因子的水平分布和季节变化情况。结果表明,秋季溶解氧、化学需氧量、石油类分别在盐洲岛以东附近海域、考洲洋湾顶海域和盐洲岛东南海域出现高值区,而无机氮在整个考洲洋无明显区域分布差异,无机磷含量呈现考洲洋内湾到湾口逐渐递减的趋势;春季化学需氧量、无机磷均在考洲洋湾顶出现高值区域,无机氮在盐洲岛以东附近海域出现高值区,而溶解氧和石油类无明显变化。从季节变化来看,秋季考洲洋海域溶解氧、化学需氧量和石油类平均含量均比春季高;无机氮、无机磷则相反,平均含量秋季低于春季。同时,文章还分别利用单因子和综合因子方法对海水有机污染状况进行评价并对其进行比较分析,结果表明,有机污染评价指数法可充分考虑多种水质因子,更适合对考洲洋水环境质量进行评价,得到较为客观的综合评价结果。     

中南半岛近海偶极子演变过程研究

中南半岛近海偶极子结构是指在夏季与越南离岸流伴生的一对中尺度涡现象,其中气旋涡位于离岸流北侧,反气旋涡位于离岸流南侧,偶极子结构对于中南半岛近海水文要素具有重要影响。本文基于卫星高度计数据和HYCOM海洋模式的模拟结果,以2012年为例研究了该偶极子的演变过程,结果表明：偶极子结构7月出现,9月初鼎盛,10月消失;鼎盛时,两个涡旋直径均大于300km,在温跃层引起的最大位温异常可达±5℃。垂向结构上,反气旋涡呈中心对称,而气旋涡有非对称性,且影响深度大于反气旋涡。在200m以下,气旋涡有随深度增加向东倾斜的趋势,而反气旋涡有随深度增加向西偏移的趋势,但该趋势在200m层以上并不显著。对偶极子涡旋区域进行能量分析,结果表明偶极子能量主要来自于越南离岸流提供的正压和斜压能量,即越南离岸流区域是偶极子结构的主要能量源,局地风场对偶极子结构的维持也具有重要作用。能量既可以由离岸流输送给涡旋,也可以从涡旋向离岸流转化,但总体上是离岸流向涡旋提供能量。     

Spatial variation of abundant picoeukaryotes in the subtropical Kuroshio Current in winter

To understand the importance of picoeukaryotes in the biogeochemical cycle in the subtropical Kuroshio Current, a year-round survey of the hydrography and the distribution of picoeukaryotes were conducted in four oceanographic cruises from October 2012 to July 2013. In comparison with other seasons, the highest abundancy of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes, with concentrations >10⁴ cells/ml, was observed around the eastern boundary of the Kuroshio in the winter. Accordingly, the composition of picoeukaryotes in this cold season was further studied by a metabarcoding analysis of the 18S rRNA gene. The majority of picoeukaryotes comprised Alveolata, followed by Haptophyta and Stramenopiles. Their composition was diverse in the waters affected by the Kuroshio and in the offshore province. For Haptophyta, in contrast to clade A prevailing in the Kuroshio waters, clade B1, which was considered the host of uncultivated diazotrophic cyanobacterium group A (UCYN-A), appeared only in the offshore area. Similarly, in Stramenopiles, Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and MAST-1D, respectively, dominated in the Kuroshio-influenced and offshore areas. While Alveolata was the most abundant group, the distributions of all lineages were similar. The association between picoeukaryote succession and hydrographic change is yet to be fully understood. Our results will assist future studies on the community composition of picoplankton and their relationship with marine ecology in the region.     

结合有人和无人驾驶船观测以及长期定点观测计算寒潮过境引起的海水输运

高分辨率的数据对于理解近海的复杂过程以及制定有效的管理措施日益重要,特别是考虑到恶劣气象的长期效应。这种长期效应的积累可以与潮汐的长期效应一样重要。本文讨论的即是一个大气锋面过境的过程对于Vermilion Bay水输运的影响。我们的研究采用了有人船和自制的无人船作为载具来测量流速剖面。这种自制无人船造价低廉、简单实用、可控性好,可以做比有人船更精确的测量。我们采用安装在这些观测载具上的多普勒流速剖面仪在一个潮周期内反复对流速的横向和垂向断面的水通量做高分辨率的精准测量,然后与一个定点的多普勒流速剖面仪的流速做相关分析得出相关系数。利用所求相关系数把水通量的计算扩展到总共717天的定点观测时间段,以此讨论在这个期间最强的一次大气寒潮过境时产生的水输运并阐述此类过程的重要性。     

Environmental responses of jellyfish polyps as drivers of medusa populations off the coast of Namibia

Jellyfish populations in the southeastern Atlantic off the coast of Namibia have increased subsequent to the decline of small pelagic fisheries at the end of the 1960s, although the environment there has also become warmer and the waters off Walvis Bay have become richer in zooplankton in recent years. Laboratory experiments were conducted with the scyphozoan jellyfish Chrysaora fulgida to investigate the effects of food density (0, 30, 70, 100 or 150 Artemia nauplii 200 ml^?1), feeding frequency (once daily or once every third day) and water temperature (12, 16 or 20 °C) on the asexual reproduction, growth and development of polyps. The results of a generalised linear mixed-effects model reveal that all variables impacted asexual reproduction, with greater polyp production attained at higher food concentrations, increased feeding frequencies and increased temperatures. The most common mode of asexual reproduction was by lateral budding. These laboratory results suggest that polyps of C. fulgida may have proliferated off Namibia in recent times, which would contribute to increased numbers of jellyfish there.     

Benthic assemblage composition on subtidal reefs along a latitudinal gradient in Western Australia

At regional scales, the distribution of species and the structure of assemblages vary with latitude within many marine and terrestrial systems. The oligotrophic coastal waters of Western Australia (WA) support highly speciose and endemic assemblages, yet spatial patterns in benthic structure are currently poorly known. We examined benthic assemblage composition along a latitudinal gradient of 28.5–33.5°S and a depth gradient of 14–62 m, on subtidal reefs in warm-temperate WA. We surveyed benthos using a remotely triggered digital stills camera. In total, we sampled macroalgae and sessile invertebrates at 201 sites spread across four locations. Percent cover of coarse taxonomic groups and dominant species was estimated from over 2000 photoquadrat samples. We recorded significant differences in benthic assemblage composition between locations, and along depth gradients within each location. However, the magnitude of change with depth was not consistent between locations, and shifts in assemblage composition along the depth gradients were not as pronounced as expected. The percent cover of all dominant benthic groupings differed between locations, and several key taxa, such as the kelp Scytothalia dorycarpa, brown foliose macroalgae, hard corals and sponges, changed predictably along the latitudinal gradient. Our study adopted a coarse taxonomic, but assemblage-wide, approach to describing macrobenthic assemblages, and clear differences between locations and depths were detected. The surveys have provided baseline data on broad scale ecosystem structure against which to detect future ecological change.     

Depositional environment in the southern Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Sea of Japan), during the last 48 000 years

The present study is based on the sedimentological data from a piston core KCES1 off the southern Ulleung Basin margin, the East Sea (Sea of Japan). The data include sediment color (L^*), X-ray radiographs, grain size distribution and AMS¹⁴C date. Four kinds of sediments (homogeneous, laminated, crudely laminated and hybrid sediments) are identified according to the characters of the sedimentary structures that were considered to reflect changes in bottom-water oxygenation. Alternations of dark laminated/crudely laminated sediments and light homogeneous sediments represent millennial-scale variations that are possibly associated with the high-resolution changes in the East Asian monsoon (EAM). The relative contributions of the East China Sea Coastal Water (ECSCW) and the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) were likely the main reasons for the repetition of the anoxic and oxic depositional conditions in the East Sea since the last 48 ka BP. During the interstadial, the strengthen summer EAM was attributed to the expansion of the ECSCW because of more humid climate in central Asia, and then more strongly low-salinity, nutrient-enriched water was introduced into the East Sea. The ventilation of deep water was restricted and therefore the dark laminated layer deposited under the anoxic bottom water condition. During the lowest stand of sea level in the last glacial maximum (LGM), the isolated East Sea dominated by stratiˉed water masses and the euxinic depositional environment formed. The homogenous sediments have been predominating since 17.5 ka BP indicating that the TWC has intruded into the East Sea gradually with the stepwise rise of sea level and the bottom water oxygen level was high. During the late Younger Dryas (YD) period, the last dark laminated layer deposited because the ventilation of bottom water was restricted by stronger summer EAM. The TWC strengthened and the bottom water became oxic again from 10.5 ka BP.     

The value of Pacific sardine as forage fish

This paper develops a simple bioeconomic model to investigate the economic and ecological issues associated with the commercial harvest of Pacific sardines relative to their value as forage for commercially, recreationally, and ecologically important predators in the California Current ecosystem. The model was used to evaluate how changes in the net per unit value of sardines, the net per unit value of sardine predators, and the transfer efficiency of predators affect the total net value of sardines, i.e. the net value of catches and the net value from sardine predation. Given recent market conditions for sardines and their commercial predators, and transfer efficiencies derived from predation data of the 1960s, it was found that the value of commercially caught predators and the efficiency by which they convert sardines to exploitable biomass were most important in determining the viability of the sardine fishery. The values assumed for predators that are not commercially caught were of no consequence under these conditions. Taking the value of sardines as forage into account does not necessarily mean an either-or situation for the fishery. As long as there is some measure of net value from the fishery and net value from predation, both benefit society at large.     

Eddy-induced cross-shelf phytoplankton transport along the downwelling coast off Western Australia

Along the downwelling coast off Western Australia, late-autumn/early-winter chlorophyll a blooms are observed on the continental shelf south of Shark Bay (26°S), in contrast with summer blooms in the north. The late-autumn/early-winter blooms are in phase with seasonal strengthening of the Leeuwin Current and its eddy field. Anticyclonic eddies entrain the high phytoplankton biomass waters from the shelf and transport offshore into the oligotrophic, subtropical marine environment, as revealed by coalescing the finite-size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) of the surface geostrophic flow field and the satellite chlorophyll a images.