Circulation and currents in the southwestern East/Japan Sea: Overview and review

A review is made of circulation and currents in the southwestern East/Japan Sea (the Ulleung Basin), and the Korea/Tsushima Strait which is a unique conduit for surface inflow into the Ulleung Basin. The review particularly concentrates on describing some preliminary results from recent extensive measurements made after 1996. Mean flow patterns are different in the upstream and downstream regions of the Korea/Tsushima Strait. A high velocity core occurs in the mid-section in the upstream region, and splits into two cores hugging the coasts of Korea and Japan, the downstream region, after passing around Tsushima Island located in the middle of the strait. Four-year mean transport into the East/Japan Sea through the Korea/Tsushima Strait based on submarine cable data calibrated by direct observations is 2.4 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹). A wide range of variability occurs for the subtidal transport variation from subinertial (2–10 days) to interannual scales. While the subinertial variability is shown to arise from the atmospheric pressure disturbances, the longer period variation has been poorly understood.Mean upper circulation of the Ulleung Basin is characterized by the northward flowing East Korean Warm Current along the east coast of Korea and its meander eastward after the separation from the coast, the Offshore Branch along the coast of Japan, and the anticyclonic Ulleung Warm Eddy that forms from a meander of the East Korean Warm Current. Continuous acoustic travel-time measurements between June 1999 and June 2001 suggest five quasi-stable upper circulation patterns that persist for about 3–5 months with transitions between successive patterns occurring in a few months or days. Disappearance of the East Korean Warm Current is triggered by merging the Dok Cold Eddy, originating from the pinching-off of the meander trough, with the coastal cold water carried Southward by the North Korean Cold Current. The Ulleung Warm Eddy persisted for about 20 months in the middle of the Ulleung Basin with changes in its position and spatial scale associated with strengthening and weakening of the transport through the Korea/Tsushima Strait. The variability of upper circulation is partly related to the transport variation through the Korea/Tsushima Strait. Movements of the coastal cold water and the instability of the polar front also appear to be important factors affecting the variability.Deep circulation in the Ulleung Basin is primarily cyclonic and commonly consists of one or more cyclonic cells, and an anticyclonic cell centered near Ulleung Island. The cyclonic circulation is conjectured to be driven by a net inflow through the Ulleung Interplain Gap, which serves as a conduit for the exchange of deep waters between the Japan Basin in the northern East Sea and the Ulleung Basin. Deep currents are characterized by a short correlation scale and the predominance of mesoscale variability with periods of 20–40 days. Seasonality of deep currents is indistinct, and the coupling of upper and deep circulation has not been clarified yet.     

Optical water type discrimination and tuning remote sensing band-ratio algorithms: Application to retrieval of chlorophyll and Kd(490) in the Irish and Celtic Seas

This paper assesses the feasibility of applying remote sensing algorithms based on blue/green reflectance ratios to Case 2 waters. Two algorithms from the SeaDAS (NASA) image processing package, OC4v4 for surface chlorophyll concentration, Chl, and K(490) for the attenuation coefficient for downward irradiance at 490 nm, K_d(490), were investigated using an extensive set of observations from the Irish and Celtic Seas. In situ data from a profiling radiometer were used as inputs for the algorithms to avoid uncertainties in atmospheric correction procedures, and direct measurements of Chl and K_d490 and were used for validation purposes. The standard versions of the algorithms performed poorly: OC4v4 generally overestimated Chl (with a very low coefficient of determination), and K(490) progressively underestimated K_d490 for values greater than 0.3 m⁻¹. A two-step procedure for level 2 product generation was therefore devised in which the numerical coefficients of OC4v4 and K(490) were tuned for the two optical water types known to occur most frequently in this region (McKee, D., Cunningham, A., 2006. Identification and characterisation of two optical water types in the Irish Sea from in situ inherent optical properties and seawater constituents. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68, 305–316) by statistical regression on a data set of 102 stations from the Irish and Celtic Seas. The water types were distinguished by the magnitude of their normalised water leaving radiance signals at 665 nm, nL_w(665), and appropriate versions of the tuned algorithms applied to each water type. When this procedure was tested on an independent data set of 19 stations from the Bristol Channel, Chl values were recovered with an RMS error of 0.36 mg m⁻³ and K_d(490) values with an RMS error of 0.095 m⁻¹. The identification of water types from water-leaving radiance signals, and the application of band-ratio algorithms tuned for specific water types, may therefore provide a simple means of improving the quality of remote sensing products in optically complex shelf seas.     

Sea Grant in Latin America?: Adapting the US Sea Grant model of linked applied research,extension, and education to a Latin American Context—Is there a fit?

This paper explores the application of the US Sea Grant model of applied research, extension, and education to two case studies in Latin America: Coastal Ecuador and the Gulf of Fonseca. The analysis is based on a series of meetings and roundtables with in-country partners and leaders of the US Sea Grant program. We conclude that the Sea Grant model provides an institutional structure that Latin America lacks and the model's features would improve governance of marine and coastal resources through more effective linkages between coastal communities, universities, and policy/decision makers at local, national, and international levels.     

Species composition and spatial distribution of euphausiids of the yellow sea and relationships with environmental factors

We investigated species composition and spatial distribution of the euphausiid community in the Yellow Sea and identified the relationship with environmental factors (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, nitrate, phosphate, and silicate) using bimonthly data from June, 1997 to April, 1998. The environment varied during the sampling period. In warm seasons, thermocline was well developed rendering lower temperature and higher salinity and nutrient concentrations in the bottom layer. During cold seasons the water column was well mixed and no such vertical stratification was noted. Horizontal distribution of temperature, however, differed slightly between near-coast and offshore areas because of the shallow depth of the Yellow Sea, and between southern and northern areas because of the intrusion of water masses such as Yellow Sea Warm Current and Changjiang River Diluted Water. Four euphausiid species were identified:Euphausia pacifica, E. sanzoi, Pseudeuphausia sp. andStylocheron affine. E. sanzoi andS. affine were collected, just one juvenile each, from the southern area in June and December, respectively.Pseudeuphausia sp. were collected in the eastern area all the year round except June.E. pacifica occurred at the whole study area and were the predominant species, representing at least 97.6% of the euphausiid abundance. Further, the distribution pattern of the species was varied in regards to developmental stages (adult, furcilia, calyptopis, egg). From spring to fall,E. pacifica adults were abundant in the central area where the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water prevailed. Furcilia and calyptopis extended their distribution into nearly all the study area during the same period. From late fall to winter, adults were found at the near-coastal area with similar pattern for furcilia and calyptopis. The distribution pattern ofE. pacifica was consistent regarding temperature, salinity, and three nutrients during the sampling period, whereas chlorophyll a showed a different pattern according to the developmental stages. The nutrients should indirectly affect via chlorophyll a and phytoplankton concentration. With respect to these results, we presented a scenario about how the environmental factors along with the water current affect the distribution ofE. pacifica in the Yellow Sea.     

A GIS-based step-wise procedure for assessing physical exposure in fragmented archipelagos

Wind and waves are major forces affecting the geomorphology and biota in coastal areas. We present a generally applicable method for measuring and calculating fetch length, fetch direction and wave exposure. Fetch length and direction, measured by geographic information system-based methods, are used along with wind direction and wind speed data to estimate wave height and period by applying forecasting curves. The apparent power of waves approaching the shore, used as a proxy for wave exposure, is then calculated by a linear wave model. We demonstrate our method by calculating fetch lengths and wave exposure indices for five areas with varying exposure levels and types of meteorological conditions in the Finnish Archipelago Sea, situated in the northern Baltic Sea. This method is a rapid and accurate means of estimating exposure, and is especially applicable in areas with geomorphologically varying and complicated shorelines. We expect that our method will be useful in several fields, such as basic biogeographical and biodiversity research, as well as coastal land-use planning and management.     

Biomarkers of Exposure and Effects for Assessing Toxicological Risk of Endocrine Disrupters in Top Predators of the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) have the potential to alter hormone pathways that regulate reproductive processes in wildlife and fisheries. In this research the unexplored hypothesis that Mediterranean top predator species (such as large pelagic fish and marine mammals) are potentially at risk due to EDCs is investigated. In the Mediterranean environment, top predators accumulate high concentrations of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) and toxic metals, incurring high toxicological risk. Here we illustrate the need to develop sensitive biomarkers for evaluation of toxicological risk in top marine predators (Xiphias gladius, Thunnus thynnus thynnus) and non-lethal techniques, such as non-destructive biomarkers, for the hazard assessment of threatened species exposed to EDCs, such as marine mammals ( Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Delphinus delphis and Balaenoptera physalus ).