The spatial local accuracy of land cover datasets over the Qiangtang Plateau,High Asia

We analyzed the spatial local accuracy of land cover (LC) datasets for the Qiangtang Plateau, High Asia, incorporating 923 field sampling points and seven LC compilations including the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme Data and Information System (IGBPDIS), Global Land cover mapping at 30 m resolution (GlobeLand30), MODIS Land Cover Type product (MCD12Q1), Climate Change Initiative Land Cover (CCI-LC), Global Land Cover 2000 (GLC2000), University of Maryland (UMD), and GlobCover 2009 (Glob-Cover). We initially compared resultant similarities and differences in both area and spatial patterns and analyzed inherent relationships with data sources. We then applied a geographically weighted regression (GWR) approach to predict local accuracy variation. The results of this study reveal that distinct differences, even inverse time series trends, in LC data between CCI-LC and MCD12Q1 were present between 2001 and 2015, with the exception of category areal discordance between the seven datasets. We also show a series of evident discrepancies amongst the LC datasets sampled here in terms of spatial patterns, that is, high spatial congruence is mainly seen in the homogeneous southeastern region of the study area while a low degree of spatial congruence is widely distributed across heterogeneous northwestern and northeastern regions. The overall combined spatial accuracy of the seven LC datasets considered here is less than 70%, and the GlobeLand30 and CCI-LC datasets exhibit higher local accuracy than their counterparts, yielding maximum overall accuracy (OA) values of 77.39% and 61.43%, respectively. Finally, 5.63% of this area is characterized by both high assessment and accuracy (HH) values, mainly located in central and eastern regions of the Qiangtang Plateau, while most low accuracy regions are found in northern, northeastern, and western regions.

     

Assessment of MSC-certified fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic

This study examines the status and exploitation level of 31 northern European stocks targeted by fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as being sustainable and well managed. In the first year of certification, 11 stocks (52% of stocks with available data) were exploited above the maximum sustainable level and four stocks (16% of stocks with available data) were outside of safe biological limits. MSC states that it certifies sub-standard stocks because they will improve once they are in their program. However, after a duration of certification of one to ten years (average four years), no significant changes in fishing pressure or stock size were detected. In the last certified year with available data, seven stocks (44% of stocks with available data) were subject to overfishing and five stocks (21% of stocks with available data) were outside of safe biological limits. Certification should guarantee that fishing quotas are set correctly and are enforced. However, in 11 stocks quotas were set 20–60% above the level that fishers were taking, whereas in three stocks landings exceeded quotas by 30–50%. The study concludes that MSC should change its rules such that overfishing or unsafe stock sizes lead to immediate suspension of certification and that no certification is issued in the first place for a stock that is already in such a situation.     

An exploration for deep-sea fish sounds off Vancouver Island from the NEPTUNE Canada ocean observing system

Our understanding of the significance of sound production to the ecology of deep-sea fish communities has improved little since anatomical surveys in the 1950s first suggested that sound production is widespread among slope-water fishes. The recent implementation of cabled ocean observatory networks around the world that include passive acoustic recording instruments provides scientists an opportunity to search for evidence of deep-sea fish sounds. We examined deep-sea acoustic recordings made at the NEPTUNE Canada Barkley Canyon Axis Pod (985 m) located off the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Northeast Pacific between June 2010 and May 2011 to determine the presence of fish sounds. A subset of over 300 5-min files was examined by selecting one day each month and analyzing one file for each hour over the 24 h day. Despite the frequent occurrence of marine mammal sounds, no examples of fish sounds were identified. However, we report examples of isolated unknown sounds that might be produced by fish, invertebrates, or more likely marine mammals. This finding is in direct contrast to recent smaller studies in the Atlantic where potential fish sounds appear to be more common. A review of the literature indicates 32 species found off British Columbia that potentially produce sound could occur in depths greater than 700 m but of these only Anoplopoma fimbria and Coryphaenoides spp. have been previously reported at the site. The lack of fish sounds observed here may be directly related to the low diversity and abundance of fishes present at the Barkley Canyon site. Other contributing factors include possible masking of low amplitude biological signals by self-generated noise from the platform instrumentation and ship noise. We suggest that examination of data both from noise-reduced ocean observatories around the world and from dedicated instrument surveys designed to search for deep-sea fish sounds to provide a larger-scale, more conclusive investigation into the role, or potential lack thereof, of sound production.     

基于程函方程与三维速度模型的中国东北地区地幔过渡带接收函数研究

本文利用中国东北地区NECESSArray记录到的45505条接收函数,结合该区域最新三维速度模型,采用快速行进法求解程函方程,计算了P-S转换波相对走时,并通过共转换点叠加成像方法获得了该地区下方地幔间断面起伏情况.结果显示,在长白山—五大连池连线一带东西约300 km,南北约900 km的狭长形区域内,660-km间断面下陷幅度达20~40 km.其结构可细分为南北两部分,南部更为狭窄且与日本海沟走向一致,对应于从日本海沟俯冲的太平洋板块在地幔过渡带的滞留区;北部对应于从千岛海沟俯冲的太平洋板块在地幔过渡带的滞留区.同时,在长白山西部,存在与长白山—五大连池下陷区形状类似的南北向狭长形抬升区,660-km间断面抬升幅度约为10 km,显示俯冲太平洋板块只延伸至松辽盆地东侧;而在盆地西侧,660-km间断面的下陷区可能与该地区岩石圈拆沉有关.同时,410-km间断面在松辽盆地—渤海一带,以及长白山火山西南和东北方向存在明显的下陷区;另外,在阿巴嘎及阿尔山也有小范围的下陷区.所有这些下陷区,均与地表新生代火山活动区/拉伸区有很好的对应关系,表明这些地表构造与深部热物质上涌有关.

     

Local remineralization patterns in the mesopelagic zone of the Eastern North Atlantic, off the NW Iberian Peninsula

The short-time-scale variability of the remineralization patterns in the domain of Eastern North Atlantic Central Waters (ENACW) off the NW Iberian Peninsula is studied based on biogeochemical data (oxygen, nutrient salts, total alkalinity, pH, dissolved organic matter and fluorescence of dissolved humic substances) collected weekly between May 2001 and April 2002. The temporal variability of inorganic variables points to an intensification of remineralization during the summer and autumn, with an increase of nutrients, total inorganic carbon and fluorescence and a decrease of oxygen. During the subsequent winter mixing, there is a biogeochemical reset of the system, with lower nutrients, total inorganic carbon and fluorescence and higher oxygen. In contrast to inorganic variables, the levels of dissolved organic matter in the ENACW seem to respond to short-term events probably associated with fast sinking particles, where solubilisation of organic matter prevails over remineralization. Applying a previously published stoichiometric model, we observed a vertical fractionation of organic-matter remineralization. Although there is a preferential remineralization of proteins and P compounds in the entire domain of ENACW, the percentage was higher in the upper ENACW (σ<27.10 kg/m³) than in the lower; the percentage of N and P compounds in the oxidised organic matter was >80% for the upper ENACW and 63% for the lower. Likewise, the redissolution of calcareous structures contributes about 6% and 13% to the carbon regenerated in the upper and lower layers of ENACW, respectively.     

Wind-driven interannual variability over the northeast Pacific Ocean

Interannual variability of the sea surface height (SSH) over the northeast Pacific Ocean is hindcast with a reduced-gravity, quasi-geostrophic model that includes linear damping. The model is forced with monthly Ekman pumping fields derived from the NCEP reanalysis wind stresses. The numerical solution is compared with SSH observations derived from satellite altimeter data and gridded at a lateral resolution of 1 degree. Provided that the reduced gravity parameter is chosen appropriately, the results demonstrate that the model has significant hindcast skill over interior regions of the basin, away from continental boundaries. A damping time scale of 2 to 3 years is close to optimal, although the hindcast skill is not strongly dependent on this parameter.A simplification of the quasi-geostrophic model is considered in which Rossby waves are eliminated, yielding a Markov model driven by local Ekman pumping. The results approximately reproduce the hindcast skill of the more complete quasi-geostrophic model and indicate that the interannual SSH variability is dominated by the local response to wind forcing. There is a close correspondence the two leading empirical orthogonal modes of the local model and those of the observed SSH anomalies. The latter account for over half of the variance of the interannual signal over the region.     

Economic gains from introducing international ITQs—The case of the mackerel and herring fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic

Achieving a balance between fishing capacity and fishing opportunities is one of the major challenges in European fisheries. One way to achieve this is to introduce individual tradable quotas or similar management measures. In several mackerel and herring fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic, such systems have already been introduced on a national basis and the long term economic gains of this have been acknowledged. This paper takes this a step further and investigates the potential economic gains from introducing individual tradable quotas between countries. Overall, the results show that the gross cash flow can be improved by 21% by allowing the mackerel and herring quotas to be traded internationally in the Northeast Atlantic. This rent gain arises mainly from increased productivity by allowing tradability between areas and fleets. The analysis also shows that the Danish pelagic fleet will gain from increasing its share of mackerel and herring quotas, whereas the Irish fleets are incentivised to sell quota, if individual quotas are allowed to be traded among countries. This result is in line with the qualitative analyses that show that Irish fishermen targeting herring in the Celtic Sea are negatively oriented towards international individual tradable quotas, whereas the Danish pelagic fishermen have strong preferences for international individual tradable quotas.     

Wintertime nutrients in the North Atlantic—new approaches and implications for new production estimates

Observations of wintertime nutrient concentrations in surface waters are scarce in the temperate and subarctic North Atlantic Ocean. Three new methods of their estimation from spring or early summer observations are described and evaluated. The methods make use of a priori knowledge of the vertical distribution of oxygen saturation and empirical relationships between nutrient concentrations and oxygen saturation. A south–north increase in surface water winter nutrient concentration is observed. Winter nitrate concentrations range from very low levels of about 0.5 μmol dm⁻³ at 33°N to about 13.5 μmol dm⁻³ at 60°N. Previous estimates of winter nitrate concentrations have been overestimates by up to 50%. At the Biotrans Site (47°N, 20°W), a typical station in the temperate Northeast Atlantic, a mean winter nitrate concentration of 8 μmol dm⁻³ is estimated, compared to recently published values between 11 and 12.5 μmol dm⁻³. It is shown that most of the difference is due to a contribution of remineralised nitrate that had not been recognized in previous winter nutrient estimates. Mesoscale variation of wintertime nitrate concentrations at Biotrans are moderate (less than ±15% of the regional mean value of about 8 μmol dm⁻³). Interannual variation of the regional mean is small, too. In the available dataset, there was only 1 year with a significantly lower regional mean winter nitrate concentration (7 μmol dm⁻³), presumably due to restricted deep mixing during an atypically warm winter. The significance of winter nitrate estimates for the assessment of spring-bloom new production and the interpretation of bloom dynamics is evaluated. Applying estimates of wintertime nitrate concentrations of this study, it is found that pre-bloom new production (0.275 mol N m⁻²) at Biotrans almost equals spring-bloom new production (0.3 mol N m⁻²). Using previous estimates of wintertime nitrate yields unrealistically high estimates of pre-bloom new production (1.21–1.79 mol N m⁻²) which are inconsistent with observed levels of primary production and the seasonal development of biomass.