The use of fractal geometry to determine the impact of inlet migration on the dynamics of a seagrass landscape

The use of fractal geometry to evaluate seagrass scaling behavior and the persistence of seagrass landscape patterns in relation to a disturbance is presented in this paper.Ria Formosa is a dynamic barrier-island system with a migrating inlet that creates a cyclic disturbance in a seagrass landscape. Seagrass patches which develop in the intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of Ria Formosa were digitized from a temporal sequence of aerial photographs, from 1980 to 1998. The methodology used to evaluate seagrass scaling behavior was proposed by Meltzer and Hastings (1992), and relates the frequency distribution of patch size with the existence of patch size-related patterns. The Hurst exponent was calculated to assess the temporal persistence of the seagrass landscape. Univariate regression was used to investigate relations between temporal persistence and disturbance. The existence of patch size-related patterns was identified for all years suggesting shifts in generating processes occurring at different domains of scales in the seagrass landscape. The results enforces the idea that it is important to recognize the existence of diverse processes occurring at different domains of scales and, emphasizes the importance of evaluating issues of temporal and spatial scale while trying to understand changes in seagrass landscapes. The Hurst exponent estimates show that although the migration and relocation of the inlet affected this system the evolutionary trajectory of the seagrass landscape is persistent, i.e., the patch dynamics observed is stable. Furthermore, persistence values were different for differently sized patches, small patches having lower persistence then larger patches.     

Single particle analysis of oceanic suspended matter during the SEEDS II iron fertilization experiment

Suspended particles collected from surface seawater during the SEEDS II (Subarctic Iron Experiment for Ecosystem and Dynamics Study II) experiment were analyzed individually using an electron probe X-ray micro analyzer and characterized by size and elemental composition. Their numbers, relative abundances, and relative particle volume all showed clear differences between samples collected inside vs. outside the phytoplankton bloom that developed following the addition of iron. Throughout the study, Si-rich, Ca-rich and Organic particles were dominant and their number increased inside the fertilized patch; these particles accounted for 21%, 13% and 58% of the particles examined, respectively. Si-rich or Ca-rich particles commonly consisted of fragments of diatom frustules and coccolithophorids. There was consistently greater percentage of Ca-rich particles and lower percentage of Si-rich particles inside the patch than outside of it in number, but both types of these particles apparently occupied a larger volume inside the patch than outside of it. Organic particles, that showed having peaks in smaller diameter particles, increased apparently inside the patch with time after iron fertilization. The Organic particles had a more diverse mixture of both bio-related and crustal trace elements than the other types of particles. These results suggest that the increase in suspended particles following the iron enrichment was due to a combination of detrital material and live phytoplankton.     

Bottom water circulation in Cascadia Basin

A combination of beta spiral and minimum length inverse methods, along with a compilation of historical and recent high-resolution CTD data, are used to produce a quantitative estimate of the subthermocline circulation in Cascadia Basin. Flow in the North Pacific Deep Water, from 900-1900 m, is characterized by a basin-scale anticyclonic gyre. Below 2000 m, two water masses are present within the basin interior, distinguished by different potential temperature-salinity lines. These water masses, referred to as Cascadia Basin Bottom Water (CBBW) and Cascadia Basin Deep Water (CBDW), are separated by a transition zone at about 2400 m depth. Below the depth where it freely communicates with the broader North Pacific, Cascadia Basin is renewed by northward flow through deep gaps in the Blanco Fracture Zone that feeds the lower limb of a vertical circulation cell within the CBBW. Lower CBBW gradually warms and returns to the south at lighter density. Isopycnal layer renewal times, based on combined lateral and diapycnal advective fluxes, increase upwards from the bottom. The densest layer, existing in the southeast quadrant of the basin below 2850 m, has an advective flushing time of 0.6 years. The total volume flushing time for the entire CBBW is 2.4 years, corresponding to an average water parcel residence time of 4.7 years. Geothermal heating at the Cascadia Basin seafloor produces a characteristic bottom-intensified temperature anomaly and plays an important role in the conversion of cold bottom water to lighter density within the CBBW. Although covering only about 0.05% of the global seafloor, the combined effects of bottom heat flux and diapycnal mixing within Cascadia Basin provide about 2-3% of the total required global input to the upward branch of the global thermohaline circulation.     

Water masses and currents of deep circulation southwest of the Shatsky Rise in the western North Pacific

We conducted full-depth hydrographic observations in the southwestern region of the Northwest Pacific Basin in September 2004 and November 2005. Deep-circulation currents crossed the observation line between the East Mariana Ridge and the Shatsky Rise, carrying Lower Circumpolar Deep Water westward in the lower deep layer (θ<1.2 °C) and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) and North Pacific Deep Water (NPDW) eastward in the upper deep layer (1.3–2.2 °C). In the lower deep layer at depths greater than approximately 3500 m, the eastern branch current of the deep circulation was located south of the Shatsky Rise at 30°24′–30°59′N with volume transport of 3.9 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³ s⁻¹) in 2004 and at 30°06′–31°15′N with 1.6 Sv in 2005. The western branch current of the deep circulation was located north of the Ogasawara Plateau at 26°27′–27°03′N with almost 2.1 Sv in 2004 and at 26°27′–26°45′N with 2.7 Sv in 2005. Integrating past and present results, volume transport southwest of the Shatsky Rise is concluded to be a little less than 4 Sv for the eastern branch current and a little more than 2 Sv for the western branch current. In the upper deep layer at depths of approximately 2000–3500 m, UCDW and NPDW, characterized by high and low dissolved oxygen, respectively, were carried eastward at the observation line by the return flow of the deep circulation composing meridional overturning circulation. UCDW was confined between the East Mariana Ridge and the Ogasawara Plateau (22°03′–25°33′N) in 2004, whereas it extended to 26°45′N north of the Ogasawara Plateau in 2005. NPDW existed over the foot and slope of the Shatsky Rise from 29°48′N in 2004 and 30°06′N in 2005 to at least 32°30′N at the top of the Shatsky Rise. Volume transport of UCDW was estimated to be 4.6 Sv in 2004, whereas that of NPDW was 1.4 Sv in 2004 and 2.6 Sv in 2005, although the values for NPDW may be slightly underestimated, because they do not include the component north of the top of the Shatsky Rise. Volume transport of UCDW and NPDW southwest of the Shatsky Rise is concluded to be approximately 5 and 3 Sv, respectively. The pathways of UCDW and NPDW are new findings and suggest a correction for the past view of the deep circulation in the Pacific Ocean.     

Influence of non-photosynthetic pigments on light absorption and quantum yield of photosynthesis in the western equatorial Pacific and the Subarctic North Pacific

Regional variations in the contribution of non-photosynthetic pigments (ā _np^*) to the total light absorption of phytoplankton (ā _ph^*) and its influence on the maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis (φ _m) were investigated. In the western equatorial Pacific, the surface ā _np^* : ā _ph^* ratio was higher in the western warm pool than that in the upwelling region. This difference appears to be attributable to severe nitrate depletion and higher percentage of prokaryotes, which can accumulate very high concentrations of zeaxanthin in the western warm pool. In the subarctic North Pacific, the ā _np^* : ā _ph^* ratio was expected to be higher in the Alaskan Gyre where the thermocline is sharper and iron limitation may possibly be more severe than in the Western Subarctic Gyre. However, the ratio was actually higher in the Western Subarctic Gyre, contradictory to our expectations. This east-west variation appears to be attributable to changes in the taxonomic composition; cyanobacteria were more abundant in the Western Subarctic Gyre. The values of ā _np^* : ā _ph^* and its vertical variations were relatively small in the subarctic North Pacific compared to those in the western equatorial Pacific. These inter-regional variations appear to be attributable to the lower solar radiation intensity, smaller percentage of cyanobacteria, and relatively strong vertical mixing in the subarctic North Pacific. The spatial variations in ā _np^* : ā _ph^* significantly influence φ _m. In comparison with φ _m based on the total light absorption (φ _{m ph}), the values corrected for the contribution of non-photosynthetic pigments (φ _{m ps}) showed an increase in both the western equatorial Pacific and the subarctic North Pacific.     

西北太平洋海气界面热通量时空分布特征研究

基于第三版本HOAPs (Hamburg Ocean Atmosphere Parameters and Fluxes from Satellite Data)海表面温度、潜热通量、感热通量、海表面空气比湿以及海表面风场5个参量的18 a(1988～2005年)逐月平均资料,利用经验正交函数和奇异值分解方法分析了异常潜热和感热通量场在西北太平洋的时空分布特征及造成这种分布的主要影响因素.EOF的分析结果表明,异常潜热通量场主要体现为第一第二两个模态的变化,第一模态显示整个海域呈同相变化且在时间上呈准年周期变化,第二模态则描述了分别位于10°N,25°N和40°N的3个极值中心并伴随多年振荡,由因子载荷分布可知热带太平洋是第二模态的行为中心,因此该模态可能与ENSO事件相关.异常感热通量场则主要表现为第一模态的变化,在时间上呈准年周期变化并伴随有多年时间尺度的振荡.奇异值分解方法的分析结果表明异常海表面风场是异常潜热和感热通量场时空变化的重要影响因素.     

热带西太平洋潜流模拟:(Ⅱ)潜流结构与输运及其季节变化

通过分析积分30 a的准全球HYCOM(HYbrid Coordinate Occan Model)模式结果,研究了热带西太平洋潜流结构与输运及其季节变化.在年平均状态下,新几内亚沿岸潜流流核位于约175 m、2.8°S附近,最大流速超过45 cm/s,约110 km宽;棉兰老潜流流核位于离岸处,约400～800 m深度、127.5°～128.5°E范围,最大速度超过3 cm/s.在季节时间尺度上,新几内亚沿岸潜流流核位置比较稳定,海流强度与体积输运表现出夏秋季强、冬春季弱的季节变化特征;棉兰老潜流流核位置、流速强度都具有较大的时空变化特征,棉兰老潜流的体积输运约2.5～11.5Sv,其季节变化规律不够明显,2～7月份,体积输运较弱,8～1月份,体积输运较强.     

澳大利亚夏季大雪与南极海冰三个气候开关

通过对澳大利亚气温资料和环南极海冰资料对比验证,我们发现澳大利亚夏季大雪与对面南极大陆海冰增加在时间上有一一对应关系.我们在2003年就提出,环南极海冰变化是全球气候变化的调节器,德雷克海峡海冰在全球气候变化中起重要作用.2006年澳大利亚夏季大雪验证了这一结论:气候和构造是地球系统中的两个相关因素,它们受天文周期控制.德雷克海峡海冰的减少加快了环南极西风漂流,减慢了南太平洋环流,使东澳大利亚暖流变弱,为南极冷空气袭击澳大利亚东南部的塔斯马尼亚岛创造了条件.特别值得指出的是,潮汐有1.1、2.06、2.2、10、11、22、31、56、62年变化周期,潮汐周期与太阳黑子周期的叠加效应为解释厄尔尼诺、气温、海温、海冰、地磁、地震的11年和22年周期变化提供了理论根据.     

近南北向构造在塔里木盆地的踪迹

为厘清近南北向构造在塔里木盆地中的性质、地位和作用,笔者通过地质—地球物理分析,确认了以反转断层及相关褶皱为主导的挤压型构造是塔里木近南北向构造的主要表现形式。它发生发展于大陆内部,具有分布的广泛性和等距性、延伸的线性和断续性、纵深的陡倾性和穿透性、主断面的逆冲等特征。它的发育通常是基于先存的NS(—NNE)向张裂带和NNW(—NW)或NNE(—NE)向剪裂带,前者多演化为大、中型南北向构造,而后者多演化为中、小型南北向构造。近南北向构造的反转断层呈现为伸展—走滑—挤缩的演化顺序;最终定型于新生代;其驱动力主要源于太平洋—菲律宾板块向西的推挤动力。近南北向反转构造是种复合型的封闭性构造,对于石油和天然气地质研究,具有实际意义。