Twenty years of ocean observations with China Argo

The international Argo program,a global observational array of nearly 4000 autonomous profiling floats initiated in the late 1990s,which measures the water temperature and salinity of the upper 2000 m of the global ocean,has revolutionized oceanography.It has been recognized one of the most successful ocean observation systems in the world.Today,the proposed decade action“OneArgo”for building an integrated global,full-depth,and multidisciplinary ocean observing array for beyond 2020 has been endorsed.In the past two decades since 2002,with more than 500 Argo deployments and 80 operational floats currently,China has become an important partner of the Argo program.Two DACs have been established to process the data reported from all Chinese floats and deliver these data to the GDACs in real time,adhering to the unified quality control procedures proposed by the Argo Data Management Team.Several Argo products have been developed and released,allowing accurate estimations of global ocean warming,sea level change and the hydrological cycle,at interannual to decadal scales.In addition,Deep and BGC-Argo floats have been deployed,and time series observations from these floats have proven to be extremely useful,particularly in the analysis of synoptic-scale to decadal-scale dynamics.The future aim of China Argo is to build and maintain a regional Argo fleet comprising approximately 400 floats in the northwestern Pacific,South China Sea,and Indian Ocean,accounting for 9%of the global fleet,in addition to maintaining 300 Deep Argo floats in the global ocean(25%of the global Deep Argo fleet).A regional BGC-Argo array in the western Pacific also needs to be established and maintained.

Asymmetric chlorophyll responses enhanced by internal waves near the Dongsha Atoll in the South China Sea

Internal waves(IWs)are small-scale physical processes that occur frequently in stratified marginal seas.IWs are ubiquitous and well documented in the northern South China Sea(n SCS),but few studies have explored the ecosystem responses to the IWs.MODISA chlorophyll-a(Chl-a)data from 2002 to 2014 were used to examine the distribution of Chl a near the Dongsha Atoll(DSA).Composite Chl a from about 40 IWs during spring and summer showed stronger response on the northern side than on the southern side of the DSA.One day after the passage of IWs,composite surface Chl a on the northern side increased from 0.11 mg/m3 to a maximum mean value of 0.18 mg/m3.It decreased to 0.13 mg/m3 after two days and maintained that level for several days after the passage of IWs.The enhanced surface Chl a likely caused subsurface Chl-a maximum and nutrients in the surface layer.Approximately 64%of the increase in surface Chl a was due to the uplift of the subsurface Chl-a maximum one day after the passage of IWs,while nutrient-induced new phytoplankton growth contributed about 18%of the increase a few days later.When the IWs occurred frequently in spring and summer,Chl-a level on the northern side was about 30%higher than that on the southern side.IW dissipation and its impact on nutrients and chlorophyll were stronger on the northern side of the DSA than on the south,which caused a north-south asymmetric distribution of Chl a in the region.

Salinity effects on the 2014 warm “Blob” in the Northeast Pacific

A significant strong, warm “Blob”(a large circular water body with a positive ocean temperature anomaly) appeared in the Northeast Pacific (NEP) in the boreal winter of 2013 2014, which induced many extreme climate events in the US and Canada. In this study, analyses of the temperature and salinity anomaly variations from the Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography (Argo) data provided insights into the formation of the warm “Blob” over the NEP. The early negative salinity anomaly dominantly contributed to the shallower mixed layer depth (MLD) in the NEP during the period of 2012 2013. Then, the shallower mixed layer trapped more heat in the upper water column and resulted in a warmer sea surface temperature (SST), which enhanced the warm “Blob”. The salinity variability contributed to approximately 60% of the shallowing MLD related to the warm “Blob”. The salinity anomaly in the warm “Blob” region resulted from a combination of both local and nonlocal effects. The freshened water at the surface played a local role in the MLD anomaly. Interestingly, the MLD anomaly was more dependent on the local subsurface salinity anomaly in the 100-150 m depth range in the NEP. The salinity anomaly in the 50-100 m depth range may be linked to the anomaly in the 100-150 m depth range by vertical advection or mixing. The salinity anomaly in the 100-150 m depth range resulted from the eastward transportation of a subducted water mass that was freshened west of the dateline, which played a nonlocal role. The results suggest that the early salinity anomaly in the NEP related to the warm “Blob” may be a precursor signal of interannual and interdecadal variabilities.

Numerical investigation of the control factors driving Zhe-Min Coastal Current

During the northeast monsoon season,Zhe-Min Coastal Current(ZMCC)travels along the Chinese mainland coast and carries fresh,cold,and eutrophic water.ZMCC is significantly important for the hydrodynamic processes and marine ecosystems along its path.Thus,this bottom-trapped plume deserves to be further discussed in terms of the major driving factor,for which different opinions exist.For this purpose,in this study,a high resolution Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model(SCHISM)is established and validated.High correlation coefficients exist between along-shelf wind speeds and seasonal variations of both ZMCC volume transport and the freshwater signal.These coefficients imply that the wind is important in regulating ZMCC.However,for similar annual mean ZMCC volume transports,the extreme south boundaries of Zhe-Min Coastal Water(ZMCW)are different among different years.This difference is attracting attention and is explored in this study.According to the low wind/discharge experiment,it was found that although the volume transport of ZMCC is more sensitive to the variation of local wind speeds,the carried freshwater is limited by the Changjiang River discharge,which ultimately determines the south boundary of ZMCW.The momentum analysis at transects I and II shows that,for driving ZMCC,the along-shore wind forcing is as important as the buoyancy forcing.Note that this conclusion is supported by a zero-discharge experiment.It was also found that the buoyancy forcing varies with respect to time and space,which is due to variations of the discharge of Changjiang River.In addition,a particle tracking experiment shows that the substance carried by the Changjiang River diluted water would distribute along the Zhe-Min coastal region during the northeast monsoon season and it may escape due to the wind relaxation.

Long-term trend of oceanic surface carbon in the Northwest Pacific from 1958 to 2017

Contrasting decrease and increase trends of sea surface temperature(SST)have been documented in the western Subarctic(WSA)and the rest of the Northwest Pacific(NWP)from 1958 to 2017,respectively.Consequently,more(less)total carbon dioxide(TCO_(2))due to ocean cooling(warming)is transported to the surface,which leads to increase(decrease)of oceanic surface partial pressure of carbon dioxide(pCO_(2)).With the combined influence of the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO_(2))level and changing ocean conditions,a prominent increase in oceanic surface pCO_(2) occurred with different rates of increase in summer and winter in the NWP.The oceanic surface pCO_(2) is mainly controlled by the variation of TCO_(2) at the interdecadal timescale and by SST at the seasonal timescale.Our results also indicate that increasing SST tends to strengthen the capability of ocean in absorbing anthropogenic CO_(2) in the NWP,while ocean’s uptaking ability is weakened in the cooling area of the WSA.

Boundary Phosphate Transport of the East China Sea and Its Influence on Biological Process

The East China Sea (ECS) is one of the largest marginal seas in the Northwest Pacific, and also one of the most productive regions of the global ocean. Using a three-dimensional Pacific physical-biological model, we investigate the interannual variation of phosphate transport via Kuroshio intrusion (KIPT) in the eastern boundary of the East China Sea (ECS) and its influence on the ECS biological process during 1997 to 2016. The KIPT into the ECS mainly occurs in the northeast of Taiwan and southwest of Kyushu, with stronger interannual variability in the northeast of Taiwan. The variation of the KIPT is more significant in the near-bottom water, and is dominated by volume transport. On the interannual timescale, the KIPT changes in response to the shift of the Kuroshio axis and to the bottom upwelling in the ECS eastern boundary. When the Kuroshio axis is closer to (farther away from) the ECS shelf, the strength of the bottom upwelling increases (decreases). This process induces more (less) significant topographic beta spiral, which causes an anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddy-like bottom velocity feature in the northeast of Taiwan. Eventually, more phosphate is transported to the ECS inner shelf, which increases chlorophyll concentration around the Zhoushan Islands and Yangtze Estuary but reduces chlorophyll concentration in the ECS outer shelf. Conversely, the chlorophyll increases in the ECS outer shelf but decreases around the Zhoushan Islands and Yangtze Estuary when there is less phosphate transport. This study highlights the importance of Kuroshio intrusion in connecting the inner and outer shelves of the ECS on the interannual timescale. Phosphate transport into the East China Sea via Kuroshio intrusion shows great interannual variability in the northeast of Taiwan. On the interannual timescale, the variation of phosphate transport into the East China Sea via Kuroshio intrusion is dominated by volume transport. When the Kuroshio axis is closer to the East China Sea shelf, there is more phosphate transport into the East China Sea, and chlorophyll increases around the Zhoushan Islands and Yangtze Estuary.

Preparation of Fe-As alloys by mechanical alloying and vacuum hot-pressed sintering:microstructure evolution,mechanical properties,and mechanisms

Arsenic materials have attracted great attention due to their unique properties.However,research concerning iron-arsenic(Fe-As) alloys is very scarce due to the volatility of As at low temperature and the high melting point of Fe.Herein,a new Fe-As alloy was obtained by mechanical alloying(MA) followed by vacuum hot-pressed sintering(VHPS).Moreover,a systematic study was carried out on the microstructural evolution,phase composition,leaching toxicity of As,and physical and mechanical properties of Fe-As alloys with varying weight fractions of As(20%,25%,30%,35%,45%,55%,65%,and 75%).The results showed that pre-alloyed metallic powders(PAMPs) have a fine grain size and specific supersaturated solid solution after MA,which could effectively improve the mechanical properties of Fe-As alloys by VHPS.A high density(> 7.350 g·cm^(-3)),low toxicity,and excellent mechanical properties could be obtained for FeAs alloys sintered via VHPS by adding an appropriate amount of As,which is more valuable than commercial Fe-As products.The Fe-25% As alloy with low toxicity and a relatively high density(7.635 g·cm^(-3)) provides an ultra-high compressive strength(1989.19 MPa),while the Fe-65% As alloy owns the maximum Vickers hardness(HVo.5 899.41).After leaching by the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure(TCLP),these alloys could still maintain good mechanical performance,and the strengthening mechanisms of Fe-As alloys before and after leaching were clarified.Changes in the grain size,micro structure,and phase distribution induced significant differences in the compressive strength and hardness.

Production of dissolved organic carbon in the South China Sea:A modeling study

The South China Sea(SCS)is the largest semi-enclosed marginal sea in the western Pacific.The alternation of East Asian monsoon causes a significant seasonal pattern of chlorophyll,primary productivity,and export flux of sinking particles.However,the source and sink of dissolved organic carbon(DOC)pools with different bioavailability are less studied.Here we evaluated the seasonal production of DOC in labile,semi-labile and refractory forms using a coupled physical-biogeochemical model.This study aims to understand the dynamics and budgets of organic matters in the SCS.Model results show that the production of labile,semi-labile and refractory DOC is highly correlated with the net primary productivity(NPP)which is higher in winter and lower in summer,reflecting a dependence of DOC on the NPP.The seasonal variation in Pearl River discharge dominates the DOC production in the northern coastal region.In the northeast,the Kuroshio intrusion associated frontal system is attributed to cause high winter production.The DOC production in the southwest is controlled by both winter mixing and summer upwelling.The production of refractory DOC with the least bioavailability favors carbon sequestration.Its annual mean production is 1.8±0.5 mg C m^(−2) d^(−1),equivalent to 26%of the export flux of particulate organic carbon at 1000 m.