The increased storage of suspended particulate matter in the upper water of the tropical Western Pacific during the 2015/2016 super El Nino event

The climate variability induced by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)cycle drives significant changes in the physical state of the tropical Western Pacific,which has important impacts on the upper ocean carbon cycle.During 2015-2016,a super El Nino event occurred in the equatorial Pacific.Suspended particulate matter(SPM)data and related environmental observations in the tropical Western Pacific were obtained during two cruses in Dec.2014 and 2015,which coincided with the early and peak stages of this super El Nino event.Compared with the marine environments in the tropical Western Pacific in Dec.2014,an obviously enhanced upwelling occurred in the Mindanao Dome region;the nitrate concentration in the euphotic zone almo st tripled;and the size,mass concentration,and volume concentration of SPM obviously increased in Dec.2015.The enhanced upwelling in the Mindanao Dome region carried cold but eutrophic water upward from the deep ocean to shallow depths,even into the euphotic zone,which disrupted the previously N-limited conditions and induced a remarkable increase in phytoplankton blooms in the euphotic zone.The se results reveal the mechanism of how nutrient-limited ecosystems in the tropical Western Pacific respond to super El Nino events.In the context of the ENSO cycle,if predicted changes in biogenic particles occur,the proportion of carbon storage in the tropical Western Pacific is estimated to be increased by more than 52%,ultimately affecting the regional and possibly even global carbon cycle.This paper highlights the prospect for long-term prediction of the impact of a super El Nino event on the global carbon cycle and has profound implications for understanding El Nino events.

On the Mechanism of the Locking of the El Nino Event Onset Phase to Boreal Spring

The mechanism of the locking of the E1 Nino event onset phase to boreal spring （from April to June） in an intermediate coupled ocean-atmosphere model is investigated. The results show that the seasonal variation of the zonal wind anomaly over the equatorial Pacific associated with the seasonal variation of the ITCZ is the mechanism of the locking in the model. From January to March of the E1 Nino year, the western wind anomaly over the western equatorial Pacific can excite the downwelling Kelvin wave that propagates eastward to the eastern and middle Pacific by April to June. From April to December of the year before the E1 Nifio year, the eastern wind anomaly over the equatorial Pacific forces the downwelling Rossby waves that modulate the ENSO cycle. The modulation and the reflection at the western boundary modulate the time of the transition from the cool to the warm phase to September of the year before the E1 Nifio year and cause the strongest downwelling Kelvin wave from the reflected Rossby waves at the western boundary to arrive in the middle and eastern equatorial Pacific by April to June of the E1 Nino year. The superposition of these two kinds of downwelling Kelvin waves causes the El Nino event to tend to occur from April to June.

Characteristics of Drought and Flood in Zhejiang Province,East China:Past and Future

On the basis of large amount of historical and measured data, this paper analyzed the regional, periodic, frequency, continuing, and response characteristics of droughts and floods in Zhejiang and proposed the conception of ratio of peak runoff. Main characteristics of droughts and floods in Zhejiang are as follows： 1） The western Zhejiang region is plum rain major control area, and the eastern coastal region of Zhejiang is typhoon major control area. 2） Within a long period in the future, Zhejiang will be in the long period that features droughts. 3） In Zhejiang the 17th century was frequent drought and flood period, the 16th, 19th, and 20th centuries were normal periods, while the 18th century was spasmodic drought and flood period. 4） The severe and medium floods in Zhejiang were all centered around the M-or m-year of the 11-year sunspot activity period. 5） There are biggish years of annual runoff occurred in E1 Nifio year （E） or the following year （E＋1） in Zhejiang. The near future evolution trend of droughts and floods in Zhejiang is as follows： 1） Within a relatively long period in the future, Zhejiang Province will be in the long period of mostly drought years. 2） Between 1999 and 2009 this area will feature drought years mainly, while the period of 2010-2020 will feature flood years mostly. 3） Zhejiang has a good response to the sunspot activities, and the years around 2009, 2015, and 2020 must be given due attention, especially around 2020 there might be an extremely severe flood year in Zhejiang. 4） Floods in Zhejiang have good response to El Nifio events, in El Nifio year or the following year much attention must be paid to. And 5） In the future, the first, second, and third severe typhoon years in Zhejiang will be 2009. 2012. and 2015. resnectivelv.

BIFURCATION OF THE NORTH EQUATORIAL CURRENT DERIVED FROM ALTIMETRY IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN

The gridded （1/3°＊1/3°） altimetry data from October 1992 through December 2004 were analyzed to study the seasonal and interannual variabilities of the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current （NEC） at the surface in the western North Pacific Ocean. Calculations show that on annual average the bifurcation occurs at about 13.4°N at the surface. The geostrophic flow derived from Sea Surface Height （SSH） data shows that the southernmost latitude of the NEC bifurcation at the surface is about 12.9°N in June and the northernmost latitude is about 14.1°N in December. Correlation analyses between the bifurcation latitude and the Southern Oscillation Index （SOl） suggest that the bifurcation latitude is highly correlated with the E1 Nino/Southern Oscillation （ENSO） events. During the E1 Nino years the bifurcation of the NEC takes place at higher latitudes and vice versa.