Seasonal variations of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dim-ethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in the sea-surface microlayer and subsurface water of Jiaozhou Bay and its adjacent area

The distributions of DMS and its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate, in both dissolved （DMSPd） and particulate fractions （DMSPp） were determined in the sea-surface microlayer and corresponding subsurface water of the Jiaozhou Bay, China and its adjacent area in May and August 2006. The concentrations of all these components showed a clear seasonal variation, with higher concen- trations occurring in summer. This can be mainly attributed to the higher phytoplankton biomass observed in summer. Simultaneously, the enrichment extents of DMSPd and DMSPp in the mi- crolayer also exhibited seasonal changes, with higher values in spring and lower ones in summer. Higher water temperature and stronger radiant intensity in summer can enhance their solubility and photochemical reaction in the microlayer water, reducing their enrichment factors （the ratio of concentration in the microlayer to that in the corresponding subsurface water）. A statistically significant relationship was found between the microlayer and subsurface water concentrations of DMS, DMSP and chlorophyll a, demonstrating that the biogenic materials in the microlayer come primarily from the underlying water. Moreover, our data show that the concentrations of DMSPp and DMS were significantly correlated with the levels of chlorophyll a, indicating that phytoplankton biomass might play an important role in controlling the distributions of biogenic sulfurs in the study area. The ratios of DMS/chlorophyll a and DMSPpchlorophyll a varied little from spring to summer, suggesting that there was no obvious change in the proportion of DMSP producers in the phytoplankton community. The mean sea-to-air flux of DMS from the study area was estimated to be 5.70 μmol/（m^2·d）, which highlights the effects of human impacts on DMS emission.

The Application of Sea-Surface Wind Detection with Doppler Lidar in Olympic Sailing

The mobile incoherent Doppler lidar （MIDL）, which was jointly developed by State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather （LaSW） of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences （CAMS） and Ocean University of China, provided meteorological services during the Olympic sailing events in Qingdao in 2008. In this study, two experiments were performed based on these measurements. First, the capabilities of MIDL detection of sea-surface winds were investigated by comparing its radial velocities with those from a sea buoy. MIDL radial velocity was almost consistent with sea-buoy data; both reflected the changes in wind with time. However, the MIDL data was 0.5 m s-1 lower on average than the sea-buoy data due to differences in detection principle, sample volume, sample interval, spatial and temporal resolution. Second, the wind fields during the Olympic sailing events were calculated using a four-dimensional variation data assimilation （4DVAR） algorithm and were evaluated by comparing them with data from a sea buoy. The results show that the calculations made with the 4DVAR wind retrieval method are able to simulate the fine retrieval of sea-surface wind data--the retrieved wind fields were consistent with those of sea-buoy data. Overall, the correlation coefficient of wind direction was 0.93, and the correlation coefficient of wind speed was 0.70. The distribution of retrieval wind fields was consistent with that of MIDL radial velocity; the root-mean-square error between them had an average of only 1.52 m s-1^.

M-FCN based sea-surface weak target detection

This paper focuses on the sea-surface weak target detection based on memory-fully convolutional network(M-FCN)in strong sea clutter.Firstly,the constant false alarm rate(CFAR)detection method utilizes a low threshold with high probability of false alarm to detect sea-surface weak targets after non-coherent integration.Reducing the detection threshold can generate a large number of false alarms while increasing the detection rate,and how to suppress a large number of false alarms is the key to improve the performance of weak target detection.Then,the detection result of the low threshold is operated to construct the target matrix suitable for the size of fully convolutional networks and the convolution operator form.Finally,the M-FCN architecture is designed to learn the different accumulation characteristics of the target and the sea clutter between different frames.For improving the detection performance,the historical multi-frame information is memorized by the network,and the end-to-end structure is established to detect sea-surface weak target automatically.Experimental results on measured data demonstrate that the M-FCN method outperforms the traditional track before detection(TBD)method and reduces false alarm tracks by 35.1%,which greatly improves the track quality.

Sea-Surface Dynamics Changes in the Subpolar North Atlantic Ocean (IODP Site U1314) during Late Pliocene Climate Transition Based on Calcareous Nannofossil Observation

Calcareous nannofossils were observed to reconstruct the surface water conditions during late Pliocene climate transition (2.55 to 2.88 Ma) from the southern Gardar Drift, in the subpolar North Atlantic IODP Site U1314 (56°21.9’1N, 27°53.3’W). A total of 24 species from 14 genera were identified by polarizing microscope observation. The coccolith assemblages are dominated by species belonging to genus Reticulofenestra with different (size-defined) morphotype. Hence, changes in paleoceanographic condition are shown by the size variation of Reticulofenstraspecimens. Before ~2.76 Ma, the studied interval is characterized by the presence of an abundant larger Reticulofenstra group. It indicates warm oligotrophic and stable surface waters. At ~2.76 Ma the abundance of large Reticulofenstra decreased abruptly and alternated with small Reticulofenstra, suggesting collapse of sea surface stability with strong mixing condition. This event coeval with the final closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS) and the onset of intensified North Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG). Subsequently, the size variation of Reticulofenestra specimens exhibits a sequential pattern that is somewhere consistent with the interglacial-glacial cycle. The pattern begins with a gradual increase in size upward during interglacial suggesting warm oligotrophic and stable condition, and ends with an abrupt decrease in coccolith size during glacial suggesting eutrophic or strong mixing condition and destabilized sea surface waters.

Sea-surface acoustic backscattering measurement at 6–25 kHz in the Yellow Sea

Sea-surface acoustic backscattering measurements at moderate to high frequencies were performed in the shallow water of the south Yellow Sea, using omnidirectional spherical sources and omnidirectional hydrophones. Sea-surface backscattering data for frequencies in the 6–25 k Hz range and wind speeds of(3.0±0.5)and(4.5±1.0) m/s were obtained from two adjacent experimental sites, respectively. Computation of sea-surface backscattering strength using bistatic transducer is described. Finally, we calculated sea-surface backscattering strengths at grazing angles in the range of 16°–85°. We find that the measured backscattering strengths agree reasonably well with those predicted by using second order small-roughness perturbation approximation method with "PM" roughness spectrum for all frequencies at grazing angles ranged from 40° to 80°. The backscattering strengths varied slightly at grazing angles of 16°–40°, and were much stronger than roughness scattering. It is speculated that scattering from bubbles dominates the backscattering strengths at high wind speeds and small grazing angles. At the same frequencies and moderate to high grazing angles, the results show that the backscattering strengths at a wind speed of(4.5±1.0) m/s were approximately 5 d B higher than those at a wind speed of(3.0±0.5) m/s. However, the discrepancies of backscattering strength at low grazing angles were more than 10 d B. Furthermore the backscattering strengths exhibited no significant frequency dependence at 3 m/s wind speed. At a wind speed of 4.5 m/s, the scattering strengths increased at low grazing angles but decreased at high grazing angles with increasing grazing angle.

Heavy metal distribution patterns and environmental quality assessment of the mariculture areas in Nanao,Shantou

The Fe, Zn, Mn and Pb concentrations in the seawater dissolved phase were investigated in the sea-surface microlayer （SML）, subsurface water （SSW） and bottom water （BW） samples collected at of three mariculture areas of the Nanao Island ocean zone. The results showed that the SML and the BW were important compartments for these heavy metals in the mariculture areas and the concentrations varied from 23.0 μg/L to 268.0 μg/L（Fe）, 11.0 μg/L to 82.2 μg/L（Zn）, 1.5 μg/L to 11.0 μg/L（Mn） and 6.0 μg/L to 40.5 μg/L（Pb） in SSW, while a clear enrichment is observed in the SML, where these ranged from 27.5 μg/L to 286.5 μg/L（Fe）, 13.5/lg/L to 89.0μg/L（Zn）, 3.0μg/L to 12.0 μg/L（Mn） and 7.0 μg/L to 46.0μg/L（Pb）. The enrichment factors were in the range of 1.07 - 1.39 which showed a slight enrichment. The average enrichment factors of Fe, Zn, Pb and Mn were 1.18, 1.13, 1.12 and 1.30, respectively. The average enrichment factors in shellfish, fish and gracilaria lemaneaformis farming areas were 1.26, 1.19 and 1.11, respectively, which showed that the surface activity was highest in the shellfish farming area. Furthermore, the heavy metals concentrations were lowest in the gracUaria lemaneaformis farming area. The results of single factor contamination index showed that the investigated areas were slightly contaminated with Zn, while the partial farming areas were seriously contaminated with Pd during a certain period of time.

Impacts of El Nino-Southern Oscillation events on China＇s rice production

This paper aims to demonstrate the relationships between ENSO and rice production of Jiangxi province in order to identify the reason that ENSO might have little effect on Chinese rice production. Using a data set with measures of Jiangxi＇s climate and rice production, we find the reason that during 1985 and 2004 ENSO＇s well correlated with rainfall did not promote Chinese rice production. First, the largest effects of ENSO mostly occur in the months when there is no rice in the field. Second, there is almost no temperature effect. Finally, the monthly distribution of rainfall is almost the same in ENSO and neutral years because the largest effects are during months when there is the least rain. In addition, due to the high irrigation share and reliable and effective irrigation facilities of cultivated land, China＇s rice production is less climate-sensitive.

Modified Two-Scale Model for Electromagnetic Scattering from the Non-Gaussian Oceanic Surface

Based on the skewness of sea waves, a modified two-scale model is developed for the non-Gaussian sea surface scattering. In this new model, a complementary term is added to the first-order scattering coefficient of the classical small perturbation method （SPM）, the additional part is proportional to the surface bispectrum and it is the critical part in explaining the scattering difference between upwind and downwind observations. Meanwhile, the effects of the shadowing function of the anisotropic surface, the curvature of the surface are also taken into account. The numerical results show the theoretical estimates obtained are consistent with the experimental result, and the influence of the wind speed, the trend and the incident frequency on the backscattering coefficients from the non-Gaussian oceanic surface is discussed in detail.

Environmental anomalies in the northeastern East China Sea during the last 3 000 years:implications for El Nio activity in the Holocene

To reconstruct the productivity changes for the last 10 500 a in the northeastern East China Sea （ECS）, biogenic compounds （such as carbonate, organic carbon and opal）, marine micropaleontological fossils （planktonic foraminifera, benthic foraminifera, radiolarian and silicoflagellate） and the compositional characters of benthic foraminifera fauna analyses were carried out on a sediment core DOC082 obtained from the western slope of Okinawa Trough （29°13.93′N, 128°08.53′E; 1 128 m water depth）. The long-term changes of biogenic and micropaleontological proxies display some similarities through the last 10 500 a, which show three different phases： lower values are recorded during the early and middle ttolocene （before about 4 000 a BP）, followed by an abrupt and remarkable increase at about 4 000 a BP, the late Holocene （after about 3 000 a BP） is characterized by continuously high values. The multi-proxy data of paleoproductivity and percents of benthic foraminifera genera （Uvigerina and Bulimina） show that during the early and middle Holocene （10 500-4 000 a BP） productivity was relatively low with a sudden and distinct increase at about 4 000 a BP, and the late Holocene （3 400-0 a BP） is marked by significantly higher productivity. Also, the radiolarian-based sea surface temperature （SST） records reveal a distinct decline in SST in the late Holocene after 3 200 a BP, very different from the early and middle Holocene. For the last 3 000 a, the enhanced biological productivity and distinctly lower SST indicate a major change of oceanographic conditions in the northeastern ECS. These marine environmental anomalies are consistent with other paleoclimatic records for the late Holocene in the Chinese continent and its surrounding regions. After analyzing the mechanisms of modern productivity and SST changes in the northeastern ECS, and based on the climatic anomalies in the Chinese continent and variations in the Kuroshio Current during modern El Nino periods, we suggest that the anomalous environmental conditions in the northeastern ECS may imply intensified El Nino activity during the late Holocene.

Biogenic silica concentration as a marine primary productivity proxy in the Holsteinsborg Dyb, West Greenland, during the last millennium

We analyzed the biogenic silica(BSi)content and produced a diatom-based summer sea-surface temperature(SST)reconstruction for sediment core GC4 from the Holsteinsborg Dyb,West Greenland.Our aim was to reconstruct marine productivity and climatic fluctuations during the last millennium.Increased BSi content and diatom abundance suggest relatively high marine productively during the interval of AD 1000–1400,corresponding in time to the Medieval Warm Period(MWP).The summer SST reconstruction indicates relatively warm conditions during AD 900–1100,followed by cooling after AD 1100.An extended cooling period during AD 1400–1900 is characterized by prolonged low in reconstructed SST and high sea-ice concentration.The BSi values fluctuated during this period,suggesting varying marine productivity during the Little Ice Age(LIA).There is no significant correlation between the BSi content and SST during the last millennium,suggesting that the summer SST has little influence on marine productively in the Holsteinsborg Dyb.A good correspondence between the BSi content and the element Ti counts in core GC4 suggests that silicate-rich meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet was likely responsible for changes in marine productively in the Holsteinsborg Dyb.

Planktonic Foraminiferal Assemblage Variations of Ontong-Java Plateau during Late Quaternary and Their Implications for Paleotemperature in the Western Pacific Warm Pool

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 807A was recovered from the Ontong-Java plateau, western equatorial Pacific. Quantitative analysis of planktonic foraminifera, combined with oxygen and carbon isotope data, reveals the glacial-interglacial variations of sea-surface temperature and the upper water vertical structure in this region during the late Quaternary. Our results indicate that since 530 ka sea-surface temperature (SST) and the depth of thermocline (DOT) have changed significantly in the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP). The average glacial-interglacial annual SST difference was up to 4.2 ℃, and the DOT fluctuations could exceed more than 100 m, further suggesting the instability of the WPWP. The spectral analyses of SST and DOT reveal two dominating cyclicities—the typical 100 ka cycle and the semi-precessional cycle, which is significant in the tropical spectrum, indicating that late Quaternary paleoceanographic changes in the study area were influenced not only by a high latitude forcing but also by tropic-driving factors.

A drifting trajectory prediction model based on object shape and stochastic mo-tion features

There is a huge demand to develop a method for marine search and rescue（SAR） operators automatically predicting the most probable searching area of the drifting object. This paper presents a novel drifting prediction model to improve the accuracy of the drifting trajectory computation of the sea-surface objects. First, a new drifting kinetic model based on the geometry characteristics of the objects is proposed that involves the effects of the object shape and stochastic motion features in addition to the traditional factors of wind and currents. Then, a computer simulation-based method is employed to analyze the stochastic motion features of the drifting objects, which is applied to estimate the uncertainty parameters of the stochastic factors of the drifting objects. Finally, the accuracy of the model is evaluated by comparison with the flume experimental results. It is shown that the proposed method can be used for various shape objects in the drifting trajectory prediction and the maritime search and rescue decision-making system.

OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF AIR-SEA FLUXES DURING THE SCS SUMMER MONSOON IN 2000——FEATURES OF THERMAL BUDGET AT THE SEA SURFACE

This paper is devoted to the features of sea-surface heat budget during the active/break phases of the 2000 summer monsoon in the South-China Sea (SCS) by means of the observed air-sea heat fluxes and data from Xisha Weather Station and NCEP/NCAR in the same period.Results suggest that the primary factors affecting sea-surface thermal budget are solar shortwave penetrating radiation and latent heat flux.Regardless of their changes,however,the thermal gain is reduced or becomes net loss at the active stage and the thermal gain gets gradually increased in the weakening and lull periods:during the first emergence of southwest monsoon the net loss happens thanks to the dramatic diminution of penetrating radiation resulting from increased cloudiness and intense precipitation:while at the re-emergence of the wind.reduced net sea-surface thermal gain is attributed to the sharp increase in latent heat flux resulting from intense evaporation:owing to great thermal inertia of water the SST change lags behind that of heat budget over the sea surface, and the lagging is responsible for regulating the budget by affecting latent heat fluxes,which,in turn.has effect upon the change of the SST,thereby forming short-term oscillations that are in association with the active/break phases of the monsoons.Part of the conclusions have been borne out by the observational study based on 1998 and 2002 data.