Swells of the East China Sea

Over the past few decades,an increasing number of marine activities have been conducted in the East China Sea,including the construction of various marine structures and the passage of large ships.Marine safety issues are paramount and are becoming more important with respect to the likely increase in size of ocean waves in relation to global climate change and associated typhoons.In addition,swells also can be very dangerous because they induce the resonance of floating structures,including ships.This study focuses on an investigation of swells in the East China Sea and uses hindcast data for waves over the past 5 years in a numerical model,WAVEWATCH III(WW3),together with historical climate data.The numerical calculation domain covers the entire North West Pacific.Next,swells are separated and analyzed using simulated wave fields,and both the characteristics and generation mechanisms of swells are investigated.

Primary Discussion of a Carbon Sink in the Oceans

As a consequence of global warming and rising sea levels, the oceans are becoming a matter of concern for more and more people because these changes will impact the growth of living organisms as well as people＇s living standards. In particular, it is extremely important that the oceans absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide. This paper takes a pragmatic approach to analyzing the oceans with respect to the causes of discontinuities in oceanic variables of carbon dioxide sinks. We report on an application of chemical, physical and biological methods to analyze the changes of carbon dioxide in oceans. Based on the relationships among the oceans, land, atmosphere and sediment with respect to carbon dioxide, the foundation of carbon dioxide in shell-building and ocean acidification, the changes in carbon dioxide in the oceans and their impact on climate change, and so on, a vital conclusion can be drawn from this study. Specifically, under the condition that the oceans are not disturbed by external forces, the oceans are a large carbon dioxide sink. The result can also be inferred by the formula： C=A-B and G=E＋F when the marine ecosystem can keep a natural balance and the amount of carbon dioxide emission is limited within the calrying capacity of the oceans.

Seasonal Change of Steric Sea Level in the GIN Seas

The Greenland Sea,Iceland Sea,and Norwegian Sea (GIN seas) form the main channel connecting the Arctic Ocean with other Oceans,where significant water and energy exchange take place,and play an important role in global climate change.In this study steric sea level,associated with temperature and salinity,in the GIN seas is examined based on analysis of the monthly temperature and salinity fields from Polar science center Hydrographic Climatology (PHC3.0).A method proposed by Tabata et al.is used to calculate steric sea level,in which,steric sea level change due to thermal expansion and haline contraction is termed as the thermosteric component (TC) and the halosteric component (SC),recpectively.Total steric sea level (TSSL) change is the sum of TC and SC.The study shows that SC is making more contributions than TC to the seasonal change of TSSL in the Greenland Sea,whereas TC contributes more in the Norwegian and the Iceland Seas.Annual variation of TSSL is larger than 50 mm over most regions of the GIN Seas,and can be larger than 200 mm at some locations such as 308 mm at 76.5 N,12.5 E and 246 mm at 77.5 N,17.5 W.

A review of ecological impacts of global climate change on persistent organic pollutant and mercury pathways and exposures in arctic marine ecosystems

Bioaccumulative and biomagnifying contaminants, such as persistent organic pollutants （POPs） and mercury （Hg）, have for decades been recognized as a health concern in arctic marine biota. In recent years, global climate change （GCC） and related loss of arctic sea ice have been observed to be driving substantial change in arctic ecosystems. This review summarizes findings documenting empirical links between GCC-induced ecological changes and alterations in POP and Hg exposures and pathways in arctic marine ecosystems. Most of the studies have reported changes in POP or Hg concentrations in tissue in relation to GCC-induced changes in species trophic interactions. These studies have typically focused on the role of changes in abun- dance, habitat range or accessibility of prey species, particularly in relation to sea ice changes. Yet, the ecological change that re- suited in contaminant trend changes has often been unclear or assumed. Other studies have successfully used chemical tracers, such as stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios and fatty acid signatures to link such ecological changes to contaminant level variations or trends. Lower sea ice linked-diet changes/variation were associated with higher contaminant levels in some popula- tions of polar bears, ringed seals, and thick-billed murres, but the influence of changing trophic interactions on POP levels and trends varied widely in both magnitude and direction. We suggest that future research in this new area of GCC-linked ecotox- icology should focus on routine analysis of ancillary ecological metrics with POP and Hg studies, simultaneous consideration of the multiple mechanisms by which GCC and contaminant interactions can occur, and targeted research on changing exposures and toxicological effects in species known to be sensitive to both GCC and contaminants [Current Zoology 61 （4）： 617-628, 2015].