Flow cytometry investigation of picoplankton across latitudes and along the circum Antarctic Ocean

Using a flow cytometer （FCM） onboard the R/V Xuelong during the 24th Chinese Antarctic cruise, picoplankton community structure and biomass in the surface water were examined along the latitude and around the Antarctic Ocean. Salinity and temperature were automatically recorded and total Chl a was determined. Along the cruise, the abundance of Synechococcus, Prochlorococ- cus, pico-eukaryotes and heterotrophic bacteria ranged in 0.001-1.855~ 10s ind./L, 0.000-2.778×108 ind./L, 0.002-1.060×108 ind./L and 0.132-27.073×108 ind./L, respectively. Major oceanic distri- bution of Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus appeared between latitudes 30°N and 30°S. Prochlorococcus was mainly influenced by water temperature, water mass combination and freshwater inflow. Meanwhile, Synechococcus distribution was significantly associated with landing freshwater inflow. Pico-eukaryotes and heterotrophic bacteria were distributed all over the oceans, but with a relatively low abundance in the high latitudes of the Antarctic Ocean. Principal Component Analysis showed that at same latitude of Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean, picoplankton distribution and constitution were totally different, geographical location and different water masses combination would be main reasons.

ANOMEALY OF FLUORINE IN A SEDIMENTARY SYSTEM, WESTERN ANTARCTIC OCEAN

Fluorine content in bulk sediment and its pore water in Western Antarctic Ocean is 200-395μg /g and 1.18-1.92μg / ml respectively, far below the average reported previously in the world oceans (540μg / g and 2.7μg / ml, respectively). This study also shows that the distribution of fluorine in the sediments of the area is mainly controlled by the chemical composition of the material from the surrounding islands, and the element seems to be mostly incorporated in the hornblende, thus the correlation between the element and the hornblende amount in the sediments can be expressed statistically as following: F=217+ln Vh. The low concentration of fluorine in the pore water is largely due to the weak weathering process on the islands and the precipitation of the element with calcium. It can be indicated well by the lower value of anion-exchangeable (HCO3-) F- in the studied area, which is only about one tenth of that in Pacific Ocean and a quarter in South China sea and a half in the sea east of Zhejiang . In addition, the decomposition of the organic matter in the sediment will probabally provide fluorine to the pore water, which can be easily captured by the solid phase. Therefore, the possible mechanism of the element's transition and redistribution in the sedimentary system can be preliminarily described as:F_Org Early diagenetic decomposition F_pore water Calcium compounds F_solid phase

A RESEARCH ON THE BENTHIC ECOLOGY ENVIRONMENT, ANTARCTIC OCEAN: Ⅰ. MAXWELL BAY AND ADMIRALTY BAY

Analyzing the information on benthic organisms and geochemistry, obtained from the Chinese First Expedition on Antarctic Ocean and its succeeded works and comparing with that of other oceans, this paper shows that in the circumstances of the researched area benthic organisms are rich. However, the prodsperity of the organisms is limited below 5-10 cm of the profiles in which the environment is mainly dominated by sulfate reducing reaction. On the condition of low temperature in Antarctic Ocean, the solubility of carbonates is higher than that of other latitudes of oceans, but the concentration of calcium in overlying water and pore water of the benthic environment is not higher than that in other oceans, which results in the difficulty for the crustaceas and mollusks to obtain sufficient calcium carbonate to form their solid shell as well as to bring about the lower ratios of these animals both in abundance and biomass in the researched ocean. Futhermore, there is a positive relationship between the distribution of sedentary polychaetes and temperature in overlying waters. That might demonstrate that the animals had still not quite adapted to the bitterly cold of Antarctic Ocean. Besides, research proposes that although there is no microorganism being detected below the depth of 5 cm in M6 station, there happens sulfate reducing reaction, so at least there should be sulfate respiring bacteria existed below the depth.

Pacific-Indian interocean circulation of the Antarctic Intermediate Water around South Australia

On the basis of the salinity distribution of isopycnal（σ_0=27.2 kg/m^3） surface and in salinity minimum, the Antarctic Intermediate Water（AAIW） around South Australia can be classified into five types corresponding to five regions by using in situ CTD observations. Type 1 is the Tasman AAIW, which has consistent hydrographic properties in the South Coral Sea and the North Tasman Sea. Type 2 is the Southern Ocean（SO） AAIW, parallel to and extending from the Subantarctic Front with the freshest and coldest AAIW in the study area. Type 3 is a transition between Type 1 and Type 2. The AAIW transforms from fresh to saline with the latitude declining（equatorward）. Type 4, the South Australia AAIW, has relatively uniform AAIW properties due to the semienclosed South Australia Basin. Type 5, the Southeast Indian AAIW, progressively becomes more saline through mixing with the subtropical Indian intermediate water from south to north. In addition to the above hydrographic analysis of AAIW, the newest trajectories of Argo（Array for real-time Geostrophic Oceanography） floats were used to constructed the intermediate（1 000 m water depth） current field, which show the major interocean circulation of AAIW in the study area. Finally, a refined schematic of intermediate circulation shows that several currents get together to complete the connection between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. They include the South Equatorial Current and the East Australia Current in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, the Tasman Leakage and the Flinders Current in the South Australia Basin, and the extension of Flinders Current in the southeast Indian Ocean.

Mesoscale surface circulation and variability of Southern Indian Ocean derived by combining satellite altimetry and drifter observations

High resoultion Eulerian mean velocity field has been derived by combining the satellite tracked surface drifter data with satellite altimetry and ocean surface winds. The drifter data used in this study includes Argos and surface drifter data from Global Drifter Program. Maps of Sea Level Anomaly （MSLA） weekly files with a resolution of （1/3）° in both Latitude and Longitude for the period 1993-2012 have been used. The Ekman current is computed using ocean surface mean wind fields from scatterometers onboard ERS 1/2, Quikscat and ASCAT. The derived mean velocity field exhibits the broad flow of Antarctic Circumpolar Current with speeds up to 0.6 m/s. Anomalous field is quite significant in the western part between 20~ and 40~E and in the eastern part between 80~E and 100~E with velocity anomaly up to 0.3 m/s. The estimated mean flow pattern well agrees with the dynamic topography derived from in-situ observations. Also, the derived velocity field is consistent with the in-situ ADCP current measurements. Eddy kinetic energy illustrates an increasing trend during 1993-2008 and is in phase coherence with the Southern Annular Mode by three month lag. Periodic modulations are found in the eddy kinetic energy due the low frequency Antarctic Circumpolar Wave propagation.

Reproductive characteristics of Antarctic Krill，Euphausia superba Dana，in the Prydz Bay region

Experiments and observations on reproduction of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba Dana,were conducted on board ship of R/V 'JIDI' during the austral summer of 1993 in the Prydz Bay region. The development of ovaria oocytes in gravid females,spawning epicces, and brood size were studied. The sexual maturity process and spawning season were discussed Fifty-three live gravid females captured at two stations in January, 1993 were cultured in a cool-room on board. They spawned within 1 to 16 days after capture. Most of them spawned only once except two, that spawned secondly on the 5th and 7th day after first spawning. The brood size of first spawning ranged from 225 to 5919 eggs with the average of 2132 eggs. The second brood was rather small,about 500 eggs. There were 0～213 (mean 32) mature oocytes remained in the post-spawn ovaries, and revitellogenesis was not observed. Brood size increased with the increasing of they length, but the correlation was not good. The number of ovarian oocytes in gravid female ranged from 2188 to 9263 with a mean of 5283. The composition of oocytes of different type varied in different samples. That all oocytes become completely matured seems to be an indication of pre-spawning. Spawning could take place through the summer with the peakspawning occurring from late January to late February. Interannual variation in peak spawning season might be significant.

Polar WRF V4.1.1.simulation and evaluation for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean

A recent version of the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting model(Polar WRF)has been upgraded to the version 4.X era with an improved NoahMP Land Surface Model(LSM).To assess the model performance over the Antarctic and Southern Ocean,downscaling simulations with different LSM(NoahMP,Noah),WRF versions(Polar WRF 4.1.1 and earlier version 4.0.3,WRF 4.1.1),and driving data(ERA-Interim,ERA5)are examined with two simulation modes:the short-term that consists of a series of 48 h segments initialized daily at 0000 UTC with the first 24 h selected for model spin-up,whereas the long-term component used to evaluate long-term prediction consists of a series of 38-41 day segments initialized using the first 10 days for spin-up of the hydrological cycle and planetary boundary layer structure.Simulations using short-term mode driven by ERA-Interim with NoahMP and Noah are selected for benchmark experiments.The results show that Polar WRF 4.1.1 has good skills over the Antarctic and Southern Ocean and better performance than earlier simulations.The reduced downward shortwave radiation bias released with WRF 4.1.1 performed well with PWRF411.Although NoahMP and Noah led to very similar conclusions,NoahMP is slightly better than Noah,particularly for the 2 m temperature and surface radiation because the minimum albedo is set at 0.8 over the ice sheet.Moreover,a suitable nudging setting plays an important role in long-term forecasts,such as reducing the surface temperature diurnal cycle near the coast.The characteristics investigated in this study provide a benchmark to improve the model and guidance for further application of Polar WRF in the Antarctic.

The Introduction of Ideas of the Antarctic Region into China during the past 400 Years

The ancient Chinese had no knowledge of the Antarctic region until the European Jesuit missionaries first introduced such knowledge into China in the late 16^th century. This article demonstrates the history of the introduction of the knowledge of the Antarctic region into China. The history of this process is composed of three stages： （1） the Magallanica continent during the 1580s-1670s; （2） the Antarctic Ocean during the 1760s-1900s; and （3） the Antarctic continent after the 1830s. During the 1580s-1670s, Matteo Ricci and other missionaries introduced the idea of the Magallaniea continent （Terra Australis Ineognita） into China. Ever since the 1760s, Michel Benoist and other missionaries brought the idea of ＂Antarctic Ocean＂ to China and replaced the idea of ＂Magallaniea continent＂. From the 1830s until the early 20^th century, the concept of the Antarctic Continent was introduced into China. During the 16^th and 18^th centuries, all the knowledge was imported to China by the Catholic （Jesuit） missionaries. During the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Christian （Protestant） missionaries and societies played a significant role.