Parameter sensitivity study of the biogeochemical model in the China coastal seas

In order to develop a coupled basin scale model of ocean circulation and biogeochemical cycling,we present a biogeochemical model including 12 components to study the ecosystem in the China coastal seas（CCS）.The formulation of phytoplankton mortality and zooplankton growth are modified according to biological characteristics of CCS.The four sensitivity biological parameters,zooplankton assimilation efficiency rate（ZooAE_N）,zooplankton basal metabolism rate（ZooBM）,maximum specific growth rate of zooplankton（μ_（20）） and maximum chlorophyll to carbon ratio（Chl2C_m） are obtained in sensitivity experiments for the phytoplankton,and experiments about the parameter μ_（20＇）,half-saturation for phytoplankton NO_3 uptake（K_（NO_3）） and remineralization rate of small detritusN（SDeRRN） are conducted.The results demonstrate that the biogeochemical model is quite sensitive to the zooplankton grazing parameter when it ranges from 0.1 to 1.2 d^（-1）.The K_（NO_3） and SDeRRN also play an important role in determining the nitrogen cycle within certain ranges.The sensitive interval of KNO_3 is from 0.1 to 1.5（mmol/m^3）^（-1）,and interval of SEdRRN is from 0.01 and 0.1 d^（-1）.The observational data from September 1998 to July 2000 obtained at SEATS station are used to validate the performance of biological model after parameters optimization.The results show that the modified model has a good capacity to reveal the biological process features,and the sensitivity analysis can save computational resources greatly during the model simulation.

Fouling community characteristics in subtropical coastal waters of the southwestern East China Sea

A fouling study was conducted in coastal waters southwest of the East China Sea between December 2013 and November 2014. A total of 84 species of fouling organisms belonging to 69 genera, 49 families, and 10 phyla were recorded over the entire year. The community composition was dominated by coastal warm-water species belonging to typical subtropical inner bay communities. The prosperous stage of settlement lasted from April to September, and the adhesion strength of the fouling organisms was the highest in summer. Sessile suspension feeders constituted the main core of settlement for the fouling community. Amphibalanus reticulatus was the most dominant and representative species of fouling organism, and other dominant species included Caprella equilibra, Ectopleura crocea, Anthopleura nigrescens, Stylochus ijimai, Spirobranchus kraussii, Crassostrea angulata, Perna viridis, Jassa falcata, Stenothoe valida, Sphaerozius nitidus, and Biflustra grandicella. The individuals in the fouling community showed a mutual dependence or constraint relationship due to competition for settlement space and food, and they exhibited a particular spatiotemporal distribution in accordance with adaptation to environmental factors. Temperature was the most important environmental factor determining the geographic distribution of fouling organisms. The temperature characteristics of species essentially reflect the differences in the fouling community composition in various climate zones. The species number, settlement stage, and settlement rate of fouling organisms are closely related to water temperature. Local natural environmental conditions（salinity, water currents, light, etc.） as well as human activity（such as aquaculture production） are all important factors affecting the settlement of fouling organisms.

Evaluation of reanalysis surface wind products with quality-assured buoy wind measurements along the north coast of the South China Sea

Three archived reanalysis wind vectors at 10 m height in the wind speed range of 2-15 m/s,namely,the second version of the National Centres for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)Climate Forecast System Reanalysis(CFSv2),European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting Interim Reanalysis(ERA-I)and NCEPDepartment of Energy(DOE)Reanalysis 2(NCEP-2)products,are evaluated by a comparison with the winds measured by moored buoys in coastal regions of the South China Sea(SCS).The buoy data are first quality controlled by extensive techniques that help eliminate degraded measurements.The evaluation results reveal that the CFSv2 wind vectors are most consistent with the buoy winds(with average biases of 0.01 m/s and 1.76°).The ERA-I winds significantly underestimate the buoy wind speed(with an average bias of-1.57 m/s),while the statistical errors in the NCEP-2 wind direction have the largest magnitude.The diagnosis of the reanalysis wind errors shows the residuals of all three reanalysis wind speeds(reanalysis-buoy)decrease with increasing buoy wind speed,suggesting a narrower wind speed range than that of the observations.Moreover,wind direction errors are examined to depend on the magnitude of the wind speed and the wind speed biases.In general,the evaluation of three reanalysis wind products demonstrates that CFSv2 wind vectors are the closest to the winds along the north coast of the SCS and are sufficiently accurate to be used in numerical models.