Freshening of the Intermediate Waters in the Northern South China Sea over the Past Six Decades

The properties of salinity in the South China Sea(SCS),a significant marginal sea connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans,are greatly influenced by the transport of fresh water flux between the two oceans.However,the long-term changes in the intermediate water in the SCS have not been thoroughly studied due to limited data,particularly in relation to its thermodynamic variations.This study utilized reanalysis data products to identify a 60-year trend of freshening in the intermediate waters of the northern South China Sea(NSCS),accompanied by an expansion of low-salinity water.The study also constructed salinity budget terms,including advection and entrainment processes,and conducted an analysis of the salinity budget to understand the impacts of external and internal dynamic processes on the freshening trend of the intermediate water in the NSCS.The analysis revealed that the freshening in the northwest Pacific Ocean and the intensification of intrusion through the Luzon Strait at intermediate levels are the primary drivers of the salinity changes in the NSCS.Additionally,a weakened trend in the intensity of vertical entrainment also contributes to the freshening in the NSCS.This study offers new insights into the understanding of regional deep sea changes in response to variations in both thermodynamics and oceanic dynamic processes.

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.

A new species of the genus Arcoscalpellum(Cirripedia,Thoracica,Scalpellidae) from deep waters in the South China Sea

A new species of deep-water barnacle that belongs to the family Scalpellidae is described from the South China Sea. A rcoscalpellum liui sp. nov. is morphologically similar to A rcoscalpellum gryllum Zevina,but differs from the latter by the absence of longitudinal striae on the capitular plates and the presence of caudal appendages with few terminal setae.

Intrusions of Kuroshio and Shelf Waters on Northern Slope of South China Sea in Summer 2015

The northern slope region of the South China Sea(SCS) is a biological hot spot characterized by high primary productivity and biomasses transported by cross-shelf currents, which support the spawning and growth of commercially and ecologically important fish species. To understand the physical and biogeochemical processes that promote the high primary production of this region, we conducted a cruise from June 10 and July 2, 2015. In this study, we used fuzzy cluster analysis and optimum multiparameter analysis methods to analyze the hydrographic data collected during the cruise to determine the compositions of the upper 55-m water masses on the SCS northern slope and thereby elucidate the cross-slope transport of shelf water(SHW) and the intrusions of Kuroshio water(KW). We also analyzed the geostrophic currents derived from acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements and satellite data. The results reveal the surface waters on the northern slope of the SCS to be primarily composed of waters originating from South China Sea water(SCSW), KW, and SHW. The SCSW dominated a majority of the study region at percentages ranging between 60% and 100%. We found a strong cross-slope current with speeds greater than 50 cms^(-1) to have carried SHW into and through the surveyed slope area, and KW to have intruded onto the slope via mesoscale eddies, thereby dominating the southwestern section of the study area.

Winter coastal upwelling off northwest Borneo in the South China Sea

Winter coastal upwelling off northwest Borneo in the South China Sea （SCS） is investigated by using satellite data, climatological temperature and salinity fields and reanalysis data. The upwelling forms in Decem- ber, matures in January, starts to decay in February and almost disappears in March. Both Ekman trans- port induced by the alongshore winter monsoon and Ekman pumping due to orographic wind stress curl are favorable for the upwelling. Transport estimates demonstrate that the month-to-month variability of Ekman transport and Ekman pumping are both consistent with that of winter coastal upwelling, but Ek- man transport is two times larger than Ekman pumping in January and February. Under the influence of E1 Nino-Southern Oscillation （ENSO）, the upwelling shows remarkable interannual variability： during winter of El Nino （La Nina） years, an anticyclonic （a cyclonic） wind anomaly is established in the SCS, which behaves a northeasterly （southwesterly） anomaly and a positive （negative） wind stress curl anomaly off the north- west Borneo coast, enhancing （reducing） the upwelling and causing anomalous surface cooling （warming） and higher （lower） chlorophyll concentration. The sea surface temperature anomaly （SSTA） associated with ENSO off the northwest Borneo coast has an opposite phase to that off southeast Vietnam, resulting in a SSTA seesaw pattern in the southern SCS in winter.

Atmospheric Correction of SeaWiFS Data for the Retrieval of SuspendedSediment in East China Coastal Waters

The data of SeaWiFS (Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor), installed on SeaStar, has been used to generate SSC (suspended sediment concentration) of complex and turbid coastal waters in China. In view of the problems of the SeaDAS (SeaWiFS Data Analysis System) algorithm applied to China coastal waters, a new atmospheric correction algorithm is discussed, developed, and used for the SSC of East China coastal waters. The advantages of the new algorithm are described through the comparison of the results from different algorithms.

Analysis of Cu,Co,V and Zn in Coastal Waters of the East China Sea by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry(ICP-MS)

In this study, a simple method for the simultaneous determination of trace metals(Cu, V, Co, Zn) in coastal seawater using the Mg(OH)2 coprecipitation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) was developed. This multi-element method enables the simultaneous extraction of four metals, particularly Co and V. The recoveries of Cu, Co, V and Zn after Mg(OH)2 coprecipitation were 73%, 96%, 94% and 92%, which means that our procedure was well-suited to the determination of these four trace metals. The detection limits were 3.81, 0.18, 6.09 and 1.91 nmol L-1, respectively. Then, applying this method to the simultaneous determination of these four metals in coastal water samples from the East China Sea revealed that the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Co and V were higher in bottom waters compared to water at other depths, and higher concentrations were generally observed at the Yangtze River estuary. Additionally, example vertical profiles of dissolved trace metal concentrations for the East China Sea in spring and autumn are compared. These findings indicate that Zn had the greatest seasonal variation followed by Cu, V and Co. For Zn and Co, the concentrations were higher during spring than during autumn. For Cu and V, the seasonal variation in the concentrations was opposite.

A Regional Ocean Reanalysis System for Coastal Waters of China and Adjacent Seas

A regional ocean reanalysis system for the coastal waters of China and adjacent seas has been developed by the National Marine Data and Information Service（NMDIS）.It produces a dataset package called CORA （China ocean reanalysis）.The regional ocean model used is based on the Princeton Ocean Model with a generalized coordinate system（POMgcs）.The model is parallelized by NMDIS with the addition of the wave breaking and tidal mixing processes into model parameterizations.Data assimilation is a sequential three-dimensional variational（3D-Var） scheme implemented within a multigrid framework.Observations include satellite remote sensing sea surface temperature（SST）,altimetry sea level anomaly（SLA）,and temperature/salinity profiles.The reanalysis fields of sea surface height,temperature,salinity,and currents begin with January 1986 and are currently updated every year. Error statistics and error distributions of temperature,salinity and currents are presented as a primary evaluation of the reanalysis fields using sea level data from tidal gauges,temperature profiles,as well as the trajectories of Argo floats.Some case studies offer the opportunity to verify the evolution of certain local circulations.These evaluations show that the reanalysis data produced provide a good representation of the ocean processes and phenomena in the coastal waters of China and adjacent seas.

Classification and 3-D distribution of upper layer water masses in the northern South China Sea

Using the fuzzy cluster analysis and the temperature-salinity(T-S) similarity number analysis of cruise conductivity-temperature-depth(CTD) data in the upper layer(0–300 m) of the northern South China Sea(NSCS), we classify the upper layer water of the NSCS into six water masses: diluted water(D), surface water(SS),the SCS subsurface water mass(U_S), the Pacific Ocean subsurface water mass(U_P), surface-subsurface mixed water(SU) and subsurface-intermediate mixed water(UI). A new stacked stereogram is used to illustrate the water mass distribution, and to examine the source and the distribution of U_P, combining with the sea surface height data and geostrophic current field. The results show that water mass U_P exists in all four seasons with the maximum range in spring and the minimum range in summer. In spring and winter, the U_P intrudes into the Luzon Strait and the southwest of Taiwan Island via the northern Luzon Strait in the form of nonlinear Rossby eddies, and forms a high temperature and high salinity zone east of the Dongsha Islands. In summer, the U_P is sporadically distributed in the study area. In autumn, the U_P is located in the upper 200 m layer east of Hainan Island.

Hydrological analysis of Kuroshio water intrusion into the South China Sea

Using CFD and ADCP data collected by four research vessels from both sides of the Taiwan Strait in the northeastern area of the forth China Sea in August - September 1994 and incorporating with CTD data collected in the same area in March 1992 and some historical hydrologic data, the water features and the intrusion of Kuroshio water into the South China Sea are discussed, which shows that the water mass distribution in the survey period was similar to that in the cruise of late winter and early spring (March 1992), that is, the water structure in the northeast of the sea and in the Northwest Pacific had their own independent features of temperature and salinity. Though the intrusion of Kuroshio water into the sea was found, it was very weak. Therefore there would be no direct Kuroshio branch into the sea in the late summer and early autumn. Even the Kuroshio water intrusion from the Bashi Channel into the Taiwan Strait, its influence was also very weak. Analysis of isopycnic surface and geretrophic current and the Observed ADCP data show that there was a rather strong northward flow in the southeast pat of the survey area which flowed northward along the west coast of Philippines, rounded the northwest corner of Luzon Island and then flowed northeastward. Some kind of mixing with Kuroshio water was shown in the Bashi Channel. The water mass was obviously of high temperature and low salinity in winter and comparatively low temperature and low salinity in summer.

STUDY OF WATER-TRANSPORT THROUGH SOME MAIN STRAITS IN THE EAST CHINA SEA AND SOUTH CHINA SEA

OCCAM global ocean model results were applied to calculate the monthly water transport through 7 straits around the East China Sea (ECS) and the South China Sea (SCS). Analysis of the features of velocity profiles and their variations in the Togara Strait, Luzon Strait and Eastern Taiwan Strait showed that: 1) the velocity profiles had striped pattern in the Eastern Taiwan Strait, where monthly flux varied from 22.4 to 28.1 Sv and annual mean was about 25.8 Sv; 2) the profiles of velocity in the Togara Strait were characterized by core structure, and monthly flux varied from 23.3 to 31.4 Sv, with annual mean of about 27.9 Sv; 3) water flowed from the SCS to the ECS in the Taiwan Strait, with maximum flux of 3.1 Sv in July and minimum of 0.9 Sv in November; 4) the flux in the Tsushima Strait varied by only about 0.4 Sv by season and its annual mean was about 2.3 Sv; 5) Kuroshio water flowed into the SCS in the Luzon Strait throughout the year and the velocity profiles were characterized by multi core structure. The flux in the Luzon Strait was minimum in June (about 2.4 Sv) and maximum in February (about 9.0 Sv), and its annual mean was 4.8 Sv; 6) the monthly flux in the Mindoro Strait was maximum in December (3.0 Sv) and minimum in June (only 0.1 Sv), and its annual mean was 1.3 Sv; 7) Karimata Strait water flowed into the SCS from May to August, with maximum inflow flux of about 0.75 Sv in June and flowed out from September to April at maximum outflow flux of 3.9 Sv in January. The annual mean flux was about 1.35 Sv.

Seasonal variation and formation mechanism of the South China Sea warm water

The South China Sea warm water (SCSWW) is identified as the warm water body withtemperature no less than 28*. There are three stages in the seasonal variation of the SCSWW. The SCSWW expands rapidly and deepens quickly in the developing stage. The warm water thickness decreases near the coast of Vietnam and increases near Palawan Island in the steady stage. The SCSWW flinches southward while its thickness off Palawan Island remains no less than 50 m in the flinching stage. The maximum thickness of the SCSWW is always located near the southeastern SCS. The seasonal variation of the SCSWW has a close relationship with seasonal variation of the thermocline. According to the analysis of the numerical experiment results from the Princeton Ocean Model (POM), the mechanism of the seasonal variation of the SCSWW can be interpreted as: (1) in the developing stage, the rapidly expanding and thickening feature of the SCSWW is mainly due to buoyancy flux effect (67% contribution). The weak wind and anticyclonic wind stress curl (22% contribution) present an environment which facilitates the accumulation of warm water; (2) in the steady stage, the decrease feature near the Vietnam coast and increase eature in southeast of the SCSWW thickness are mainly caused by wind stress (70% contribution); (3) in the flinching stage, the thickness reduction of the SCSWW is mainly due to upwelling and enhanced turbulent mixing caused by wind stress (accounts for 60%).

Deep-water Fan Systems and Petroleum Resources on the Northern Slope of the South China Sea

The shallow shelf delta/strand arenaceous-pelitic deposit region in the north of the Pearl River mouth basin, sitting on the northern continental shelf of the South China Sea, has already become an important oil production base in China. Recent researched has revealed that a great deal of deep-water fans of great petroleum potentiality exist on the Baiyun deep-water slope below the big paleo Pearl River and its large delta. Based on a mass of exploration wells and 2-D seismic data of the shallow shelf region, a interpretation of sequence stratigraphy confirmed the existence of deep-water fans. The cyclic falling of sea level, abundant detrital matter from the paleo Pearl River and the persistent geothermal subsidence in the Baiyun sag are the three prerequisites for the formation and development of deep-water fans. There are many in common between the deep-water shelf depositional system of the northern South China Sea and the exploration hotspots region on the two banks of the Atlantic. For example, both are located on passive continent margins, and persistent secular thermal subsidence and large paleo rivers have supplied abundant material sources and organic matter. More recently, the discovery of the big gas pool on the northern slope of the Baiyun sag confirms that the Lower Tertiary lacustrine facies in the Baiyun sag has a great potentiality of source rocks. The fans overlying the Lower Tertiary source rocks should become the main exploration areas for oil and gas resources.

Freshening of the intermediate water of the South China Sea between the 1960s and the 1980s

Variation in intermediate water salinity in the South China Sea (SCS) between the 1960s and 1980s was studied using historical hydrographic data. The results demonstrate that the water was significantly fresher in the 1980s than in the 1960s, indicating that vertical mixing at intermediate water depth was reduced in the 1980s. This was partially because of the change of the SCS meridional overturning circulation (MOC) connecting local intermediate water with deep water. Data assimilation showed a 0.5Sv (1 Sv=10 6m 3/s) reduction in the strength of the MOC, which is about one third of the mean SCS MOC. Because the SCS MOC is linked to the Pacific Ocean, such an interdecadal variation in the intermediate water SCS may reflect anthropogenic climate change in the world ocean.

THE CLIMATE FEATURES OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA WARM POOL

There exists a warm pool in the South China Sea (SCS). The temporal and spatial distribution and evolution of SCS warm pool is investigated using water temperatures at a depth of 20 m in the sea. The formation of the warm pool is discussed by combining water temperatures with geostrophic currents and simu-lated oceanic circulation. It is found that there are significant seasonal and interannual changes in the warm pool and in association with the general circulation of the atmosphere. The development of SCS warm pool is also closely related to the gyre activities in the sea and imported warm water from Indian Ocean (Java Sea) besides radiative warming.

Environmental Drivers of Temporal and Spatial Fluctuations of Mesozooplankton Community in Daya Bay, Northern South China Sea

The response of zooplankton to the ecological environment in Daya Bay is unclear under the influence of both climate changes and anthropogenic activities on a seasonal to inter-annual scale.Based on monthly surveys and historical data,we found the zooplankton community had changed temporally and spatially.A total of 134 species was recorded during the study,and copepods dominated numerically in terms of diversity and abundance.Both copepods and cladocerans were the main contributors to zooplankton abundance.The community structure of zooplankton was temporally classified into the warm and cold groups,and spatially into the three groups located in the marine cage-culture area(MCCA),the outflow of nuclear power plants(ONPP)and unpolluted waters(UPW).The zooplankton was characterized by low biomass(dry weight),high diversity and abundance in the warm period in contrast to that in the cold period.Compared with the other two groups,the MCCA group of zooplankton showed high abundance,low diversity and biomass.Variations in dominant species were closely related to temperature,salinity and chlorophyll a concentration.Species diversity and dry weight decreased in comparison with 30 years ago,while zooplankton abundance increased.The seasonal variation in zooplankton was affected mainly by temperature that was controlled by monsoon,while the spatial difference in the community structure was probably due to eutrophication in the MCCA and thermal water discharge from ONPP.The zooplankton community is undergoing great changes with the tendency of miniaturization and gelatinization in recent 30 years in Daya Bay.

Warm water wake off northeast Vietnam in the South China Sea

Due to orographic blockage, a weak wind wake occurs in summer off northeast Vietnam in the South China Sea. Under the wind wake, warm water is observed from both high-resolution satellite data and hydrographic observations. The wake of warm water forms in June, continues to mature in July and August, starts to decay in September, and disappears in October. The warm water wake also shows robust diurnal variation – it intensifies during the day and weakens in the night. Warm water wakes can be generated through wind-induced mixing and thermal（latent heat flux） processes. In this paper, a mixed layer model is used to evaluate the relative importance of the two processes on seasonal and diurnal timescales, respectively. The results demonstrate that thermal processes make a greater contribution to the wake than wind-induced mixing processes on a seasonal timescale, while the warm water wake is dominated by wind-induced mixing processes on a diurnal timescale.

The destiny of the North Pacific Intermediate Water in the South China Sea

The previous studies show that the spreading path of the subtropical salinity minimum of the North Pacific Intermediate Water （NPIW） is southwestward pointing to the Luzon Strait. Based on the P -vector method and generalized digital environmental model （GDEM） data, the volume transport of NPIW through Luzon Strait and the upward transport on the NPIW lower and upper boundaries are calculated to examine the destiny of NPIW in the South China Sea （SCS）. On the annual mean, the estimation of NPIW transport into the SCS through the Luzon Strait is 1.72 Sv （1Sv=10 6 m 3 /s）. The upward transport over the SCS is 0.31 Sv on the NPIW upper boundary and 1.31 Sv on the NPIW lower boundary. There is no strait or passage deeper than the surface for the NPIW to extend, except for the Luzon Strait. For the volume balance in the SCS NPIW, the volume transport of 2.72 Sv has to flow out of the SCS NPIW layer through the Luzon Strait.

Water Mass Characteristics and Stratification at the Shallow Sunda Shelf of Southern South China Sea

CTD data obtained from two oceanographic cruises during June and October 2012 were used to define the water mass characteristics and degree of stratification at the shallow Sunda shelf located at the southern South China Sea. The water masses during both cruises showed characteristics similar (southwest monsoon) to those observed in the adjacent regions. A clustering method was used in which three water masses were classified from the composite dataset. There are WM1 (T 29°C - 31°C, S 32 - 33.5 psu, & σT, ~19.5 - 20.7 kg/m3), WM2 (T 25°C - 29°C, S 32.8 - 33.8 psu, & σT, ~22.3 - 23 kg/m3) and WM3 (T 23°C - 25°C, S33.5 - 34.0, & σT ~22.3 - 23.3 kg/m3). Even though the water masses found were characterized under southwest monsoon characteristics, the degrees of stratification obtained varied between these cruises. The stability of the stratification also plays roles in the distribution of the water masses in the water column. WM2 was found in thermocline layer and most dominant in June compared to in October. In June, WM3 was found under the thermocline layer and absent in October. The stable thermocline caused the denser WM3 cannot mixed with WM2. Higher temperatures and weaker winds during June may have caused the strong stratification, while decreasing temperature and stronger winds of an upcoming northeast monsoon enhanced the vertical mixing during October.

Evaluation of clayed silt properties on the behavior of hydrate production in South China Sea

Gas hydrate is one kind of potential energy resources that is buried under deep seafloor or frozen areas.The first trial offshore production from the silty reservoir was conducted in the South China Sea by the China Geological Survey(CGS).During this test,there were many unique characteristics different from the sand reservoir,which was believed to be related to the clayed silt physical properties.In this paper,simulation experiments,facilities analysis,and theoretical calculation were used to confirm the hydrate structure,reservoir thermo-physical property,and bond water movement rule.And the behavior of how they affected production efficiency was analyzed.The results showed that:It was reasonable to use the structure I rather than structure II methane hydrate phase equilibrium data to make the production plan;the dissociation heat absorbed by hydrate was large enough to cause hydrate self-protection or reformation depend on the reservoir thermal transfer and gas supply;clayed silt got better thermal conductivity compared to coarse grain,but poor thermal convection especially with hydrate;clayed silt sediment was easy to bond water,but the irreducible water can be exchanged to free water under high production pressure,and the most obvious pressure range of water increment was 1.9–4.9 MPa.