Variability of the Dokdo Abyssal Current observed in the Ulleung Interplain Gap of the East/Japan Sea

Subinertial fluctuation of a strong northward deep current, which is referred to the Dokdo Abyssal Current （DAC） by Chang et al. （2009）, is investigated from current records for about 16.5 and 8.0 months in the Ulle- ung Interplain Gap of the East/lapan Sea. The current below 300 m is bottom-intensified and has nearly depth-independent flow. Near bottom, the spectral peaks of the current were found near 10, 20, and 60 d. The DAC variability near 10 d and 20 d is reasonably consistent with the linear theory of topographic Rossby waves （TRWs） in the following aspects： （1） The motion is columnar and bottom-intensified; （2） the theo- retical cutoff frequency is similar to the observation; （3） The observation-based angles of the wavenumber vector are in good agreement with the theoretical ones. The wavelengths of the TRWs with periods of near 10 d and 20 d near Dokdo are significantly shorter than those with similar timescales in the open oceans （100-250 km）. It is primarily due to the weak stratification below 300 m in the East Sea. The deep cur- rent fluctuations with periods of near 10 d and 20 d were accompanied by warm events in the upper layer resulting from eddying processes and/or meandering of the Tsushima Warm Current.

Zircon U-Pb ages and O-Hf isotopes of Quaternary trachytes from the East Sea:Implications for the genesis of low-δ^(18)O magmas

Quaternary intraplate magmatism formed several volcanic islands and seamounts,including Dokdo(DD),Ulleungdo(UD),Simheungtack(ST),Anyongbok,and Isabu in the southwest of the East Sea back-arc basin.In this study,we present whole-rock geochemical,zircon U–Pb age,and in situ O–Hf isotope data for the submerged volcanic rocks from DD,UD,and ST to provide new insights into the eruption timing of these volcanoes and constrain the magma evolution processes.All samples used in this study were trachytes and exhibited ferroan,alkalic,and metaluminous to weakly peraluminous characteristics.They showed light rare earth element(REE)-enriched patterns with(La/Yb)N ratios of 25.3–31.7 and mostly negative Eu anomalies in a chondrite-normalized REE plot.In addition,they were enriched in large-ion lithophile elements and high field strength elements;they exhibited positive Pb anomalies and strongly negative Ba,Sr,P,and Ti anomalies.The zircons yielded a weighted-mean 206Pb/238U age of 2.61,0.348–0.704,and 2.76–2.94 Ma for the DD,UD,and ST trachytes,respectively.All zircons exhibited lowerδ^(18)O values than normal depleted mantle values,regardless of the crystallization age and spatial distribution of volcanoes.Theδ^(18)O values showed no correlation with U contents or Th/U ratios,indicating that the lowδ^(18)O signatures were of primary magmatic origin.The Hf isotopic compositions of the zircons were relatively heterogeneous but predominately characterized by positive eHf values.Binary O–Hf mixing modeling revealed that low-δ^(18)O rocks with positive eHf values from the UD and ST volcanoes were derived from a hybrid source of recycled juvenile crustal materials with low-δ^(18)O and positive eHf signatures and an enriched mantle source with normalδ^(18)O and negative eHf values.The juvenile oceanic crust in the source was likely metasomatized by seawater at high temperatures prior to melting.In contrast,the felsic magma that formed the DD volcanoes may have assimilated with regional basement rocks(Triassic–Jurassic granitoids),resulting in increasedδ^(18)O values and decreased eHf values relative to those of the UD and ST volcanoes.Our study highlights the significant contribution of recycled oceanic crust materials to the generation of the Quaternary magmas.

Characteristics of Algal Succession Following Rock Scraping at Imwon Area in the East Coast of Korea

Abstract This study was conducted to clarify the characteristics high-pressure water sprayer in the period from June 2010 to April 2011 of algal succession following rock scraping using hoe or We divided the research area off the eastern coast of Korean near Imwon into 3 categories depending upon the severity of the barren ground, i.e., the urchin barren-affected, urchin bar- ren-ongoing and urchin barren-free areas. In April 2011, in the urchin barren-affected area with 25 seaweed species, the cover per- centage and importance value （IV） of erustose coralline algae were higher than those of other species. In the urchin barren-ongoing area with 33 seaweed species, crustose coralline algae （mean IV=62%） as well as Sargassum sp. （mean IV=28%）, and Gelidium amansii （mean IV= 19%） were observed following rock scraping. In the urchin barren-free area where seaweed communities were relatively abundant with 42 species, a variety of algal species including G. amansii （mean IV = 32%） underwent algal succession. Overall, it was observed that, as an aspect of algal succession, the weaker the barren ground severity was, the more frequent and di- verse the seaweeds were, and the more complex the succession pattern was in the study. As an aspect of recovering algal community, rock scraping using hoe was shown to be superior to the method using high-pressure water spraying. Therefore, we conclude that rock scraping using hoe is a very effective strategy for recovering the algal community in urchin barren-ongoing area.

Medusa consumption and prey selection of silver pomfret Pampus argenteus juveniles

The current study explored Aurelia aurita and Rhopilema esculent um consumption by silver pomfret juveniles, as well as their prey selection between the two jellyfi sh species. Silver pomfret juveniles weighing 1±0.1 g actively preyed on both the species. Their daily A. aurita consumption was 11.6 times their own body weights regardless of the size of A. aurita medusae. Their daily R. esculent um consumption was 13, 9.1, 5, and 4.1 times their own body weights when the R. esculentum medusae were 10, 20, 30, and 40 mm in bell diameter, respectively. The survival rates of the R. esculent um were higher than those of the A. aurita. When the R. esculent um medusae were more than 30 mm in bell diameter, their survival rate exceeded 92%. Silver pomfrets serve as a type of potential predators on A. aurita in coastal waters, and they have little infl uence on R. esculent um with a size exceeding 30 mm. Besides, A. aurita may be able to be used as fi sh prey in silver pomfret artifi cial breeding.

Specific oceanographic characteristics and phytoplankton responses influencing the primary production around the Ulleung Basin area in spring

The East Sea(Sea of Japan)is a marginal,semi-closed sea in the northwestern Pacific.The Ulleung Basin area,which is located near the subpolar front of the East Sea,is known to have high primary production and good fisheries in spring season.After episodic wind-driven events during the spring of 2017,horizontal and vertical profiles of physical chemical biological factors were investigated at 29 stations located in the Ulleung Basin area.In addition,growth responses of phytoplankton communities to nutrient additions were evaluated by bioassay experiments to understand the fluctuation of phytoplankton biomass.Because of strong northwestern wind,phytoplankton biomass was scattered and upwelling phenomenon might be suppressed in this season.The phytoplankton abundances in the coastal stations were significantly higher than offshore and island stations.In contrast,the nutrient and chlorophyll a(Chl a)concentrations and the phytoplankton biomass were quite low in all locations.Bacillariophyceae was dominated group(>75.1%for coastal,40.0%for offshore and 43.6%for island stations).In the algal bioassays,the phytoplankton production was stimulated by N availability.The in vivo Chl a values in the+N and+NP treatments were significantly higher than the values in the control and the+P treatments.Based on the field survey,the higher nutrients in coastal waters affected the growth of diatom assemblages,however,little prosperity of phytoplankton was observed in the offshore waters despite the injection of sufficient nutrients in bioassay experiments.The growth of phytoplankton depended on the initial cell density.All of results indicated that a dominant northwestern wind led to a limited nutrients condition at euphotic layers,and the low level of biomass supply from the coasts resulted in low primary production.Both supplying nutrients and introducing phytoplankton through the currents are critical to maintain the high productivity in the Ulleung Basin area of the East Sea.

Use of natural trophic resources by Eastern oysters and Pacific oysters of different ploidy

Ploidy manipulation,such as triploidy,in farmed oysters has been used as a tool to enhance oyster quality throughout all seasons because triploid oysters allocate less energy to gametogenesis,and therefore are deemed better performers than fertile diploids.Nevertheless,scientific reports describing no differences between ploidies and,in certain conditions,disadvantages of triploids are not uncommon.As the use of triploid oyster seed increases culture cost for growers,consistency in performance of triploids is considered to be an important goal.Thus,research to assess how ploidy affects physiological processes underlying oyster performance is fundamental for the aquaculture industry.This work was undertaken to assess if ploidy-based differences in performance in the two most commonly cultivated commercial species of oyster in the United States,Crassostrea virginica and Crassostrea gigas,are associated with filtration,feeding,and metabolism.To test this hypothesis,biodeposition measurements were made with oysters exposed to ambient water conditions at locations and seasons providing a variety of environmental conditions.Oysters did not show differences in filtration and feeding associated with ploidy,but physiological feeding variables fluctuated with environmental characteristics associated with spatial and seasonal differences.A preliminarily test of the hypothesis that differences in energy metabolism may account for differences in performance among ploidy levels indicates that basal metabolic rates of diploid,triploid,and tetraploid Eastern oysters are not different.