Modeling impact of culture facilities on hydrodynamics and solute transport in marine aquaculture waters of North Yellow Sea

An increasing number of marine aquaculture facilities have been placed in shallow bays and open sea,which might significantly affect hydrodynamic and solute transport processes in marine aquaculture waters.In this study,a coupled hydrodynamic and solute transport model was developed with high-resolution schemes in marine aquaculture waters based on depth-averaged shallow water equations.A new expression of drag force was incorporated into the momentum equations to express the resistance of suspended culture cages.The coupled model was used to simulate the effect of suspended structures on tidal currents and the movement of a contaminant cloud in the marine aquaculture of the North Yellow Sea,China.The simulation results showed a low-velocity area appearing inside the aquaculture cage area,with a maximum reduction rate of velocity close to 45%under high-density culture.The results also showed that tidal currents were sensitive to the density of suspended cages,the length of cages,and the drag coefficients of cages.The transport processes of pollutants inside aquaculture facilities were inhibited away from the vicinity of the culture cage area because of the diminished tidal currents.Therefore,the suspended cages significantly affected the transport processes of pollutants in the coastal aquaculture waters.Furthermore,the reduced horizontal velocity significantly decreased the food supply for the aquaculture areas from the surrounding sea.

Benthic bacterial communities indicate anthropogenic activity footprints in coastal area under long-term marine spatial planning practice

Marine spatial planning(MSP)is designed to divide the sea area into different types of functional zones,to implement corresponding development activities.However,the long-term impacts of anthropogenic activities associated with MSP practice on the marine microbial biosphere are still unclear.Yalu River Estuary,a coastal region in northeast of China,has been divided into fishery&agricultural(F&A)zone,shipping&port(S&P)zone and marine protected area(MPA)zone by a local MSP guideline that has been run for decades.To examine the effects of long-term executed MSP,benthic bacterial communities from different MSP zones were obtained and compared in this study.The results revealed significant differences in the bacterial community structure and predict functions among different zones.Bacterial genera enriched in different zones were identified,including SBR1031 in MPA,Woeseia and Sva0996 in S&P,and Halioglobus in F&A.In addition,correlations between some bacterial genera and sediment pollutants were uncovered.Furthermore,bacteria related to sulphide production were more abundant in the F&A zone,which was according to the accumulation of sulphides in this area.Moreover,bacteria associated with chemoheterotrophy and fermentation were more predominant in the S&P zone,consistent with high levels of organic matter and petroleum caused by shipping.Our findings indicated benthic bacterial communities could bring to light the anthropogenic activity footprints by different activities induced by long-term MSP practice.

Eutrophication of Jiangsu Coastal Water and Its Role in the Formation of Green Tide

Since 2007,the large-scale green tide caused by Ulva prolifera(U.prolifera)have occurred as a recurrent phenomenon in the southern Yellow Sea of China.Field surveys and satellite remote sensing showed that the small scattered patches of green tide algae were first observed along the Porphyra agriculture area of the Subei Shoal in late April.In this study,we attempted to identify the role of eutrophication in the origin of the green tide in the Subei Shoal and its adjacent area.Subei Shoal and its adjacent area are characterized by rich nutrients,especially NO_(3)^(-)-N,NH_(4)^(+)-N,PO_(4)^(3-)-P,and other bioavailable components(such as urea-N and amino acids).In the spring of 2017,the average concentrations of NO_(3)^(-)-N were 19.01±11.01μmolL^(-1),accounting for 86.68%of the dis-solved inorganic nitrogen(DIN).In addition,the average concentration of NH4^(+)-N was 2.51±1.60μmolL^(-1).PO_(4)^(3-)-P had an average concentration of 0.14±0.13μmolL-1.The average concentrations of urea-N and total hydrolyzed amino acids(THAA)were 1.73±1.36μmolL^(-1)and 1.33±0.80μmolL^(-1),respectively.Rich nutritive substances play a key role in the rapid production of U.prolifera and make the Jiangsu coastal water an incubator for green tide.

The largest CPIES array in the marginal sea:abundant dynamics in the northeast South China Sea

The South China Sea(SCS)is a marginal sea connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans and has gained much attention in recent decades.The dynamics in the northeast SCS are considerably influenced by topography,monsoons,tropical cyclones,the Kuroshio intrusion,and water exchange through the Luzon Strait(LS).

Analysis of 17β-Estadiol from Sewage in Coastal Marine Environment by Surface Plasmon Resonance Technique

In this study, surface plasmon resonance （SPR） for monitoring 17β-eatradiol （E2） was developed. The small molecule E2 was immobilized on a CM5 sensor chip for an indirect competitive immunoassay to detect E2. The SPR response bahed on the antigen-antibody reaction was measured by injecting the sample solution into the flow system. The limitation of detection was 0.445 μg/L. The developed SPE-SPR system was applied to analyze the seawater samples. Recovery of E2 was 91.6%-93. 1%. Relative standard deviations（RSD） for the E2 assay were between 10.9%-15.1% （n = 3）. The range of determination of E2 samples from the sewage in the coastal marine environ-ment was between ND（lower than detection limit） and ca. 11.78 ng/L.

Relationship between species richness and biomass on environmental gradient in natural forest communities on Mt.Xiaolongshan,northwest China

We analyzed the relationship between species richness and biomass in natural forest communities at two similar sites on Mt. Xiaolongshan, northwest China. At both sites, a wide range of tree layer biomass levels was available by local biomass estimation models. In order to identify underlying mechanism of the species richness-biomass relationship, we included different water resource levels and number of individuals in each plot in our analysis. We sampled 15 and 20 plots （20 m ×20 m）, respectively, at both two sites. These plots were sampled equally on the sunny slope and the shady slope. Species richness, number of individuals of each species and diameter at breast height （DBH） as a substitute of biomass of tree layer were recorded in each sample. At one site, the relationship between species richness and biomass was significant on the sunny slope, and this relationship disappeared on the shady slope due to more environmental factors. The relations between species richness and number of individuals and between number of individuals and biomass paralleled the species richness-biomass relation on both slopes. The difference in number of individuals-biomass relationships on the sunny slope and the shady slope revealed ＂interspecific competitive exclusion＂ even though the species richness-biomass relationships were not hump-shaped. At the other site, species richness was not related to biomass or to number of individuals. Our study demonstrated the importance of environmental stress and succession of community in the understanding of species diversity-productivity patterns.

PH_3 monitoring in Arctic and Dalian bay areas

In this paper,we use pre-column 2 times low-temperature cryo-trap enrichment—gas chromatography(GC) /nitrogen and phosphoms detector(NPD)to detect and analyze phosphine in Arctic pole area forthe first time.The results show phosphine exists in all of the samples in Arctic pole biosphere and phosphineconcentration in Arctic atmosphere is between 18.54～132.18 ng/m^3,almost the same as that inAntarctic atmosphere;phosphine concentration in Dalian bay sea surface sediments is between 116.8～554.3 ng/kg,almost the same as that reported in Jiao-zhou bay.Our research of phosphine will shednew light on the mechanisms showing how the phosphorus supplement influences the biogeochemical cycleand global warming.

Seasonal implications for taxonomic sufficiency to simplify M-AMBI methodology in the coastal area adjacent to a eutrophic estuary

Taxonomic sufficiency(TS)refers to identifying taxa to a taxonomic level sufficient to detect community changes in stressed environments and may provide a cost-effective approach in routine monitoring programs.However,there is still limited information regarding the seasonal impact of applying TS and its implications for the ecological quality evaluation in the estuarine ecosystem.This study investigated the relationship between the multivariate-AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index(M-AMBI)and environmental variables in three seasons(i.e.,spring,summer,and autumn)in the Liaohe River Estuary.We tested the reliability of TS for simplifying the M-AMBI methodology.The results showed that family and genus level data could reproduce the spatial-temporal patterns of community structure at the species level.The M-AMBI values showed a consistent spatial distribution pattern in all sampling seasons,with a decreasing trend with the increasing distance from the estuary mouth.Both genus and family level data performed nearly as well as species level in detecting the seasonal variations of pollutants(i.e.,nutrients and total organic content).The family level M-AMBI was feasible to discern stress in the Liaohe River Estuary because of the high aggregation ratios at different taxonomic levels in all sampling seasons.These findings suggest that applying taxonomic sufficiency based on the M-AMBI provides an efficient approach for evaluating ecological quality in the Liaohe River Estuary.

Effects of shellfish culture on the community and mortality of zooplankton in a subtropical Bay

Spatial and temporal distribution of abundance,community structure and succession,and mortality of zooplankton were examined in a subtropical bay—the Qinzhou Bay,Guangxi,South China,to evaluate the impact of oyster culture on zooplankton.Data on zooplankton abundance,phytoplankton biomass,and environmental parameters were collected in 12 routine samplings at four sites in the Qinzhou Bay in 2018.Results show that the hydrological environment in the estuary affected the temporal variation of zooplankton of the Qinzhou Bay.However,the oyster culture affected the spatial distributions of zooplankton.The abundance of zooplankton outside the oyster farm was higher than that inside,whereas the mortality outside the oyster farm,on the contrary,was lower than that inside.Oyster culture in the Qinzhou Bay had built a significant impact on the abundance and community composition of zooplankton,and the food shortage caused by the ingestion of oyster might exacerbate the mortality of zooplankton in the Qinzhou Bay.In addition,the large-scale oyster culture increased the spatial heterogeneity of the community structure of zooplankton inside and outside the oyster farms.Findings of this study provide a reference for future policy-making in aquaculture management.

A multi-module with a two-way feedback method for Ulva drift-diffusion

The outbreak of Ulva in the Yellow Sea has seriously affected marine ecology and economic activities.Therefore,effective prediction of the distribution of Ulva is of great significance for disaster prevention and reduction.However,the prediction method of Ulva is mainly based on numerical simulation.There are two problems with these methods.First is that the initial distribution of Ulva is simulated using independent pixel-level particles.Besides,the influence of Ulva growth and diffusion on the drift is not considered.Therefore,this paper proposes a multi-module with a two-way feedback method(MTF)to solve the above problems.The main contributions of our approach are summarized as follows.First,the initialization module,the generation and elimination module,and the drive module are composed in our way.Second,we proposed an initialization method using rectangle objects to simulate the Ulva distribution extracted from remote sensing images.Thirdly,the drift and diffusion mechanism of the Ulva is considered to realize the two-way feedback between the generation and elimination module and the drive module.The results of our experiments show that the MTF performs better than the traditional method in predicting the drift and diffusion of Ulva.The code is already publicly available at https://github.com/UPCGIT/A-multi-module-with-a-two-way-feedback-method-for-Ulva-drift-diffusion.

Simulation of Horizontal-Two-Dimension Focused Waves Using A Two-Layer Boussinesq-Type Model

Accurate simulation of the horizontal-two-dimension(H2D)focused wave group in deep water requires high accuracy of a numerical model.The two-layer Boussinesq-type model(Liu and Fang,2016;Liu et al.,2018)with the highest spatial derivative of 2 has high accuracy in both linear and nonlinear properties.Based on the further development of the velocity equations(Liu et al.,2023),the H2D numerical model for water waves is established with the prediction-correction-iteration model in the finite difference method,and a composite fourth-order Adams-Bashforth-Moulton scheme is used for time integration.The wave generation method proposed by Hsiao et al.(2005)is applied and calibrated in this H2D model.The numerical calculations lead to the following three main conclusions:First,compared with the analytical solution of Stokes linear waves,the calculated velocity profiles show higher accuracy by using the improved velocity formulas.Second,the simulations of the focused multidirectional wave group are carried out,and good agreements are found,demonstrating that the present H2D numerical model shows high accuracy in simulating focused multidirectional wave groups,and the effectiveness of the improved velocity formulas is also validated.Furthermore,the velocity profiles throughout the computational domain at the time of maximum wave crest are given.Finally,the FFT method is used to obtain the amplitude with different frequencies for several locations,and the changes of the wavelet energy spectrum at different locations are presented for several cases.

Comparison of short-term toxicity of 14 common phycotoxins(alone and in combination)to the survival of brine shrimp Artemia salina

Toxic harmful algal blooms(HABs)can cause deleterious effects in marine organisms,threatening the stability of marine ecosystems.It is well known that different strains,natural populations and growth conditions of the same toxic algal species may lead to different amount of phycotoxin production and the ensuing toxicity.To fully assess the ecological risk of toxic HABs,it is of great importance to investigate the toxic effects of phycotoxins in marine organisms.In this study,the short-term toxicity of 14 common phycotoxins(alone and in combination)in the marine zooplankton Artemia salina was investigated.The 48 h LC_(50)of the 14 phycotoxins varied from 0.0193µg/mL to 2.415µg/mL.The most potent phycotoxin was azaspiracids-3(AZA3;with a LC_(50)of 0.0193µg/mL),followed by azaspiracids-2(AZA2;0.0226µg/mL),pectenotoxin-2(PTX2;0.0460µg/mL)and dinophysistoxin-1(DTX1;0.0818µg/mL).For the binary exposure,okadaic acid(OA)induced potential additive effects with DTX1,probably due to their similar structure(polyether fatty acid)and mode of action(attacking the serine/threonine phosphoprotein phosphatases).On the other hand,OA showed potential antagonistic effects with PTX2,which might be accounted for by their activation on the detoxification activity of cytochrome P450 activity.In addition,DTX1 induced potential synergetic effects with saxitoxin(STX),yessotoxin(YTX)or PTX2,suggesting the hazard potency of the mixtures of DTX1 and other phycotoxins(like STX,YTX and PTX2)with regard to the ecological risk.These results provide valuable toxicological data for assessing the impact of phycotoxins on marine planktonic species and highlight the potential ecological risk of toxic HABs in marine ecosystems.

Export of Greenland Sea water across the Mohn Ridge induced by summer storms

The Mohn Ridge separates the Greenland Sea and the Lofoten Basin.Previous studies identified the export across the Mohn Ridge(EMR)from the Greenland Basin into the Lofoten Basin using water mass analysis and the tracer diffusion method,but there is still lack of direct current measurements.A surface mooring with four current meters was deployed on the Mohn Ridge from June 5 to June 18 in 2015,when three cyclones passed in the adjacent area.In the absence of cyclones,the flow on the Mohn Ridge was northeastward,parallel to the ridge.When cyclones appeared,the EMR occurred to transport Greenland Sea water into the Lofoten Basin.The probable mechanism is the sea level height variation caused by the perturbation of the low pressure of cyclones,which yields an outward pressure gradient force to drive the outflow.Our results suggest that the outflow is intermittent and only happens during cyclone activities.The annual mean volume flux of EMR was roughly estimated by the limited data,which is about 3.8×10^(6)m^(3)/s,a little bit smaller than the estimation based on volume conservation.The results indicate that the contribution of the cyclonic storms to EMR is a greatly important mechanism that potentially influences the global thermohaline circulation through the Greenland-Scotland Ridge overflow.

Dynamic Changes in the Wetland Landscape Pattern of the Yellow River Delta from 1976 to 2016 Based on Satellite Data

The Yellow River Delta wetland is the youngest wetland ecosystem in China's warm temperate zone. To better understand how its landscape pattern has changed over time and the underlying factors responsible, this study analyzed the dynamic changes of wetlands using five Landsat series of images, namely MSS(Mulri Spectral Scanner), TM(Thematic Mapper), and OLI(Operational Land Imager) sensors in 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016. Object-oriented classification and the combination of spatial and spectral features and both the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index(NDWI), as well as brightness characteristic indices, were used to classify the images in eCognition software. Landscape pattern changes in the Yellow River Delta over the past 40 years were then delineated using transition matrix and landscape index methods. Results show that: 1) from1976 to 2016, the total area of wetlands in the study area decreased from 2594.76 to 2491.79 km^2, while that of natural wetlands decreased by 954.03 km^2 whereas human-made wetlands increased by 851.06 km^2. 2) The transformation of natural wetlands was extensive: 31.34% of those covered by Suaeda heteropteras were transformed into reservoirs and ponds, and 24.71% with Phragmites australis coverage were transformed into dry farmland. Some human-made wetlands were transformed into non-wetlands types: 1.55% of reservoirs and ponds became construction land, and likewise 21.27% were transformed into dry farmland. 3) From 1976 to 2016, as the intensity of human activities increased, the number of landscape types in the study area continuously increased. Patches were scattered and more fragmented. The whole landscape became more complex. In short, over the past 40 years, the wetlands of the Yellow River Delta have been degraded, with the area of natural wetlands substantially reduced. Human activities were the dominant forces driving these changes in the Yellow River Delta.

Detection of 36 antibiotics in coastal waters using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Among pharmaceuticals and personal care products released into the aquatic environment, antibiotics are of particular concern, because of their ubiquity and health effects. Although scientists have recently paid more attention to the threat of antibiotics to coastal ecosystems, researchers have often focused on relatively few antibiotics, because of the absence of suitable analytical methods. We have therefore developed a method for the rapid detection of 36 antibiotic residues in coastal waters, including tetracyclines (TCs), sulfanilamides (SAs), and quinolones (QLs). The method consists of solid-phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, using electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive mode. The SPE was performed with Oasis HLB and Oasis MCX cartridges. Chromatographic separation on a C18 column was achieved using a binary eluent containing methanol and water with 0.1% formic acid. Typical recoveries of the analytes ranged from 67.4% to 109.3% at a fortification level of 100 ng/L. The precision of the method, calculated as relative standard deviation (RSD), was below 14.6% for all the compounds. The limits of detection (LODs) varied from 0.45 pg to 7.97 pg. The method was applied to determine the target analytes in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea in Liaoning, China. Among the tested antibiotics, 31 were found in coastal waters, with their concentrations between the LOD and 212.5 ng/L. These data indicate that this method is valid for analysis of antibiotics in coastal waters. The study first reports such a large number of antibiotics along the Yellow Sea coast of Liaoning, and should facilitate future comprehensive evaluation of antibiotics in coastal ecosystems.

Effect of Reclamation Time and Land Use on Soil Properties in Changjiang River Estuary,China

The objective of this study is to analyze soil physical and chemical properties,soil comprehensive functions and impact factors after different years of reclamation.Based on the survey data taken from 216 soil sampling points in the Fengxian Reclamation Area of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River Estuary,China in April 2009 and remotely sensed TM data in 2006,while by virtue of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA),geo-statistical analysis (GA),prin-cipal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA),it was concluded that:1) With the in-crease in reclamation time,soil moisture,soil salinity,soil electric conductivity and soil particle size tended to decline,yet soil organic matter tended to increase.Soil available phosphorous tended to increase in the early reclamation period,yet it tended to decline after about 49 years of reclamation.Soil nitrate nitrogen,soil ammonia nitrogen and pH changed slightly in different reclamation years.Soil physical and chemical properties reached a steady state after about 30 years of reclamation.2) According to the results of PCA analysis,the weighted value (0.97 in total) that represents soil nutrient factors (soil nitrate nitrogen,soil organic matter,soil available phosphorous,soil ammonia nitrogen,pH and soil particle size) were higher than the weighted value (0.48 in total) of soil limiting factors (soil salinity,soil elec-tric conductivity and soil moisture).The higher the F value is,the better the soil quality is.3) Different land use types play different roles in the soil function maturity process,with farmlands providing the best contribution.4) Soil physi-cal and chemical properties in the reclamation area were mainly influenced by reclamation time,and then by land use types.The correlation (0.1905) of the composite index of soil function (F) with reclamation time was greater than that with land use types (-0.1161).

The influence of cadmium on the antioxidant enzyme activities in polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis Grube(Annelida:Polychaeta)

The infaunal polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis Grube,distributed widely along Asian coasts and estuaries,is considered a useful animal model in ecotoxicological tests and a promising candidate in biomonitoring programs.This paper deals with the activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT),and glutathione peroxidases(GSH-Px) in infaunal polychaete P.aibuhitensis exposed to a series of sublethal water-bound cadmium(Cd) concentrations(0,0.34,1.72,3.44,6.89,and 17.22 mg L-1) under a short-term exposure(1-8 d).The results indicate that the SOD and GSH-Px activities in P.aibuhitensis are stimulated first and then renewed to the original level.The CAT activity of worms decreases at an earlier exposure time but increases to the control values at a later exposure time.Our study suggests that Cd can interfere with the antioxidant defense system of P.aibuhitensis.However,the changes in antioxidant enzyme activities for this species do not show the best promise as biomarkers in Cd biomonitoring of estuarine and coastal zones because weak or non-dose-effect relationships between the antioxidant enzymes activities and Cd levels are found.

The estimate of sea ice resources quantity in the Bohai Sea based on NOAA/AVHRR data

The research on sea ice resources is the academic base of sea ice exploitation in the Bohai Sea. According to the ice-water spectrum differences and the correlation between ice thickness and albedo, this paper comes up with a sea ice thickness inversion model based on the NOAA/AVHRR data. And then a sea ice resources quantity （SIQ） time series of Bohai Sea is established from 1987 to 2009. The results indicate that the average error of inversion sea ice thickness is below 30%. The maximum sea ice resources quantity is about 6×109 m3 and the minimum is 1.3×109 m3. And a preliminary analysis has been made on the errors of the estimate of sea ice resources quantity （SIQ）.

Evaluation of Typhoon Waves Simulated by Wave Watch-Ⅲ Model in Shallow Waters Around Zhoushan Islands

In this study, we simulated typhoon waves in the shallow waters around the Zhoushan Islands using the WaveWatch-Ⅲ(WW3) model version 5.16, the latest version released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Specifically, we used in-situ measurements to evaluate the performance of seven packages of input/dissipation source terms in the WW3 model. We forced the WW3 model by wind fields derived from a combination of the parametric Holland model and high-resolution European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF) wind data in a 0.125? grid, herein called H-E winds. We trained the H-E winds by fitting a shape parameter B to buoy-measured observations, which resulted in a smallest root mean square error(RMSE) of 3 m s^(-1) for B, when treated as a constant 0.4. Then, we applied the seven input/dissipation terms of WW3, labelled ST1, ST2, ST2+STAB2, ST3, ST3+STAB3, ST4, and ST6, to simulate the significant wave height(SWH) up to 5 m during typhoons Fungwong and Chan-hom around the Zhoushan Islands. We then compared the SWHs of the simulated waves with those measured by the in-situ buoys. The results indicate that the simulation using ST2 performs best with an RMSE of 0.79 m for typhoon Fung-wong and an RMSE of 1.12 m for typhoon Chan-hom. Interestingly, we found the simulated SWH results to be relatively higher than those of the observations in the area between Hangzhou Bay and the Zhoushan Islands. This behavior is worthy of further investigation in the future.

Application of an integrated methodology for eutrophication assessment:a case study in the Bohai Sea

An integrated methodology for eutrophication assessment,which integrates both water quality indicators(causative factors) and ecological response indicators(effect factors),is described.It is then applied to rank the eutrophication status of the years 2007 and 2008 in the southwest Bohai Sea.The assessment model identified that north Bohai Bay and west Laizhou Bay were the two areas with the most serious eutrophication problems in the southwest Bohai Sea.In addition,compared to that in the west Laizhou Bay,the eutrophication conditions in the north Bohai Bay was more serious in both years.Eutrophication problems such as harmful algal blooms(HABs) and low dissolved oxygen(DO) events in north Bohai Bay were frequent.The integrated method outmatched the currently used Chinese nutrient index method by definitely identifying areas with the most serious eutrophication problems,while the nutrient index method gave ambiguous results between the two years.Inclusion of both causative factors and effect factors,combining concentration,spatial coverage and frequency of indicators,as well as use of multi-season monitoring datasets in the methodology result in a more accurate,representative and useful assessment.