Deep carbon export from a Southern Ocean iron-fertilized diatom bloom

Fertilization of the ocean by adding iron compounds has induced diatom-dominated phytoplankton blooms accompanied by considerable carbon dioxide drawdown in the ocean surface layer. However, because the fate of bloom biomass could not be adequately resolved in these experiments, the timescales of carbon sequestration from the atmosphere are uncertain. Here we report the results of a five-week experiment carried out in the closed core of a vertically coherent, mesoscale eddy of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, during which we tracked sinking particles from the surface to the deep-sea floor. A large diatom bloom peaked in the fourth week after fertilization. This was followed by mass mortality of several diatom species that formed rapidly sinking, mucilaginous aggregates of entangled cells and chains. Taken together, multiple lines of evidence-although each with important uncertainties-lead us to conclude that at least half the bloom biomass sank far below a depth of 1,000 metres and that a substantial portion is likely to have reached the sea floor. Thus, iron-fertilized diatom blooms may sequester carbon for timescales of centuries in ocean bottom water and for longer in the sediments.     

The significance of nitrification for oceanic new production

The flux of organic material sinking to depth is a major control on the inventory of carbon in the ocean. To first order, the oceanic system is at equilibrium such that what goes down must come up. Because the export flux is difficult to measure directly, it is routinely estimated indirectly by quantifying the amount of phytoplankton growth, or primary production, fuelled by the upward flux of nitrate. To do so it is necessary to take into account other sources of biologically available nitrogen. However, the generation of nitrate by nitrification in surface waters has only recently received attention. Here we perform the first synthesis of open-ocean measurements of the specific rate of surface nitrification and use these to configure a global biogeochemical model to quantify the global role of nitrification. We show that for much of the world ocean a substantial fraction of the nitrate taken up is generated through recent nitrification near the surface. At the global scale, nitrification accounts for about half of the nitrate consumed by growing phytoplankton. A consequence is that many previous attempts to quantify marine carbon export, particularly those based on inappropriate use of the f-ratio (a measure of the efficiency of the 'biological pump'), are significant overestimates.     

基于声信号海温垂直结构反演试验

目前利用声回波记录反演海洋温度垂直结构的方法中大多以声阻抗剖面作为反演对象,不便于实现声速和密度分离.针对此问题,提出了一种新的反演思路.在优化海温垂直结构参数化表达的基础上,利用遗传算法进行参数寻优,建立了海温垂直结构反演模型,以海温垂直剖面实测数据检验了模型的准确性.结果表明:反演模型能够直接得到温盐垂直结构反演结...     

Factors affecting the abundance and community structureof the phytoplankton in northern South China Sea in the summerof 2008： a biomarker study

Phytoplankton biomarkers were analyzedusing suspended particles collected from the northernSouth China Sea （SCS） during the summer cruise of2008, with the goal of understanding the algal communitystructure and biomass distribution pattern in the summerseason. The results indicated that the distribution of algalbiomarkers in surface water of SCS was impacted andconstrained by the local hydrological settings： the highbiological community generally appeared in Pearl Riverestuaries, southwestern off Taiwan island and southeast-em off Hainan Island, while the relatively lower biomasswas found in the deep basin and strait areas. Diatomswere the dominant phytoplankton species, which werefollowed by dinoflagellates. Coccolithophorid biomassgradually increased toward the open ocean. The presentwork indicated that the algal biomarkers effectively doc-umented the variability of the phytoplankton biomass andcommunity structure as well as their linkage with theoceanic dynamics in SCS during summer 2008. Thisresearch provided not only the foundation for the appli-cation of algal lipids in the modem ocean ecosystem, butalso the basis for the reconstruction of the past oceanicalgal community structures.     

台风麦莎(0509)的数值模拟及结构演变特征分析

利用中尺度数值模式MM5,成功地模拟了0509号台风“麦莎”的路径、强度及其内部结构。根据模式输出的高分辨率结果分析了“麦莎”的动力和热力特征,包括环流结构、涡度、散度以及温湿场。结果表明：气旋低层的动力场及温湿场的明显不对称分布,加强了系统内部的上升运动;Q矢量散度辐合中心与强降水有很好的对应关系,500hPa高度场上强Q矢量散度辐合区域以及正涡度区对地面强降水中心有很好的指示作用。     

Agricultural runoff fuels large phytoplankton blooms in vulnerable areas of the ocean

Biological productivity in most of the world's oceans is controlled by the supply of nutrients to surface waters. The relative balance between supply and removal of nutrients--including nitrogen, iron and phosphorus--determines which nutrient limits phytoplankton growth. Although nitrogen limits productivity in much of the ocean, large portions of the tropics and subtropics are defined by extreme nitrogen depletion. In these regions, microbial denitrification removes biologically available forms of nitrogen from the water column, producing substantial deficits relative to other nutrients. Here we demonstrate that nitrogen-deficient areas of the tropical and subtropical oceans are acutely vulnerable to nitrogen pollution. Despite naturally high nutrient concentrations and productivity, nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff fuels large (54-577 km2) phytoplankton blooms in the Gulf of California. Runoff exerts a strong and consistent influence on biological processes, in 80% of cases stimulating blooms within days of fertilization and irrigation of agricultural fields. We project that by the year 2050, 27-59% of all nitrogen fertilizer will be applied in developing regions located upstream of nitrogen-deficient marine ecosystems. Our findings highlight the present and future vulnerability of these ecosystems to agricultural runoff.     

Reduced mixing generates oscillations and chaos in the oceanic deep chlorophyll maximum

Deep chlorophyll maxima (DCMs) are widespread in large parts of the world's oceans. These deep layers of high chlorophyll concentration reflect a compromise of phytoplankton growth exposed to two opposing resource gradients: light supplied from above and nutrients supplied from below. It is often argued that DCMs are stable features. Here we show, however, that reduced vertical mixing can generate oscillations and chaos in phytoplankton biomass and species composition of DCMs. These fluctuations are caused by a difference in the timescales of two processes: (1) rapid export of sinking plankton, withdrawing nutrients from the euphotic zone and (2) a slow upward flux of nutrients fuelling new phytoplankton production. Climate models predict that global warming will reduce vertical mixing in the oceans. Our model indicates that reduced mixing will generate more variability in DCMs, thereby enhancing variability in oceanic primary production and in carbon export into the ocean interior.     

中国东部地区一个中尺度对流涡旋的涡度收支分析

中尺度对流涡旋(MCV),与其他中尺度涡旋不同,有着其独特的动力机制与发展途径.一旦MCV形成,极易产生灾害性天气过程.为了解我国的MCV,使用非静力中尺度模式天气预报和研究模式对中国东部2003年7月4至5日降水过程进行了高分辨率的双向三重嵌套的数值模拟.与观测资料比较,模拟结果较为准确地再现了当时的大气状况.采用了空间滤波的方法对模式结果进行了大尺度背景场与中尺度扰动场的尺度分离,对MCV的结构与移动进行分析,并追随MCV的活动对其的涡度收支情况进行诊断分析.分析表明,大尺度背景场与中尺度扰动场对MCV的作用有着明显的差异.MCV的移动由大尺度背景风场引导;其中辐合作用直接决定了MCV的形成与发展,大尺度水平运动对中尺度涡度的水平输送为水平平流项的主要部分.而由垂直风速的水平变化所导致的水平涡度的倾斜作用在此MCV形成与发展阶段作用并不明显.成熟时的MCV与成熟时的中尺度对流复合体类似有着3个明显的环流,在对流层高层与低层均为辐散反气旋性环流,对流层中层则为较为深厚的气旋性环流.     

Observational evidence for an ocean heat pump induced by tropical cyclones

Ocean mixing affects global climate and the marine biosphere because it is linked to the ocean's ability to store and transport heat and nutrients. Observations have constrained the magnitude of upper ocean mixing associated with certain processes, but mixing rates measured directly are significantly lower than those inferred from budget analyses, suggesting that other processes may play an important role. The winds associated with tropical cyclones are known to lead to localized mixing of the upper ocean, but the hypothesis that tropical cyclones are important mixing agents at the global scale has not been tested. Here we calculate the effect of tropical cyclones on surface ocean temperatures by comparing surface temperatures before and after storm passage, and use these results to calculate the vertical mixing induced by tropical cyclone activity. Our results indicate that tropical cyclones are responsible for significant cooling and vertical mixing of the surface ocean in tropical regions. Assuming that all the heat that is mixed downwards is balanced by heat transport towards the poles, we calculate that approximately 15 per cent of peak ocean heat transport may be associated with the vertical mixing induced by tropical cyclones. Furthermore, our analyses show that the magnitude of this mixing is strongly related to sea surface temperature, indicating that future changes in tropical sea surface temperatures may have significant effects on ocean circulation and ocean heat transport that are not currently accounted for in climate models.     

潜流型人工湿地的脲酶活性分布特性

试验考察了潜流型人工湿地中脲酶活性的分布特性,分析了脲酶分布与湿地植物、微生物状态及污水处理效果间的关系,揭示了潜流湿地的脱氮机制.结果表明:潜流湿地中含氮污染物的去除以生物降解为主要途径,脲酶活性与TN去除率显著相关;各潜流湿地中,有植物湿地脲酶活性高于空白湿地,芦苇湿地高于美人蕉湿地,垂直流湿地与水平流湿地无明显差异;潜流湿地的脲酶活性与微生物数量及活性紧密相关;湿地各层的脲酶活性均沿程下降,中、上层明显高于下层;植物根系分泌物直接影响脲酶活性,使其由根面至非根区递减.芦苇根际脲酶活性高于美人蕉,新生根根际明显高于老根;潜流湿地脲酶活性受温度变化影响,低温不利于微生物生长繁殖.使湿地脲酶活性降低.     

Unexpected diversity of small eukaryotes in deep-sea Antarctic plankton

Phylogenetic information from ribosomal RNA genes directly amplified from the environment changed our view of the biosphere, revealing an extraordinary diversity of previously undetected prokaryotic lineages. Using ribosomal RNA genes from marine picoplankton, several new groups of bacteria and archaea have been identified, some of which are abundant. Little is known, however, about the diversity of the smallest planktonic eukaryotes, and available information in general concerns the phytoplankton of the euphotic region. Here we recover eukaryotes in the size fraction 0.2-5 microm from the aphotic zone (250-3,000 m deep) in the Antarctic polar front. The most diverse and relatively abundant were two new groups of alveolate sequences, related to dinoflagellates that are found at all studied depths. These may be important components of the microbial community in the deep ocean. Their phylogenetic position suggests a radiation early in the evolution of alveolates.     

水田氮素径流-侧渗-下渗流失特征模拟

基于水氮耦合平衡理论和田间实际观测,开发了一套既简单又综合的水田氮素流失特征模拟模型.模型模拟结果表明：氮转化速率常数经率定后能够准确表征水田尿素氮施入后在径流、侧渗和下渗等途径上的流失速率变化特征;同时由于氮素径流流失受自然环境干扰较大,其模拟准确度较低于下渗和侧渗.对黄斑土水田,在各个途径上单季累积模拟流失通量与田间观测结果较为吻合,误差均在20%以下,其中侧渗和下渗的误差小于10%.因此,可认为模型能对水田氮素多个途径的流失速率及通量进行有效模拟.     

Polysaccharide aggregation as a potential sink of marine dissolved organic carbon

The formation and sinking of biogenic particles mediate vertical mass fluxes and drive elemental cycling in the ocean. Whereas marine sciences have focused primarily on particle production by phytoplankton growth, particle formation by the assembly of organic macromolecules has almost been neglected. Here we show, by means of a combined experimental and modelling study, that the formation of polysaccharide particles is an important pathway to convert dissolved into particulate organic carbon during phytoplankton blooms, and can be described in terms of aggregation kinetics. Our findings suggest that aggregation processes in the ocean cascade from the molecular scale up to the size of fast-settling particles, and give new insights into the cycling and export of biogeochemical key elements such as carbon, iron and thorium.     

Seasonal variation of size-fractionated phytoplankton in the Pearl River estuary

To investigate the dynamics of phytoplankton size structure in the Pearl River estuary, concentrations of size-fractionated chlorophyll a (Chl a) were determined during four cruises carried out in 2008 and 2010. The distribution of Chl a in this geographical location showed a high degree of temporal variation. Chl a concentrations were highest in autumn, approximately three times higher than those in summer and winter. Microphytoplankton was the dominant contributor, accounting for 66.9% of the Chl a concentration in autumn 2008. In summer and spring 2008, nano-sized cells dominated the phytoplankton population throughout the study region. During the winter cruise, two different areas of water were found, characterized by (1) low salinity and high nutrient content and (2) high salinity and low nutrient content; nano- and picophytoplankton co-dominated the first area, while microphytoplankton dominated the second. It is arguable that grazing could have played a role in determining phytoplankton community size structure in winter. Nutrient concentrations were assumed not to limit phytoplankton growth during the investigation period. Size-differential capacity in competing for the resources available under different hydrodynamic conditions seemed to be the major factor in determining seasonal variation in the structure of the phytoplankton communities. High N:P ratios in the Pearl River estuary had major implications for nutrient pollution control. Our results indicated that studies of phytoplankton size structure provide greater insight into phytoplankton dynamics and are necessary to better manage water quality in the Pearl River estuary.     

Seismic identification of along-axis hydrothermal flow on the East Pacific Rise

Hydrothermal circulation at the axis of mid-ocean ridges affects the chemistry of the lithosphere and overlying ocean, supports chemosynthetic biological communities and is responsible for significant heat transfer from the lithosphere to the ocean. It is commonly thought that flow in these systems is oriented across the ridge axis, with recharge occurring along off-axis faults, but the structure and scale of hydrothermal systems are usually inferred from thermal and geochemical models constrained by the geophysical setting, rather than direct observations. The presence of microearthquakes may shed light on hydrothermal pathways by revealing zones of thermal cracking where cold sea water extracts heat from hot crustal rocks, as well as regions where magmatic and tectonic stresses create fractures that increase porosity and permeability. Here we show that hypocentres beneath a well-studied hydrothermal vent field on the East Pacific Rise cluster in a vertical pipe-like zone near a small axial discontinuity, and in a band that lies directly above the axial magma chamber. The location of the shallow pipe-like cluster relative to the distribution and temperature of hydrothermal vents along this section of the ridge suggests that hydrothermal recharge may be concentrated there as a consequence of the permeability generated by tectonic fracturing. Furthermore, we interpret the band of seismicity above the magma chamber as a zone of hydrothermal cracking, which suggests that hydrothermal circulation may be strongly aligned along the ridge axis. We conclude that models that suggest that hydrothermal cells are oriented across-axis, with diffuse off-axis recharge zones, may not apply to the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise.     

海洋浮游植物粒径等级遥感研究现状与展望

海洋水体中浮游植物粒径等级的差异能反映其功能类型的不同,浮游植物粒径等级的探测对水生态系统中浮游植物功能多样性及浮游植物生物地理化学功能的研究具有极其重要的意义。本文综述当前浮游植物粒径等级的遥感探测算法,阐述各算法的步骤过程及其特点,并分析了优缺点。基于此,针对我国近海及海岸带水体,提出海洋浮游植物粒径等级(phytoplankton size classes,PSCs)遥感研究今后需要开展的工作。     

2008年台风森拉克引起上层海水降温的机制

采用区域海洋模型(regional ocean modeling system,ROMS)模拟了2008-2009年西太平洋的水动力过程,重点关注台湾东侧台风影响的海域,研究2008年13号强台风森拉克引起的上层海水降温机制.通过对模拟结果的分析,认为30m以上海水的降温主要是扩散作用即夹卷效应造成,而30m以下海水的降温主要由垂向对流即上升流造成.海水从下层50～800m的深度处辐聚上升,在表层50m以浅辐散流出.台风过后海水温度逐渐恢复.研究认为:台风会加强海水的垂向湍流/混合,导致最大Ekman泵吸水深下探,使得下层的低温海水更有可能到达表层.     

物质输运方程中平流项数值格式的改进

在水平曲线坐标和垂向σ坐标的三维海洋模式下，欧拉 拉格朗日方法的插值如果在σ-面相邻网格之间进行，那么在水深变化剧烈处，由于σ-面相邻网格之间的垂向距离较大，插值依据会显得较不合理.所以把插值改在绝对坐标下进行.数值试验表明，改进后的欧拉-拉格朗日方法在水深变化剧烈处比改进前的数值耗散更小、精度更高和表现更合理.     

湍流运动与生态边界层厚度

通过湍流通量及其梯度的空间结构和时间变化的分析,进一步揭示了生态边界层的结构特征和功能以及植物生理活动在这一过程中的重要性。茶园枝叶密集的冠层空间是物质能量的源和汇,可视为一个具有特定功能的整体,即生态实体。生态边界层厚度是指植物生命活动与物理环境之间的直接作用距离,超出这一距离,植物与环境间的物质能量交换则不明显。茶园冠层的生态边界层厚度(D)可用公式D=(BA)表达。(BA)为植物生理活动函数,HC为植物群体高度。在中性条件下,Φ=1。当=1时,D值变化在0.08HC～0.16HC之间,在考察生态系统的环境条件时,D值具有一定的参考意义。     

Phosphorus limitation of nitrogen fixation by Trichodesmium in the central Atlantic Ocean

Marine fixation of atmospheric nitrogen is believed to be an important source of biologically useful nitrogen to ocean surface waters, stimulating productivity of phytoplankton and so influencing the global carbon cycle. The majority of nitrogen fixation in tropical waters is carried out by the marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium, which supplies more than half of the new nitrogen used for primary production. Although the factors controlling marine nitrogen fixation remain poorly understood, it has been thought that nitrogen fixation is limited by iron availability in the ocean. This was inferred from the high iron requirement estimated for growth of nitrogen fixing organisms and the higher apparent densities of Trichodesmium where aeolian iron inputs are plentiful. Here we report that nitrogen fixation rates in the central Atlantic appear to be independent of both dissolved iron levels in sea water and iron content in Trichodesmium colonies. Nitrogen fixation was, instead, highly correlated to the phosphorus content of Trichodesmium and was enhanced at higher irradiance. Furthermore, our calculations suggest that the structural iron requirement for the growth of nitrogen-fixing organisms is much lower than previously calculated. Although iron deficiency could still potentially limit growth of nitrogen-fixing organisms in regions of low iron availability-for example, in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean-our observations suggest that marine nitrogen fixation is not solely regulated by iron supply.