Internal tide characteristics over northern South China Sea continental slope

21-day in-situ ADCP current and CTD data from an anchored observational station by R/V Shiyan 3 are used to investigate the characteristics of intemal tide in the northern South China Sea continental slope. The results show that tide and internal tide are both mixed type in the observed region and dominated by diurnals; the maximum internal tidal major axes of K1, O1 were largest and reached 11 cm/s, 10 cm/s, respectively, and their current vectors rotate anticlockwise. The 300 m-deep internal tide presents obvious quasi-diurnal oscillation and its average amplitude reaches 50 m. Furthermore, internal tide carried high energy; in the upper layers above 140 m, the kinetic energy of intemal tides accounts for 15%--37% of overall kinetic energy, most of internal tide energy concentrates around the thermocline.     

南海表面海温异常对南海季风影响的数值模拟

采用P-σ混合坐标系区域气候模式模拟了4－7月南海季风的爆发、演变过程，并进行了3组敏感性数值试验，研究南海表面海温异常对南海季风的影响，得到以下结论：（1）南海4月份海温异常对南海季风的爆发日期影响不大，但对季风爆发后的强度有所影响，异常增温造成南海季风增强，异常降温则南海季风减弱。（2）南海季风爆发和强度的变化与南海本身的海温变化情况有密切的关系，尤其是5月份南海海温异常。5月份南海异常增温可以使南海季风提前爆发，季风增强，南海海温异常降低时，南海季风爆发的时间推迟，季风减弱。（3）南海海温持续异常可以影响南海及中国大陆的高低空环流变化，海温持续异常增温可以使南海季风提前爆发，显地加强南海季风，并有利于南海季风向北推进，但当海温在6月份进一步持续增温时，则有利于季风维持在较南地区，阻碍季风向北发展；当海温持续异常降低时，南海季风推迟爆发，且明显减弱。     

Background current affects the internal wave structure of the northern South China Sea

The internal wave modal equations are solved with the consideration of background currents. Analytical and numerical solutions of some specific examples, including observations in the northern South China Sea （SCS）, are obtained to investigate the effect of back- ground current on internal wave vertical structure. The effects of current shear and curvature on internal wave vertical structure are eval- uated separately. It is found that the phase speed and wave structure are modified by background currents, the current shear has little effect on wave structure, whilst the current curvature could have a strong impact on the wave structure. The extent of the effect by the current curvature on the wave structure depends on the magnitudes of current curvature, relative wave speed, and buoyancy frequency, sometimes the effect by the current curvature may even cause the wave to attenuate severely with depth. A new method to obtain the real eigenfunction with depth in the case that the waves become evanescent is also put forward. It is shown that the residual tidal current in the northern SCS is strong enough to cause the wave to attenuate severely at the uooer laver.     

Benthic foraminiferal fauna turnover at 2.1 Ma in the northern South China Sea

Quantitative analysis of benthic foraminifera from ODP Site 1146 in the northern South China Sea (SCS) shows that abundance of Bulimina alazanensis, sometimes up to about 90%, decreased gradually since 3.2 Ma, especially at 2.1 Ma. Abundance of other benthic foraminiferal species, Globobulimina sub-globosa and Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi, increased after 2.1 Ma. Comparison with changes in oxygen and carbon isotopes of planktonic and benthic foraminifera shows that high abundance values of B. alazanensis corresponded with lower values of oxygen isotope, but for carbon isotope, high values of the species were consistent with heavier carbon isotope of benthic foraminifera and lighter carbon isotope of planktonic foraminifera, respectively, and vice versa. Considering factors such as uplift of Bashi Strait, expansion of the North Hemisphere Glaciation, strengthening of East Asian winter mon-soon and variations in oxygen and carbon isotope of foraminifera, changes of B. alazanensis in ODP Site 1146 suggest that the source of deep water masses of the northern South China Sea changed from the warm Pacific deep water with high oxygen content to Pacific Intermediate water with low oxygen content at 2.1 Ma. In addition, the strengthened East Asian winter monsoon resulted in increased pri-mary productivity, high nutrient and suboxic bottom water. Variations in species of B. alazanensis seemed to be unable to tolerate environmental stress induced by deep water masses and productivity changes.     

Characteristics of hydrocarbon accumulation and exploration potential of the northern South China Sea deepwater basins

Although the huge potential of the northern South China Sea deepwater basins has been proven by a series of discoveries that followed the exploration breakthrough of well LW 3-1-1, recent drilling and other studies have demonstrated the uniqueness and complicated nature of hydrocarbon accumulations of the deepwater basins there. Based on a review of previous work and the latest exploration activities and studies, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the critical controls for hydrocarbon accumulations in the deepwater basins of the northern South China Sea. A terrestrial-marine transitional coal-bearing source rock is proposed to be the primary source rock for the deepwater basins. A marine source rock, which was first identified as contributing to hydro-carbon generation in this region, probably plays a significant role in the deep-and ultra-deep water basins south to the Pearl River Mouth and Qingdongnan basins. The shelf margin delta depositional systems in the Baiyun Sag, sourced from the Pearl River, are currently primary exploration targets in the deepwater part of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, whereas the western Red River delta-ic-submarine fan depositional systems, initially proven by drilling, are the possible major exploration reservoirs in the Qing-dongnan deepwater areas. Current deepwater exploration targets at the large-sized structural traps and deep and ultra-deep areas in the south of the Pearl River Mouth and Qingdongnan basins will be the future exploration focus. Deepwater exploration activities and relevant fundamental studies, supporting and promoting each other, are of great importance to the national energy supply of China, the basic regional studies of the South China Sea, advancements in technology, and development of related deepwater industries, and will safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.     

Diagnostic analysis on the northern South China Sea winter counter-wind current

The winter counter-wind current （also named the South China Sea Warm Current （SCSWC）） in the northern South China Sea （SCS） has been known well for decades, but its mass and momentum origination have not be quantitatively evaluated before. In this paper, the high resolution three-dimensional ocean circulation model is adopted to reproduce the circulation in the northern SCS. The diagnostic analyses are performed to investigate the momentum budget in the northern SCS continental shelf/slope and the momentum propulsion of the SCSWC. It is indicated that the across-shelf pressure gradient and the across-shelf transport are responsible for the formation of the SCSWC, while the along-shelf pressure gradient is balanced by the surface stress, bottom stress, and Coriolis force. The magnitude of the terms in the along-shelf momentum equation is smaller than that in the across-shelf one. The analysis on the momentum budget in the northem SCS will benefit the marine environmental prediction in the future.     

Distribution and identification of the low-velocity layer in the northern South China Sea

The low-velocity layer (LVL), closely related with tectonic activities and dynamic settings, has always been a hot topic in the deep crustal structure studies. The deep seismic (OBS/OBH) and onshore-offshore experiments have been extensively implemented in the northern South China Sea (SCS) since the 1990s. Six seismic profiles were finished on the northern margin of SCS by domestic and international cooperations. The features of crustal structures were revealed and five velocity-inversion layers were discovered. Among them three LVLs with 3.0—3.5 km?s^-1 velocity are located in the sedimentary structure (2.0—6.0 km in depth and 2.0—4.6 km in thickness) of the Yinggehai Basin and Pearl River Mouth Basin. They were identified by the reflective and refractive phases for their shallow depth. The other two LVLs with 5.5—6.0 km?s^-1 velocity generally existed in the middle crust (7.0—18.0 km in depth) with an about 2.5—6.0 km thickness in the transitional crustal structure of the northeastern and northwestern SCS. They were detected by the refractive phase from their overlain and underlying layers. We explored the possible tectonic formation mechanisms combining with previously reported results, which provided evidence for the formation and evolution of SCS.     

Distribution and identification of the low-velocity layer in the northern South China Sea

The low-velocity layer (LVL), closely related with tectonic activities and dynamic settings, has always been a hot topic in the deep crustal structure studies. The deep seismic (OBS/OBH) and onshore-offshore experiments have been extensively implemented in the northern South China Sea (SCS) since the 1990s. Six seismic profiles were finished on the northern margin of SCS by domestic and international cooperations. The features of crustal structures were revealed and five velocity-inversion layers were discovered. Among them three LVLs with 3.0—3. 5 km·s-1 velocity are located in the sedimentary structure (2.0—6.0 km in depth and 2.0—4. 6 km in thickness) of the Yinggehai Basin and Pearl River Mouth Basin. They were identified by the reflective and refractive phases for their shallow depth. The other two LVLs with 5.5—6.0 km·s-1 velocity generally existed in the middle crust (7.0—18.0 km in depth) with an about 2.5—6.0 km thickness in the transitional crustal structure of the northeastern and northwestern SCS. They were detected by the refractive phase from their overlain and underlying layers. We explored the possible tectonic formation mechanisms combining with previously reported results, which provided evidence for the formation and evolution of SCS.     

Satellite-derived surface water pCO2 and air-sea CO2 fluxes in the northern South China Sea in summer

An empirical approach is presented for the estimation of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and air-sea CO2 fluxes in the northern South China Sea in summer using satellite-derived sea surface temperatures (SSTs), chlorophyll-a (Chl a) concentrations, and wind fields. Two algorithms were tested. The first used an SST-dependent equation, and the other involved the introduction of Chl a. Regression equations were developed for summer based on in situ data obtained in July, 2004. Using the monthly average SST and Chl a fields derived from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) and the SeaWiFS (sea-viewing wide field of view sen-sor), respectively, the monthly pCO2 fields were computed. The derived pCO2 was compared with the shipboard pCO2 observations con-ducted in July, 2000. This resulted in a root-mean-square error of 4.6 μatm, suggesting that the satellite-derived pCO2 was in general agreement with the in situ observations. The air-sea CO2 flux was further computed with the aid of the monthly mean QuikSCAT wind speed. We contend that more shipboard data are necessary for refining the empirical algorithms and reducing the uncertainty in the results.     

Higher sea surface temperature in the northern South China Sea during the natural warm periods of late Holocene than recent decades

The large-scale syntheses of global mean temperatures in IPCC fourth report suggested that the Northern Hemisphere temperature in the second half of the 20th century was likely the highest in at least the past 1,300 years and the 1990s was likely the warmest decade. However, this remains debated and the controversy is centered on whether temperatures during the recent half century were higher than those during the Medieval Cli- mate Anomaly （MCA, AD 800-1300） and the Roman Warm Period （RWP, BC 200-AD 400）, the most recent two natural warm periods of the late Holocene. Here the high resolution sea surface temperatures （SSTs） of two time windows around AD 990 （±40） and AD 50 （±40）, which located in the MCA and RWP respectively, were reconstructed by the Sr/Ca ratio and 6180 of Tradacna gigas shells from the northern South China Sea. The resultssuggested that the mean SSTs around AD 990 （±40） and AD 50 （＋40） were 28.1 ℃ and 28.7 ℃, 0.8 ℃ and 1.4 ℃ higher than that during AD 199±2005, respectively. These records, together with the tree ring, lake sediment and literature records from the eastern China and northwest China, imply that the temperatures in recent decades do not seem to exceed the natural changes in MCA, at least in eastern Asia from northwest China to northern SCS.     

Long-range correlations in remotely sensed chlorophyll in the South China Sea

A 8-year time series of 8-day Seaviewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor （SeaWiFS） data, which spans from Oct 1997 to Oct 2005, was used to study the temporal correlations and scaling behaviour of ocean chlorophyll fluctuations in the South China Sea （SCS） by means of detrended fluctuation analysis （DFA）. Long-range correlations in chlorophyll fluctuations were detected in almost all the SCS. The scaling exponents vary over a wide range from 0.5 to 1.14, with an average value of 0.79. High values are found in the upwelling regions, such as the northwest of Luzon and the north of Sunda Shelf. Low values occur in the southwest of Luzon, the east of Hainan Island and a majority of the southern SCS. This spatial pattern is considerably different from that of the scaling exponents of the sea surface temperature （SST） time series. It is also demonstrated that SST exhibits more persistence than chlorophyll in almost all the SCS.     

Crustal activities recorded in coral reefs in the northwestern South China Sea

Coral reefs in the northwest of South China Sea have recorded the information from not only the environmental variation but also the crustal activities there during their development. The main crustal activities correlated with the coral reef development include fault, seismic, and volcano activities, etc. The high-resolution spark seismic profiles in the northwestern South China Sea show that the fault activities in the coral reef region have been clearly recorded, and appear as neonatal faults incising reefs. Earthquakes in the coral reef region are rather intense, especially the two occurring on December, 31, 1994, and January, 10, 1995, around the southwest of Leizhou Peninsula, with the magnitude of 6.1 and 6.2, respectively. They have great influence on the growth of the local coral reefs. Quaternary volcanos are active in the northwestern South China Sea, especially around the southwest of Leizhou Peninsula, and they have obvious control of the coral reef development. Some submarine volcanoes form the substrates of coral reef, while a few emerge above the sea surface and form coral islands.     

南海夏季风活动激发的大气遥相关型

北半球夏季,南海地区是全球大气热状况变化最为激烈的区域之一,而南海夏季风则是该地区最为活跃的天气事件,它的演变必将导致其它地区大气环流的响应．通过相关计算、合成分析等手段,揭示与南海夏季风活动相关联的北半球大气遥相关型的存在．该波列状的遥相关型与东亚地区相连,经北太平洋延伸至北美西岸．最高的相关位于西太平洋副热带高压区域,因而它可能对我国旱涝天气产生重要影响．     

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.     

南海东部深海沉积物中孢粉与古环境研究

通过对南海东部294站深海柱状剖面高分辨孢粉、藻类的研究，将294站从下至上划分为7个孢粉组合带,依次为:Ⅰ带:Dacrydium-Pinus-Lithocarpus-Quercus(带绿)-Cyathea-Polypoldiace;Ⅱ带:Castanopsis-Lithocarpus-Dacrydium-Quercus(常绿)-Pinus-Polypodiace;Ⅲ带:Quercus(常绿)-Castanopsis-Podocarpus-Polypodiaceae;Ⅳ带:Polypodiaceae-Cyathea-Pteris-Pinus-Gramineae;Ⅴ带:Quercus(常绿)-Podocarpus-Lithocarpus-Cyathea-Polypodiaceae;Ⅵ带:Pinus-Quercus(常绿)-Palmae-Mangrove pollen-Gramineae;Ⅶ带:Dacrydium-Palmae-Mangrove Pollen-Pinus-Cyperaceae-Cyathea.并相应恢复了南海东部地区12万年以来5个植被、气候演替阶段，依次为：炎热、湿润的热带季雨林——暖热而稍干的热带北缘半常绿季雨林——炎热、湿润的热带季雨林——暖热而稍干的热带北缘半常绿季雨林——炎热、湿润的热带季雨林。结合氧同位素测年资料，对294站地层时代划分作了讨论，为南海古气候、古环境演变研究提供了科学的证据。     

Evaluation of a 3dVAR system for the South China Sea

The authors evaluate a three-dimensional variational （3dVAR） system for the South China Sea （SCS） in this study. The assimilation method applied in the system takes into consideration error correlation along each ground track and uses recursive filter for optimiza- tion. Data from three R/V cruises during the spring and summer of 1998 and the summer of 2000 are used to evaluate the system. The root-mean-square error and bias are reduced significantly and when the altimeter data are assimilated, the distribution of the error is much closer to the Gaussian distribution. Precipitation and river discharge in the southwestern SCS are reproduced, and the variability of sea surface height is efficiently transferred to the subsurface. The 3dVAR system performs well for each of the three cruises, suggesting that it is steady for routine usage.     

Calcium isotope fractionation and its controlling factors over authigenic carbonates in the cold seeps of the northern South China Sea

In this study, we analyzed stable calcium isotope results of authigenic carbonates from two cold seep areas of the Dongsha area and the Baiyun Sag in the northern South China Sea. The stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen as well as the mineral composition of authigenic carbonates were used to investigate control calcium isotope fractionation. The δ44/40Ca ratios of the southwestern Dongsha area samples ranged from 1.21‰ to 1.52‰ and the ratio of the Baiyun Sag sample was 1.55‰ of the SRM915a isotope standard. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the carbonate samples consisted of dolomite, calcite and aragonite, with small amounts of high-Mg calcite and siderite. The δ13C values of the carbonates of the southwestern Dongsha area varied between δ49.21‰ and δ16.86‰ of the Vienna PeeDee Belemnite (VPDB) standard and the δ18O values ranged from 2.25‰ to 3.72‰ VPDB. The δ13C value of the Baiyun Sag sample was 2.36‰ VPDB and the δ18O value was 0.44‰ VPDB. The δ13C values of the carbonates of the southwestern Dongsha area revealed there is methane seeping into this area, with a variable contribution of methane-derived carbon. The sampled carbonates covered a range of δ13C values suggesting a dominant methane carbon source for the light samples and mixtures of δ13C values for the heavier samples, with possibly an organic or seawater carbon source. The δ18O values indicated that there is enrichment in 18O, which is related to the larger oxygen isotope fractionation in dolomite compared to calcite. The results of the Baiyun Sag sample exhibited normal seawater carbon and oxygen isotopic values, indicating that this sample is not related to methane seepage but instead to precipitation from seawater. The relatively high δ44/40Ca values indicated either precipitation at comparatively high rates in pore-water regimes with high alkalinity, or precipitation from an evolved heavy fluid with high degrees of Ca consumption (Raleigh type fractionation). The dolomite samples from the Dongsha area revealed a clear correlation between the carbon and calcium isotope composition, indicating a link between the amount and/or rate of carbonate precipitation and methane contribution to the bicarbonate source. The results of the three stable isotope systems, mineralogy and petrography, show that mineral composition, the geochemical environment of authigenic carbonates and carbon source can control the calcium isotope fractionation.     

The 1997-1998 warm event in the South China Sea

A strong warm event happens during spring 1997 to spring 1999 in the South China Sea. Its intensity and duration show that it is the strongest event on the record over the past decades. It also corresponds with the severe flood over the valley of the Yangtze River and a couple of marine environmental events. This note addressed the evolution process by using several data sets, such as sea surface temperature, height and wind stress in addition to subsurface temperature. The onset of the warm event almost teleconnects with the El Ni?o event in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Summer monsoon is stronger and winter monsoon is weaker in 1997 so that there are persistent westerly anomalies in the South China Sea. During the development phase, the warm advection caused by southerly anomalies is the major factor while the adjustment of the thermocline is not obvious. Subsequently, the southerly anomalies decay and even northerly anomalies appear in the summer of 1998 resulting from the weaker than normal summer monsoon in 1998 in the South China Sea. The thermocline develops deeper than normal, which causes the downwelling pattern and the start of the maintaining phase of the warm event. Temperature anomalies in the southern South China Sea begin to decay in the winter of 1998-1999 and this warm event ends in the May of 1999.     

近10年南海海表风场季节特征统计

基于Fortran程序和Grads(Grid Analysis and Display System)软件,利用QN(QuikSCAT/NCEP)混合风场,统计了近10年(1999年8月~2009年7月)期间南海海表风场特征,主要统计了风速风向的季节特征,期望研究结果可以为航海、防灾减灾等提供参考。结果表明:(1)春季,风速的大值区位于南海北部,约3.5~5.0 m/s,台湾海峡能达到5.5 m/s;除泰国湾和北部湾以外的大部分海域以东北风为主,北部湾以偏东风为主,泰国湾以偏南风为主。(2)夏季,受西南季风影响,大部分海域以西南风为主;风速的大值区位于中南半岛附近海域,该海域为传统的南海大风区,约5~7 m/s。(3)秋季,为季风过渡季节,风向稍显凌乱,南海中北部已转东北风,而南部部分海域的西南风尚未完全消退,泰国湾在该季节则以西北风为主;风速的相对大值区位于南海北部和台湾周边海域,约6~9 m/s,台湾海峡基本都在9 m/s左右。(4)冬季,受冷空气影响显著,整个南海均以强势的东北风为主;风速大值区呈东北-西南走向,大部分海域的风速在8 m/s以上,台湾海峡能达到11 m/s左右。     

海水提升法试采南海天然气水合物的可行性分析

海洋天然气水合物的开采方法是当今天然气水合物研究的一大热点.通过对南海海域天然气水合物成藏机理的分析,提出了使用海水提升法开采海底天然气水合物的新模式.介绍了海水提升系统的组成和工作原理,提出了水力输送设备的相关参数,并对使用该方法的产气量及能效进行了简单评估.结果显示这种方法具有产量大、能效高的特点,运用该方法在南海采集天然气水合物是可行的.海水提升法开采天然气水合物克服了其他传统天然气水合物开采方法面临的技术难题,为海洋天然气水合物的开采研究提供了一种新思路及技术支撑.