Beneath the surface: Characteristics of oceanic ecosystems under weak mixing conditions – A theoretical investigation     

Aike Beckmann  Inga Hense   《Progress in Oceanography》2007,75(4):771-796

This study considers an important biome in aquatic environments, the subsurface ecosystem that evolves under low mixing conditions, from a theoretical point of view. Employing a conceptual model that involves phytoplankton, a limiting nutrient and sinking detritus, we use a set of key characteristics (thickness, depth, biomass amplitude/productivity) to qualitatively and quantitatively describe subsurface biomass maximum layers (SBMLs) of phytoplankton. These SBMLs are defined by the existence of two community compensation depths in the water column, which confine the layer of net community production; their depth coincides with the upper nutricline. Analysing the results of a large ensemble of simulations with a one-dimensional numerical model, we explore the parameter dependencies to obtain fundamental steady-state relationships that connect primary production, mortality and grazing, remineralization, vertical diffusion and detrital sinking. As a main result, we find that we can distinguish between factors that determine the vertically integrated primary production and others that affect only depth and shape (thickness and biomass amplitude) of this subsurface production layer. A simple relationship is derived analytically, which can be used to estimate the steady-state primary productivity in the subsurface oligotrophic ocean. The fundamental nature of the results provides further insight into the dynamics of these “hidden” ecosystems and their role in marine nutrient cycling.  相似文献   

Metridia pacifica in Dabob Bay, Washington: The diatom effect and the discrepancy between high abundance and low egg production rates   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Claudia Halsband-Lenk   《Progress in Oceanography》2005,67(3-4):422

Information on life cycle strategies and reproductive parameters of Metridia pacifica is scarce, despite its importance in the zooplankton of the subarctic Pacific. In many regions it occurs in high abundance, but reproductive rates, when reported, are usually low. This discrepancy was studied in Dabob Bay, Washington, USA, in the context of an investigation of the effect of diatom blooms on the reproductive success of copepod grazers.In situ egg production rates of M. pacifica were measured in spring and mid-summer with standard methods (multi-wells) and a new incubation chamber (spawning towers) that separates the spawning female from its eggs and allows the eggs to develop undisturbed. Many females did not produce eggs, possibly due to a high fraction of immature individuals. Egg production rates were variable, but clutch sizes were higher in spawning towers, and estimates of female egg cannibalism revealed that females consume many eggs shortly after their release. Thus, a separation of females and eggs is mandatory for accurate measurements of M. pacifica egg production rates. The maximum clutch sizes recorded in our study were comparable to measurements for other calanoids. However, unviable eggs were a large fraction of those spawned, independent of incubation method, especially in late winter and early spring. In order to assess whether the diatom effect may be responsible for low viability of embryos and nauplii, we also measured in situ grazing. Adult females were omnivorous, but they ingested some diatoms that rank among the strongest anti-mitotic toxin producers known so far. Although M. pacifica’s vertical migration behavior suggests opportunistic feeding on abundant food during their short stay in the phytoplankton-rich surface, they often ignored the food items that contributed most to microplankton carbon concentrations. Thus, their feeding strategy remains ambiguous. Due to severe reproductive failure early in the season, recruitment was impaired in spring, while the population increased, reaching high abundance in mid-summer when reproductive output was low. While advection and interannual variability in bloom conditions might compensate for the losses described here, the paradox of high Metridia abundance versus low reproductive success still requires further investigation, and methodological constraints need to be ruled out in future studies.  相似文献   

厦门嵩屿附近海底的冲淤变化   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

杨顺良 《台湾海峡》1996,15(1):94-102

本文通过地形剖面测量比较、浅地层剖面勘探，结合水文泥沙测验和沉积物粒径资料，分析嵩屿附近海域在各历史时期和九江洪水期、枯水期的中淤变鼓水道近十几年来淤积速度加快。其主要原因是该海域动力要素明显减弱，携沙能力降低；其次，九龙江大量的泥沙主要集中在洪水期较短的时间内泄出河口，伴随涨潮流进入嵩鼓水道淤积。  相似文献   

Estimating mortality rates from tag recoveries: incorporating over-dispersion, correlation, and change points     

Kitada  Shuichi; Hiramatsu  Kazuhiko; Kishino  Hirohisa 《ICES Journal of Marine Science》1994,51(3):241-251

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长江河口横沙东滩自然演变及工程影响   总被引：5，自引：0，他引：5  

桑永尧  虞志英  金镠 《海洋学研究》2003,21(3):14-23

横沙东滩(含横沙浅滩)是长江河口主要浅滩之一,在浅滩两侧(北港和北槽主槽)水流控制下,受浅滩横比降形成的过滩水流和较强的风浪作用影响,滩面长期以来少有淤涨。通过对1995～2002年的地形资料(吴淞基面)进行研究分析表明:从总体上看随着北港主槽向南岸进逼,造成横沙东滩窜沟西部到白条子沙之间的滩区北沿明显内凹;随着长江口深水航道治理双导堤工程的实施,在北导堤产生的堵汊、导流和拦沙的作用下,白条子沙至横沙东滩沟滩面出现微淤;而横沙东滩窜沟以东滩面难以淤高。采用促淤工程和就近吹泥上滩方式,增加横沙东滩的滩面高程以加快造地,从而达到既疏浚航道又增加湿地面积的双赢效果。  相似文献   

Ghost fishing in European waters: Impacts and management responses     

James Brown  Graeme Macfadyen 《Marine Policy》2007

In this paper we review levels of net loss, what happens to the gear once it has been lost, and the resulting levels of ‘ghost catches’ made in passive net fisheries in the EU. We also consider ghost catches resulting from lost gear in other types of fisheries, and the extent to which the value of ghost catches has been quantified. We consider why fishing gear is lost, and profile common management responses. We present a cost benefit model to assess the relative cost effectiveness of different management measures, and suggest that gear retrieval programmes may provide less value for money than other management responses.  相似文献   

Mussel Periostracum from Deep-Sea Redox Communities as a Microbial Habitat: 3. Secondary Inhabitants     

James E.  Hook Stjepko  Golubic 《Marine Ecology》1992,13(2):119-131

Abstract. Vacated microborings in periostracum of live mussels of the Florida Escarpment redox community (depth of 3266 m) become a habitat for a prolific secondary microbiota consisting of a variety of prokaryotic and a few eukaryotic organisms. Periostracum surface is also colonized by diverse microorganisms, dominated by presumed chemolithotrophic bacteria with stacks of intracellular lamellae. Unlike sheltered microflora within borings, the surface community is heavily grazed upon by numerous archaeogastropods and ciliates.  相似文献   

Observations of the Labrador Sea eddy field   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Jonathan M. Lilly  Peter B. RhinesFriedrich Schott  Kara LavenderJohn Lazier  Uwe SendEric D’Asaro 《Progress in Oceanography》2003,59(1):75-176

This paper is an observational study of small-scale coherent eddies in the Labrador Sea, a region of dense water formation thought to be of considerable importance to the North Atlantic overturning circulation. Numerical studies of deep convection emphasize coherent eddies as a mechanism for the lateral transport of heat, yet their small size has hindered observational progress. A large part of this paper is therefore devoted to developing new methods for identifying and describing coherent eddies in two observational platforms, current meter moorings and satellite altimetry. Details of the current and water mass structure of individual eddy events, as they are swept past by an advecting flow, can then be extracted from the mooring data. A transition is seen during mid-1997, with long-lived boundary current eddies dominating the central Labrador Sea year-round after this time, and convectively formed eddies similar to those seen in deep convection modeling studies apparent prior to this time. The TOPEX / Poseidon altimeter covers the Labrador Sea with a loose “net” of observations, through which coherent eddies can seem to appear and disappear. By concentrating on locating and describing anomalous events in individual altimeter tracks, a portrait of the spatial and temporal variability of the underlying eddy field can be constructed. The altimeter results reveal an annual “pulsation” of energy and of coherent eddies originating during the late fall at a particular location in the boundary current, pinpointing the time and place of the boundary current-type eddy formation. The interannual variability seen at the mooring is reproduced, but the mooring site is found to be within a localized region of greatly enhanced eddy activity. Notably lacking in both the annual cycle and interannual variability is a clear relationship between the eddies or eddy energy and the intensity of wintertime cooling. These eddy observations, as well as hydrographic evidence, suggest an active role for boundary current dynamics in shaping the energetics and water mass properties of the interior region.  相似文献   

A conceptual design of an underwater vehicle     

Carl T.F. Ross 《Ocean Engineering》2006,33(16):2087-2104

The paper presents a conceptual design of an underwater star wars’ system, which will be more difficult to detect by the enemy than a recently proposed ‘surface’ star wars’ system.The paper suggests that for the proposed structures needed for the underwater star wars’ system, the material of construction should be a composite and not a metal, as use of the latter for large deep diving underwater vessels will result in such structures sinking to the bottom of the ocean like stones, due to the fact that they will have no reserve buoyancy. The paper also shows that composites have better sound absorption characteristics, thereby making the underwater structures difficult to detect through sonar equipment. It is proposed that these underwater structures should operate up to a depth of 7.16 miles (11.52 km), as at this depth, all of the oceans’ bottoms can be reached.The author shows that current technology can be used to construct and operate such vessels, but more progress needs to be made with metal matrix and ceramic composites, so that the hulls of underwater missiles and torpedoes can be constructed in these materials.  相似文献   

Morphodynamics of intertidal bars on a megatidal beach, Merlimont, Northern France     

E.J. Anthony  F. Levoy 《Marine Geology》2004,208(1):73-100

The morphology, bedforms and hydrodynamics of Merlimont beach, in northern France, characterised by intertidal bars and a spring tidal range of 8.3 m, were surveyed over a 10-day experiment with variable wave conditions that included a 2-day storm with significant wave heights of up to 2.8 m. The beach exhibited two pronounced bar-trough systems located between the mean sea level and low neap tide level. Waves showed a cross-shore depth modulation, attaining maximum heights at high tide. The mean current was characterised dominantly by strong tide-induced longshore flows significantly reinforced by wind forcing during the storm, and by weaker, dominantly offshore, wave-induced flows. Vertical tidal water-level variations (tidal excursion rates) showed a bimodal distribution with a peak towards the mid-tide position and low rates near low and high water. The two bar-trough systems in the mid-tide zone remained stable in position during the experiment but showed significant local change. The absence of bar migration in spite of the relatively energetic context of this beach reflects high macro-scale bar morphological lag due to a combination of the large vertical tidal excursion rates in the mid-tide zone, the cross-shore wave structure, and the pronounced dual bar-trough system. The profile exhibited a highly variable pattern of local morphological change that showed poor correlation with wave energy levels and tidal excursion rates. Profile change reflected marked local morphodynamic feedback effects due mainly to breaks in slope associated with the bar-trough topography and with trough activity. Change was as important during low wave-energy conditions as during the storm. Strong flows in the entrenched troughs hindered cross-shore bar mobility while inducing longshore migration of medium-sized bedforms that contributed in generating short-term profile change. The large size and location of the two pronounced bars in the mid-tide zone of the beach are tentatively attributed respectively to the relatively high wave-energy levels affecting Merlimont beach, and to the cross-shore increase in wave height hinged on tidal modulation of water depths. These two large quasi-permanent bars probably originated as essentially breakpoint bars and are different from a small bar formed by swash and surf processes in the course of the experiment at the mean high water neap tide level, which is characterised by a certain degree of tidal stationarity and larger high-tide waves.  相似文献