2009 Vol. 28, No. 4

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Articles
Three-dimensional structure of a low salinity tongue in the southern Taiwan Strait observed in the summer of 2005
HONG Huasheng, ZHENG Quanan, HU Jianyu, CHEN Zhaozhang, LI Chunyan, JIANG Yuwu, WAN Zhenwen
2009, (4): 1-7.
Abstract:
Cruise observations with CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) profiler were carried out in the southern Taiwan Strait in the summer of 2005. Using the cruise data, two-dimensional maps of salinity and temperature distributions at depths of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 m were generated. The maps show a low salinity tongue sandwiched by low temperature and high salinity waters on the shallow water side and high temperature and high salinity waters on the deep water side. The further analysis indicates that the low salinity water has a nature of river-diluted water. A possible source of the diluted water is the Zhujiang (Pearl) Estuary. Meanwhile, the summer monsoon is judged as a possible driving force for this northeastward jet-like current. The coastal upwelling and the South China Sea Warm Current confine the low salinity water to flow along the central line of the strait. Previous investigations and a numerical model are used to verify that the upstream of the low salinity current is the Zhujiang Estuary. Thus, the low salinity tongue is produced by four major elements:Zhujinag Estuary diluted water, monsoon wind driving, coastal upwelling and South China Sea Warm Current modifications.
A numerical study of the wintertime double-warm-tongue structure in the Huanghai(Yellow) Sea
SHAN Feng, QIAO Fangli, LÜ Xingang, XIA Changshui
2009, (4): 8-15.
Abstract:
Satellite remote sensing observations show that during winter, sea surface temperature (SST) presents the structure of double warm tongues in the Huanghai Sea trough:the western and the eastern warm tongues. Numerical experiments based on POM are carried out to study the forming mechanism of this thermal structure and its relation to the Huanghai Sea Warm Current (HSWC). The control experiment reproduces this phenomenon quite well, and comparing experiments investigate the effect of wind and tide. It is found that the western warm tongue is mainly caused by the HSWC, which can be strengthened by wintertime southward wind. The eastern warm tongue develops under the influence of an anti-clockwise circulation which is induced by the temperature front of the Huanghai Sea Cold Water Mass (HSCWM) in summer and autumn. In the eastern portion of this circulation, the northward current carries warm water to the north, forming the eastern warm tongue, which remains till winter.
Parameterization of ocean wave-induced mixing processes for finite water depth
YANG Yongzeng, ZHAN Run, TENG Yong
2009, (4): 16-22.
Abstract:
Three dimensional wave-induced mixing plays an important role in shallow water area. A quite direct approach through the Reynolds average upon characteristic length scale is proposed to parameterize the horizontal and vertical shallow water mixing. Comparison of finite depth case with infinite depth results indicates that the difference of the wave-induced mixing strength is evident. In the shallow water condition, the infinite water depth approximation overestimates the mixing strength in the lower layers. The nonzero horizontal wave-induced mixing presents anisotropic property near the shore. The Prandtl's mixing length theory underestimated the wave-induced mixing in the previous studies.
The black water around the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary in the spring of 2003
BAI Yan, HE Xianqiang, PAN Delu, ZHU Qiankun, GONG Fang
2009, (4): 23-31.
Abstract:
The Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary is located in the East China Sea shelf with shallow water. Affected by the tide mixing and the runoff of the Changjiang River and the Qiantang River, the turbidity is very high. Generally, the water-leaving radiance is high in the turbid water because of the large particle scattering. Based on the in-situ data and ocean color remote sensing data of SeaWiFS, it was found that there was a black water region with the normalized water-leaving radiances less than 0.5 mW/(cm2·μm2·sr). The optical principle of the occurrence of this black water was analyzed by the inherent optical properties and the ocean color components. The results show that black water is caused by the relative low values of the suspended particle matter concentration and the back scattering ratio. In the black water region, the percentage of the phytoplankton absorption was relatively high, and the large size of the phytoplankton caused the low value of the particle backscattering ratio.
A study of oil spill detection using ASAR images
WANG Guiwu, ZHANG Yuanzhi, LIN Hui
2009, (4): 32-37.
Abstract:
The oil spilled worldwide causes ecological disasters that result in enormous damages to the quality of marine environment, and great expenses on clear-up operations are needed. Due to its wide coverage and day-night all-weather observation capability, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an important tool for oil spill monitoring and detection. C-band SAR is well adapted to detect oil pollution because oil slicks dampen the Bragg waves and reduce radar backscattering coefficients. In order to detect the area of oil slicks, the algorithm consists of these steps:Preprocessing, Masking of land areas, Detection of dark spots, Spot feature extraction, Dark spot classification. In this paper, the authors examined two coastal regions around Hong Kong and Yantai, China. The obtained results performed on Envisat ASAR images have demonstrated that it is efficient to detect oil spill around the coastal regions. The methodology still needs to be refined with the collection of more SAR data in the near future.
Sediment texture and grain-size implications: the Changjiang subaqueous delta
ZHANG Rui, WANG Yaping, GAO Jianhua, PAN Shaoming
2009, (4): 38-49.
Abstract:
Sediment cores were collected from the subaqueous delta of the Changjiang Estuary. Sediment grain-size profiles and their fractal dimensions were analyzed, to elucidate responses to long-term sedimentary processes. In addition, the environmental sensitive populations of grain size have been extracted. The sediment cores can be divided into two parts, according to the sedimentary structures present. The upper part (0-12 cm) is interpreted as being the active layer, which is influenced frequently by changes in the short-term hydrodynamic environment. The lower part extends from a depth of 12 cm, to the bottom of the core. The pattern of fluctuation is linked to sediment grain size. Moreover, two grain-size sensitive populations can be identified. The fine sensitive population is 6.0-7.2 μm, which is a similar grain size to the suspended sediment from up-river. The coarse sensitive population varies from 40.7 to 57.5 μm, revealing complex changes. Thus, the riverine inputs from the Changjiang River may be an important source, which contributes to seasonal fluctuations of grain-size distribution, over the area. The sediments, with grain-sizes ranging from 0.9 to 20.3 μm, are characterised by self-similar in the fractal non-scale region. The fractal dimension is consistant with the grain-size parameter varatioins, which could be used as a replacement index to reveal and reconstruct the sedimentary environmental evolution.
BTEX anomalies used as indicators of submarine oil and gas reservoirs
ZHANG Yong, MENG Xiangjun, SUN Ping, CHEN Yanli, QU Peng
2009, (4): 50-56.
Abstract:
It is a conventional method for petroleum prospecting to generally use paraffin hydrocarbon as basic indexes of oil and gas. This conventional geochemical technology, however, shows some limits in the prospecting as paraffin is vulnerable to influences from human and biologic activities. Consequently, BTEX (short for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylem, which are direct biomarkers) among aromatic hydrocarbon series has been taken into account for the oil and gas prediction. Domestic and foreign study results demonstrate that BTEX is hardly disturbed and can well indicate oil and gas reservoirs. Based on measured data from a South China Sea area, the present authors have used self-developed visual assessment software for petroleum prospecting has been used to process data, strip background anomalies, and outline significant BTEX anomalies. By comparison with stratigraphic profiles of the target area, it is confirmed that BTEX is a good indication of marine oil and gas during the petroleum prospecting.
The mapping methods and division of tectonic units of the regional tectonic map in the eastern China seas and adjacent regions
YIN Yanhong, ZHANG Xunhua, WEN Zhenhe, GUO Zhenxuan
2009, (4): 57-64.
Abstract:
The geological-geophysical map series of the eastern China seas and adjacent region (1:1 000 000) will be published in the late half year of 2009. The regional tectonic map is one of the main professional maps. The Mapping methods, the division method of geological tectonic units and the main geological tectonic units are mainly discussed. The strata from Pliocene to Holocene are peeled off so as to display the Pre-Pliocene structures. In basins, isopaches are drawn for the Cenozoic deposits. The plate tectonic theory and present tectonic pattern are adopted as the priorities in tectonic division. As to the division of intraplate tectonic units, it is a revision, complement and improvement of previous dividing systems, and the nomenclature for each tectonic unit follows the current system in China. The first-order tectonic unit is plate (Pacific Plate, Eurasian Plate and Philippine Sea Plate). The second-order tectonic unit is tectonic domain (East Asian continental tectonic domain,East Asian continental margin tectonic domain and west Pacific tectonic domain). The Philippine Sea Plate and the west part of the Pacific Plate are called the West Pacific tectonic domain. The part of the Eurasian Plate involved in this study area can be further divided into East Asian continental tectonic domain and East Asian continental margin tectonic domain. The East Asian continental margin domain is composed of the Ryukyu island arc, the Okinawa Trough back-arc basin and the back-arc basin of Sea of Japan. The East Asian continental tectonic domain in this study area is composed of the Sino-Korea Massif, the Changjiang River (Yangtze) Massif and South China Massif. In turn, these massifs consist of basins, folded belts or uplift zones. The basins,the folded belts or the uplift zones are further divided into uplifts and depressions made up of sags and swells.
Optimization of crude enzyme preparation methods for analysis of glutamine synthetase activity in phytoplankton and field samples
WANG Yujue, WANG Dazhi, HONG Huasheng
2009, (4): 65-71.
Abstract:
Glutamine synthetase (GS) is an important enzyme involved in nitrogen assimilation and metabolism in marine phytoplankton. However, little work has been done in situ due to the limitation of crude enzyme preparation methods. In this study, three enzyme preparation methods, high-speed centrifugation (HC, <10 000 g), ultracentrifugation (UC, 70 000 g), and ultrafiltration (UF) with 100 kμ molecular weight cutoff, were compared using two diatom species (Asterionellopsis glacialis and Thalassiosira weissflogii), and two dinoflagellate species (Alexandrium catenella and Prorocentrum donghaiense) as experimental materials together with field samples collected from Xiamen Harbor, China. The results showed that HC is the best method to prepare crude enzymes for glutamine synthetase activity (GSA) in diatom species and diatom-dominant samples, while UF is the best method to extract GS from dinoflagellate species and dinoflagellate-dominant samples. For the HC method, the optimal centrifugal speed and time were 10 000 g and 35 min, respectively, and under these conditions, the highest GSA was obtained in all samples. This study indicates that both methods (HC and UF) overcome the limitation of centrifugal speed and could be applied to in situ GSA analysis, especially at sea.
Cytogenetic characterization of olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus: DNA content, karyotype, AgNORs and location of major ribosomal genes
WANG Xubo, ZHANG Quanqi, CHEN Yanjie, QI Jie, WANG Zhigang, WANG Xinglian
2009, (4): 72-77.
Abstract:
A cytogenetic analysis of Paralichthys olivaceus was carried out using the flow cytometry method for DNA content, silver staining for the nucleolus organizer region (AgNORs) identification and one-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for chromosomal mapping of major ribosomal genes. Nuclear DNA content was estimated by flow cytometry method using Gallus domesticus erythrocytes as the internal reference standard. The C-value of this species was (0.737±0.024) pg, and the DNA contents of each chromosome were estimated to be 16.51 Mb to 39.50 Mb after paired according to the average relative length. The FISH probe was made by PCR amplification of a DNA fragment containing internal transcribed spacers ITS1 between 18S and 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene, and labeled by PCR incorporation of bio-16-dUTP. FISH signals and AgNORs were both located on the secondary constrictions of chromosome 1. These results will provide a better understanding of the cytogenetic information of this species and would help for further research of the karyotype evolution in the order Pleuronectiformes.
Approach of moving boundary and its application in 3D tidal current simulation of Changjiang (Yangtze) River Estuary based on ECOMSED model
KUANG Cuiping, SUN Bo, LIU Shuguang, GU Jie, YU Weiwei
2009, (4): 78-85.
Abstract:
Considering three-dimensional model ECOMSED can not simulate wetting-drying of shoal with its fixed boundary, an approach to represent moving boundary in the model is introduced here. This approach smoothly joints the internal and external mode by making use of wetting and drying technique and is verified by a numerical test which presents a good agreement with the previous test results obtained by other researchers. A three dimensional numerical model is established to simulate the hydrodynamics in spring tide in the Changjiang (Yangtze) River estuary by this modified ECOMSED model which is also validated through the observed field data, the simulation presents a good periodic tidal change. It also successfully simulates the tidal current of computational areas and reproduces the tidal flat intermittent appearance.
Distribution and fluxes of suspended sediments in the offshore waters of the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary
WAN Xinning, LI Jiufa, SHEN Huanting
2009, (4): 86-95.
Abstract:
The offshore waters of the Changjiang Estuary are the transitional areas where river-supplied water and sediment are transported to the sea, and material exchanges occur with the neighbored Hangzhou Bay and the Jiangsu waters. Field observations of currents and sediment properties were conducted to study temporal and spatial distributions of suspended sediments under various dynamical conditions. The high sediment concentrations were found to occur in the western and southern waters of the offshore, and the low concentrations occurred in the eastern and northern waters. This pattern of the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) distribution is obviously influenced by the runoff and tidal current. The significant difference of along-estuary SSC distribution indicates that the SSC is reduced gradually from the west to the east, and that in the spring tide is obviously higher than in the neap tide. The methods of mechanism analysis and equal-area grids were used to calculate the suspended sediment fluxes at the typical cross sections. It was found that 44 percent of total suspended sediments from the Changjiang River were deposited in the submarine delta, and more than 27 percent of sediments were transported southernly into the Hangzhou Bay, and only 9 percent of sediments was supplied and exchanged with the northern Jiangsu waters, and about 20 percent of sediments was delivered offshore to the sea.
Laboratory study and analysis of the instability of alongshore currents
REN Chunping, ZOU Zhili
2009, (4): 96-106.
Abstract:
A laboratory experiment on the instability of alongshore currents was conducted on a plane beach with slope 1:40. Low-frequency fluctuations of alongshore currents with the period of approximately 100 s were observed. The dominant frequency and amplitudes of the oscillations of alongshore currents were determined using the maximum entropy method and the regression method of trigonometric function. The variations across the beach cross-section of the oscillation amplitudes of the alongshore current were given. The linear shear instability theory was used to analyze the mechanism of the oscillation, and the calculated results agreed with measurements. This confirms that the observed fluctuation of alongshore currents is due to the shear instability of alongshore currents.
The reflection of regular and irregular waves by a partially perforated caisson breakwater on a step bed
LIU Yong, LI Yucheng, TENG Bin, XIA Zhisheng
2009, (4): 107-117.
Abstract:
This study examines the reflection of regular and irregular waves from a partially perforated caisson breakwater located on a step bed. The step bed is treated as an idealized rubble mound foundation. Based on the linear potential theory, an analytical solution is developed to calculate the reflection coefficient of the structure subjected to regular waves. The matched eigenfunction expansion method is used for the solution. The regular wave method is also extended to irregular waves using a linear transfer function. The calculated results obtained for limiting cases are exactly the same as corresponding results given by the previous researchers. The present predictions also agree well with experimental data in the published literatures. Numerical experiments are conducted to examine the variations of the reflection coefficient versus its main effect factors, and some interesting results are presented.
Research Notes
Higher-order Boussinesq-type equations for interfacial waves in a two-fluid system
YANG Hongli, YANG Liangui, SONG Jinbao, Hou Yijun
2009, (4): 118-124.
Abstract:
Interfacial waves propagating along the interface between a three-dimensional two-fluid system with a rigid upper boundary and an uneven bottom are considered. There is a light fluid layer overlying a heavier one in the system, and a small density difference exists between the two layers. A set of higher-order Boussinesq-type equations in terms of the depth-averaged velocities accounting for stronger nonlinearity are derived. When the small parameter measuring frequency dispersion keeping up to lower-order and full nonlinearity are considered, the equations include the Choi and Camassa's results (1999). The enhanced equations in terms of the depth-averaged velocities are obtained by applying the enhancement technique introduced by Madsen et al. (1991) and Schaffer and Madsen (1995a). It is noted that the equations derived from the present study include, as special cases, those obtained by Madsen and Schaffer (1998). By comparison with the dispersion relation of the linear Stokes waves, we found that the dispersion relation is more improved than Choi and Camassa's (1999) results, and the applicable scope of water depth is deeper.