查看更多>>摘要:Hypoxia off the Changjiang River Estuary has been the subject of much attention,yet systematic observations have been lacking,resulting in a lack of knowledge regarding its long-term change and drivers.By revisiting the repeated surveys of dissolved oxygen(DO)and other relevant hydrographic parameters along the section from the Changjiang River Estuary to the Jeju-do in the summer from 1997 to 2014,rather different trends were revealed for the dual low-DO cores.The nearshore low-DO core,located close to the river mouth and relatively stable,shows that hypoxia has become more severe with the lowest DO descending at a rate of-0.07 mg/(L·a)and the thickness of low-DO zone rising at a rate of 0.43 m/a.The offshore core,centered around 40-m isobath but moving back and forth between 123.5°-125°E,shows large fluctuations in the minimum DO concentration,with the thickness of low-DO zone falling at a rate of-1.55 m/a.The probable factors affecting the minimum DO concentration in the two regions also vary.In the nearshore region,the decreasing minimum DO is driven by the increase in both stratification and primary productivity,with the enhanced extension of the Changjiang River Diluted Water(CDW)strengthening stratification.In the offshore region,the fluctuating trend of the minimum DO concentration indicates that both DO loss and DO supplement are distinct.The DO loss is primarily attributed to bottom apparent oxygen utilization caused by the organic matter decay and is also relevant to the advection of low-DO water from the nearshore region.The DO supplement is primarily due to weakened stratification.Our analysis also shows that the minimum DO concentration in the nearshore region was extremely low in 1998,2003,2007 and 2010,related to El Niño signal in these summers.
查看更多>>摘要:The sinking of phytoplankton is critical to organic matter transportation in the ocean and it is an essential process for the formation of coastal hypoxic zones.This study was based on a field investigation conducted during the summer of 2022 in the Changjiang River(Yangtze River)Estuary(CJE)and its adjacent waters.The settling column method was employed to measure the sinking velocity(SV)of different size fractions of phytoplankton at the surface of the sea and to analyze their environmental control mechanisms.The findings reveal significant spatial variation in phytoplankton SV(-0.55-2.41 m/d)within the CJE.High-speed sinking was predominantly observed in phosphate-depleted regions beyond the CJE front.At the same time,an upward trend was more commonly observed in the phosphate-rich regions near the CJE mouth.The SV ranges for different size-fractionated phytoplankton,including micro-(>20 μm),nano-(2-20 μm),and picophytoplankton(0.7-2 pm),were-0.50-4.74 m/d,-1.04-1.59 m/d,and-1.24-1.65 m/d,respectively.Correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between SV and dissolved inorganic phosphorus(DIP),implying that the influence of DIP contributes to SV.The variations in phytoplankton alkaline phosphatase activity suggested a significant increase in SV across all size fractions in the event of phosphorus limitation.Phytoplankton communities with limited photosynthetic capacity(maximum photochemical efficience,Fv/Fm<0.3)were found to have higher SV than that of communities with strong capacity,suggesting a link between sinking and alterations in physiological conditions due to phosphate depletion.The findings from the in situ phosphate enrichment experiments confirmed a marked decrease in SV following phosphate supplementation.These findings suggest that phosphorus limitation is the primary driver of elevated SV in the CJE.This study enhances the comprehension of the potential mechanisms underlying hypoxic zone formation in the CJE,providing novel insights into how nearshore eutrophication influences organic carbon migration.
查看更多>>摘要:The nutrients from the East China Sea(ECS)through the Tsushima/Korea Strait(TS)strongly impact the ecosystem of the Japan Sea(JS).The complex origins of the Tsushima Warm Current and the various nutrient sources in the ECS result in complex spatial-temporal variations in nutrients in the TS.Using a physical-biological model with a tracking technique,we studied the effects of nutrient sources from the ECS on the TS.Among all the nutrient sources,the Kuroshio has the highest nutrient concentrations in the TS.Its maximum concentration occurs at the bottom,while those of rivers and atmospheric deposition occur at the surface,and that of the Taiwan Strait occurs in the middle layer.The nutrient transport through the TS exhibits similar seasonal variations,as does the volume transport.The transport of nutrients from the Kuroshio accounts for more than 85%of the total.The transport of nutrients from the Taiwan Strait is greater during autumn and winter.The transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN)from both rivers and atmospheric deposition through the TS peak in August.Nutrient transport cannot be equated with volume transport.The DIN in the less saline zone originates not only from rivers but also from atmospheric deposition and the Kuroshio.The transport of nutrients from the Taiwan Strait is not as significant as its volume transport in the TS.
查看更多>>摘要:Petroleum hydrocarbon pollution is a global concern,particularly in coastal environments.Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)are regarded as the most toxic components of petroleum hydrocarbons.In this study,the biomonitoring and ranking effects of petroleum hydrocarbons and PAHs on the marine fish model Oryzias melastigma embryos were determined in the Jiulong River Estuary(JRE)and its adjacent waters in China.The results showed that the levels of petroleum hydrocarbons from almost all sites met the primary standard for marine seawater quality,and the concentrations of the 16 priority PAHs in the surface seawater were lower compared with those in other coastal areas worldwide.A new fish expert system based on the embryotoxicity of O.melastigma(OME-FES)was developed and applied in the field to evaluate the biological effects of petroleum hydrocarbons and PAHs.The selected physiological index and molecular indicators in OME-FES were appropriate biomarkers for indicating the harmful effects of petroleum hydrocarbons and PAHs.The outcome of OME-FES revealed that the biological effect levels of the sampling sites ranged from level Ⅰ(no stress)to level Ⅲ(medium stress),which is further corroborated by the findings of nested analysis of variance(ANOVA)models.Our results suggest that the OME-FES is an effective tool for evaluating and ranking the biological effects of marine petroleum hydrocarbons and PAHs.This method may also be applied to evaluate other marine pollutants based on its framework.
查看更多>>摘要:The sinking of diatoms is critical to the formation of oceanic biological pumps and coastal hypoxic zones.However,little is known about the effects of different nutrient restrictions on diatom sinking.In this study,we measured the sinking velocity(SV)of Thalassiosira weissflogii using a new phytoplankton video observation instrument and analyzed major biochemical components under varying nutrient conditions.Our results showed that the SV of T.weissflogii under different nutrient limitation conditions varied substantially.The highest SV of(1.77±0.02)m/d was obtained under nitrate limitation,significantly surpassing that under phosphate limitation at(0.98±0.13)m/d.As the nutrient limitation was released,the SV steadily decreased to(0.32±0.03)m/d and(0.15±0.05)m/d,respectively.Notably,under conditions with limited nitrate and phosphate concentrations,the SV values of T.weissflogii significantly positively correlated with the lipid content(P<0.001),with R2 values of 0.86 and 0.69,respectively.The change of the phytoplankton SV was primarily related to the intracellular composition,which is controlled by nutrient conditions but did not significantly correlate with transparent extracellular polymer and biosilica contents.The results of this study help to understand the regulation of the vertical sinking process of diatoms by nutrient restriction and provide new insights into phytoplankton dynamics and their relationship with the marine nutrient structure.