A quasi-synoptic interpretation of water mass distribution and circulation in the western North Pacific: I. Water mass distribution

With high-resolution conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) observations conducted in Oct.-Nov. 2005, this study provides a detailed quasi-synoptic description of the North Pacific Tropic Water (NPTW), North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) in the western North Pacific. Some novel features are found. NPTW enters the western ocean with highest-salinity core off shore at 15 degrees-18 degrees N, and then splits to flow northward and southward along the western boundary. Its salinity decreases and density increases outside the core region. NPIW spreads westward north of 15 degrees N with lowest salinity off shore at 21 degrees N, but mainly hugs the Mindanao coast south of 12 degrees N. It shoals and thins toward the south, with salinity increasing and density decreasing. AAIW extends to higher latitude off shore than that in shore, and it is traced as a salinity minimum to only 10 degrees N at 130 degrees E. Most of the South Pacific waters turn northeastward rather than directly flow northward upon reaching to the Mindanao coast, indicating the eastward shift of the Mindanao Undercurrent (MUC).

THE EFFECTS OF MONSOONS AND CONNECTIVITY OF SOUTH CHINA SEA ON THE SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF WATER EXCHANGE IN THE LUZON STRAIT

Seasonal variations of water exchange in the Luzon Strait are studied numerically using the improved Princeton Ocean Model (POM) with a consideration of the effects of connectivity of South China Sea (SCS) and monsoons. The numerical simulations are carried out with the strategy of variable grids, coarse grids for the Pacific basin and fine grids for the SCS. It. is shown that the Mindoro Strait plays an important role in adjusting the water balance between the Pacific and the SCS. The SCS monsoon in summer seasons hinders the entrance of the Pacific water into the SCS through the Luzon Strait while the SCS monsoon in winter seasons promotes the entrance of Pacific water into the SCS through the Luzon Strait. However, the SCS monsoon does not affect the annual mean Luzon Strait transport, as is mainly determined by the Pacific basin wind.

Characteristics of water exchange in the Luzon Strait during September 2006

The Luzon Strait is the only deep channel that connects the South China Sea (SCS) with the Pacific. The transport through the Luzon Strait is an important process influencing the circulation, heat and water budgets of the SCS. Early observations have suggested that water enters the SCS in winter but water inflow or outflow in summer is quite controversial. On the basis of hydrographic measurements from CTD along 120 degrees E in the Luzon Strait during the period from September 18 to 20 in 2006, the characteristics of temperature, salinity and density distributions are analyzed. The velocity and volume transport through the Luzon Strait are calculated using the method of dynamic calculation. The major observed results show that water exchanges are mainly from the Pacific to the South China Sea in the upper layer, and the flow is relatively weak and eastward in the deeper layer. The net volume transport of the Luzon Strait during the observation period is westward, amounts to about 3.25 Sv. This result is consistent with historical observations.

The statistic inversion algorithms of water constituents for the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea

A group of statistical algorithms are proposed for the inversion of the three major components of Case-H waters in the coastal area of the Huanghai Sea and the East China Sea. The algorithms are based on the in situ data collected in the spring of 2003 with strict quality assurance according to NASA ocean bio-optic protocols. These algorithms are the first ones with quantitative confidence that can be applied for the area. The average relative error of the inversed and in situ measured components' concentrations are: Chl-a about 37%, total suspended matter (TSM) about 25%, respectively. This preliminary result is quite satisfactory for Case-H waters, although some aspects in the model need further study. The sensitivity of the input error of 5% to remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) is also analyzed and it shows the algorithms are quite stable. The algorithms show a large difference with Tassan's local SeaWiFS algorithms for different waters, except for the Chl-a algorithm.

Monitoring and simulation of water, heat,and CO2 fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems based on the APEIS-FLUX system

The Integrated Environmental Monitoring (IEM) project, part of the Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategy (APEIS) project, developed an integrated environmental monitoring system that can be used to detect, monitor, and assess environmental disasters, degradation, and their impacts in the Asia-Pacific region. The system primarily employs data from the moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS) sensor on the Earth Observation System- (EOS-) Terra/Aqua satellite,as well as those from ground observations at five sites in different ecological systems in China. From the preliminary data analysis on both annual and daily variations of water, heat and CO2 fluxes, we can confirm that this system basically has been working well. The results show that both latent flux and CO2 flux are much greater in the crop field than those in the grassland and the saline desert, whereas the sensible heat flux shows the opposite trend. Different data products from MODIS have very different correspondence, e.g. MODIS-derived land surface temperature has a close correlation with measured ones, but LAI and NPP are quite different from ground measurements, which suggests that the algorithms used to process MODIS data need to be revised by using the local dataset. We are now using the APEIS-FLUX data to develop an integrated model, which can simulate the regional water,heat, and carbon fluxes. Finally, we are expected to use this model to develop more precise high-order MODIS products in Asia-Pacific region.

Alkaline treatment of the cellulose fiber affecting membrane column behaviour for high-performance immunoaffinity chromatography

The original cellulose fibers and those treated by alkaline solution were both used to prepare the acrylic membranes. The two kinds of membranes were packed into the columns for high-performance immunoaffinity chromatography by the immobilization of protein A on them. It was observed that the alkaline treatment of the cellulose fiber decreased the pressure resistance of the membrane to the mobile phases and greatly increased the accessible volume to the proteins, but affected the adsorption capacity of human IgG on the protein A membrane columns less. There is little difference between those two kinds of membranes on the adsorption capacities of HIgG, which means that the alkaline treatment of the cellulose fiber only significantly changes the void volume inter-membrane, and the porosity and surface area of membrane less. Alkaline treatment of the cellulose fiber reduced the membrane-column efficiency significantly. Some typical examples for the immunoaffinity analysis of IgG from human and dog plasma on the protein A membrane columns are illustrated. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A remarkable synergic effect of water-soluble bimetallic catalyst in the hydrogenation of aromatic nitrocompounds

Hydrogenation of nitrobenzene can be catalyzed by the water-soluble catalyst PdCl2(TPPTS)(2) (TPPTS = tris(m-sulfonatophenyl)phosphine trisodium salt) under normal pressure at 65 degrees C in H2O/toluene biphasic solvent system. The exhibits higher catalytic activity and selectivity for the hydrogenation of aromatic nitrocompounds, compared with PdCl2(TPPTS)(2) or H2PtCl6 alone. The transmission electron micrographs demonstrate that the monometallic catalyst is composed of ultrafine palladium particles of almost uniform size while the particles of bimetallic catalyst are more widely distributed in size than those of the monometallic ones. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.