Axial growth of hexactinellid spicules: Formation of cone-like structural units in the giant basal spicules of the hexactinellid Monorhaphis

The glass sponge Monorhaphis chuni (Porifera: Hexactinellida) forms the largest bio-silica structures on Earth; their giant basal spicules reach sizes of up to 3 m and diameters of 8.5 mm. Previously, it had been shown that the thickness growth proceeds by appositional layering of individual lamellae; however, the mechanism for the longitudinal growth remained unstudied. Now we show, that the surface of the spicules have towards the tip serrated relief structures that are consistent in size and form with the protrusions on the surface of the spicules. These protrusions fit into the collagen net that surrounds the spicules. The widths of the individual lamellae do not show a pronounced size tendency. The apical elongation of the spicule proceeds by piling up cone-like structural units formed from silica. As a support of the assumption that in the extracellular space silicatein(-like) molecules exist that associate with the external surface of the respective spicule immunogold electron microscopic analyses were performed. With the primmorph system from Suberites domuncula we show that silicatein(-like) molecules assemble as string- and net-like arrangements around the spicules. At their tips the silicatein(-like) molecules are initially stacked and at a later stay also organized into net-like structures. Silicatein(-like) molecules have been extracted from the giant basal spicule of Monorhaphis. Applying the SDS-PAGE technique it could be shown that silicatein molecules associate to dimers and trimers. Higher complexes (filaments) are formed from silicatein(-like) molecules, as can be visualized by electron microscopy (SEM). In the presence of ortho-silicate these filaments become covered with 30-60 nm long small rod-like/cuboid particles of silica. From these data we conclude that the apical elongation of the spicules of Monorhaphis proceeds by piling up cone-like silica structural units, whose synthesis is mediated by silicatein(-like) molecules. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Progress of large-scale air-sea interaction studies in China

This paper summarizes the progress of large-scale air-sea interaction studies that has been achieved in China in the four-year period from July 1998 to July 2002, including seven aspects in the area of the air-sea interaction, namely air-sea interaction related to the tropical Pacific Ocean, monsoon-related air-sea interaction, air-sea interaction in the north Pacific Ocean, air-sea interaction in the Indian Ocean, air-sea interactions in the global oceans, field experiments, and oceanic cruise surveys. However more attention has been paid to the first and the second aspects because a large number of papers in the reference literature for preparing and organizing this paper are concentrated in the tropical Pacific Ocean, such as the ENSO process with its climatic effects and dynamics, and the monsoon-related air-sea interaction. The literature also involves various phenomena with their different time and spatial scales such as intraseasonal, annual, interannual, and interdecadal variabilities in the atmosphere/ocean interaction system, reflecting the contemporary themes in the four-year period at the beginning of an era from the post-TOGA to CLIVAR studies. Apparently, it is a difficult task to summarize the great progress in this area, as it is extracted from a large quantity of literature, although the authors tried very hard.

EAWM-related air-sea-land interaction and the Asian summer monsoon circulation

Based on the data analysis, this study further explores the characteristics of East Asian winter monsoon (hereafter, EAWM, for brevity) as well as the related air-sea-land system, and illustrates how and to what degree anomalous signals of the subsequent Asian summer monsoon are rooted in the preceding EAWM activity. We identified an important air-sea coupled mode, i.e., the EAWM mode illustrated in Section 3. In cold seasons, strong EAWM-related air-sea two-way interaction is responsible for the development and persistence of the SSTA pattern of EAWM mode. As a consequence, the key regions, i.e., the western Pacific and South China Sea (hereafter, SCS, for brevity), are dominated by such an SSTA pattern from the winter to the following summer. In the strong EAWM years, the deficient snow cover dominates eastern Tibetan Plateau in winter, and in spring, this anomaly pattern is further strengthened and extended to the northwestern side of Tibetan Plateau. Thus, the combined effect of strong EAWM-related SSTA and Tibetan snow cover constitutes an important factor in modulating the Asian monsoon circulation. The active role of the EAWM activity as well as the related air-sea-land interaction would, in the subsequent seasons, lead to: 1) the enhancement of SCS monsoon and related stronger rainfall; 2) the northward displacement of subtropical high during Meiyu period and the related deficient rainfall over Meiyu rainband; 3) above-normal precipitation over the regions from northern Japan to northeastern China in summer; 4) more rainfall over the Arabian Sea and Northeast India, while less rainfall over southwest India and the Bay of Bengal. The strong EAWM-related air-sea interaction shows, to some degree, precursory signals to the following Asian summer monsoon. However, the mechanism for the variability of Indian summer monsoon subsequent to the strong EAWM years remains uncertain.

Ship-board measurements and estimations of air-sea fluxes in the western tropical Pacific during TOGA COARE

Direct air-sea flux measurements were made on RN Kexue #1 at 40 degrees S, 156 degrees E during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Coupled Ocean-Atmospheric Response Experiment (COARE) Intensive Observation Period (IOP). An array of six accelerometers was used to measure the motion of the anchored ship, and a sonic anemometer and Lyman-alpha hygrometer were used to measure the turbulent wind vector and specific humidity. The contamination of the turbulent wind components by ship motion was largely removed by an improvement of a procedure due to Shao based on the acceleration signals. The scheme of the wind correction for ship motion is briefly outlined. Results are presented from data for the best wind direction relative to the ship to minimize flow distortion effects. Both the time series and the power spectra of the sonic-measured wind components show swell-induced ship motion contamination, which is largely removed by the accelerometer correction scheme, There was less contamination in the longitudinal wind component than in the vertical and transverse components. The spectral characteristics of the surface-layer turbulence properties are compared with those from previous land and ocean results, Momentum and latent heat fluxes were calculated by eddy correlation and compared to those estimated by the inertial dissipation method and the TOGA COARE bulk formula. The estimations of wind stress determined by eddy correlation are smaller than those from the TOGA COARE bulk formula, especially for higher wind speeds, while those from the bulk formula and inertial dissipation technique are generally in agreement. The estimations of latent heal flux from the three different methods are in reasonable agreement. The effect of the correction for ship motion on latent heat fluxes is not as large as on momentum fluxes.

Seasonal and interannual variability of primary and export production in the South China Sea: a three-dimensional physical-biogeochemical model study

To investigate the seasonal and interannual variations in biological productivity in the South China Sea (SCS), a Pacific basin-wide physical - biogeochemical model has been developed and used to estimate the biological productivity and export flux in the SCS. The Pacific circulation model, based on the Regional Ocean Model Systems (ROMS), is forced with daily air-sea fluxes derived from the NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) reanalysis between 1990 and 2004. The biogeochemical processes are simulated with a carbon, Si(OH)(4), and nitrogen ecosystem (CoSiNE) model consisting of silicate, nitrate, ammonium, two phytoplankton groups (small phytoplankton and large phytoplankton), two zooplankton grazers (small micrograzers and large mesozooplankton), and two detritus pools. The ROMS-CoSiNE model favourably reproduces many of the observed features, such as ChI a, nutrients, and primary production (PP) in the SCS. The modelled depth-integrated PP over the euphotic zone (0-125 m) varies seasonally, with the highest value of 386 mg C m (-2) d (-1) during winter and the lowest value of 156 mg C m (-2) d (-1) during early summer. The annual mean value is 196 mg C m (-2) d (-1). The model-integrated annual mean new production (uptake of nitrate), in carbon units, is 64.4 mg C m (-2) d (-1) which yields an f-ratio of 0.33 for the entire SCS. The modelled export ratio (e-ratio: the ratio of export to PP) is 0.24 for the basin-wide SCS. The year-to-year variation of biological productivity in the SCS is weaker than the seasonal variation. The large phytoplankton group tends to dominate over the smaller phytoplankton group, and likely plays an important role in determining the interannual variability of primary and new production.

Dissolved inorganic carbon and CO2 fluxes across Jiaozhou Bay air-water interface

On the basis of data collected in the Jiaozhou Bay in June and July 2003, the DIC distribution in seawater is studied, and an average air-sea flux of CO2 is estimated. The results show that the content of DIC inside the bay is markedly higher than outside the bay in June, but the content of DIC outside the bay is markedly higher than inside the bay in July. The trend of DIC distribution inside the bay is similar, viz. the content is the maximum in the northeast, then decreases gradually toward the west, and the content is the minimum in the west. The total trend of vertical distribution is to increase gradually from surface to bottom. This characteristic of DIC distribution is determined by Jiaozhou Bay hydrology and there is a close relation between DIC and particulate N,P. Average CO2 flux across the air-sea interface is 0.55 mol/(m(2.)a) in June and 0.72 mol/(m(2.)a) in July. Jiaozhou Bay is considered as a net annual source for atmospheric CO2 in June and July, and the total CO2 flux from seawater into atmosphere is about 740 t in June and 969 t in July.

Dissolved oxygen and O-2 flux across the water-air interface of the Changjiang Estuary in May 2003

The field observation of this study was carried out in the Changjiang Estuary from May 19 to 26,2003, just a few days before the Three Gorges Dam began to store water. A total of 29 stations, including 2 anchor stations, were distributed through almost the whole salinity gradient Based on the data gained from these stations, the biogeochemical characteristics of dissolved oxygen (DO) were examined. Spatial distribution of DO concentrations showed the pattern that it increased in a downriver direction. DO concentration generally varied within a narrow range of 733-8.10 mg l(-1) in the freshwater region and the west part of the mixed water region, and after that it increased rapidly. In vertical direction, the differences in DO concentrations between surface and 2 m above the bottom were big at the stations with water depths exceeding 20 m; DO concentration up to 14.88 mg l(-1) was recorded at the sea surface, while at 2 m above the bottom its concentration was only about 4 mg l(-1). The fluctuation in DO concentrations was small during a period of 48 h in the mixed water region and 2 m above the bottom of the seawater region; while it was large during the same period in the seawater region for surface and 5 m below the surface layer, and a maximum variation from 8.77 to 12.66 mg l(-1) in 4 h was recorded. Oxygen fluxes also showed a marked spatio-temporal variation. As a whole, the freshwater region and mixed water region were an oxygen sink while the seawater region was a source. Relationships between dissolved oxygen and some biogeochemical parameters which could markedly influence its spatio-temporal distribution were discussed in this paper. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

pCO(2) and carbon fluxes across sea-air interface in the Changjiang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay

Partial pressure of CO2 (pCO(2)) was investigated in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary, Hangzhou Bay and their adjacent areas during a cruise in August 2004, China. The data show that pCO(2) in surface waters of the studied area was higher than that in the atmosphere with only exception of a patch east of Zhoushan Archipelago. The pCO(2) varied from 168 to 2 264 mu atm, which fell in the low range compared with those of other estuaries in the world. The calculated sea-air CO2 fluxes decreased offshore and varied from -10.0 to 88.1 mmol m(-2) d(-1) in average of 24.4 +/- 16.5 mmol m(-2) d(-1). Although the area studied was estimated only 2 x 10(4) km(2), it emitted (5.9 +/- 4.0) x 10(3) tons of carbon to the atmosphere every day. The estuaries and their plumes must be further studied for better understanding the role of coastal seas playing in the global oceanic carbon cycle.