Chemical composition and source characterization of spring aerosol over Horqin sand land in northeastern China

IEECAS SKLLQG

Characterization of airborne carbonate over a site near Asian dust source regions during spring 2002 and its climatic and environmental significance

IEECAS SKLLQG

Formation of the Yazi Spring Stream and its significance on tectonics-climate on the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains

IEECAS SKLLQG

Role of snow depth in spring of Tibetan Plateau in onset of South China Sea summer monsoon

The role of snow depth of Tibetan Plateau in the onset of South China Sea summer monsoon and the influence of ENSO on snow depth of Tibetan Plateau are investigated with use of data from ECMWF reanalysis and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. The results are as follows: (1) The snow depth data from ECMWF reanalysis are tested and reliable, and can be used to study the influence of snow depth of Tibetan Plateau on the onset of South China Sea summer monsoon; (2) Anomaly of snow depth of Tibetan Plateau causes anomaly in air temperature and its contrast between the Indian Ocean and the continent resulting in easterly wind anomaly over 500 hPa and hence as well as in the atmospheric circulation in the lower layer. For the year of negative anomaly of snow depth a westerly wind anomaly with a cyclone pair takes place, while for positive anomaly of snow depth an easterly anomaly occurs with an anticyclone pair; (3) While positive anomaly of SST occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, positive anomaly of air pressure also takes place over the eastern Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, causing stronger meridional pressure gradient between the ocean and continent and then westerly wind anomaly. At the same time, the atmospheric pressure increases in the northern Tibetan Plateau, northerly wind gets stronger, and subtropical front strengthens. All of these are favorable for snowfall over Tibetan Plateau.

Feeding and egg production of the planktonic copepod Calanus sinicus in spring and autumn in the Yellow Sea, China

Shipboard incubations were conducted in spring (April) and autumn (October/November) 2006 to measure the feeding and egg production rates (EPR) of Calanus sinicus in the Yellow Sea, China. The ingestion rate (2.08-11.46 and 0.26-3.70 mu g C female(-1) day(-1) in spring and autumn, respectively) was positively correlated with microplankton carbon concentrations. In the northern part of the Yellow Sea, feeding on microplankton easily covers the respiratory and production requirements, whereas in the southern part in spring and in the frontal zone in autumn, C. sinicus must ingest alternative food sources. Low ingestion rates, no egg production and the dominance of the fifth copepodite (CV) stage indicated that C. sinicus was in quiescence inside the Yellow Sea Cold Bottom Water (YSCBW) area in autumn. Calanus sinicus ingested ciliates preferentially over other components of the microplankton. The EPR (0.16-12.6 eggs female(-1) day(-1) in spring and 11.4 eggs female(-1) day(-1) at only one station in autumn) increased with ciliate standing stock. Gross growth efficiency (GGE) was 13.4% (3-39%) in spring, which was correlated with the proportion of ciliates in the diet. These results indicate that ciliates have higher nutrient quality than other food items, but the low GGE indicates that the diet of C. sinicus is nutritionally incomplete.

Effects of increased pCO(2) and temperature on the North Atlantic spring bloom. I. The phytoplankton community and biogeochemical response

The North Atlantic spring bloom is one of the largest annual biological events in the ocean, and is characterized by dominance transitions from siliceous (diatoms) to calcareous (coccolithophores) algal groups. To study the effects of future global change on these phytoplankton and the biogeochemical cycles they mediate, a shipboard continuous culture experiment (Ecostat) was conducted in June 2005 during this transition period. Four treatments were examined: (1) 12 degrees C and 390 ppm CO2 (ambient control), (2) 12 degrees C and 690 ppm CO2 (high pCO(2)) (3) 16 degrees C and 390 ppm CO2 (high temperature), and (4) 16 degrees C and 690 ppm CO2 ('greenhouse'). Nutrient availability in all treatments was designed to reproduce the low silicate conditions typical of this late stage of the bloom. Both elevated pCO(2) and temperature resulted in changes in phytoplankton community structure. Increased temperature promoted whole community photosynthesis and particulate organic carbon (POC) production rates per unit chlorophyll a. Despite much higher coccolithophore abundance in the greenhouse treatment, particulate inorganic carbon production (calcification) was significantly decreased by the combination of increased pCO(2) and temperature. Our experiments suggest that future trends during the bloom could include greatly reduced export of calcium carbonate relative to POC, thus providing a potential negative feedback to atmospheric CO2 concentration. Other trends with potential climate feedback effects include decreased community biogenic silica to POC ratios at higher temperature. These shipboard experiments suggest the need to examine whether future pCO2 and temperature increases on longer decadal timescales will similarly alter the biological and biogeochemical dynamics of the North Atlantic spring bloom.