Observational evidence of the Yellow Sea warm current

The Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) is one of the principal currents in the Yellow Sea in winter. Former examinations on current activity in the Yellow Sea have not observed a stable YSWC because of the positioning of current meters. To further understand the YSWC, a research cruise in the southern Yellow Sea was carried out in the winter of 2006/2007. Five moorings with bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) were deployed on the western side of the central trough of the Yellow Sea. The existence and distributional features of the YSWC were studied by analyzing three ADCP moorings in the path of the YSWC in conjunction with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data over the observed area in the southern Yellow Sea. The results show the following. (1) The upper layer of the YSWC is strongly influenced by winter cold surge; its direction and speed often vary along a south-north axis when strong cold surges arrive from the north. (2) The YSWC near the bottom layer is a stable northwest flowing current with a speed of 4 to 10 cm/s. By combining the analyses of the CTD data, we speculate that the core of the YSWC may lie near the bottom. (3) On a monthly average timescale, the YSWC is stably oriented with northward flow from the sea surface to the sea floor.

Formation and evolution of the modern warm current system in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea since the last deglaciation

To reconstruct the formation and evolution process of the warm current system within the East China Sea (ECS) and the Yellow Sea (YS) since the last deglaciation, the paleoceangraphic records in core DGKS9603, core CSH1 and core YSDP102, which were retrieved from the mainstream of the Kuroshio Current (KC), the edge of the modern Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) and muddy region under cold waters accreted with the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) respectively, were synthetically analyzed. The results indicate that the formation and evolution of the modern warm current system in the ECS and the YS has been accompanied by the development of the KC and impulse rising of the sea level since the last deglaciation. The influence of the KC on the Okinawa Trough had enhanced since 16 cal kyr BP, and synchronously the modern TWC began to develop with the rising of sea level and finally formed at about 8.5 cal kyr BP. The KC had experienced two weakening process during the Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Drays event from 16 to 8.5 cal kyr BP. The period of 7-6 cal kyr BP was the strongest stage of the KC and the TWC since the last deglaciation. The YSWC has appeared at about 6.4 cal kyr BP. Thus, the warm current system of the ECS and the YS has ultimately formed. The weakness of the KC, indicated by the occurrence of Pulleniatina minimum event (PME) during the period from 5.3 to 2.8 cal kyr BP, caused the main stream of the TWC to shift eastward to the Pacific Ocean around about 3 cal kyr BP. The process resulted in the intruding of continent shelf cold water mass with rich nutrients. Synchronously, the strength of the YSWC was relatively weak and the related cold water body was active at the early-mid stage of its appearance against the PME background, which resulted in the quick formation of muddy deposit system in the southeastern YS. The strength of the warm current system in the ECS and the YS has enhanced evidently, and approached to the modern condition gradually since 3 cal kyr BP.

Sporopollen analysis of Core B10 in the southern Yellow Sea and the reflected characteristics of climate changes

Eight sporopollen zones have been divided based on the results of high-resolution sporopollen analysis of Core B10 in the southern Yellow Sea. Based on the results along with C-14 datings and the subbottom profiling data, climatic and environmental changes since the last stage of late Pleistocene are discussed. The main conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) the vegetation evolved in the process of coniferous forest-grassland containing broad-leaved treesconiferous and broad-leaved mixed forest --> coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest-grassland prevailed by coniferous trees --> coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest-grassland containing evergreen broad-leaved trees- coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest-grassland prevailed by broad-leaved trees-deciduous broad-leaved forest-meadow containing evergreen broad-leaved trees- coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest-grassland prevailed by broad-leaved trees- coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest containing evergreen broad-leaved trees; (2) eight stages of climate changes are identified as the cold and dry stage, the temperate and wet stage, the cold and dry stage, the warm and dry stage, the temperate and wet stage, the hot and dry stage, the temperate and dry stage, then the warm and dry stage in turn; (3) the sedimentary environment developed from land, to littoral zone, to land again, then to shore-neritic zone; and (4) the Yellow Sea Warm Current formed during early-Holocene rather than Atlantic stage.

An N-shape thermal front in the western South Yellow Sea in winter

An N-shape thermal front in the western South Yellow Sea (YS) in winter was detected using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiation (AVHRR) Sea Surface Temperature data and in-situ observations with a merged front-detecting method. The front, which exists from late October through early March, consists of western and eastern wings extending roughly along the northeast-southwest isobaths with a southeastward middle segment across the 20-50 m isobaths. There are north and south inflexions connecting the middle segment with the western and eastern wings, respectively. The middle segment gradually moves southwestward from November through February with its length increasing from 62 km to 107 km and the southern inflexion moving from 36.2A degrees N to 35.3A degrees N. A cold tongue is found to coexist with the N-shape front, and is carried by the coastal jet penetrating southward from the tip of the Shandong Peninsula into the western South YS as revealed by a numerical simulation. After departing from the coast, the jet flows as an anti-cyclonic recirculation below 10 m depth, trapping warmer water originally carried by the compensating Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC). A northwestward flowing branch of the YSWC is also found on the lowest level south of the front. The N-shape front initially forms between the cold tongue and warm water involved in the subsurface anti-cyclonical recirculation and extends upwards to the surface through vertical advection and mixing. Correlation analyses reveal that northerly and easterly winds tend to be favorable to the formation and extension of the N-shape front probably through strengthening of the coastal jet and shifting the YSWC pathway eastward, respectively.

Observation of the seasonal evolution of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass in 1996-1998

We use the hydrographic data obtained during the joint survey of the Yellow Sea by the First Institute of Oceanography, China and the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, Korea, to quantify the spatial structures and temporal evolution of the southern Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM). It is indicated that the southern YSCWM is a water mass that develops in summer and decays in fall. In winter, due to the intrusion of the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC), the central area (approximately between 34 degrees N and 35 degrees N, 122 degrees E and 124 degrees E) of the Yellow Sea is mainly occupied by relatively high temperature water (T > 10 degrees C). By contrast, from early summer to fall, under the seasonal thermocline, the central area of Yellow Sea is occupied by cold water (T < 10 degrees C). In summer, the southern YSCWM has two cold cores. One is formed locally southeast of Shandong Peninsula, and the other one has a tongue-like feature occupying the area approximately between 34 degrees N and 37 degrees N, 123 degrees E and 126 degrees E. The bottom layer temperature anomalies from February to July in the cold tongue region, along with the trajectories of the bottom floaters, suggest that the cold water mass in the northeast region has a displacement from the north to the central area of the Yellow Sea during the summer. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wintertime meso-scale horizontal distribution of large tintinnids in the southern Yellow Sea

Spatial distribution of some large tintinnid species (nominally > 76 mu m) is investigated on samples vertically towed in the southern Yellow Sea in winters of 2001 to 2004. Nine tintinnid species are recorded: Codonellopsis morchella, Stenosemella pacifica, S. steini, Tintinnopsis schotti, T. radix, T. karajacensis, Eutintinnus tenuis, Parafavella sp., Leprotintinnus neriticus, of which C. morchella and T. radix dominated in the warm tongue-shaped zone of the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC), and S. pacifica is the next in abundance. Our study shows that these tintinnids occur repeatedly in certain special distribution patterns.

Sedimentary changes during the Holocene in the Bohai Sea and its paleoenvironmental implication

Samples of two cores, Cores M5-5 and M7-4 in the Bohai Sea were analyzed in isotopes, grain size, heavy minerals, chemical compositions, and 14 C dating to reconstruct the sedimentation during the Holocene. Abrupt change in carbon and oxygen stable isotopes was recognized at Core M5-5 at about 6400 a BP, which was likely due to the intrusion of the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) extension into the Bohai Sea. At Core M7-4, sediments between 5900 and 6600 a BP (150-260 cm depth) became coarse-grained, containing rich garnet, high manganese content, and nil autogenic pyrite, indicating a very dynamic sedimentary event during which the ambience was transformed from reductive to oxidative, and sedimentation boosted. Meanwhile, the YSWC had invaded into the Bohai Sea indicated by rich planktonic foraminifera in this event. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross-shelf circulation in the Yellow and East China Seas indicated by MODIS satellite observations

Ocean color and sea surface temperature data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra satellite are used to study the cross-shelf circulation and transport of suspended sediments in the Yellow and the East China Seas. The ocean color images show a significant turbid water plume extending in the southeast direction from the Subei coasts of China to the shelf edge south of Cheju during fall-winter, suggesting significant cross-shelf currents in the Yellow Sea/East China Sea in winter. The currents transport suspended sediments from the area of the old Huanghe mouth into the Okinawa Trough. Part of the turbid plume joins the Yellow Sea Warm Current to enter the Yellow Sea trough in winter. The satellite images suggest that the time scales of cross-shelf transport and surface-to-subsurface descending of the suspended sediments are a few weeks. The turbid plume grows in fall, reaches its maximum expansion and intensity in winter-spring, and subsides in late spring. In summer, the plume becomes coastally trapped. Substantial interannual variations of the intensity and coverage of the turbid plume are indicated by the observations. In comparison, the Changjiang Diluted Water in summer only transports a small amount of the Changjiang suspended sediment to the outer shelf south of Cheju, which does not enter the Yellow Sea owing to the weak intrusion of the Yellow Sea Warm Current in summer. The dynamics of the cross-shelf circulation in the Yellow Sea in winter are hypothesized to be associated with (1) the convergence of the Yellow Sea Coastal Current and the Taiwan Warm Current off the Changjiang mouth and (2) the time-dependent forcing of the northerly wind bursts that drives the intrusion of the Yellow Sea Warm Current. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

北黄海表层沉积物粒度分布特征及其对沉积环境的指示

本文基于北黄海1140个表层沉积物样品的粒度分析结果，来探讨沉积物粒度组成、分布特征与物源和水动力环境的关系。结果表明，研究区底质类型主要有泥、粉砂、砂质粉砂、粉砂质砂、砂五种类型，少数站位含有砾石。砾石则主要分布在长山列岛附近海域、大连湾口及其东南近海；砂主要分布在123.3°E以东的海域和长山列岛附近海域；粉砂主要分布在研究区的西南部和大连湾外海；粘土的含量较低，含量大于30%的区域仅分布在研究区的西南部，大于16%的区域有向北和东北延伸的趋势，在大连湾至广鹿岛近海沉积物粘土含量也大于16%。 根据对沉积物粒度各粒级的因子分析结果,结合沉积物的Folk分类和Pejrup分类,将北黄海划分成五个主要沉积环境分区，分别受山东半岛沿岸流、黄海暖流、强潮流场、长山列岛和辽东沿岸流控制。北黄海中西部沉积物主要受山东半岛沿岸流影响，经过本区的黄海暖流限制了山东半岛沿岸流携带的细粒物质向东和向北的扩散和运移，研究区东部沉积作用的主控因素是潮流，长山列岛中部海域受附近岛屿剥蚀物影响，大连湾外海受辽东半岛沿岸流控制。研究区西南部细粒沉积物的粒度分布具有不均匀性和南北不对称性，其形成主要受控于山东半岛沿岸流和黄海暖流及其相互作用，潮流可能也起一定作用。

黄东海及朝鲜海峡冰后期陆架沉积物的环境磁学研究

There are four chapters in this dissertation. The first chapter briefly synthesizes the basic theories, methods and present-day applying situation of environmental magnetism. The second chapter probes into the magnetic mineral diagenesis in the post-glacial muddy sediments from the southeastern South Yellow Sea and its response to marine environmental changes, using the muddy sediment of Core YSDP103 formed in the shelf since about 13 ka BP. The third chapter illustrates the high-resolution early diagenetic processes by investigating the rapidly deposited muddy sediments during the last 6 ka in Cores SSDP-102 and SSDP-103 from the near-shore shelf of Korea Strait. The fourth chapter presents the results of detailed rock magnetic investigation of the surface sediments from the fine-grained depositional area on the outer shelf of the East China Sea in an attempt to provide environmental magnetic evidence for the provenance of the fine-grained deposit. Core YSDP103 was retrieved in the muddy deposit under the cold eddy of the southeastern South Yellow Sea, and the uppermost 29.79 m core represents the muddy sediments formed in the shelf since about 13 ka BP. The lower part from 29.79 to 13.35 m, called Unit A2, was deposited during the period from the post-glacial transgression to the middle Holocene (at about 6 ~(14)C ka BP) when the rising sea level reached its maximum, while the upper part above 13.35 m (called Unit Al) was deposited in a cold eddy associated with the formation of the Yellow Sea Warm Current just after the peak of post-glacial sea level rise. For the the uppermost 29.79 m core, detailed investigation of rock-magnetic properties and analyses of grain sizes and geochemistry were made. The experimental results indicate that the magnetic mineralogy of the core is dominated by magnetite, maghemite and hematite and that, except for the uppermost 2.35 m, the magnetic minerals were subject to reductive diagenesis leading to significant decline of magnetic mineral content and the proportion of low-coercivity component. More importantly, ferrimagnetic iron sulphide (greigite) is found in Unit A2 but absent in Unit Al, suggesting the control of marine environmental conditions on the magnetic mineral diagenesis. Magnetic parameters show abrupt changes across the boundary between the Unit Al and A2, which reflects a co-effect of environmental conditions and primary magnetic components of the sediments on the diagenesis. Alternating zones of high and low magnetic parameters are observed in Unit A2 of Core YSDP103, which is presumably due to periodic changes of the concentration and/or grain size of magnetic minerals carried into the study area. Cores SSDP-102 and SSDP-103, two studied sediment cores from the Korea Strait contain mud sequences (14 m and 32.62 m in thickness) that were deposited during the last 6,000 years. Analyses of grain sizes and geochemistry of the cores have demonstrated that the sediments have uniform lithology and geochemical properties, however, marked down-core changes in magnetic properties suggest that diagenesis has significantly impacted the magnetic properties. An expanded view of early diagenetic reactions that affect magnetic mineral assemblages is evident in these rapidly deposited continental shelf sediments compared to deep-sea sediments. The studied sediments can be divided into four descending intervals, based on magnetic property variations. Interval 1 is least affected by diagenesis and has the highest concentrations of detrital magnetite and hematite, and the lowest solid-phase sulfur contents. Interval 2 is characterized by the presence of paramagnetic pyrite and sharply decreasing magnetite and hematite concentrations, which suggest active reductive dissolution of detrital magnetic minerals, the absolute minimum abundance of magnetite is reached at the end of this interval. Interval 3 is marked by a progressive loss of hematite with depth, and at the base of this interval, 82% to 88% of the hematite component was depleted and the bulk magnetic mineral concentration was reduced to the lowest value in the entire studied mud section. Interval 4 has an increasing down-core enhancement of authigenic greigite, which is interpreted to have formed due to arrested pyritization resulting from consumption of pore water sulfate with depth. This is the first clear demonstration from an active depositional environment for a delay of thousands of years for acquisition of a magnetization carried by greigite. This detailed view of diagenetic processes in continental shelf sediments suggests that studies of geomagnetic field behavior from such sediments should be conducted with care. Paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies based on the magnetic properties of shelf sediments with high sedimentation rates like those in the Korea Strait are also unlikely to provide a meaningful signature associated with syn-depositional environmental processes. The rock magnetic properties of the surface sediments from the fine-grained depositional area on the outer shelf of the East China Sea, an area surrounded by sands, are investigated with a view to providing information on the sediment provenance. Multiple magnetic parameters such as magnetic susceptibility (%), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), saturation rernanent magnetization (SIRM), coercivities of SIRM (Her), and S ratios (relative abundance of low-coercivity magnetic minerals) are measured for all 179 surface samples, and partial representative samples are examined for their magnetic hysteresis parameters, temperature-dependence of magnetic susceptibility and x-ray diffraction spectra. Our research indicates that the magnetic mineralogy is dominated by magnetite with a small amount of hematite and is primarily of pseudo-single domain (PSD) to multidomain (MD) nature with a detrital origin. In the surface sediments, the granulometry of magnetic fractions is basically independent of grain sizes of the sediment containing the magnetic grains, and the composition of magnetic minerals remains almost homogeneous, that is, with a relatively constant ratio of low to high coercivity fraction throughout the area. The magnetic concentration in the study area generally decreases to the east or southeast accompanied by magnetic-particle fining to the east or to the northeast. The geographic pattern of magnetic properties is most reasonably explained by a major source of sediment jointly from the erosion of the old Huanghe River deposit and the discharge of the Changjiang River. The rock magnetic data facilitate understanding of the transport mechanism of fine-grained sediments in the outer shelf of the East China Sea.

Ulva and Enteromorpha (Ulvaceae, Chlorophyta) from two sides of the Yellow Sea: analysis of nuclear rDNA ITS and plastid rbcL sequence data

Ulvacean green seaweeds are common worldwide; they formed massive green tides in the Yellow Sea in recent years, which caused marine ecological problems as well as a social issue. We investigated two major genera of the Ulvaceae, Ulva and Enteromorpha, and collected the plastid rbcL and nuclear ITS sequences of specimens of the genera in two sides of the Yellow Sea and analyzed them. Phylogenetic trees of rbcL data show the occurrence of five species of Enteromorpha (E. compressa, E. flexuosa, E. intestinalis, E. linza and E. prolifera) and three species of Ulva (U. pertusa, U. rigida and U. ohnoi). However, we found U. ohnoi, which is known as a subtropical to tropical species, at two sites on Jeju Island, Korea. Four ribotypes in partial sequences of 5.8S rDNA and ITS2 from E. compressa were also found. Ribotype network analysis revealed that the common ribotype, occurring in China, Korea and Europe, is connected with ribotypes from Europe and China/Japan. Although samples of the same species were collected from both sides of the Yellow Sea, intraspecific genetic polymorphism of each species was low among samples collected worldwide.

On the relationships between the radial tidal current field and the radial sand ridges in the southern Yellow Sea: a numerical simulation

The ori-in of the radial sand ridges (RSRs) in the southern Yellow Sea has been a controversial problem since they were discovered in the early 1960s. To resolve the problem, two key questions need to be answered: (1) was the radial tidal current field in the RSR area generated by the submarine topography, or (2) did it exist before the RSRs occurred? In this study, the M-2 tide and tidal currents in the RSR area were simulated with a two-dimensional tidal model using a flat bottom and a shelving slope topography, the results being then compared with the field data. It is demonstrated that the radial tidal current field in the southern Yellow Sea is independent of bottom topography, and may thus be the controlling factor generating the RSRs. The radial tidal current field probably existed before the RSRs were formed.

Tidal current observation in the southern Yellow Sea in the summers of 2001 and 2003

Direct current observations in the Yellow Sea interior are very scarce due to intense fishing and trawling activities. Most previous studies on tides in the area were based on coastal measurements or satellite altimeter sea levels and have not been rigorously compared with direct measurements. In this paper, tidal currents are studied with current profiles from three bottom-moored Sontek Acoustic Doppler Profilers (ADPs) deployed in the southern Yellow Sea in summer of 2001 and 2003. The measured current series were dominated by tidal currents. Maximum velocities are between 40-80 cm/s at the mooring stations. M-2 current is the most dominant primary tidal constituent, while MS4 and M-4 are the most significant shallow water tides with much smaller amplitudes than the primary tides.

Multiple cohorts of juvenile jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus in waters along the Tsushima Warm Current

The jack mackerel, Trachurus japonicus, has a prolonged spawning season and widely spread spawning grounds. The population in the coastal waters of Japan seems to be composed of several cohorts spawned seasonally from different waters. To understand its population structure along the Tsushima Warm Current, we analysed hatchdates and growth histories of fish from Kunda Bay, the southern, central and northern East China Sea (ECS), the southern Sea of Japan, and Maizuru Bay. Seven cohorts were detected from fish collected between June 2005 and June 2006 in Kunda Bay. Comparing hatchdate distributions and growth trajectories of the seven cohorts with those of the other five regional samples, we did not find that cohorts collected in Kunda Bay originated in the southern ECS. Therefore, these coastal waters of Japan appear to be significant spawning grounds for juvenile jack mackerel. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The dominant Ulva strain of the 2008 green algal bloom in the Yellow Sea was not detected in the coastal waters of Qingdao in the following winter

The region of Qingdao, China, experienced the world's largest green tide from May to July 2008. More than one million tons of fresh algal biomass of the green alga Ulva prolifera was harvested, while more was suspected to have sunk to the bottom. The original source of this seaweed was suspected to be from the south as revealed by satellite images. The floating biomass drifted with the water current northward and flourished in nearshore waters around Qingdao. However, direct biological evidence for "seed" source is lacking. It is still unclear whether this alga could survive the Qingdao local coastal environment and pose future danger of potential blooming. Systematic and seasonal sampling of waters in the intertidal zone at six collection sites along the Qingdao coast was conducted from December 2008 to April 2009. Forty-eight water samples were analyzed. From these, nine different morphotypes of Ulva were grown in the laboratory under standard temperature and light regimes. Growth of Ulva was observed in all water samples. However, molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the dominant U. prolifera strain of the 2008 bloom was absent in all the water-derived cultures during the sampling period. These results provide evidence that the dominant bloom-forming alga was unlikely able to survive the coastal waters (the minimal surface water temperature in February is 2A degrees C) in winter conditions in Qingdao, even though all the sampling locations were heavily covered by this alga in June 2008.