Relationships between optical backscattering, particulate organic carbon, and phytoplankton carbon in the oligotrophic South China Sea basin.

The particulate backscattering coefficient (bbp) provides effective proxies for particulate organic carbon (POC) and phytoplankton carbon (Cphy); however, their bio-optical relationships in the oligotrophic ocean are rarely reported. In this work, based on the in-situ synchronous optical and biogeochemical measurements in the oligotrophic South China Sea (SCS) basin, we refined the regional relationships between POC (and Cphy) and bbp and investigated the impacts of phytoplankton community compositions and size classes on the bbp variability. The observations showed that: 1) POC and Cphy exhibited good linear relationships with bbp; 2) the relationship between Cphy and POC could also be fitted in a linear function with a positive POC intercept, and the POC contributed by phytoplankton-covarying non-algal particles was nearly two-fold of Cphy; and 3) the POC-specific bbp (b*bp) was positively correlated with the fraction of the phytoplankton groups haptophytes (Type 8) and diatoms to total Chla, but negatively correlated with the fraction of pico-phytoplankton to Chla (fpico). These findings suggest that in oligotrophic waters, the variability of b*bp was mainly determined by the variability in the relative contribution of large phytoplankton with complex structures.

Modifications of Au Nanoparticle-Functionalized Graphene for Sensitive Detection of Sulfanilamide.

In this paper, we present a simple and feasible electrochemical sensor based on Au nanoparticle-functionalized graphene for the determination of sulfanilamide. Au nanoparticles were deposited on graphene, which acted as a platform to prepare excellent nanocomposites. Attributed to the graphene's large surface area and the Au nanoparticles' strong conductivity, many sulfanilamide molecules were enriched on the sensor surface and the signal response became more sensitive. Under the optimal conditions, the electrochemical sensors could be used for the efficient detection of sulfanilamide. Good linearity was observed in the range of 0.1-1000 µmol·L-1 and the detection limit was 0.011 µmol·L-1. Most importantly, the Au nanoparticle-functionalized graphene-modified electrode could be successfully applied for the detection of sulfanilamide in animal meat, and exhibited good stability, acceptable recovery, and offered a promising platform for point-of-care detecting in real samples.

Previously unidentified Indonesian Throughflow pathways and freshening in the Indian Ocean during recent decades.

The Earth has experienced a global surface warming slowdown (GSWS) or so-called "global warming hiatus" since the end of the 20th century. The GSWS was marked by a La Niña-like decadal cooling in the Pacific Ocean that subsequently generated an increase in the transfer of Pacific waters into the Indian Ocean via the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). How the Pacific water spreads through the interior of the Indian Ocean and the impact of these decadal ITF transport changes on the Indian Ocean water mass transformation and circulation remain largely unknown. Here, we analyze the thermohaline structures and current systems at different depths in the Indian Ocean prior to and during the GSWS period. Our study shows that the GSWS involved extensive changes to the Indo-Pacific ocean teleconnection system, characterized by subsurface warming and freshening in the Indian Ocean. A hitherto unknown Indian Ocean pathway of the ITF was discovered off Sumatra associated with prolonged northwestward flow within the South Java Current. Our analysis uncovers a direct linkage of enhanced ITF waters with the Agulhas Current in the Mozambique Channel from thermocline depths down to intermediate depths, that freshened the Indian Ocean. These changes in the Indian Ocean circulation and water mass characteristics impact climate variability through changing the sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation patterns that can subsequently affect regional economies.

Warming in the Agulhas Region during the Global Surface Warming Acceleration and Slowdown.

The Agulhas Region gains more heat during the global surface warming slowdown than acceleration period. Yet, mechanisms that cause excessive heat accumulation in this region remain largely unknown. We investigate the underlying physical processes and examine their influence on ocean heat changes in the last three decades. Heave is found to drive the increasing ocean heat content in the last three decades whereas elevated heat accumulation rate in slowdown compared than acceleration period is mainly attributed to spice. During the acceleration period, pure heaving of Subtropical Mode Water induced by wind stress change and pure warming caused by heat flux, leading to a strong heave component and relatively weak spice, drive the increases in ocean heat content. During the slowdown period, increasing salinity strengthens the spice, resulting in a higher heat accumulation rate compared to the acceleration period.

Ecological anomalies in the East China Sea: impacts of the Three Gorges Dam?

In this study, we examined possible impacts of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Dam (TGD), the world largest hydroelectric construction, on the adjacent marine ecosystem of the East China Sea (ECS) during its initial water storage period. The TGD filled the first one-third of its storage capacity of 39 billion m3 in 10 days in June 2003, causing an abrupt reduction in the river flow into the ECS. Noticeable changes in the microbial community structure including pico-sized autotrophs, heterotrophic bacteria and microbial diversity in the estuary and the ECS were observed 2 months later. Although causes for these changes could be multiple, the sudden decrease of river runoff and an ensuing intrusion of ECS ocean currents were postulated to be among the major ones.

The Subpolar North Atlantic Ocean Heat Content Variability and its Decomposition.

The Subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA) is one of the most important areas to global climate because its ocean heat content (OHC) is highly correlated with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and its circulation strength affects the salt transport by the AMOC, which in turn feeds and sustains the strength of the AMOC. Moreover, the recent global surface warming "hiatus" may be attributed to the SPNA as one of the major planetary heat sinks. Although almost synchronized before 1996, the OHC has greater spatial disparities afterwards, which cannot be explained as driven by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Temperature decomposition reveals that the western SPNA OHC is mainly determined by the along isopycnal changes, while in the eastern SPNA along isopycnal changes and isopycnal undulation are both important. Further analysis indicates that heat flux dominates the western SPNA OHC, but in the eastern SPNA wind forcing affects the OHC significantly. It is worth noting that the along isopycnal OHC changes can also induce heaving, thus the observed heaving domination in global oceans cannot mask the extra heat in the ocean during the recent "hiatus".

Decadal Western Pacific Warm Pool Variability: A Centroid and Heat Content Study.

We examine several characteristics of the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WP) in the past thirty years of mixed interannual variability and climate change. Our study presents the three-dimensional WP centroid (WPC) movement, WP heat content anomaly (HC) and WP volume (WPV) on interannual to decadal time scales. We show the statistically significant correlation between each parameter's interannual anomaly and the NINO 3, NINO 3.4, NINO 4, SOI, and PDO indices. The longitudinal component of the WPC is most strongly correlated with NINO 4 (R = 0.78). The depth component of the WPC has the highest correlation (R = -0.6) with NINO3.4. The WPV and NINO4 have an R-Value of -0.65. HC has the highest correlation with NINO3.4 (R = -0.52). During the study period of 1982-2014, the non-linear trends, derived from ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), show that the WPV, WP depth and HC have all increased. The WPV has increased by 14% since 1982 and the HC has increased from -1 × 108 J/m2 in 1993 to 10 × 108 J/m2 in 2014. While the largest variances in the latitudinal and longitudinal WPC locations are associated with annual and seasonal timescales, the largest variances in the WPV and HC are due to the multi-decadal non-linear trend.

The global warming hiatus: Slowdown or redistribution?

Global mean surface temperatures (GMST) exhibited a smaller rate of warming during 1998-2013, compared to the warming in the latter half of the 20th Century. Although, not a "true" hiatus in the strict definition of the word, this has been termed the "global warming hiatus" by IPCC (2013). There have been other periods that have also been defined as the "hiatus" depending on the analysis. There are a number of uncertainties and knowledge gaps regarding the "hiatus." This report reviews these issues and also posits insights from a collective set of diverse information that helps us understand what we do and do not know. One salient insight is that the GMST phenomenon is a surface characteristic that does not represent a slowdown in warming of the climate system but rather is an energy redistribution within the oceans. Improved understanding of the ocean distribution and redistribution of heat will help better monitor Earth's energy budget and its consequences. A review of recent scientific publications on the "hiatus" shows the difficulty and complexities in pinpointing the oceanic sink of the "missing heat" from the atmosphere and the upper layer of the oceans, which defines the "hiatus." Advances in "hiatus" research and outlooks (recommendations) are given in this report.

The coastal ocean response to the global warming acceleration and hiatus.

Coastlines are fundamental to humans for habitation, commerce, and natural resources. Many coastal ecosystem disasters, caused by extreme sea surface temperature (SST), were reported when the global climate shifted from global warming to global surface warming hiatus after 1998. The task of understanding the coastal SST variations within the global context is an urgent matter. Our study on the global coastal SST from 1982 to 2013 revealed a significant cooling trend in the low and mid latitudes (31.4% of the global coastlines) after 1998, while 17.9% of the global coastlines changed from a cooling trend to a warming trend concurrently. The trend reversals in the Northern Pacific and Atlantic coincided with the phase shift of Pacific Decadal Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation, respectively. These coastal SST changes are larger than the changes of the global mean and open ocean, resulting in a fast increase of extremely hot/cold days, and thus extremely hot/cold events. Meanwhile, a continuous increase of SST was detected for a considerable portion of coastlines (46.7%) with a strengthened warming along the coastlines in the high northern latitudes. This suggests the warming still continued and strengthened in some regions after 1998, but with a weaker pattern in the low and mid latitudes.

Allocation of marine environmental carrying capacity in the Xiamen Bay.

Three optimization methods are employed to allocate Marine Environmental Carrying Capacity (MECC) in the Xiamen Bay. The hydrodynamic and pollutant fields are first simulated by the Princeton Ocean Model. Taking phosphorus as an index of the water quality, the response fields are then calculated. These response fields represent the relationship between the concentration of the sea zone and the pollution sources. Finally, MECC is optimized and distributed in the Xiamen Bay by three optimization methods. The results show classical linear optimization can only maximize the satisfaction level for one of the stake holders', e.g., dischargers or environmental protection bureau, satisfaction level. However, the fuzzy and grey fuzzy optimizations can provide a compromise, and therefore a fairer result, by incorporating the conflicting goals of all of the different stakeholders. Compared with fuzzy optimization, the grey fuzzy optimization provides a more flexible choice for the decision-makers.