Seagrasses are one of the most productive ecosystems in coastal areas and support a wide variety of associated fauna. The tropical Indo-Pacific region is considered to have the highest diversity of seagrass plant species and the largest distribution areas of seagrass, yet the seagrass macrofauna in this region are poorly understood. To help fill this gap in our knowledge, an ecological survey was conducted to describe the abundance and diversity of benthic macrofauna from tropical seagrass beds and to determine between-station variations within a transect and between-site variations in macrofaunal abundance, taxa richness and community structure. Benthic macrofaunal samples associated with seagrass beds were collected with a core sampler on the east coast of North Sulawesi in May 2014 and on the west coast in October 2015. A total of 149 species from 14 higher taxa was collected. The most species-rich groups were polychaetes (56 species, 26% of total individual numbers), decapods (20 species, 9% of total numbers) and amphipods (18 species, 35% of total numbers). Between-station variations within a transect displayed different patterns between the east coast and the west coast. On the east coast, there were marked variations in abundance between stations within a transect for the macrofauna and amphipod assemblages. Both taxa richness and abundance varied with station for the macrofauna and polychaete assemblages on the west coast, resulting from the heterogeneity of the substrate along a transect. One-way ANOSIM together with MDS ordination indicated that macrofaunal community structure in seagrasses differed significantly between the east coast and the west coast, corresponding with the division of seagrasses into two broad categories of habitats, i.e., mangrove-seagrass-reef continuum and seagrass-reef continuum. Compared with other studies in tropical areas, the abundance and diversity of benthic macrofauna in the present study were moderate. The reason for the two markedly distinct macrofaunal communities might be attributed to multiple factors, including sediment pattern, seagrass structure and temporal changes.

The Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a key species in the Southern Ocean ecosystem and an important link in the food web of the Antarctic ecosystem. The trophic information for this species during the transition from the austral fall to the winter is important to understand its poorly known overwintering mechanisms. However, the few studies on the topic differ in their results, in terms of both spatial and temporal variables. We investigated the size dependence and monthly and regional variation in δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of adult krill in the Antarctic Peninsula, in the austral fall (April to May) and the early winter (June). We aimed to examine the trophic variations of krill occurred during this period, and the relationship between krill and their feeding environment in the Antarctic marine ecosystem. The following results were obtained: (1) no significant relationship was observed between size and the δ¹³C value of krill, but the δ¹⁵N value of krill presented a remarkable association with size; (2) the δ¹³C values of krill increased during the austral fall, but no remarkable variation existed at the onset of winter, and the δ¹⁵N values were not significant different during this period; (3) mean δ¹⁵N values of krill differed significantly between the Bransfield Strait and the South Shetland Islands. Our data imply that adult krill present size-, season-, and region-dependent trophic variation during the transition from austral fall to early winter in the Antarctic Peninsula.

To obtain baseline information on the size distribution of individuals in the population and reproductive features of sea star Asterias amurensis, monthly surveys of the population were carried out from May to December 2010 and March to May 2015 in coastal waters off Yantai, China. Spawning period was predicted by gonad and pyloric caeca indices as well as anatomical and histological methods. In the A. amurensis population, both large individuals (>143 mm) and small ones (<42 mm) were present in all sampling months. The population size structure was driven by the appearance of big cohorts of individuals less than 55 mm from May to August. The appearance of small individuals in all months suggested a prolonged spawning period at other sites in this bay or sea stars growing slowly because of food shortage. An arm length is a good predictor to wet body weight for A. amurensis. The development of gonad was relative slow from May to September but rapidly reached a peak of 20.95 in October 2010, and then dropped remarkably, indicating its spawning lasted from October to November. The same phenomenon was found from March to May 2015, suggesting another spawning during March to May, which was also verified by the results of histologic analysis on ovary. The gonad index (GI) and pyloric caeca index (PCI) tended to show a negative relationship. Due to the poor food availability, the reproductive characteristics of sea star were most likely affected by the shellfish mariculturein Yantai coastal waters.

A deep-sea bacterium from the Pacific Ocean identified as Tenacibaculum sp. HMG1 was found to have strong malachite green (MG) degradation activity. The MG tolerance and decolorizing activities of strain HMG1 were confirmed by bacterial growth and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. Strain HMG1 was capable of removing 98.8% of the MG in cultures within 12 h and was able to grow vigorously at 20 mg/L MG. A peroxidase gene detected in the genome of strain HMG1 was found to be involved in the MG biodegradation process. The corresponding recombinant peroxidase (rPOD) demonstrated high degradative activity at 1 000 mg/L MG. Based on the common candidate intermediates, strain HMG1 was inferred to have one primary MG degradation pathway containing rPOD. In addition, five other candidate intermediates of the rPOD-MG degradative process were detected. The optimal conditions for MG degradation were determined and showed that strain HMG1 and the rPOD enzyme could maintain high bioactivity at a low temperature (20°C), variable pH values (6.0–9.0), higher salinities (100 mmol/L) and other factors, such as multiple metal ions, H₂O₂ and EDTA. MG-tolerant strain Tenacibaculum sp. HMG1 and its peroxidase have prospective applications as environmental amendments for MG degradation during coastal remediation.

Extensive shrimp ponds are located next to the landward edges of most of mangrove forests in China. A shrimp pond may influence mangroves by (1) routine effluent between pond and tide, and (2) dredging effluent from pond-dredging at least once a year. Our study consisted of two experiments to study the effects of these two effluents on the seedling growth of Kandelia obovata. One experiment simulated the effects of routine effluents. The other simulated four sedimentation thicknesses (0 cm, 2 cm, 4 cm, 8 cm) over mangrove soils by dredging effluent from pond-dredging, and revealed the cumulative effects of dredging effluents on K. obovata. At each of the three fixed salinities, i.e., 5, 15 and 25, routine effluent did not result in significant differences in each of the measured growth parameters of K. obovata seedlings. However, effects of dredging effluent on seedling growth of K. obovata were related with sedimentation thickness. Most growth parameters showed maximum values at sedimentation thickness 4 cm. The data indicated that K. obovata accelerated its growth under moderate sedimentation thicknesses and it was tolerant and adaptable to shrimp pond-cleaning effluent sediments up to about 8 cm in our experiment.

Air–sea exchange plays a vital role in the development and maintenance of tropical cyclones (TCs). Although studies have suggested the dependence of air–sea fluxes on surface waves and sea spray, how these processes modify those fluxes under TC conditions have not been sufficiently investigated based on in-situ observations. Using continuous meteorological and surface wave data from a moored buoy in the northern South China Sea, this study examines the effects of surface waves and sea spray on air–sea fluxes during the passage of Typhoon Hagupit. The mooring was within about 40 km of the center of Hagupit. Surface waves could increase momentum flux to the ocean by about 15%, and sea spray enhanced both sensible and latent heat fluxes to the atmosphere, causing Hagupit to absorb 500 W/m² more heat flux from the ocean. These results have powerful implications for understanding TC–ocean interaction and improving TC intensity forecasting.

It is of vital importance to reduce injuries and economic losses by accurate forecasts of typhoon tracks. A huge amount of typhoon observations have been accumulated by the meteorological department, however, they are yet to be adequately utilized. It is an effective method to employ machine learning to perform forecasts. A long short term memory (LSTM) neural network is trained based on the typhoon observations during 1949–2011 in China’s Mainland, combined with big data and data mining technologies, and a forecast model based on machine learning for the prediction of typhoon tracks is developed. The results show that the employed algorithm produces desirable 6–24 h nowcasting of typhoon tracks with an improved precision.

The sea-to-air flux of dimethylsulphide (DMS) is one of the major sources of marine biogenic aerosol, and can have an important radiative impact on climate, especially in the Arctic Ocean. Satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) is used as a proxy for aerosol burden which is dominated by biogenic aerosol during summer and autumn. The spring sea ice melt period is a strong source of aerosol precursors in the Arctic. However, high aerosol levels in early spring are likely related to advection of continental pollution from the south (Arctic haze). Higher AOD was generally registered in the southern part of the study region. Sea ice concentration (SIC) and AOD were positively correlated, while cloud cover (CLD) and AOD were negative correlation. The seasonal peaks of SIC and CLD were both one month ahead of the peak in AOD. There is a strong positive correlation between AOD and SIC. Melting ice is positively correlated with chlorophyll a (CHL) almost through March to September, but negatively correlated with AOD in spring and early summer. Elevated spring and early summer AOD most likely were influenced by combination of melting ice and higher spring wind in the region. The peak of DMS flux occurred in spring due to the elevated spring wind and more melting ice. DMS concentration and AOD were positively correlated with melting ice from March to May. Elevated AOD in early autumn was likely related to the emission of biogenic aerosols associated with phytoplankton synthesis of DMS. The DMS flux would increase more than triple by 2100 in the Greenland Sea. The significant increase of biogenic aerosols could offset the warming in the Greenland Sea.

Surface sediments can integrate a wide variety of information of seawater in marginal seas, e.g., the Quaternary sedimentary shelf such as the East China Sea (ECS) and Yellow Sea (YS). The Tessier and BCR sequential extraction procedures (SEPs) have been widely applied for extraction of various geochemical phases from sediments. To choose a suitable SEP for phase extraction of sediments from the above Quaternary sedimentary shelf, efficiency and selectivity experiments were conducted on typical individual minerals and the applicability of each SEP was assessed for natural sediments (the natural sediment standard GSD-9 and three surface sediment samples). The geochemical represented elements (Ca, Fe, Mn, Al, and Ti) were measured using both SEPs. Both SEPs have good dissolution efficiency and selectivity for the targeted geochemical phases; the optimized extractant volume for each fraction was determined. The Tessier SEP is particularly recommended for the study of adsorption-desorption process. The application of the Tessier SEP to surface sediments can furnish valuable information, including the productivity conditions (via the reducible fraction Mn) and sedimentary environments (via the carbonate fraction Ca). These results confirm that the Tessier SEP is suitable for elemental fractionation in sediments from the Chinese continental shelf.

Kongsfjorden is a typical fjord on the edge of the ice cap of the Arctic Svalbard-Barents Sea. Its inner bay is connected with a modern glacier front along the direction of the fjord axis with a significant gradient change in the parameters of hydrology, sedimentation, and biology. In summer, ice and snow melt-water and floating ice collapse continuously and thus transport the weathering products on the surrounding land into the sea. Thus Kongsfjorden is regards as a natural laboratory for the study of unique sedimentation in polar fjords under modern glacial-sea water conditions. In this study, fifty-two surface sediments were collected in Kongsfjorden for clay mineral analysis to study the sediment source and sediment-transport process. Our results indicate that clay minerals in the surface sediments from Kongsfjorden are mainly composed of illite, chlorite, and kaolinite, and no smectite is found. Rocks from different periods exposed extensively in the surrounding areas of Kongsfjorden provide an important material basis for clay minerals in the Kongsfjorden. Kaolinite may be mainly derived from the fluvial deposits, weathered from reddish sandstones and conglomerates during the Carboniferous Period. Illite is mainly derived from Proterozoic low-grade and medium-grade metamorphic phyllite, mica schist, and gneiss. While chlorite is mainly from Proterozoic low-grade metamorphic phyllite and mica schist. In the direction from the fluvio-glacial estuary to the sea of the glacier front of Kongsfjorden, illite increase gradually, and the content of kaolinite declines gradually. However, the change pattern of chlorite is insignificant, which may be related to the provenance. Kongsfjorden detritus is mainly transported by the fluvio-glacial streams and icebergs into the sea and deposited in the inner bay. Coarse sediments are rapidly deposited in the glacier front, estuary, and near-shore areas. Clay fraction begins to deposit significantly by 200–400 m after flowing into the sea, which due to the crystal behavior of clay minerals, hydrodynamic condition and flocculation. Kaolinite and chlorite on the south of the bay near the Blomstrandhalvøya Island is mainly affected by ice-rafted detritus and thus can reveal the trajectory of transportation by the floating ice while entering the sea.