As one of the micro-blocks dispersed in the South China Sea (SCS), the basement of the Xisha Islands has rarely been drilled because of the thick overlying Cenozoic sediments, which has led to a confused understanding of the pre-Cenozoic basement of the Xisha Islands. Well CK-1, a kilometer-scale major scientific drill in the Xisha Islands in the northwestern SCS, penetrated thick reefal limestone (0–888.4 m) and the underlying basement rocks (888.4–901.4 m). In this study, we present the zircon U-Pb ages of basement basaltic pyroclastic rocks from Well CK-1 in the Xisha Islands of the northwestern SCS to investigate the basement nature of the Xisha micro-block. The basement of Well CK-1 consists of basaltic pyroclastic rocks on the seamount. The zircon grains yielded apparent ages ranging from ca. 2 138.9 Ma to ca. 36 Ma. The old group of zircon grains from Well CK-1 was considered to be inherited zircons. Two Cenozoic zircons gave a weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of (36.3 ± 1.1) Ma, Mean Squared Weighted Deviations (MSWD) = 1.2, which may represent the maximum age of the volcano eruption. The Yanshanian inherited zircons (116.9–105.7 Ma and 146.1–130.2 Ma) from Well CK-1 are consistent with the zircons from Well XK-1, indicating that the basement of Chenhang Island may be similar to that of Well XK-1. We propose that the Xisha micro-block may have developed on a uniform Late Jurassic metamorphic crystalline basement, intruded by Cretaceous granitic magma.

Caenogastropoda is a highly diverse group, containing ~60% of all existing gastropods. Species in this subclass predominantly inhabit marine environments and have a high ecological and economic value. Owing to the increase in relevant phylogenetic studies, our understanding of between species relatedness in Caenogastropoda has improved. However, the biodiversity, taxonomic status, and phylogenetic relationships of this group remain unclear. In the present study, we performed next-generation sequencing of four complete mitochondrial genomes from three families (Buccinidae, Columbellidae, and Cypraeidae) and the four mitogenomes were classical circular structures, with a length of 16 177 bp in Volutharpa ampullacea, 16 244 bp in Mitrella albuginosa, 16 926 bp in Mauritia arabica asiatica and 15 422 bp in Erronea errones. Base composition analysis indicated that whole sequences were biased toward A and T. Then compared them with 171 complete mitochondrial genomes of Caenogastropoda. The phylogenetic relationship of Caenogastropoda derived from Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) trees constructed based on CDS sequences was consistent with the results of traditional morphological analysis, with all three families showing close relationships. This study supported Caenogastropoda at the molecular level as a separate clade of Mollusca. According to our divergence time estimations, Caenogastropoda was formed during the middle Triassic period (~247.2–237 Ma). Our novel mitochondrial genomes provide evidence for the speciation of Caenogastropoda in addition to elucidating the mitochondrial genomic evolution of this subclass.

Composite analyses were performed in this study to reveal the difference in spring precipitation over southern China during multiyear La Niña events during 1901 to 2015. It was found that there is significantly below-normal precipitation during the first boreal spring, but above-normal precipitation during the second year. The difference in spring precipitation over southern China is correlative to the variation in western North Pacific anomalous cyclone (WNPC), which can in turn be attributed to the different sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) over the Tropical Pacific. The remote forcing of negative SSTA in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific and the local air-sea interaction in the western North Pacific are the usual causes of WNPC formation and maintenance. SSTA in the first spring is stronger than those in the second spring. As a result, the intensity of WNPC in the first year is stronger, which is more likely to reduce the moisture in southern China by changing the moisture transport, leading to prolonged precipitation deficits over southern China. However, the tropical SSTA signals in the second year are too weak to induce the formation and maintenance of WNPC and the below-normal precipitation over southern China. Thus, the variation in tropical SSTA signals between two consecutive springs during multiyear La Niña events leads to obvious differences in the spatial pattern of precipitation anomaly in southern China by causing the different WNPC response.

The resource of Fenneropenaeus chinensis has declined sharply due to excessive fishing intensity, ecological changes and diseases. In order to supplement the fishing yield and restore resources of F. chinensis, the relevant authorities have carried out the activities of stock enhancement and releasing. It can increase biomass and recover resources. However, compared with increasing biomass, there were still few reports on its effect on the recovery of resources. Resource recovery is a process related to whether the released individuals can form a reproductive population. Up to now, there has been a lack of evidence whether the released F. chinensis can complete the entire life history, and form reproduction population. In this study, gravid female shrimp after spawning migration were captured from coastal waters of Haiyang, Qingdao, and Yellow Sea. After identifying parentage relationships using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and mtDNA haplotype, it was finally confirmed that there were eight released individuals in the recapture samples. It was confirmed for the first time that at least part of the released F. chinensis can complete overwintering and reproductive migration, and maintain the migration habits as their wild counterparts. Therefore, we infered that the released shrimp can reproduce under natural conditions, these F. chinensis can form reproductive populations theoretically if without human intervention. These results indicated that enhancenment and release activities have a positive effect on resource recovery.

Based on high-tide shoreline data extracted from 87 Landsat satellite images from 1986 to 2019 as well as using the linear regression rate and performing a Mann-Kendall (M–K) trend test, this study analyzes the linear characteristics and nonlinear behavior of the medium- to long-term shoreline evolution of Jinghai Bay, eastern Guangdong Province. In particular, shoreline rotation caused by a shore-normal coastal structure is emphasized. The results show that the overall shoreline evolution over the past 30 years is characterized by erosion on the southwest beach, with an average erosion rate of 3.1 m/a, and significant accretion on the northeast beach, with an average accretion rate of 5.6 m/a. Results of the M–K trend test indicate that significant shoreline changes occurred in early 2006, which can be attributed to shore-normal engineering. Prior to that engineering construction, the shorelines are slightly eroded, where the average erosion rate is 0.7 m/a. However, after shore-normal engineering is performed, the shoreline is characterized by significant erosion (3.2 m/a) on the southwest beach and significant accretion (8.5 m/a) on the northeast beach, thus indicating that the shore-normal engineering at the updrift headland contributes to clockwise shoreline rotation. Further analysis shows that the clockwise shoreline rotation is promoted not only by longshore sediment transport processes from southwest to northeast, but also by cross-shore sediment transport processes. These findings are crucial for beach erosion risk management, coastal disaster zoning, regional sediment budget assessments, and further observations and predictions of beach morphodynamics.

The flexed frustules in pennate diatoms are usually associated with monoraphid diatoms. Interestingly, we found a biraphid diatom species with flexed frustules in an offshore intertidal beach environment on Weizhou Island, Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Therefore, based on morphological characteristics, we described a new genus of diatoms Yuzaoea sinensis gen. et sp. nov. CH Li, HH Liu, YH Gao & CP Chen. The frustule of this genus is characterized by heterogeneous frustule with one concave valve and one convex valve, complete raphe on both valves, straight and moderately eccentric raphe, uniseriate striae and girdle bands with a single row of areolae. The most identifying feature of this genus was the flexed frustule, which is rare in biraphid diatoms and common in monoraphid diatoms. We compared the morphometric characteristics of genus Yuzaoea with genus Rhoikoneis and several genera within the family Rhoicospheniaceae, including Rhoicosphenia, Campylopyxis, and Cuneolus. Phylogenetic analyses based on SSU rRNA and rbcL showed that the genus Yuzaoea was the sister group to the clade of Rhoicosphenia with a high support value (bootstrap values = 100%), and the clade “Yuzaoea+Rhoicosphenia” was sister to the clade of monoraphid diatoms, in which the genera Achnanthidium, Planothidium and some Cocconeis with high support values (bootstrap = 100%). Morphologically, the genus Yuzaoea shares many morphological features with monoraphid diatoms like genera Achnanthidium and Planothidium and the members within the Rhoicospheniaceae. Therefore, based on a combined morphological studies and phylogenetic results we suggested that this branch may represented the evolution of one kind monoraphid diatoms, from biraphid diatoms (e.g. genus Yuzaoea), to incompleted biraphid diatoms (e.g. genera Rhoicosphenia, Campylopyxis), to monoraphid diatoms (e.g. genera Achnanthidium and Planothidium).

In the processing of conventional marine seismic data, seawater is often assumed to have a constant velocity model. However, due to static pressure, temperature difference and other factors, random disturbances may often frequently in seawater bodies. The impact of such disturbances on data processing results is a topic of theoretical research. Since seawater sound velocity is a difficult physical quantity to measure, there is a need for a method that can generate models conforming to seawater characteristics. This article will combine the Munk model and Perlin noise to propose a two-dimensional dynamic seawater sound velocity model generation method, a method that can generate a dynamic, continuous, random seawater sound velocity model with some regularity at large scales. Moreover, the paper discusses the influence of the inhomogeneity characteristics of seawater on wave field propagation and imaging. The results show that the seawater sound velocity model with random disturbance will have a significant influence on the wave field simulation and imaging results.

This study aims to investigate characteristics of continental shelf wave (CSW) on the northwestern continental shelf of the South China Sea (SCS) induced by winter storms in 2021. Mooring and cruise observations, tidal gauge data at stations Hong Kong, Zhapo and Qinglan and sea surface wind data from January 1 to February 28, 2021 are used to examine the relationship between along-shelf wind and sea level fluctuation. Two events of CSWs driven by the along-shelf sea surface wind are detected from wavelet spectra of tidal gauge data. The signals are triply peaked at periods of 56 h, 94 h and 180 h, propagating along the coast with phase speed ranging from 6.9 m/s to 18.9 m/s. The dispersion relation shows their property of the Kelvin mode of CSW. We develop a simple method to estimate amplitude of sea surface fluctuation by along-shelf wind. The results are comparable with the observation data, suggesting it is effective. The mode 2 CSWs fits very well with the mooring current velocity data. The results from rare current help to understand wave-current interaction in the northwestern SCS.

Upper ocean heat content (OHC) has been widely recognized as a crucial precursor to high-impact climate variability, especially for that being indispensable to the long-term memory of the ocean. Assessing the predictability of OHC using state-of-the-art climate models is invaluable for improving and advancing climate forecasts. Recently developed retrospective forecast experiments, based on a Community Earth System Model ensemble prediction system, offer a great opportunity to comprehensively explore OHC predictability. Our results indicate that the skill of actual OHC predictions varies across different oceans and diminishes as the lead time of prediction extends. The spatial distribution of the actual prediction skill closely resembles the corresponding persistence skill, indicating that the persistence of OHC serves as the primary predictive signal for its predictability. The decline in actual prediction skill is more pronounced in the Indian and Atlantic oceans than in the Pacific Ocean, particularly within tropical regions. Additionally, notable seasonal variations in the actual prediction skills across different oceans align well with the phase-locking features of OHC variability. The potential predictability of OHC generally surpasses the actual prediction skill at all lead times, highlighting significant room for improvement in current OHC predictions, especially for the North Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Achieving such improvements necessitates a collaborative effort to enhance the quality of ocean observations, develop effective data assimilation methods, and reduce model bias.

In recent years, there has been a significant acceleration in the thinning, calving and retreat of the Pine Island Ice Shelf (PIIS). The basal channels, results of enhanced basal melting, have the potential to significantly impact the stability of the PIIS. In this study, we used a variety of remote sensing data, including Landsat, REMA DEM, ICESat-1 and ICESat-2 satellite altimetry observations, and IceBridge airborne measurements, to study the spatiotemporal changes in the basal channels from 2003 to 2020 and basal melt rate from 2010 to 2017 of the PIIS under the Eulerian framework. We found that the basal channels are highly developed in the PIIS, with a total length exceeding 450 km. Most of the basal channels are ocean-sourced or groundingline-sourced basal channels, caused by the rapid melting under the ice shelf or near the groundingline. A raised seabed prevented warm water intrusion into the eastern branch of the PIIS, resulting in a lower basal melt rate in that area. In contrast, a deep-sea trough facilitates warm seawater into the mainstream and the western branch of the PIIS, resulting in a higher basal melt rate in the main-stream, and the surface elevation changes above the basal channels of the mainstream and western branch are more significant. The El Niño event in 2015–2016 possibly slowed down the basal melting of the PIIS by modulating wind field, surface sea temperature and depth seawater temperature. Ocean and atmospheric changes were driven by El Niño, which can further explain and confirm the changes in the basal melting of the PIIS.