This paper examines the simplification strategy of retaining only the nonhydrostatic effect of local acceleration in a three-dimensional fully nonhydrostatic model regarding the submesoscale wave phenomenon in the ocean. Elaborate scale analysis of the vertical component of the Reynold-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation was performed, confirming the rationalization of this simplification. Then, the simplification was implemented in a RANS equation-based nonhydrostatic model NHWAVE (nonhydrostatic WAVE) to make a simplified nonhydrostatic model. Numerical examples were taken to test its performance, including surface sinusoidal waves propagating on an idealized East China Sea topography, tidally induced internal lee waves and small-scale solitary waves. The results show that in a considerably wide range of nonlinear strengths, the simplified nonhydrostatic model can obtain similar results as those in the fully nonhydrostatic model, even for smaller-scale solitary waves. Nonlinearity influences the applicability of the simplification. The stronger the nonlinearity is, the worse the simplified model describes the nonhydrostatic phenomenon. In general, the simplified nonhydrostatic model can simulate surface waves better than internal waves. Improvement of computational efficiency in the simplified nonhydrostatic model is reasonable, reducing the central processing unit time duration in the fully nonhydrostatic model by 16.4%–20.6%. The specially designed algorithm based on the simplified nonhydrostatic equation can remarkably reduce the computational time.

Three long-term fixed acoustic Doppler current profilers were first used for investigating the vertical structure of tidal currents in Xuliujing Section of Changjiang River Estuary. Moreover, three different periods (spring, summer and fall) were also considered for investigating seasonal variations. The semi-diurnal tides were the most energetic, with along-channel speed of up to 80 cm/s for M₂ constituent, which dominates at all stations with percent energy up to 65%–75% during seasons. The shape of tidal ellipses of the most energetic semi-diurnal constituent M₂ showed obvious polarization of the flow paralleling to the riverbank, with the minor semi-axis being generally less than 20% of the major one. The maximum velocity of mean current is appeared in top layers at all the three stations, and the velocity decreased with the depth. The seasonal variations of direction are also observed, which is probably caused by complex local topography since the erosion and deposition in riverbed. Observed vertical variation of four parameters of M₂ ellipses, agreed well with the optimally fit frictional solutions in top and middle layers. However, there was an obvious difference between frictional model and observed data in the lower water column. Discrepancies are probably on account of stratification, which strengthens in summer and fall due to the freshening influence of the Changjiang River Estuary outflow.

The shallow-water temperature profile is typically parameterized using a few empirical orthogonal function (EOF) coefficients. However, when the experimental area is poorly known or highly variable, the adaptability of the EOFs will be significantly reduced. In this study, a new set of basis functions, generated by combining the internal-wave eigenmodes with the average temperature gradient, is developed for characterizing the temperature perturbations. Temperature profiles recorded by a thermistor chain in the South China Sea in 2015 are processed and analyzed. Compared to the EOFs, the new set of basis functions has higher reconstruction accuracy and adaptability; it is also more stable in ocean regions that have internal waves.

The HY-2A satellite, which is equipped with a radar altimeter and was launched on August 16, 2011, is the first Chinese marine dynamic environmental monitoring satellite. Extracting ocean tides is one of the important applications of the radar altimeter data. The radar altimeter data of the HY-2A satellite from November 1, 2011 to August 16, 2014 are used herein to extract global ocean tides. The constants representing the tidal constituents are extracted by HY-2A RA data with harmonic analysis based on the least squares method. Considering tide aliasing issues, the analysis of the alias periods and alias synodic periods of different tidal constituents shows that only the tidal constituents M₂, N₂, and K₂ are retrieved precisely by the HY-2A RA data. The derived tidal constants of the tidal constituents M₂, N₂ and K₂ are compared to those of tidal gauge data and the TPXO tide model results. The comparison between the derived results and the tidal gauge data shows that the RMSEs of the tidal amplitude and phase lag are 9.6 cm and 13.34°, 2.4 cm and 10.47°, and 8.1 cm and 14.19° for tidal constituents M₂, N₂, and K₂, respectively. The comparisons of the semidiurnal tides with the TPXO model results show that tidal constituents have good consistency with the TPXO model results. These findings confirm the good performance of HY-2A RA for retrieving semidiurnal tides in the global ocean.

The Chinese marine dynamic environment satellite HY-2B was launched in October 2018 and carries a Ku-band scatterometer. This paper focuses on the accuracies of HY-2B scatterometer wind data during the period from November 2018 to May 2021. The HY-2B wind data are validated against global moored buoys operated by the U.S. National Data Buoy Center and Tropical Atmosphere Ocean, numerical model data by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, and the Advanced Scatterometer data issued by the Remote Sensing System. The results showed that the wind speeds and directions observed by the HY-2B scatterometer agree well with these buoy wind measurements. The root-mean-squared errors (RMSEs) of the HY-2B wind speed and direction are 0.74 m/s and 11.74°, respectively. For low wind speeds (less than 5 m/s), the standard deviation of the HY-2B-derived wind direction is higher than 20°, which implies that the HY-2B wind direction for low wind speeds is less accurate than that for moderate to high wind speed ranges. The RMSE of the HY-2B wind speed is slightly larger in high latitude oceans (60°–90°S and 60°–90°N) than in low latitude regions. Furthermore, the dependence of the residuals on the cross-track location of wind vector cells and the stability of the HY-2B scatterometer wind products are discussed. The wind stability assessment results indicate that a clear yearly oscillation is observed for the HY-2B wind speed bias which is due to seasonal weather variations. In general, the accuracy of HY-2B winds meets the operational precision requirement and is consistent with other wind data.

Preparis Channel is the very important exchange path of energy and materials between the northern Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea (AS). A set of hydrographic measurements, a microstructure profiler, and a deep mooring were used to determine the characteristics of water masses, turbulent mixing, and flows in the Preparis Channel. The unprecedented short-term mooring data reveal that a deep current in the deep narrow passage (below 400 m) of the Preparis Channel flows toward the Bay of Bengal (BoB) with a mean along-stream velocity of 25.26 cm/s at depth of 540 m; above the deep current, there are a relatively weak current flows toward the AS with a mean along-stream velocity of 15.46 cm/s between 500 m and 520 m, and another weak current flows toward the BoB between 430 m and 500 m. Thus, a sandwiched vertical structure of deep currents (below 400 m) is present in the Preparis Channel. The volume transport below 400 m is 0.06 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³/s) from the AS to the BoB. In the upper layer (shallower than 300 m), the sea water of the AS is relatively warmer and fresher than that in the BoB, indicating a strong exchange through the channel. Microstructure profiler observations reveal that the turbulent diffusivity in the upper layer of the Preparis Channel reaches O(10⁻⁴ m²/s), one order larger than that in the interior of the BoB and over the continental slope of the northern AS. We speculate that energetic high-mode internal tides in the Preparis Channel contribute to elevated turbulent mixing. In addition, a local “hotspot” of turbidity is identified at the deep mooring site, at depth of about 100 m, which corresponds to the location of elevated turbulent mixing in the Preparis Channel.

Enderby Land in East Antarctica and its adjacent areas, which are closely related to the Indian Plate in their geological evolution, have become one of the key zones for studies on how the Antarctic continent evolves. Based on the isostasy and flexure theories of the lithosphere and using the CRUST1.0 model as the depth constraint, this paper uses the gravity field model EIGEN-6C4 and topographic data to calculate the isostatic gravity anomalies of Enderby Land and its adjacent areas. Then, the crustal thickness of the study area is calculated, and three comprehensive geophysical interpretation profiles that vertically span the study area are plotted. The results show that the flexural isostatic gravity anomalies in Enderby Land and its adjacent areas are closely related to the regional tectonic setting, and the anomalies in different regions differ substantially, ranging from −50×10⁻⁵ m/s² to 85×10⁻⁵ m/s². A zone of high isostatic gravity anomalies (30×10⁻⁵–80×10⁻⁵ m/s²) is distributed outside the Cooperation Sea and Queen Maud Land, which may be plate remnants generated by early rifting. Except for the Kerguelen Plateau, which was formed by a hotspot and has a crustal thickness of 15 km, the thickness of the oceanic crust in other parts of the study area changes slightly by approximately 4–9 km, with the thinnest part being in Enderby Basin. The thickness of the inland crust along the coastline increases with the elevation, with the maximum thickness reaching 34 km. The isostatic gravity anomalies corresponding to the zone of high magnetic anomalies along the continental margin of Queen Maud Land are negative and small, with an isostatic adjustment trend indicating Moho surface uplift, and those on the edge of central Enderby Land are near zero, approaching the isostatic state, which may be caused by the magmatism at the early stage of rifting. The continental-oceanic boundary should be close to the contour line of the crustal thickness 10–12 km on the outer edge of the coastline.

The South Yellow Sea basin is filled with Mesozoic–Cenozoic continental sediments overlying pre-Palaeozoic and Mesozoic–Palaeozoic marine sediments. Conventional multi-channel seismic data cannot describe the velocity structure of the marine residual basin in detail, leading to the lack of a deeper understanding of the distribution and lithology owing to strong energy shielding on the top interface of marine sediments. In this study, we present seismic tomography data from ocean bottom seismographs that describe the NEE-trending velocity distributions of the basin. The results indicate that strong velocity variations occur at shallow crustal levels. Horizontal velocity bodies show good correlation with surface geological features, and multi-layer features exist in the vertical velocity framework (depth: 0–10 km). The analyses of the velocity model, gravity data, magnetic data, multi-channel seismic profiles, and drilling data showed that high-velocity anomalies (>6.5 km/s) of small (thickness: 1–2 km) and large (thickness: >5 km) scales were caused by igneous complexes in the multi-layer structure, which were active during the Palaeogene. Possible locations of good Mesozoic and Palaeozoic marine strata are limited to the Central Uplift and the western part of the Northern Depression along the wide-angle ocean bottom seismograph array. Following the Indosinian movement, a strong compression existed in the Northern Depression during the extensional phase that caused the formation of folds in the middle of the survey line. This study is useful for reconstructing the regional tectonic evolution and delineating the distribution of the marine residual basin in the South Yellow Sea basin.

In the late Miocene, giant ancient pockmarks, which are fairly rare globally, developed in the Qiongdongnan Basin. In this paper, to determine the sedimentary characteristics and genetic mechanism of these giant ancient pockmarks in the Yinggehai Formation of the Qiongdongnan Basin, based on high-resolution 3D seismic data and multiattribute fusion technologies, we analyzed the planar distribution and seismic facies of the ancient pockmarks and compared the characteristics of the ancient pockmarks with those of channels, craters, and hydrate pits. Moreover, we also discussed the implications of the fluid escape system and paleo-bottom current activity in the ancient pockmark development area and analyzed the influence of the ancient pockmarks on the paleoclimate in this region. Finally, an evolutionary model was proposed for the giant ancient pockmarks. This model shows that the giant ancient pockmarks in the southern Qiongdongnan Basin were affected by both deep fluid escape and lateral transformation of paleobottom currents. In addition, the giant ancient pockmarks contributed to the atmospheric CO₂ concentration in the late Miocene and played a great role in the contemporary evaluation of deepwater petroleum exploration.

Toxic harmful algal blooms (HABs) can cause deleterious effects in marine organisms, threatening the stability of marine ecosystems. It is well known that different strains, natural populations and growth conditions of the same toxic algal species may lead to different amount of phycotoxin production and the ensuing toxicity. To fully assess the ecological risk of toxic HABs, it is of great importance to investigate the toxic effects of phycotoxins in marine organisms. In this study, the short-term toxicity of 14 common phycotoxins (alone and in combination) in the marine zooplankton Artemia salina was investigated. The 48 h LC₅₀ of the 14 phycotoxins varied from 0.019 3 µg/mL to 2.415 µg/mL. The most potent phycotoxin was azaspiracids-3 (AZA3; with a LC₅₀ of 0.019 3 µg/mL), followed by azaspiracids-2 (AZA2; 0.022 6 µg/mL), pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2; 0.046 0 µg/mL) and dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1; 0.081 8 µg/mL). For the binary exposure, okadaic acid (OA) induced potential additive effects with DTX1, probably due to their similar structure (polyether fatty acid) and mode of action (attacking the serine/threonine phosphoprotein phosphatases). On the other hand, OA showed potential antagonistic effects with PTX2, which might be accounted for by their activation on the detoxification activity of cytochrome P450 activity. In addition, DTX1 induced potential synergetic effects with saxitoxin (STX), yessotoxin (YTX) or PTX2, suggesting the hazard potency of the mixtures of DTX1 and other phycotoxins (like STX, YTX and PTX2) with regard to the ecological risk. These results provide valuable toxicological data for assessing the impact of phycotoxins on marine planktonic species and highlight the potential ecological risk of toxic HABs in marine ecosystems.