In this study, the sectional characteristics of temperature, salinity and density off the central Zhejiang coast were analyzed using three sections of observational data in the spring of 2016. The results are as follows: (1) a cold water patch was observed in the middle layer of sections from 10 to 25 m, and a weak upwelling was observed at the upper layer near the central Zhejiang coast; (2) several thermoclines, inverted thermoclines, and haloclines were observed in the survey area; (3) the Taiwan Warm Current Water (TWCW) climbing from the slope towards the survey area affected the thermocline, making it thinner and intensified; however, the TWCW was not strong enough to break through the thermocline to reach the sea surface.

So far, large uncertainties of the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) reside in the eastern Indonesian seas, such as the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea. In this study, the water sources of the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea are diagnosed at seasonal and interannual timescales and at different vertical layers, using the state-of-the-art simulations of the Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) for Earth Simulator (OFES). Asian monsoon leaves clear seasonal footprints on the eastern Indonesian seas. Consequently, the subsurface waters (around 24.5σ_θ and at ~150 m) in both the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea stem from the South Pacific (SP) during winter monsoon, but during summer monsoon the Maluku Sea is from the North Pacific (NP), and the Halmahera Sea is a mixture of waters originating from the NP and the SP. The monsoon impact decreases with depth, so that in the Maluku Sea, the intermediate water (around 26.8σ_θ and at ~480 m) is always from the northern Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea water is mainly from the SP in winter and the Banda Sea in summer. The deep waters (around 27.2σ_θ and at ~1 040 m) in both seas are from the SP, with weak seasonal variability. At the interannual timescale, the subsurface water in the Maluku Sea originates from the NP/SP during El Niño/La Niña, while the subsurface water in the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. Similar to the seasonal variability, the intermediate water in Maluku Sea mainly comes from the Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. The deep waters in both seas are from the SP. Our findings are helpful for drawing a comprehensive picture of the water properties in the Indonesian seas and will contribute to a better understanding of the ocean-atmosphere interaction over the maritime continent.

A 72-h fine-resolution atmosphere-wave-ocean coupled forecasting system was developed for the South China Sea and its adjacent seas. The forecasting model domain covers from from 15°S to 45°N in latitude and 99°E to 135°E in longitude including the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Indonesian seas. To get precise initial conditions for the coupled forecasting model, the forecasting system conducts a 24-h hindcast simulation with data assimilation before forecasting. The Ensemble Adjustment Kalman Filter (EAKF) data assimilation method was adopted for the wave model MASNUM with assimilating Jason-2 significant wave height (SWH) data. The EAKF data assimilation method was also introduced to the ROMS model with assimilating sea surface temperature (SST), mean absolute dynamic topography (MADT) and Argo profiles data. To improve simulation of the structure of temperature and salinity, the vertical mixing scheme of the ocean model was improved by considering the surface wave induced vertical mixing and internal wave induced vertical mixing. The wave and current models were integrated from January 2014 to October 2015 driven by the ECMWF reanalysis 6 hourly mean dataset with data assimilation. Then the coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean forecasting system was carried out 14 months operational running since November 2015. The forecasting outputs include atmospheric forecast products, wave forecast products and ocean forecast products. A series of observation data are used to evaluate the coupled forecasting results, including the wind, SHW, ocean temperature and velocity. The forecasting results are in good agreement with observation data. The prediction practice for more than one year indicates that the coupled forecasting system performs stably and predict relatively accurate, which can support the shipping safety, the fisheries and the oil exploitation.

Cloud-free moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) images of the Zhujiang (Pearl) River Estuary (ZRE) taken between 2002 and 2012 are retrieved and used to study the spatial and temporal patterns of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) across the estuary under runoff, wind, and tropical storm conditions. Five typical dispersal patterns of suspended sediments in the estuary are defined: Case I shows generally low SSCs under low dynamics; Case II shows a river-dominant dispersal pattern of suspended sediments from the outlets, particularly from Modaomen, Jiaomen, Hengmen, and others; Case III shows wind-dominant dispersal of high SSCs derived from the west shoal and southwesterly transport under a strong NE wind; Case IV is the combination of relatively large runoff and wind; and Case V is caused by a strong tropical storm with high river discharge and wind, which is characterized by the high SSCs across the entire estuary that are transported eastward by wind-driven and buoyancy currents outside the estuary. Runoff is a dominant factor that controls seasonal and annual SSC variations in the ZRE, with the area of high SSCs being largest in the summer and smallest in the spring. The correlation coefficients between the monthly averaged river-suspended sediment discharge and the area of the high SSCs are approximately 0.6. The wind power over the west shoal increases with a wind speed, which induces more sediment resuspension and shows a close relationship between the wind speed and high SSC area.

A multi-index analysis including grain size, major and trace elements is performed on the surface sediments from the northeastern Beibu Gulf to trace the sources of the sediments and to understand the controlling factors for elements distribution. The mean grain size exhibits a wide variation ranging from 0.09Φ to 8.05Φ with an average value of 5.33Φ. The average contents of major elements descend in an order of c(SiO₂)>c(Al₂O₃)>c(Fe₂O₃)>c(CaO)>c(MgO)>c(K₂O)>c(Na₂O)>c(TiO₂)>c(P₂O₅)>c(MnO), while those of trace elements exhibit a descending order of c(Sr)>c(Rb)>c(V)>c(Zn)>c(Cr)>c(Pb)>c(Ni)>c(Cu)>c(As). On the basis of elementary distribution characteristics and statistical analyses, the study area is divided into the four zones: Zone I is located in the northeastern coastal area of the gulf, which receives large amount of fluvial materials from local rivers in Guangxi and Guangdong, China, and the Qiongzhou Strait; Zone II is located in the center of the study area, where surface sediments exhibits a multiple source; Zone III is located in the Qiongzhou Strait, where surface sediments are dominated by materials from the Zhujiang River and Hainan; Zone IV is located in the southwest of the study area, where surface sediments are mainly originated from the Red River and Hainan. The statistical analyses of sediment geochemical characteristics reveal that the grain size, which is mainly influenced by hydrodynamics and mineral composition of terrigenous materials, is the leading factor controlling the elementary distribution. Meanwhile, impacts from anthropogenic activities and marine biogenic process will also be taken into consideration.

Estuarine processes in the arctic lagoons are among the least studied but important subjects, especially considering the rapid warming of arctic water which may change the length of ice-free period in the summer. In this paper, wind-driven exchange flows in the micro-tidal Elson Lagoon of northern Alaska with multiple inlets of contrasting widths and depths are studied with in situ observations, statistical analysis, numerical experiments, a regression model on the basis of dynamics, and remote sensing data. Water velocity profiles were obtained from a bottom deployed acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) in the northwestern Eluitkak Pass connecting the Beaufort Sea to the Elson Lagoon during a 4.9 day ice-free period in the summer of 2013. The subtidal flow is found correlated with wind (R² value ~96%). Frequently occurring east, northeast and north winds from the arctic atmospheric high- and low-pressure systems push water from the Beaufort Sea into the lagoon through the wide inlets on the eastern side of the lagoon, resulting in an outward flow against the wind at the narrow northwestern inlet. The counter-wind flow is a result of an uneven wind forcing acting through the asymmetric inlets and depth, an effect of “torque” or vorticity. Under northwest wind, the exchange flow at the northwestern inlet reverses its direction, with inward flows through the upwind northwestern inlet and outward flows through the downwind eastern inlets. A regression model is established based on the momentum equations and Taylor series expansions. The model is used to predict flows in July and August of 2015 and July of 2017, supported by available Landsat satellite images. About 73%–80% of the time the flows at Eluitkak Pass are out of Elson Lagoon for the summer of 2015 and 2017. Numerical experiments are conducted to corroborate the findings and illustrate the effects under various wind conditions. A quasi-steady state balance between wind force and surface pressure gradient is confirmed.

The Miocene epoch marks the most crucial period during the Cenozoic cooling trend, characterized by the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) and a series of short–lived cooling events (Miocene isotope events). To understand the paleoenvironmental evolution along the shallow water shelf in the South China Sea during the Miocene, the benthic foraminiferal assemblage and total organic carbon content (TOC) were analyzed at Hole LF 14 located in the Lufeng Sag, northern South China Sea. Three benthic foraminiferal assemblages (e.g., the Uvigerina spp. assemblage, the Cibicides spp. assemblage, and the Cibicidoides spp. assemblage), corresponding to different watermass conditions, were recognized based on Q–mode factor analysis. Early studies suggested that Hole LF14 was deposited under semienclosed bay, middle to outer shelf or even upper bathyal environment during ~18.7–4.53 Ma. The dominant Uvigerina spp. assemblage was characterized by low diversity and shallow infaunal to infaunal species, indicating a warm, low–oxygenation and eutrophic conditions since the Early Miocene to MMCO (~18.7–14.24 Ma). An abrupt sea level drop and significant faunal changes were recorded during 14.24–13.41 Ma, suggesting development of the East Antarctic Ice Sheets, which resulted in a drop of sea level and change in benthic foraminiferal assemblages along the shallow water shelf. Beyond the Uvigerina spp. assemblage, the Cibicides spp. assemblage became important during the middle–late Middle Miocene (14.24–11.54 Ma). This assemblage was dominated by epifaunal species with relative high diversity, suggesting high–energy, high–oxygenation and oligotrophic conditions with episodic supply of organic food. The dominant Cibicidoides spp. assemblage with high diversity, indicates a mesotrophic conditions with relative high–oxygen content during the Late Miocene to Pliocene (11.54–4.53 Ma). The appearance and continuous occurrence of Ammonia spp. and Pseudorotalia spp. since 10.02 Ma, may reflect the influence of the Kuroshio Current.

The undrained shear strength of shallow strata is a critical parameter for safety design in deep-water operations. In situ piezocone penetration tests (CPTU) and laboratory experiments are performed at Site W18-19 in the Shenhu area, northern South China Sea, where China’s first marine hydrate exploitation operation is due to be located. The validation of the undrained shear strength prediction model based on CPTU parameters. Different laboratory tests, including pocket penetrometer, torvane, miniature vane and unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests, are employed to solve empirical cone coefficients by statistical and mathematical methods. Finally, an optimized model is proposed to describe the longitudinal distribution of undrained shear strength in calcareous clay strata in the Shenhu area. Research results reveal that average empirical cone coefficients based on total cone resistance, effective resistance, and excess-pore pressure are 13.8, 4.2 and 14.4, respectively. The undrained shear strength prediction model shows a good fit with the laboratory results only within specific intervals based on their compaction degree and gas-bearing conditions. The optimized prediction model in piecewise function format can be used to describe the longitudinal distribution of the undrained shear strength for calcareous clay within all depth intervals from the mud-line to the upper boundary of hydrate-bearing sediments (HBS). The optimized prediction result indicates that the effective cone resistance model is suitable for very soft to firm calcareous clays, the excess-pore pressure model can depict the undrained shear strength for firm to very stiff but gas-free clays, while the total cone resistance model is advantageous for evaluating the undrained shear strength for very stiff and gassy clays. The optimized model in piecewise function format can considerably improve the adaptability of empirical models for calcareous clay in the Shenhu area. These results are significant for safety evaluations of proposed hydrate exploitation projects.

The reconstruction of sea surface temperature (SST) is a key issue in research on paleoceanography. The recently related studies are mainly concentrated on the Quaternary. The skeletons of a typical species of benthonic foraminifer (Amphistegina radiata) in the top 0–375.30 m interval of Well “Xike-1” reef core, Shidao Island, the Xisha Islands, are uniformly selected. The ratios of magnesium to calcium concentrations and other indicators are analyzed by an electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) with the purpose of estimating the paleo-SSTs since the Pliocene and further investigating the periodic change law of paleoclimate in the South China Sea (SCS). Meanwhile, the geologic significance of paleoclimatic events in the SCS is discussed with global perspectives. The results indicate that the paleo-SSTs reconstructed by the ratios of magnesium to calcium concentrations in the SCS show a general periodic trend of “high–low–high–low” in values changes since the Pliocene. By comparison, the fluctuations of reconstructed paleo-SSTs are much stronger in the Quaternary. Moreover, the variations of the ratios of magnesium to calcium concentrations in the A. radiata skeletons have recorded a series of major paleoclimatic events since the Pliocene, of which the Quaternary glaciation events and the Arctic ice cap forming events during the late Pliocene are more significant. Thus, using the changes of the ratios of magnesium to calcium concentrations in the A. radiata skeletons from Well “Xike-1” reef core to reflect the relative changes of paleo-SSTs is a relatively feasible and reliable way in the SCS, which is also proved by the correlation of drilling cores characteristics in this area.

One of the problems experienced in marine geophysical exploration is that the layered features in the migration imaging profile are blurred and the seismic energy reflected is weaker in the middle or lower parts. In this study we model the seismic wavefield records in the undulating seafloor when there is both a slight change and significant change in seafloor topography to analyze its influence on the seismic reflection data and migration imaging profiles. We compare and analyze the wave field records collected at the same point on the original and modified velocity models, and the cross-bonding resulting migration imaging profiles. The results show that whether the seismic reflection data collection is performed along the direction of the survey line or against the direction of the survey line, slight changes in the seafloor topography have little effect on the wave field records and the migration profile, while significant changes in the seafloor topography have great effect on both the wave field records and migration profile.