East Coast Of China Research Articles

A climatology of extratropical cyclones over East Asia during 1958–2001

A climatology of extratropical cyclones (ECs) over East Asia (20°−75°N, 60°−160°E) is analyzed by applying an improved objective detection and tracking algorithm to the 4-time daily sea level pressure fields from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis data. A total of 12914 EC processes for the period of 1958–2001 are identified, with an EC database integrated and EC activities reanalyzed using the objective algorithm. The results reveal that there are three major cyclogenesis regions: West Siberian Plain, Mongolia (to the south of Lake Baikal), and the coastal region of East China; whereas significant cyclolysis regions are observed in Siberia north of 60°N, Northeast China, and Okhotsk Sea-Northwest Pacific. It is found that the EC lifetime is largely 1–7 days while winter ECs have the shortest lifespan. The ECs are the weakest in summer among the four seasons. Strong ECs often appear in West Siberia, Northeast China, and Okhotsk Sea-Northwest Pacific. Statistical analysis based on k-means clustering has identified 6 dominating trajectories in the area south of 55°N and east of 80°E, among which 4 tracks have important impacts on weather/climate in China. ECs occurring in spring (summer) tend to travel the longest (shortest). They move the fastest in winter, and the slowest in summer. In winter, cyclones move fast in Northeast China, some areas of the Yangtze-Huaihe River region, and the south of Japan, with speed greater than 15 m s−1. Explosively-deepening cyclones are found to occur frequently along the east coast of China, Japan, and Northwest Pacific, but very few storms occur over the inland area. Bombs prefer to occur in winter, spring, and autumn. Their annual number and intensity in 1990 and 1992 in East Asia (EA) are smaller and weaker than their counterparts in North America.

A GIS-supported impact assessment of the hierarchical flood-defense systems on the plain areas of the Taihu Basin, China

The Taihu Basin is located in the east coast of China, with a total area of 36,895 km2. Low-lying floodplain areas occupy about 83% of the basin. The threat of frequent floods to this economically important area has stimulated construction of enormous flood-defense projects along the complex system of rivers and lakes. Digital modeling of flooding processes and quantitative assessment of flood damages in this basin remain challenging due to the complexity. This article reports on an approach to simulate the flooding processes, which integrates hydrological and hydraulic modeling with dike-reliability analysis and socioeconomic information within a GIS platform. A new algorithm is introduced to calculate the influence of the flood-defense systems on spatial distributions of floodwater and consequential damages. Scenario analysis indicates that the modeling is particularly sensitive to the assumed rainfall, dike reliability, and the pump capacities within local polders. The model is validated by comparison with observations from historical flood records. The analysis reveals that the defense systems have significantly reduced the basin-wide flood risk and changed the spatial distributions of floodwater. Such a GIS-based approach can be potentially used to assess the benefit from construction of flood defenses and to avoid unintended spatial redistribution of flooding.

Synthesis and Antifouling Capability of New Mixture Ratio Coating Containing Methoxysilane Moiety

In recent years, high-efficiency and low-toxic antifouling coating are predominant in view of environmental protection and public safety. In this paper, a novel coating containing methoxysilane and acrylic resin were synthesized which have special structure to antifouling. We concluded the colonization of benthic diatoms (Nitzschia flosterium) of the novel coating, taking the antifouling coating containing AM(4.3%w\w）, HD-70 (3.4%w\w），VTMO (2.3%w\w）and Cu2O (28.5%w\w）for instance, we obtained that the colonization of Nitzschia flosterium was 4.3*104N.cm-2. A static test site was set up in Number 8-dock of Qingdao harbor, on the East Coast of China to investigate the antifouling effectiveness of the novel antifouling coating. The results of the present paper demonstrate that the novel coating enhanced the antifouling .

Modeling the formation of a sand bar within a large funnel-shaped, tide-dominated estuary: Qiantangjiang Estuary, China

The Qiangtangjiang Estuary (the outer part being known as Hangzhou Bay) located on the east coast of China is a large funnel-shaped, tide-dominated and well-mixed estuary. The equilibrium estuarine morphology has been attained and characterized by a large sand bar having a total length of 125km and an elevation of 10m above the average adjacent seabed. In order to investigate the physical processes governing the formation of this morphological feature, two-dimensional depth-averaged process-based morphodynamic modeling (Delft3D) was carried out on a schematized funnel-shaped domain with exponentially decreasing widths based on the dimensions of the Qiangtangjiang Estuary. The model simulated a 6000-year period, the output showing the development of a sand bar that reached equilibrium within about 3000years. The general shape, size and position of the modeled sand bar are consistent with the observations. Short-term simulations of hydrodynamic and sediment transport processes at the initial stage indicate that, in response to the interactions between river discharge and tidal currents, which are strongly influenced by the funnel-shape, the sand bar developed in the transition zone between the river-dominated upper estuary and the flood-dominated lower estuary where sediment transport pathways converge. A series of sensitivity analyses suggest that the estuarine convergence rate, sediment grain size, and river discharge are the main controlling factors of sand bar formation. Similar to other large funnel-shaped, tide-dominated estuaries of the world, a sufficient supply of fine cohesionless sediment (derived from the adjacent Changjiang Estuary), a large river discharge, and a strong shoreline convergence rate have shaped the large sand bar in the Qiangtangjiang Estuary.

象山港南沙岛不同养殖类型沉积物酸可挥发性硫化物的时空分布

Xiangshan Bay,located on the east coast of China,is a semi-enclosed bay with slow rate of water exchange.Nansha Bay,lies in the middle of Xiangshan Bay,is an important fish cage farming area.This paper presented the results of the seasonal and spatial distribution of acid volatile sulfide(AVS) in sediments from three different mariculture areas including seaweed culture area,shellfish culture area and fish cage culture area in Nansha Bay in 2007.The results revealed that AVS content in the whole investigation region ranged from 0.01 to 30.03 μmol/g,the average value was 3.75 μmol/g.The mean value of AVS in shellfish culture area,seaweed culture area,fish cage culture area and the control area were 1.03,0.64,5.06,and 0.70 μmol/g,respectively.Although there was no significant change of AVS in surface sediment,significant difference of AVS in columnar sample(0—15cm) was found among winter,summer,spring and autumn,with the average value 3.48,3.05,8.31 and 6.57 μmol/g in,respectively.The value of AVS increased with the sediment depth,and reached the maximum in 6 to 9 centimeter,especially in summer and autumn.Cluster analysis showed the AVS distribution in the sediment of Nansha Bay could be divided into 3 categories: central cage area(S10) and surrounding cage area(S12 and S13);cage culture area(S6,S7 and S14) far away from central cage area;shellfish culture area(S1),algae culture area(S2) and control area(S5).The average values of AVS in different categories were 7.34,2.62 and 0.75 μmol/g,respectively.Overall,the AVS content was highest in central cage area and gradually reduced with the distance along the central cage area.The impact of fish cage farming on AVS mainly concentrated in the area within 200 m from fish cages and influence slightly far away from 500m.

象山港人工鱼礁区的网采浮游植物群落组成及其与环境因子的关系

Xiangshan Bay(121°25′—120°00′E,29°05′—29°46′N),located on the east coast of China,is a long semi-enclosed bay with slow rate of water exchange.As one of the most important economic and aquaculture base in Zhejiang province,Xiangshan Bay has confronted a series of ecological challenge such as the development for coastal power plant,industrial construction,tidal flat reclamation and over-fishing.In order to restore the damage environment of Xiangshan Bay,the local government has begun to settle 230 concrete reefs(a total of 5000 air cubic meters) successively near the Baishi Island since 2008. Most researches so far focused on the artificial reef itself(e.g.body design,settlement area,pavement method and management) and its influence on the water quality,attachment organisms,benthos and fishery resource.However,report about the effects of artificial reef on phytoplankton is rare.Actually,the phytoplankton,as the basic and essential part of food chain,is very important for the ecological assessment and the community of phytoplankton should be taken into consideration of the artificial reef effects on the ecological restoration and fishery resource recovery. This paper represents the seasonal community composition of net-phytoplankton in artificial reef areas and their adjacent waters in Xiangshan Bay.The net-phytoplankton samples were collected in January(winter),April(spring),July(summer) and November(autumn) 2010,and a total of 8 phyla,74 genera,and 220 species were found,mainly including 168 diatom species and 38 dinoflagellate species,and other rare species such as Cyanophyceae,Chlorophyceae,Euglenophyceae,Chrysophyceae,Cryptophyceae and Xanthophyceae.The phytoplankton abundances in spring,autumn and winter(67.85,65.88 and 56.77×104 Cells/m3,respectively) were significantly higher than those in summer(7.19×104 Cells/m3).Coscinodiscus jonesianus,Cerataulina pelagica,Chaetoceros lorenzianus and C.lauderi were the main dominant species,especially C.jonesianus was the absolute dominant species in spring and winter.Both the phytoplankton community parameters(abundance,chl a concentration,species number,Shannon-Wiener diversity,Pielou evenness and Margalef richness index) and the environmental variables(temperature,salinity,transparency,pH value,DO,suspended solids,DIN,PO4-P and SiO3-Si levels) are seasonally different significantly(P 0.001) but no obvious difference between the artificial reef and control areas is found.The similar seasonal and spacial distributions of net-phytoplankton community are also shown by the results according to the clusters,multidimensional scaling and similarity analysis.Therefore,the artificial reefs at present have no significant influence on community composition of net-phytoplankton.It could be speculated that(1) the total scale(only 230 concrete reefs with a total of 5000 air cubic meters) and settle time(since 2008) of artificial reefs in this area are still not large and long enough to reflect the ecological effects;(2) the control area is close to the reef area,and the sampling stations are near the islands,so the influences of current and island effect on phytoplankton may overwhelm the influence of reefs.Canonical correspondence analysis(CCA) showed that temperature,nutrition(DIN and PO4-P),salinity and suspended solids were the main factors influencing net-phytoplankton community in turn.

Evaluation on the Coordination of Economy and Environment with scarce Water Resources in Shandong Peninsula, China

Abstract Shandong Peninsula, as a more developed region of economy and society in Shandong province even in the east coast of China, is facing challenges from resources and environment pressures. As the scope of economy expanding, the water's restriction to the development of economy and society is more and more evident. This paper tried to track and assess the harmonious status between the water resource and environment's Status and the development of economy and society in Shandong Peninsula in order to provide decision support for regional sustainability. This paper analyzed the water's development situation through calculating the total amount of water recourses, the balance of water's supply and demand and the utilization effects of water recourses and gave the aftereffect of environment because of inconsequential development and use. With Delphi and AHP methods, an appraisal index system was built including five aspects of harmony degree (A), sustainability degree (B), opening degree (C), stability degree (D) and controllability degree (E). The results showed that:1) Shandong peninsula belongs to the essence coordination type and the indexes of opening degree and sustainability degree are above the average level; 2)The economic increase of Shandong peninsula belongs to extensive mode and depends on amount input of funds, labor and the excessive consumption of resource; and 3)water resource becomes the main factor that constrained the coordination of economy, society and environment in Shandong peninsula. The paper provides quantitative gist to the majestic target of designing resource-saving based society.

Offshore wind in China

China has made slower progress than planned in the installation of offshore wind capacity since the commissioning of its first turbine in 2007. The majority of projects reside within the nearshore intertidal zone and little experience outside this zone has been gained. The rate of progress is now increasing and the Government has specified that new projects should be further offshore in deeper waters. Much of the East coast of China has good to excellent wind energy resource and shallow waters extend for tens of kilometres from the shore. Soft ground conditions and the occurrence of typhoons complicate the otherwise favourable conditions for offshore wind development. To overcome these local challenges, Chinese developers have tested a range of different foundation types including unique approaches such as high-rise pile cap foundations. Installation techniques, vessels, and wind turbines have been developed to suit the local conditions and these have been supplemented by methodologies and equipment from the European offshore wind industry.

Implications of regional surface ozone increases on visibility degradation in southeast China

Long-term visibility (1968–2010) and air pollutant (1984–2010) data records in Hong Kong reveal that the occurrence of reduced visibility (RV, defined as the percentage of hours per month with visibility below 8 km in the absence of rain, fog, mist or relative humidity above 95%) in southeast China has increased significantly in the last four decades. The most pronounced rate of increase was observed after 1990 (nine times higher than that before 1990), when notable increases in surface ozone (O3) levels were simultaneously observed (1.06 µg m−3 per yr). The greatest increases in RV, and in O3, NO2 and SO2 concentrations are coincident in the autumn (1.47, 0.20 and 0.45 µg m−3 per yr respectively), when southeast China is strongly influenced by regional O3 formation and accumulation due to continental outflow of pollution from the east China coast under favourable meteorological conditions. Multiple regression revealed that the RV percentage correlated well (p<0.05) with NO2 and NOx in the 1980s, and with NO2, SO2 and O3 after the 1990s, suggesting that there have been changes in the predominant factors causing visibility degradation. In order to elucidate the reasons for these changes, the results were integrated with data from previous research. Possible impacts of elevated O3 on secondary particle formation and their effects on visibility degradation and aerosol radiative forcing in an oxidant-enhanced southeast China are highlighted. Other factors potentially leading to visibility degradation, such as ship emissions and biomass burning, are also discussed.

Bisexual Behavior and Infection with HIV and Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Along the East Coast of China

This study examined the correlates of bisexual behavior and infection with HIV/syphilis among men who have sex with men only (MSM-only) and those who have sex with both men and women (MSMW) in Shandong, China. Cross-sectional surveys probed sociodemographic information, sexual and drug use behaviors, knowledge, and use of prevention services; blood samples were tested for HIV/syphilis status. Of 2996 participants, 39.5% acknowledged being MSMW; 60.5% being MSM-only; 2.5% were HIV-infected with similar rates for MSMW (2.5%) and MSM-only (2.6%); 5.5% syphilis-infected with comparable rates for MSMW (5.6%) and MSM-only (5.5%). In multivariable models, MSMW were more likely than MSM-only to be older, local residents, recruited from outdoor cruising area, drug users, and less likely to have used a condom during last anal sex with a male partner. HIV-infected MSMW were more likely to have syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and less likely to have received peer education. HIV-infected MSM-only were more likely to be older, nonlocal residents, and have syphilis and other STDs. MSMW with syphilis were more likely to be recruited from Jinan, Qingdao, and Zibo (versus Yantai), infected with HIV, and less likely to have received lubricant promotion. MSM-only with syphilis were more likely to be recruited from Jinan and Qingdao (versus Yantai), drug users, infected with HIV, and have had sex with male partners in the past 6 months. High prevalence of bisexual behavior and HIV/other STDs with common unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners among Shandong's gay community revealed in this study highlighted the importance of bisexuals as a potential epidemiologic bridge. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of bisexual behaviors on population transmission.

Variations of frequency of landfalling typhoons in East China, 1450–1949

AbstractOn the basis of Chinese government records, the number of tropical cyclones making landfall along the East China coast during the period 1450–1949 is examined. The annual number of typhoons making landfall in East China during this period is found to possess a positive and statistically significant trend, as well as oscillations on centennial to decadal timescales. By classifying the years using proxy records of the El Niño and Pacific Decadal Oscillation phenomena, the annual number of typhoon landfall is found to vary with the different phases of these two prominent oscillations, and such variations can be explained to a large extent physically based on modern‐day atmospheric data. These results, together with those from previous studies, suggest that variations in the number of landfalling tropical cyclones are largely governed by those in the planetary‐scale atmospheric circulations that go through oscillations on various timescales. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society

Response of Asian summer monsoon to CO2 doubling

Based on simulations of the IPCC 20C3M and SRES A1B experiments in ten coupled models, the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) response to CO2 doubling and the different responses among models are examined. Nine models show the similar results that the weakening of land-ocean thermal contrast caused by the CO2 doubling contributes to a weaker large-scale ASM circulation. Further analysis in this study also shows that the major ASM components, such as the Somali cross-equatorial flow, the low level India-South China Sea monsoon trough, and the upper level tropical easterly jet stream, weaken as CO2 doubles. However, the ASM rainfall increases as a result of the increased moisture from the warmer Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, and the enhanced northward moisture transport over the ASM region. For the response of enhanced northward moisture transport over South Asia, the positive contribution of moisture content increase in the Indian Ocean is dominant and the negative contribution of the weaker monsoon circulation is secondary at 850 hPa, but both have positive contribution to the total moisture transport along the East China coast. The paradox of the weaker ASM circulation and the increasing precipitation in CO2 doubling is confirmed. It is found that strengthening of northward moisture transport could intensify the precipitation and atmospheric heat source over the north Arabian Sea and East China, and result in enhanced southwesterly at 850 hPa as global warming occurs. All ten models show significant enhanced southwesterly response over the north Arabian Sea, and six of them show enhanced southwesterly response along the East China coast.

Observation of atmospheric aerosols at Mt. Hua and Mt. Tai in central and east China during spring 2009 – Part 1: EC, OC and inorganic ions

Abstract. PM10 and size-segregated samples were simultaneously collected at Mt. Hua (2060 m a.s.l.) and Mt. Tai (1545 m a.s.l.) in central and east coastal China during spring, 2009 including an intensive dust storm event occurring on 24 April, and determined for EC, OC and inorganic ions. During the non-dust storm period particles, EC, OC and ions except for SO42− were 2–10 times more abundant at Mt. Tai than at Mt. Hua. SO42− (13 ± 7.1 μg m−3) at Mt. Hua was the dominant ion, followed by NO3− (5.0 ± 3.9 μg m−3), NH4+ (2.5 ± 1.3 μg m−3) and Ca2+ (1.6 ± 0.8 μg m−3). In contrast, at Mt. Tai NO3− was most abundant (20 ± 14 μg m−3), followed by SO42− (16 ± 13 μg m−3), NH4+ (12 ± 8.9 μg m−3) and Ca2+ (3.9 ± 2.1 μg m−3). The fact of NO3− exceeding over SO42− at Mt. Tai may suggest the changes in chemical composition of the atmosphere over east China due to sharply increasing vehicle emission. pH values of the water-extracts of PM10 samples indicate that at the two mountain sites aerosols transported from the south regions are more acidic than those from the north and more acidic at Mt. Tai than at Mt. Hua during the non-dust storm period. During the dust storm event particle mass, OC, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ at both sites increased by a factor of 1–9, while EC, NO3− and NH4+ decreased by 20–80 %. However, SO42− concentrations (13 ± 7.7 μg m−3 at Mt. Hua and 15 ± 5.6 μg m−3 at Mt. Tai, respectively) at the two sites during the episode were comparable and did not change significantly compared to those in the non-dust storm period, probably due to a similar level of free tropospheric SO2 in central and east China. Compared with those at Mt. Hua the coarse modes (&gt;2.1 μm) of K+ and SO42− at Mt. Tai during the non-event period were more abundant and the coarse mode of NO3− was less abundant. When the dust storm was present all ions significantly moved toward coarse particles, except for NH4+, with a disappeared peak in fine mode (&lt;2.1 μm) for NO3−. Linear regression for ion equivalents in fine particles indicates that ammonium exists in the forms of NH4NO3 and NH4HSO4 at Mt. Hua and NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4 at Mt. Tai during both the nonevent and the event periods. While the regression for coarse mode of Ca2+ suggests a close coupling of dust with nitrate during the nonevent time and with sulfate during the dust-storm period. pH values of the size-resolved samples further suggest that during the nonevent period most acidic particles at Mt. Hua are in the range of 0.7–1.1 μm, while those at Mt. Tai are in the range of 1.1–2.1 μm. Aerosols at both sites became alkaline during the event, but the Mt. Tai particles still showed a lower pH value.

Marinobacter daqiaonensis sp. nov., a moderate halophile isolated from a Yellow Sea salt pond

A Gram-negative, oxidase- and catalase-positive, moderately halophilic strain, designated YCSA40(T), was isolated from sediment of Daqiao saltern in Qingdao, on the east coast of China. Growth occurred at 10-45 °C, at pH 5-9 and with 1-15% NaCl. Strain YCSA40(T) showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Marinobacter segnicrescens SS011B1-4(T) (97%) and M. gudaonensis SL014B61A(T) (96.9%) and 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogenetic analysis assigned the isolate to the genus Marinobacter. Strain YCSA40(T) contained C(18:1)ω9c (34.8%), C(16:0) (11.6%), C(19:0) cyclo ω10c/C(19:1)ω6c (10.5%), C(16:1)ω9c (8.4%), C(17:0) (6.3%) and C(12:0) 3-OH (5.8%) as the predominant fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 60.8 mol% and the major ubiquinone was Q-9. These chemotaxonomic characters were all consistent with membership of the genus Marinobacter. DNA-DNA relatedness between the isolate and M. segnicrescens CGMCC 1.6489(T), M. gudaonensis CGMCC 1.6294(T) and other type strains of species of the genus Marinobacter was ≤30%. On the basis of the aforementioned data, it was concluded that strain YCSA40(T) represents a novel species of the genus Marinobacter, for which the name Marinobacter daqiaonensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YCSA40(T) (=CGMCC 1.9167(T) =NCCB 100308(T) =LMG 25365(T)).

Imaging the mantle transition zone beneath eastern and central China with CEArray receiver functions

We analyzed a total of 37 427 receiver-function data recorded by national and regional broadband seismic networks of the China Earthquake Administration to study the mantle transition zone beneath eastern and central China. Significant topography on both the 410-km and 660-km discontinuities was clearly imaged in the 3D volume of CCP (common-conversion-point) stacked images that cover an area of 102.5°E-122.5°E and 22.0°N-42.0°N. 3D crustal and mantle velocity models were used in computing the Ps time moveouts to better image the absolute depths of the two discontinuities. We found that the 660-km discontinuity is depressed up to 25 km along the east coast of China, indicating the presence of the subducted Pacific slab in the region. More interestingly, a double 660-km was observed beneath the Huanghai Sea, which was not seen from the 410-km discontinuity. We found a strong and localized anomaly beneath the Quaternary Datong volcano located at the northeastern edge of the Ordos Plateau in North China. The 410-km is depressed by as much as 15 km beneath the volcano. If the amount of the depression is caused by unmodeled low velocity anomaly in the upper mantle, it requires either a strong (4%–8%) localized low velocity anomaly near the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary or ∼1.5% low velocity column across the entire upper mantle above the 410-km. The latter could suggest a deep origin of the Datong volcano, although it was usually attributed to edge-driven convection by most of the literatures.

Sunxiuqinia elliptica gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the phylum Bacteroidetes isolated from sediment in a sea cucumber farm

Three novel aerobic, elliptic bacteria, designated DQHS4(T), DQHS8 and DQHS15, were isolated from sediment of a seashore pond for sea cucumber culture in Jimo, Qingdao, on the east coast of China. Cells were Gram-, oxidase- and catalase-negative. All three strains grew at 15-42 °C, pH 5-9 and NaCl concentrations between 0.5 and 10%. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed high (>85%) relatedness among the three novel isolates and suggested that the strains constitute a single species. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that these bacteria had less than 90% similarity to all described species of the phylum Bacteroidetes; the closest relative of the three isolates was Prolixibacter bellariivorans F2(T), sharing only 89.6% sequence similarity. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C(17:0) 3-OH (19.8-20.0%), iso-C(15:0) (16.9-17.3%), anteiso-C(17:1) B and/or iso-C(17:1) I (7.4-8.7%), C(17:0) 2-OH (8.4%), anteiso-C(15:0) (8.2-8.6%) and C(17:1)ω6c (5.6-6.0%). The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7 (MK-7) and the DNA G+C content was 41.8-43.5 mol%. Based on the distinct phylogenetic position and the combination of genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, these three strains were considered to represent a novel species of a new genus in the phylum Bacteroidetes, for which the name Sunxiuqinia elliptica gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Sunxiuqinia elliptica is DQHS4(T) (=CGMCC 1.9156(T) =NCCB 100301(T) =LMG 25367(T)).

A decadal regional and global trend analysis of the aerosol optical depth using a data-assimilation grade over-water MODIS and Level 2 MISR aerosol products

Abstract. Using the ten-year (2000–2009) Data-Assimilation (DA) quality Terra MODIS and MISR aerosol products, as well as 7 years of Aqua MODIS, we studied both regional and global aerosol trends over oceans. This included both operational and data assimilation grade versions of the products. After correcting for what appears to be aerosol signal drift from the radiometric calibration of both MODIS instruments, we found MODIS and MISR agreed on a statistically negligible global trend of ±0.003/per decade. Our study also suggests that AODs over the Indian Bay of Bengal, east coast of Asia, and Arabian Sea show increasing trends of 0.07, 0.06, and 0.06 per decade for MODIS, respectively. These regional trends are considered as significant with a confidence level above 95%. Similar increasing trends were found from MISR, but with less relative magnitude. These trends reflect respective increases in the optical intensity of aerosol events in each region: anthropogenic aerosols over the east coast of China and Indian Bay of Bengal; and a stronger influence from dust events over the Arabian Sea. Negative AOD trends, low in confidence levels, are found off Central America, the east coast of North America, and the west coast of Africa, which indicate that longer periods of observation are necessary to be conclusive.

Halomonas daqiaonensis sp. nov., a moderately halophilic, denitrifying bacterium isolated from a littoral saltern

Two novel gram-negative, oxidase- and catalase-positive, rod-shaped bacterial strains, designated YCSA28(T) and YCSA39, were isolated from sediment of Daqiao saltern, Jimo, Qingdao, on the east coast of China. The two strains grew optimally at 28-30 °C, at pH 7.5 and in the presence of 7-8 % (w/v) NaCl. They were assigned to the genus Halomonas, class Gammaproteobacteria, based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The major cellular fatty acids of the two strains were C(18 : 1)ω7c (42.9 %), C(16 : 0) (23.1 %) and C(16 : 1)ω7c/ω6c (18.0 %), and Q-9 was the major ubiquinone. The G+C content of the DNA of strains YCSA28(T) and YCSA39 was 63.7 and 63.9 mol%, respectively. The predominant respiratory lipoquinone, cellular fatty acid profiles and DNA G+C content of strains YCSA28(T) and YCSA39 were consistent with those of recognized species of the genus Halomonas. Levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between strains YCSA28(T) and YCSA39, between YCSA28(T) and Halomonas ventosae Al12(T), and between YCSA39 and H. ventosae Al12(T) were 95, 45 and 50 %, respectively. Together, these data indicated that strains YCSA28(T) and YCSA39 represent a single novel species of the genus Halomonas, for which the name Halomonas daqiaonensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YCSA28(T) ( = CGMCC 1.9150(T) = NCCB 100305(T) = MCCC 1B00920(T)).

Environmental change linked to changes in the Neolithic agricultural development in the east coast of China

Environmental change linked to changes in the Neolithic agricultural development in the east coast of China

Cohaesibacter marisflavi sp. nov., isolated from sediment of a seawater pond used for sea cucumber culture, and emended description of the genus Cohaesibacter

A Gram-negative, catalase-negative, oxidase-positive, rod-shaped bacterium, strain DQHS21(T), was isolated from sediment of a seawater pond used for sea cucumber culture at Jimo in Qingdao province on the east coast of China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain DQHS21(T) belonged to the genus Cohaesibacter, sharing the highest sequence similarity (96.1 %) with Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus CL-GR15(T), while the similarity to other strains was below 93.0 %. The cellular fatty acids consisted mainly of C(18 : 1)ω7c (60.7 %), C(18 : 0) (17.8 %), C(16 : 0) (8.5 %) and summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)ω7c and/or iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH; 6.0 %), which together accounted for 93 % of the total fatty acids. Ubiquinone 10 was the major quinone. The G+C content of the chromosomal DNA of strain DQHS21(T) was 55.2 mol%. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data showed that strain DQHS21(T) represents a novel species of the genus Cohaesibacter, for which the name Cohaesibacter marisflavi sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain DQHS21(T) ( = CGMCC 1.9157(T) = NCCB 100300(T)).