During late spring and early summer of 2005, large-scale (>15 000 km 2 ), mixed dinoflagellate blooms developed along the the coast of the East China Sea. Karenia mikimotoi was the dominant harmful algal bloom species in the first stage of the bloom (late May) and was succeeded by Prorocentrum donghaiense approximately 2 wk later. Samples were collected from different stations along both north-south and west -east transects, from the Changjiang River estuary to the south Zhejiang coast, during 3 cruises of the Chinese Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms Program, before and during the bloom progression. Nitrogen isotope tracer techniques were used to measure rates of NO 3 -, NH 4 + , urea, and glycine uptake during the blooms. High inorganic nitrogen (N), but low phosphorus (P) loading from the Changjiang River led to high dissolved inorganic N:dissolved inorganic P ratios in the sampling area and indicate the development of P limitation. The rates of 15 N-uptake experiments enriched with PO 4 3 -were enhanced compared to unamended samples, suggesting P limitation of the N-uptake rates. The bloom progression was related to the change in availability of both organic and inorganic N and P. Reduced N forms, especially NH 4 + , were preferentially taken up during the blooms, but different bloom species had different rates of uptake of organic N substrates. K. mikimotoi had higher rates of urea uptake, while P. donghaiense had higher rates of glycine uptake. Changes in the availability of reduced N and the ratios of N:P in inorganic and organic forms were suggested to be important in the bloom succession. Nutrient ratios and specific uptake rates of urea were similar when compared to analogous blooms on the West Florida Shelf.

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The present work uses Raman spectra to measure residual stresses in Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 thin films. Based on thermodynamic analysis, a linear relationship is found between the stress and the square of the Raman frequency in the A1 [transverse optical3 (TO3)] and E [longitudinal optical3 (LO3)] modes. We calibrate the linear relationship by measuring the Raman spectra of stressed bulk Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 samples. Then, we assess residual stresses in the lead zirconate titanate thin films at different thicknesses and different annealing temperatures. The residual stresses extracted from the A1(TO3) mode are consistent with those from the E(LO3) mode, which are more or less the same as those measured by the x-ray diffraction sin2 ψ method.

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During the last two decades, large-scale high biomass algal blooms of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu have occurred frequently in the East China Sea (ECS). The role of increasing nutrient concentrations in driving those blooms is well-established, but the source population that initiates them is poorly understood. We hypothesized that the front of Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) may serve as a ‘seed bank’ that initiates P. donghaiense blooms in the ECS, as the physiochemical conditions in the TWC are suitable for the growth of P. donghaiense. In order to test this hypothesis, two surveys at different spatio-temporal scales were conducted in 2010 and 2011. We found a strong correlation in space and time between the abundance of P. donghaiense and the TWC. The spatial extent of the P. donghaiense bloom coincided with the TWC front in both 2010 and 2011. During the early development of the blooms, P. donghaiense concentration was highest at the TWC front, and then the bloom mass shifted inshore over the course of our 2011 survey. The TWC also moved inshore, albeit after the appearance of P. donghaiense. Overall, these results support our hypothesis that P. donghaiense blooms develop from the population at the TWC front in the ECS, suggesting the role of the ocean current front as a seed bank to dinoflagellate blooms.