Oceanography of the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coastal Ocean and estuaries with application to coastal ecology

Ocean processes are generally large scale on the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast; this is true of both seasonal variations and event-scale upwelling-downwelling fluctuations., which are highly energetic. Coastal upwelling supplies most of the macronutrients available for production, although the intensity of upwelling-favorable wind forcing increases southward while primary production and chlorophyll are higher in the north, off the Washington coast. This discrepancy could be related to several mesoscale features: the wider, more gently sloping shelf to the north, the existence of numerous submarine canyons to the north, the availability of Columbia River plume water and sediment north of the river mouth, and the existence of a semi-permanent eddy offshore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We suggest that these features have important effects on the magnitude and timing of macronutrient or micronutrient delivery to the plankton. These features are potentially important as well to transport pathways and residence times of planktonic larvae and to the development of harmful algal blooms. The coastal plain estuaries, with the exception of the Columbia River, are relatively small, with large tidal forcing and highly seasonal direct river inputs that are low to negligible during the growing season. Primary production in these estuaries is likely controlled not by river-driven stratification but by coastal upwelling and exchange with the ocean. Both baroclinic mechanisms (the gravitational circulation) and barotropic ones (lateral stirring by tide and, possibly, wind) contribute to this exchange. Because estuarine hydrography and ecology are so dominated by ocean signals, the coastal estuaries, like the coastal ocean, are largely synchronous on seasonal and event time scales, though, intrusions of the Columbia River plume can cause strong asymmetries between Washington and Oregon estuaries especially during spring downwelling conditions. Water property correlation increases between spring and summer as wind forcing becomes more spatially coherent along the coast. Estuarine habitat is structure not only, by large scale forcing but also by fine scale processes in the extensive intertidal zone, such as by solar heating or differential advection by tidal, curents.     

Has influence of extratropical waves in modulating Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) increased?

In the paper, influence of extratropical circulation features on Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR) is examined. Energetics of extratropics, north of Indian subcontinent for deficient and non-deficient ISMR years, during two periods 1951–1978 and 1979–2005, are calculated and critically analyzed. It is observed that for the period 1951–1978, only two out of the 10 energetics parameters, viz., the zonal available potential energy (high) and conversion of zonal kinetic energy to eddy kinetic energy (low) differed significantly in JJA months of the deficient years from that of the non-deficient years. However, during the 1979–2005 period, as many as six out of the 10 energetics parameters, viz., eddy available potential energy, zonal available potential energy, eddy kinetic energy, generation of zonal available potential energy, conversion of zonal available potential energy to zonal kinetic energy and conversion of zonal kinetic energy to eddy kinetic energy differed significantly in JJA months of the deficient years from that of the non-deficient years. These results confirm growing influence of the transient stationary waves in deficient years after the climate shift year, 1979. Analysis of energetics parameters of the pre-monsoon season of the two periods also reveals similar results. This suggests that forcings apparently responsible for energetics in JJA months of the deficient years of the later period were present even before the advent of Indian summer monsoon season.     

Climatic and Tidal Forcing of Hydrography and Chlorophyll Concentrations in the Columbia River Estuary

Hydrographic patterns and chlorophyll concentrations in the Columbia River estuary were compared for spring and summer periods during 2004 through 2006. Riverine and oceanic sources of chlorophyll were evaluated at stations along a 27-km along-estuary transect in relation to time series of wind stress, river flow, and tidal stage. Patterns of chlorophyll concentration varied between seasons and years. In spring, the chlorophyll distribution was dominated by high concentrations from freshwater sources. Periods of increased stream flow limited riverine chlorophyll production. In summer, conversely, upwelling winds induced input of high-salinity water from the ocean to the estuary, and this water was often associated with relatively high chlorophyll concentrations. The frequency, duration, and intensity of upwelling events varied both seasonally and interannually, and this variation affected the timing and magnitude of coastally derived material imported to the estuary. The main source of chlorophyll thus varied from riverine in spring to coastal in summer. In both spring and summer seasons and among years, modulation of the spring/neap tidal cycle determined stratification, patterns of mixing, and the fate of (especially freshwater) phytoplankton. Spring tides had higher mixing and neap tides greater stratification, which affected the vertical distribution of chlorophyll. The Columbia River differs from the more tidally dominated coastal estuaries in the Pacific Northwest by its large riverine phytoplankton production and transfer of this biogenic material to the estuary and coastal ocean. However, all Pacific Northwest coastal estuaries investigated to date have exhibited advection of coastally derived chlorophyll during the upwelling season. This constitutes a fundamental difference between Pacific Northwest estuaries and systems not bounded by a coastal upwelling zone.     

Control of estuarine stratification and mixing by wind-induced straining of the estuarine density field

Observations from the York River Estuary, Virginia, demonstrate that the along-channel wind plays a dominant role in governing the estuarine exchange flow and the corresponding increase or decrease in vertical density stratification. Contrary to previous findings that suggest wind stress acts predominantly as a source of energy to mix away estuarine stratification, our results demonstrate that the wind can play a more important role in straining the along-channel estuarine density gradient. Down-estuary winds enhance the tidally-averaged vertical shear, which interacts with the along-channel density gradient to increase vertical stratification. Up-estuary winds tend to reduce, or even reverse the vertical shear, reducing vertical stratification. In two experiments each lasting approximately a month, the estuarine exchange flow was highly correlated with the along-channel component of the wind. The changes in stratification caused by the exchange flow appear to control the amount of vertical mixing as parameterized by the vertical eddy viscosity. The degree of stratification induced by wind straining also appears to play an important role in controlling the effectiveness of wind and tidal mixing.     

Review of the Atmospheric Response to the Ocean Mesoscale Eddies

As one of the most important mesoscale ocean features, the mesoscale eddies are omnipresent and have significant impact on the overlying atmosphere. Based on the comprehensive review of the influence of mesoscale eddies on the atmospheric boundary layer and the local circulation, the corresponding physical mechanisms and their impacts on weather systems were presented systematically. ①Eddy-induced SST anomalies may modify the surface wind speed, horizontal divergence, cloud and precipitation through turbulence heat flux anomalies. Meanwhile, additional secondary circulations arise over the eddies. What is more, there are obvious regional and seasonal differences for atmospheric responses. ② Studies in the South China Sea, the Kuroshio Extension region and the Southern Ocean indicate that atmospheric responses to mesoscale eddies can be explained by the changes of sea level pressure or the vertical momentum transport. These two mechanisms can be distinguished by the phase relationship between the atmospheric anomaly center and the eddy core. Diagnosis on the inner dynamical processes may draw better conclusions. ③The energy conversions are affected by mesoscale eddies, which may affect storm tracks and jet streams, and finally result in distant influences on weather patterns. Moreover, sea temperature anomalies from sea surface to the thermocline associated with mesoscale eddies have significant impacts on the intensification and the maintenance of tropical cyclones.     

Some studies of the growth of monsoon disturbances

The structure of the monsoon depression and the observed flow features prior to and at the time of monsoon depression formation (composite of 15 depressions) are examined. The composite monsoon depression (transient eddy) has a scale of 25° longitude and extends up to 300 mb and has the greatest intensity at 700 mb. It shows north-north-east to south-south-west tilt in the lower levels indicating that it may draw upon zonal kinetic energy for its growth. The disturbance has lower temperatures to its west and tilts westwards with height indicating that eddy available potential energy is not converted from zonal available potential energy by large scale advection. There appears to be a reduction of vertical shear at the time of formation of monsoon depressions and this possibly aids cumulus convection. The profiles of potential vorticity indicate extremes (i) in the upper troposphere and (ii) at several midtropospheric levels in the region of the monsoon trough indicating the possibility of combined barotropic-baroclinic instability. Using multi-level quasi-geostrophic model and employing the eigen-value technique it is shown that the monsoon zonal current is notbaroclinically unstable. A barotropic stability analysis is also done for monsoon zonal current in the lower and middle tropospheres. It yields very slowly growing unstable modes at lower tropospheric levels with wave lengths of 2500 km and 5000 km.     

弯段温差剪切分层流断面环流结构与掺混强度研究

对弯段温差剪切分层流的断面环流微细结构与掺混强度特征进行了试验研究。选取45°、90°、1 80°三种不同弯曲度水槽,探求了密度分层流从明显分层到强混合状态下断面环流结构的演变过程,发现了明显分层与强混合两种不同状态下3个环流结构的区别,捕捉到了从分层态向混合态转捩过程中临界情况下四环流结构存在的现象,揭示了明显分层与强混合状态不同断面环流结构的根本机理;同时也对不同弯曲强度情况下掺混强度的沿程变化规律进行探讨与研究。     

南海西部夏季冷涡的季节变化特征

基于美国海军的空间分辨率为0.5°×0.5°月平均的GDEM(Generalized Digital Environmental Model )三维温盐资料,采用P Vector方法,计算了南海西部夏季冷涡及附近海域的三维环流,分析了此冷涡的水平结构和垂向结构及其季节变化规律。结果表明南海西部夏季冷涡所占据的海域为一上升流区,对应的是低温区和气旋式环流,其温度场具有明显的垂向层化结构,冷涡随深度增加而减弱。冷涡中心在上层靠近越南沿岸,在温跃层以下有离岸的趋势。此冷涡具有明显的季节性变化：在5、6月份冷涡开始形成,其范围达到110.75°E,最大切向流速为8 cm/s;在7、8月份冷涡达到强盛,其范围向东扩展至112.50°E,冷涡中心也向东移至(110.50°E,13.25°N),最大切向流速增加为30 cm/s;在9、10月份冷涡开始衰减。     

台风期间波浪和局地风对磨刀门水道盐淡水混合的影响机制

珠江磨刀门水道地处亚热带季风气候区,直面南海,容易受到热带风暴的袭击。选取台风"纳沙",采用SCHISM模型建立磨刀门水道三维水流盐度数值模型,通过数值试验对比,结合势能异常分析法,探究了台风期间波浪和局地风对磨刀门水道混合与层化的影响。结果显示:由于近岸及河道内水深较浅,波高整体较小,波浪对水体层化过程影响不大,对流速分布有一定的调整作用,使其分布更为均匀,并在一定程度上加强水体掺混,利于外海高浓度盐水向河口和海岸扩散。而台风期间强劲的局地风对垂向水体状态以及势能异常变化率各项均有显著作用,影响着盐淡水的层化混合过程。     

Hydrologic and geochemical survey of the lake “Specchio di Venere” (Pantelleria island,Southern Italy)

Hydrological and geochemical studies performed on Lake Specchio di Venere on Pantelleria island (Italy) indicate that this endorheic basin has been formed through upwelling of the water table, and that it is continuously fed by the thermal springs situated on its shores. The lake is periodically stratified both thermally and in salinity, albeit this stratification is rather unstable over time, since meteorological events such as strong rain or wind can determine the mixing of its waters. Periodical analyses of the lake water chemistry show large variations of the salt content due to the yearly evaporation-rain dilution cycle. These processes are also responsible for the saline stratification during steady meteorological conditions. The mineralogical characterisation of the bottom sediments shows the almost exclusive presence of neoformation minerals, mainly carbonates, formed in response to the pH gradient between spring- (pH ≈ 6) and lake-waters (pH ≈ 9). Finally, the CO₂ partial pressures in the lake water slightly exceeding the atmospheric one, are due to the large amounts of CO₂ brought to the lake through the bubbling free gas phase of the thermal springs. Nevertheless the high pH value of the lake water, its small volume and its periodical mixing prevent dangerous built up of this gas.     

Frontogenesis and Frontal Progression of a Trapping-Generated Estuarine Convergence Front and Its Influence on Mixing and Stratification

Estuarine fronts are well known to influence transport of waterborne constituents such as phytoplankton and sediment, yet due to their ephemeral nature, capturing the physical driving mechanisms and their influence on stratification and mixing is difficult. We investigate a repetitive estuarine frontal feature in the Snohomish River Estuary that results from complex bathymetric shoal/channel interactions. In particular, we highlight a trapping mechanism by which mid-density water trapped over intertidal mudflats converges with dense water in the main channel forming a sharp front. The frontal density interface is maintained via convergent transverse circulation driven by the competition of lateral baroclinic and centrifugal forcing. The frontal presence and propagation give rise to spatial and temporal variations in stratification and vertical mixing. Importantly, this front leads to enhanced stratification and suppressed vertical mixing at the end of the large flood tide, in contrast to what is found in many estuarine systems. The observed mechanism fits within the broader context of frontogenesis mechanisms in which varying bathymetry drives lateral convergence and baroclinic forcing. We expect similar trapping-generated fronts may occur in a wide variety of estuaries with shoal/channel morphology and/or braided channels and will similarly influence stratification, mixing, and transport.     

Tropical cyclone activity and western North Atlantic stratification over the last millennium: a comparative review with viable connections

Tropical cyclones (TC) are recognized to modify the thermal structure of the upper ocean through the process of vertical mixing. Assessing the role this mixing plays in the overall stratification of the upper ocean is difficult, due to the relatively short and incomplete instrumental record. Proxy records for both TC landfalls and oceanographic stratification are preserved within the geological record and provide insight for how past changes in TC‐induced mixing have potentially affected water column structure prior to the instrumental record. Here we provide the first comparison between previously published paleo‐reconstructions of vertical ocean density and tropical cyclone activity from the western North Atlantic. A prominent lull in TC activity has been observed prior to approximately 1700 CE that extends back several centuries. This interval of low TC activity is shown to be concurrent with the timing of increased ocean stratification near Great Bahama Bank, potentially due in part to reduced TC‐induced mixing. To test whether this relationship is feasible, we present numerical results from a coarse‐resolution ocean general circulation model experiment isolating the effect of TC surface wind forcing on the upper ocean. An anomaly of roughly 0.12 kg m^?3 in vertical stratification occurs above and below the mixed layer for model runs with and without TC mixing. This anomaly is roughly 25% of the entire paleo‐density signal observed just prior to 1700 CE. These results suggest that TC mixing alone cannot completely explain the density anomaly observed prior to 1700 CE, but support TC variability as an important contributor to enhancing oceanic stratification during this interval. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tidal straining,density currents,and stirring in the control of estuarine stratification

Buoyancy input as fresh water exerts a stratifying influence in estuaries and adjacent coastal waters. Predicting the development and breakdown of such stratification is an inherently more difficult problem than that involved in the analogous case of stratification induced by surface heating because the buoyancy input originates at the lateral boundaries. In the approach adopted here, we have adapted the energy considerations used in the surface heating problem to describe the competition between the stabilizing effect of fresh water and the vertical mixing brought about by tidal and wind stirring. Freshwater input induces horizontal gradients which drive the estuarine circulation in which lighter fluid at the surface is moved seaward over heavier fluid moving landward below. This contribution to stratification is expected to vary in time as the level of turbulence varies over the tidal cycle. The density gradient also interacts directly with the vertical shear in the tidal current to induce a periodic input to stratification which is positive on the ebb phase of the tide. Comparison of this input with the available stirring energy leads to a simple criterion for the existence of strain-induced stratification. Observations in a region of Liverpool Bay satisfying this criterion confirm the occurrence of a strong semidiurnal variation in stratification with complete vertical mixing apparent around high water except at neap tides when more permanent stratification may develop. A simulation of the monthly cycle based on a model including straining, stirring, and the estuarine circulation is in qualitative agreement with the main features of the observations.     

Modeling the Effects of Tidal Energy Extraction on Estuarine Hydrodynamics in a Stratified Estuary

A 3-D coastal ocean model with a tidal turbine module was used in this paper to study the effects of tidal energy extraction on temperature and salinity stratification and density-driven two-layer estuarine circulation. Numerical experiments with various turbine array configurations were carried out to investigate the changes in tidally averaged temperature, salinity, and velocity profiles in an idealized stratified estuary that connects to coastal water through a narrow tidal channel. The model was driven by tides, river inflow, and sea surface heat flux. To represent the realistic size of commercial tidal farms, model simulations were conducted based on a small percentage (less than 10 %) of the total number of turbines that would generate the maximum extractable energy in the system. Model results show that extraction of tidal in-stream energy will increase the vertical mixing and decrease the stratification in the estuary. Installation of in-stream tidal farm will cause a phase lag in tidal wave, which leads to large differences in tidal currents between baseline and tidal farm conditions. Extraction of tidal energy in an estuarine system has stronger impact on the tidally averaged salinity, temperature, and velocity in the surface layer than the bottom layer even though the turbine hub height is close to the bottom. Finally, model results also indicate that extraction of tidal energy weakens the two-layer estuarine circulation, especially during neap tides when tidal mixing is weakest and energy extraction is smallest.     

磨刀门河口环流与咸淡水混合层化机制

为研究磨刀门盐水混合层化特征,基于SCHISM模型,建立了三维盐度数值模型,根据实测资料对其进行验证。结合水体势能异常理论,对枯季磨刀门河口混合层化的时空变化特征及深槽与浅滩的层化机制差异进行分析。结果表明:磨刀门河口小潮时水体层化最强,中潮时水体层化最弱,且拦门沙至挂定角段水体层化始终较强。磨刀门深槽水体层化主要受纵向平流、纵向水深平均应变和垂向混合影响,而浅滩水体层化则受横向平流、横向水深平均应变和垂向混合影响;磨刀门河口表、底层水体湍动能耗散率较高,而中间水层存在低耗散区,且涨潮时湍动能耗散率比落潮时大。     

A multiple scale modeling system for coastal hurricane wind damage mitigation

Hurricane wind damage constitutes the largest percentage of catastrophic insured losses in the US. Yet the complicated wind structures and their changes are not fully understood and, thus, have not been considered in current risk catastrophic models. To obtain realistic landfall hurricane surface winds, a large eddy simulation (LES) framework in a weather forecasting mode has been developed from a multiple nested Weather Research & Forecasting (WRF) model to explicitly simulate a spectrum of scales from large-scale background flow, hurricane vortex, mesoscale organizations, down to fine-scale turbulent eddies in a unified system. The unique WRF-LES enables the high resolution data to be generated in a realistic environment as a hurricane evolves. In this paper, a simulation of the landfalling Hurricane Katrina is presented to demonstrate various features of the WRF-LES. It shows that the localized damaging winds are caused by the large eddy circulations generated in the hurricane boundary layer. With a sufficient computational power, WRF-LES has the potential to be developed into the next generation operational public wind-field model for hurricane wind damage mitigation.     

Simulation of the Holocene climate evolution in Northern Africa: The termination of the African Humid Period

The Holocene climate evolution in Northern Africa is studied in a 9000-yr-long transient simulation with a coupled atmosphere–ocean–vegetation model forced by changes in insolation and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The model simulates in the monsoonal domains a significant decrease in precipitation under influence of the orbitally forced reduction in summer insolation. In the Western Sahara region, the simulated mid-Holocene transition from humid to arid conditions (the termination of the African Humid Period) is highly non-linear with the occurrence of centennial-scale climate fluctuations due to the biogeophysical feedback between precipitation and vegetation cover. This result is in agreement with proxy data from the Western Sahara region. The other monsoonal regions experience a more gradual climate evolution that linearly follows the insolation forcing, which appears in disagreement with available lake level records.     

Effect of pressure on closure temperature of a trace element in cooling petrological systems

Closure temperature is important to many diffusion-related problems involving cooling. The classic model of Dodson and its modifications for cooling petrological systems are formulated at constant pressure. Many petrologic processes involve changes in both temperature and pressure. The effect of changing pressure on diffusional loss in cooling petrological systems has not been considered in Dodson’s model. During upwelling, the decompression rate is related to the cooling rate through the slope of the upwelling path. Simple analytical expressions for the average or mean closure temperature and closure pressure in cooling-upwelling mono-mineralic and bi-mineralic systems are obtained by noting that both temperature and pressure decrease as a function of time along the upwelling path. These pressure-adjusted equations are nearly identical to closure temperature equations for isobaric cases if one replaces the activation energy and pre-exponential factor for diffusion in the isobaric formulations by the path-dependent activation energy and pre-exponential factor. The latter also depend on the slope of the upwelling path. The competing effects between pressure and temperature on diffusion during upwelling result in reductions in the effective activation enthalpy for diffusion and exchange enthalpy for partitioning, which in turn leads to systematic deviations in closure temperatures from cases of constant pressure. For systems with large activation volume for diffusion, it may be possible to deduce upwelling path and upwelling rate from closure temperatures and closure pressures of selected elements. Examples of closure temperature and closure pressure for REE diffusion in garnet and clinopyroxene and in garnet–clinopyroxene aggregates are presented and discussed in the context of the minor’s rule and the REE-in-garnet–clinopyroxene thermobarometer. Closure temperatures for middle-to-heavy REE in garnet–clinopyroxene aggregates are controlled primarily by diffusion in clinopyroxene unless the modal abundance of garnet is very small or the effective grain size of clinopyroxene is considerably smaller than that of garnet.     

The Surface and Three-dimensional Characteristics of Mesoscale Eddies: A Review

Mesoscale eddies, which are widely found in the oceans, play a vital role in momentum, energy, heat and mass transport. The Euler method for identifying mesoscale eddies using satellite altimeter data was presented in detail, including closed SLA contours, OW numbers, Winding-Angle and flow vector methods. The results show that mesoscale eddies are almost nonlinear and solid-body rotation. The long-lived eddies with lifetimes ≥16 weeks have an average lifetime of 32 weeks and an average propagation distance of 550 km. Their mean amplitude and a speed-based radius scale as defined by the automated procedure are 8 cm and 90 km, respectively. The method combining with SLA and Argo profiles to composite the three-dimensional structure were addressed. Due to the different temperature and salt structure in the various oceans of the world, the eddies in different oceans show different three-dimensional structures, which are influenced by both the generation and local temperature and salinity. Two special types of eddies were introduced from the perspective of generation, evolution and dissipation processes, namely the Loop Current Ring in the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean eddy in the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, issues including submesoscale processes, dissipation of eddies and subthermocline eddies were discussed, and some future research directions were proposed.     

Flow and contaminant dispersion analysis around a model building using non-linear eddy viscosity model and large eddy simulation

In the present paper, the analysis of concentration and flow fields around a model building was performed using two different approaches in turbulence modeling. In the first approach, the non-linear model of Ehrhard and Moussiopoulos was employed as one of the best cubic non-linear eddy viscosity models, and large eddy simulation was utilized in the second approach. The obtained results suggest that although the non-linear model has the ability to predict the anisotropic normal components of Reynolds stress tensor, due to time-averaged nature of its governing equations, it is incapable of estimating the correct values of Reynolds stress components and turbulent characteristics in the wake region of the model building. So the predicted turbulence kinetic energy values by the non-linear model are 45% smaller than those of large eddy simulation approach in the wake region behind the model building. Also different predictions of the wake region structure by the non-linear model and large eddy simulation approach revealed that elongation of iso-surface for \(\left\langle K \right\rangle\) = 1.5 in non-linear model is 56% more than that of large eddy simulation approach. The large eddy simulation approach shows much consistent behavior to the physics governing the flow compared to the non-linear model. Also good agreement observed between the results obtained through this approach and the experimental data. However, the disadvantage of large eddy simulation approach is the high computational costs.