Trace metal composition of and accumulation rates of sediments in the Upper Gulf of Thailand

Sediment cores and grab samples were collected in the Upper Gulf of Thailand to determine sedimentation rates and to determine if metal concentrations reflect anthropogenic inputs.Accumulation rates of sediments in the Upper Gulf measured using the ²¹⁰Pb method, appear to vary from ca. 4 to 11 mm yr^?1. Sediment budgets suggest that little of the sediment delivered to the Upper Gulf by the major rivers is ultimately transported to the Lower Gulf. Metal concentrations in Upper Gulf sediments appear to be dominantly controlled by natural inputs.     

Ecology of Pinnidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from the Gulf of Thailand

The ecology of the family Pinnidae was studied by sampling three pinnid species from 36 sampling sites across four different microhabitats in the Gulf of Thailand. The species spatial distributions were mostly uniform, with some populations having random distributions. Species abundances differed between sandy and coral habitats according to non-metric multi-dimension scaling analyses. Although the Gulf of Thailand is a relatively small geographic area, habitats are varied enough to provide variable shell densities. Small islands are important distribution areas, and coral reefs provide both direct and indirect shelter which support high abundances, densities and increased shell size. The highest density was recorded in sand beds within coral reefs. Low density and small shell size in sand beaches might be related to high mortality in shallow water or to adaptations for survival in shallow waters. A clear correlation between sediment composition and species abundance was found in Pinna atropurpurea; abundance increased with the sand content of the sediment. For P. deltodes, abundance increased as the rock fraction of the sediment increased. These results suggest that adaptations in Pinnidae, such as shell size, shell morphology, and the exposure of the shell above the sediment-water interface, are responses for survival in different habitats.     

Distribution and sinking rates of phytoplankton, detritus, and particulate biogenic silica in the Laptev Sea and Lena River (Arctic Siberia)

Concentrations and sinking rates of particulate biogenic silica (BSi), chlorophyll a (chl a) and phaeopigments (phae) (< 3 μm, 3–10 μm, > 10 μm and total), as well as the abundances of the major phytoplankton species, were studied during September 1991 in the Eastern Laptev Sea and the lower Lena River (Siberian Arctic). The highest chl a concentrations were found in two major “new” production regimes of the study area: (1) a deep chl a maximum (5.8 mg chl a m⁻³) (formed by the diatom Chaetoceros socialis) at 30 m depth on the outer shelf of the northern Laptev Sea, and (2) in the Lena River, where the phytoplankton community was dominated by fresh water diatoms (1.5 to 4.5 mg chl a m⁻³). Elevated chl a concentrations were also found in the river plume phytoplankton community (dominated by brackish water diatoms), NE of the Lena delta. In the Laptev Sea, the low chl a (0.1 to 3 mg chl a m⁻³) and high phae concentrations (0.5 to 14 mg phae m⁻³) indicated that the phytoplankton community (dominated by picoplanktic algae and nanoflagellates) was already senescent and affected by grazing losses. Biogenic silica values were highest in the Lena River (4 to 17 μM) as compared to the low values found in the Laptev Sea (0.3 to 4 μM). The large chl a size fraction, phae and BSi in the Lena River samples revealed the highest measured sinking rates (1.4, 2.3, and 1.5 m d⁻¹, respectively). The formation of a strong halocline, decreasing turbulence, and possible nutrient deficiency resulted in death, disintegration and rapid sedimentation of fresh water diatoms. This was accompanied by a decrease in the BSi concentration and growth of the picoplanktic size fraction (< 3 μm) in the estuarine mixing zone (Gulf of Buorkhaya). Only a minor part of BSi was bound to intact diatom cells (< 3%) in the surface layer, most of which being apparently associated with detrital particles. In the Lena River, approximately 12% of the total silica was bound to BSi fraction, yet elsewhere in the Laptev Sea and in the estuarine mixing zone the BSi:total silica ratio was ≤ 5%. Thus, the results reflected the successional stage of a late summer phytoplankton community, characterized by dominance of small autotrophs and patchy distribution of senescent diatoms no longer able to affect the relative high levels of dissolved silica supplied by the Lena River.     

Diseases and compromised health states of massive Porites spp. in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea

In this study, we assess coral health by detecting the severity of coral diseases and compromised health states on massive Porites. Field surveys are conducted at twenty-two sites covering the eastern, inner and western Gulf of Thailand as well as the Andaman Sea during 2010-2015. A total of nine coral diseases and signs of compromised health are observed in the waters of Thailand, consisting of pigmentation responses (pink lines, pink patches, pink spots and pink borers), white syndromes (white patches, white bands and ulcerative white spots), growth anomalies, and unusual bleaching patterns. The highest severity of all observed coral diseases and signs of compromised health are found at Ko Khang Khao in the inner Gulf of Thailand, while that observed in the Andaman Sea is relatively low. Composition of the diseases vary across the study sites. Four groups of study sites, in which there is an 80% similarity of diseases or signs of compromised health composition, are clustered and detected based on the Bray-Curtis similarity. The canonical analysis of principal coordinates reveal that most study sites in the Gulf of Thailand, especially the inner Gulf of Thailand, tend to show a high severity of the diseases. The association of disease severity and composition and the level of human impact are also detected. The study sites located near the shores and/or the areas with intensive tourism tend to have higher human impact, especially on poor water quality, which may be linked to the higher severity and composition of coral diseases and signs of compromised health in the Gulf of Thailand. Fish bites are also observed in many study sites. The severity of fish bites in the Gulf of Thailand is much lower compared to the Andaman Sea. Ko Rawi exhibits the highest severity, following by Ko Surin Nua and Ko Butang. The study sites within marine national park boundaries have a significantly higher severity of fish bites than those outside of the marine national park boundaries. This study suggests that higher coral diseases and signs of compromised health severity might be linked to anthropogenic disturbances on coral communities in the waters of Thailand.     

始新统油气系统:泰国湾东北部油气勘探新层系

泰国湾区域经历了前裂谷期、裂谷期、裂后期的构造演化阶段,形成了多个裂谷盆地。泰国湾区域东北部在渐新世经历了一次明显构造反转,较泰国湾区域大部分地区强烈。通过对比区内钻井,结合地震解释,对该区的沉积特征和构造演化进行了分析,认为这次反转构造导致了反转构造带上构造、沉积特征与邻区有较大的不同。由于这次反转构造,泰国湾东北部在新层系发育新类型的油气系统,即深部的始新统油气系统:烃源岩为中始新统湖相泥岩,储层为上始新统-渐新统三角洲相砂岩,盖层为下中新统三角洲前缘相泥岩和上中新统以上的海相泥岩。该油气成藏系统已被钻井钻遇油气显示,是本区有效油气成藏系统。     

Gulf of Mexico sediment sources and sediment transport trends from magnetic susceptibility measurements of surface samples

The magnetic properties from 200 trigger core-top and Van Veen grab sediment samples recovered from throughout the Gulf of Mexico have been analyzed and used to characterize sediment source and flow pattern distributions. Magnetic parameters included are anhysteretic remanent magnetism (ARM) and magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements. Results from these measurements are compared to previously determined calcium carbonate percentages, and clay and hematite influx trajectories into the Gulf of Mexico for the same samples reported by Balsam and Beeson [Balsam, W.L. and Beeson, J.P., 2003. Sea-floor sediment distribution in the Gulf of Mexico, Deep-Sea Res. I, 50, 1421–1444.]. The ARM results give an estimate of magnetic grain size distributions, and by analogy, grain size distributions in general, whereas MS patterns show high detrital sediment accumulation zones within the Gulf. The dominant influx of modern high susceptibility sediment into the Gulf of Mexico appears to originate from the Red River, flow into Atchafalaya River Basin and out into the Gulf from Atchafalaya Bay, with significant additional contributions from the Mississippi River through the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River Delta. This material then moves across the continental shelf and down through the Mississippi Canyon into the deep Gulf where it is redistributed at depths > 3600 m. The eastern shelf margins in the Gulf, offshore from Alabama and Florida, are accumulating calcite- or quartz-rich medium to fine-grained sediment that has a very low or diamagnetic MS signature. From the Louisiana to Texas Gulf coast margins, MS is moderate to high, suggesting a river influx of magnetic constituents from the volcanic fields in New Mexico, and from igneous and metamorphic sources in the Mississippi Basin. Offshore from western Mexico, the MS is high to moderate, but the Yucatan Shelf margin is characterized by low to diamagnetic MS values due to sediment dominated by calcite sands and oozes, a trend that continues to the east onto the West Florida Shelf. Additional measurements of samples collected in association with sites characterized by hydrocarbon seepage exhibit anomalously low MS values. The samples from the lower shelf and slope areas are typified by iron reduction by bacterial organisms in these samples. These results produce anomalous localized lows in the MS trends observed.     

长江水下三角洲现代沉积速率厘定的新途径:季节性Bio-Si记录

长江水下三角洲沉积层中高分辨生物硅(Bio-Si)曲线具有明显的波动规律,记录了该区硅藻生物量的季节性差异,据此对近14年来的沉积速率进行了估算。在1992～2005年里,该处沉积速率变化于1.2～3.4 cm/a之间,平均沉积速率2.1 cm/a,沉积速率与长江入海沙量具有较好的对应关系。研究结果表明长江水下三角洲Bio-Si沉积记录类似于季节性湖泊中的"年纹",可作为沉积速率估算的新指标。     

黄河下游防洪堤坝加固试验

试验首先通过自流引水沉沙,将淤临淤背区各抬高2m．再通过堆沙,将现黄河堤加宽50m,临背淤区各淤宽300m,把黄堤加固成梯形台阶状,达到加固黄河堤防及综合利用之目的。     

Silicon dynamics within an intense open-ocean diatom bloom in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean

An intense diatom bloom developed within a strong meridional silicic acid gradient across the Antarctic Polar Front at 61°S, 170°W following stratification of the water column in late October/early November 1997. The region of high diatom biomass and the silicic acid gradient propogated southward across the Seasonal Ice Zone through time, with the maximum diatom biomass tracking the center of the silicic acid gradient. High diatom biomass and high rates of silica production persisted within the silicic acid gradient until the end of January 1998 (ca. 70 d) driving the gradient over 500 km to the south of its original position at the Polar Front. The bloom consumed 30 to >40 μM Si(OH)₄ in the euphotic zone between about 60 and 66°S leaving near surface concentrations <2.5 μM and occasionally <1.0 μM in its wake. Integrated biogenic silica concentrations within the bloom averaged 410 mmol Si m⁻² (range 162–793 mmol Si m⁻²). Average integrated silica production on two consecutive cruises in December 1997 and January 1998 that sampled the bloom while it was well developed were 27.5±6.9 and 22.6±20 mmol Si m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively. Those levels of siliceous biomass and silica production are similar in magnitude to those reported for ice-edge diatom blooms in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, which is considered to be among the most productive regions in the Southern Ocean. Net silica production (production minus dissolution) in surface waters during the bloom was 16–21 mmol Si m⁻² d⁻¹, which is sufficient for diatom growth to be the cause of the southward displacement of the silicic acid gradient. A strong seasonal change in silica dissolution : silica production rate ratios was observed. Integrated silica dissolution rates in the upper 100–150 m during the low biomass period before stratification averaged 64% of integrated production. During the bloom integrated dissolution rates averaged only 23% of integrated silica production, making 77% of the opal produced available for export to depth. The bloom ended in late January apparently due to a mixing event. Dissolution : production rate ratios increased to an average of 0.67 during that period indicating a return to a predominantly regenerative system.Our observations indicate that high diatom biomass and high silica production rates previously observed in the marginal seas around Antarctica also occur in the deep ocean near the Polar Front. The bloom we observed propagated across the latitudinal band overlying the sedimentary opal belt which encircles most of Antarctica implying a role for such blooms in the formation of those sediments. Comparison of our surface silica production rates with new estimates of opal accumulation rates in the abyssal sediments of the Southern Ocean, which have been corrected for sediment focusing, indicate a burial efficiency of 4.6% for biogenic silica. That efficiency is considerably lower than previous estimates for the Southern Ocean.     

Dissolved silica concentrations and reactions in pore waters from continental slope sediments offshore from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA

The pore water concentrations of dissolved silica in sediment cores from the continental slope offshore from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, varied from 150 to almost 700 μ,M with depth in the top 40 cm of sediment. Sediment cores from 630 to 2010 m depth had very similar profiles of dissolved silica in their pore waters, even though these cores came from regions greatly different in slope, topography, sedimentation rate, and abundance of benthic macrofauna. Cores from 474 to 525 m were more variable, both with respect to pore water dissolved silica profiles, and with respect to sediment texture. Experiments indicate that both the rate of dissolution of silica and the saturation concentration decrease as sediment depth below the sediment-seawater interface increases. These data are consistent with depletion of a reactive silica phase in surface sediment, which may be radiolarian tests, or the alteration of biogenic silica to a less reactive form over time. Experimental results suggest that the pore water dissolved silica concentration in sediments below the top few centimeters may be higher than the sediments could now achieve. The flux of dissolved silica out of these sediments is estimated to be 15 μmoles cm⁻² yr⁻¹.     

Experiment Study of the Evolution of Coral Sand Particle Clouds in Water

The motion of particle clouds (i.e., sediment clouds) usually can be found in engineering applications such as wastewater discharge, land reclamation, and marine bed capping. In this paper, a series of laboratory tests are conducted on coral sand to investigate the shape feature of the single particle and the mixing processes of the coral sand particle clouds. The shape of coral sand particle is measured and quantified. The experimental results demonstrate that the shape of coral sand particles tends to be spherical as the particle size decreases, and empirical equations were established to explain the variation of D₅₀ and f_S,50 of coral sand. Compared with the silica sand, the evolution of the coral sand particle cloud still experiences three stages, but the threshold for the Reynolds number of particle clouds entering the next stage changes. Further, the normalized axial distance of the coral sand particle clouds is 58% smaller. The frontal velocity exhibits similar varying tendency for the coral sand particle cloud. Considering the difference in shape between coral sand particles and silica sand particles, a semi-empirical formula was proposed based on the original silica sand prediction formula by adding the shape factor and the experimental data of 122 µm⩽D₅₀⩽842 µm. It can predict the frontal velocity of the coral sand particle clouds.

     

三峡水库2003年蓄水对长江悬沙中值粒径的影响

长江三峡水库分别在2003-06-01~06-10和10-25~11-05 2次蓄水,坝前水位分别达到135m和139m(吴淞高程)。通过三峡大坝上下游长江干流主要水文控制站(寸滩、宜昌、沙市、汉口和大通)蓄水后(2003~2005)的年均悬沙中值粒径分别与多年平均值以及蓄水前一年(2002)实测值相比较,分析了三峡水库2003年蓄水对长江悬沙中值粒径的影像。结果显示,与2002年和多年平均值相比,寸滩、宜昌、汉口和大通站蓄水后(2003~2005)年均悬沙中值粒径偏小,而沙市站明显偏大。这很可能说明,三峡水库蓄水引起大量泥沙特别是粗颗粒泥沙在库区落淤,从三峡大坝下泻的非正常清水,导致宜昌站至沙市站之间的长江河道遭受到严重冲刷,从该段河道冲刷起来的粗颗粒泥沙随着变小的河道坡降和河水流速,又逐渐沉降在沙市和汉口之间的河道。这些结果有助于决策者更好地管理三峡水库以及各行业学者更好地了解三峡水库蓄水带来的影响。     

Seasonal and annual variability in particle fluxes in the Gulf of California: A response to climate forcing

A six-year time series of sediment trap samples is used to document seasonal and interannual changes in particle fluxes in Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. Sedimentation in this region of the Gulf of California is dominated by two seasonally varying components: biogenic silica during the late fall–spring and lithogenic material during the summer. This variability in sediment fluxes is a direct response to the seasonally reversing monsoon climate in this region. In addition, this seasonal variability in particle flux to the seafloor combined with the lack of bioturbation results in the formation of sediment laminae or varves in Guaymas Basin. Observed interannual differences in the magnitude of sediment fluxes appear to be related to ENSO. These findings indicate that biogenic sediment fluxes, and hence primary productivity, are higher during non-ENSO years in the central Gulf of California. A decrease in the carbonate: opal flux ratio from 1991 to 1996 indicates that diatoms became an increasingly important component of the plankton during this period and further supports our findings that productivity in Guaymas Basin is higher during non-ENSO years.     

Inorganic nitrogen in coral reef sediments

Representative profiles of inorganic nitrogenous species dissolved in interstitial waters of coral reef sands are presented. Ammonium is the dominant nitrogenous species in these pore waters with concentrations of up to 40 μm. Nitrate is present but in lower concentrations. Nitrite is found only occasionally in trace amounts. Computations of diffusive fluxes and inferences concerning microbial activity are derived from the profile structures. Computed flux rates of nitrogenous species from the sediment to the water column range between 0.75 and 1.37 μM m⁻¹ h⁻¹. These inputs may represent a significant source of recycled nitrogen to the primary producers of the coral reef ecosystem.     

Selective preservation of upwelling-indicating diatoms in sediments off Somalia,NW Indian Ocean

The diatom species composition of settling biogenic silica particles collected in sediment traps was compared with the underlying sediment to determine the preservation of the various diatom species and to investigate the potential of biogenic silica as an indicator for changes in paleo-upwelling intensity. During the Netherlands Indian Ocean Programme (NIOP), settling particles were collected at two sampling sites off Somalia (NW Indian Ocean) for 9 months, from June 1992 to February 1993. One sediment trap array was deployed on the Somali slope directly below one of the main upwelling gyres, and a second array, meant as a reference site to reflect pelagic sedimentation, was moored in the Somali Basin away from direct coastal upwelling influence. At both sites diatoms represented over 90% of the total opal microorganisms. On the Somali slope, total annual diatom flux was 12.6×10⁹ valves m⁻², 76% of which was collected during the 112 d of the southwest monsoon, with peak fluxes in October, the end of the upwelling season. In the Somali Basin, the total annual flux was lower, 4.8×10⁹ valves m⁻², and only 39% was collected during the SW monsoon period (98 d). At both sampling sites, a distinct seasonal diatom species succession of ‘pre-upwellers’, ‘upwellers’ and ‘oceanic species’ was apparent. Although only a small part of the diatom assemblage escaped dissolution at the sediment–water interface, two species, Thalassionema nitzschioides and Chaetoceros resting spores, were preserved in the sediment, indicating that they are resistant to dissolution at the sediment–water interface. Eighty one percent of the deposition of Thalassionema nitzschioides and 78% of the deposition of Chaetoceros occurred during the upwelling period. Since these two species are the dominant component of the diatom assemblage in the sediments, and thus determine the biogenic silica content, we conclude that this preserved biogenic silica reflects the upwelling in the surface layer of the water column. On the Somali Margin, variations in biogenic silica flux as inferred from sedimentary records can therefore be used as an indicator for changes in paleo-upwelling intensity.     

Radiocarbon-derived sedimentation rates in the Gulf of Mexico

Sedimentation rates were determined for the northern Gulf of Mexico margin sediments at water depths ranging from 770 to 3560 m, using radiocarbon determinations of organic matter. Resulting sedimentation rates ranged from 3 to 15 cm/kyr, decreasing with increasing water depth. These rates agree with long-term sedimentation rates estimated previously using stratigraphic methods, and with estimates of sediment delivery rates by the Mississippi River to the northern Gulf of Mexico, but are generally higher by 1–2 orders of magnitude than those estimated by ²¹⁰Pb_xs methods. Near-surface slope sediments from 2737 m water depth in the Mississippi River fan were much older than the rest. They had minimum ¹⁴C ages of 16–27 kyr and δ¹³C values ranging from −24‰ to −26.5‰, indicating a terrestrial origin of organic matter. The sediments from this site were thus likely deposited by episodic mass wasting of slope sediment through the canyon, delineating the previously suggested main pathway of sediment and clay movement to abyssal Gulf sediments.     

Interannual variation of rare earth element abundances in corals from northern coast of the South China Sea and its relation with sea-level change and human activities

Here we present interannual rare earth element (REE) records spanning the last two decades of the 20th century in two living Porites corals, collected from Longwan Bay, close to the estuarine zones off Wanquan River of Hainan Island and Hong Kong off the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province in the northern South China Sea. The results show that both coral REE contents (0.5-40 ng g?1 in Longwan Bay and 2-250 ng g?1 in Hong Kong for La-Lu) are characterized with a declining trend, which are significantly negative correlated with regional sea-level rise (9.4 mm a?1) from 1981 to 1996 in Longwan Bay, 13.7 mm a?1 from 1991 to 2001 in Hong Kong). The REE features are proposed to be resulted from seawater intrusion into the estuaries in response to contemporary sea-level rise. However, the tendency for the coral Er/Nd time series at Hong Kong site is absent and there is no significant relation between Er/Nd and total REEs as found for the coral at Longwan Bay site. The observations are likely attributed to changes of the water discharge and sediment load of Pearl River, which have been significantly affected by intense human activities, such as the construction of dams/reservoirs and riverbed sediment mining, in past decades. The riverine sediment load/discharge ratio of the Pearl River decreased sharply with a rate of 0.02 kg m?3 a?1, which could make significant contribution to the declining trend of coral REE. We propose that coastal corals in Longwan Bay and similar unexplored sites with little influences of river discharge and anthropogenic disruption are ideal candidates to investigate the influence of sea-level change on seawater/coral REE.     

Sources of land-derived runoff to a coral reef-fringed embayment identified using geochemical tracers in nearshore sediment traps

Geochemical tracers, including Ba, Co, Th, ⁷Be, ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb, and magnetic properties were used to characterize terrestrial runoff collected in nearshore time-series sediment traps in Hanalei Bay, Kauai, during flood and dry conditions in summer 2006, and to fingerprint possible runoff sources in the lower watershed. In combination, the tracers indicate that runoff during a flood in August could have come from cultivated taro fields bordering the lower reach of the river. Land-based runoff associated with summer floods may have a greater impact on coral reef communities in Hanalei Bay than in winter because sediment persists for several months. During dry periods, sediment carried by the Hanalei River appears to have been mobilized primarily by undercutting of low ⁷Be, low ¹³⁷Cs riverbanks composed of soil weathered from tholeiitic basalt with low Ba and Co concentrations. Following a moderate rainfall event in September, high ⁷Be sediment carried by the Hanalei River was probably mobilized by overland flow in the upper watershed. Ba-desorption in low-salinity coastal water limited its use to a qualitative runoff tracer in nearshore sediment. ²¹⁰Pb had limited usefulness as a terrestrial tracer in the nearshore due to a large dissolved oceanic source and scavenging onto resuspended bottom sediment. ²¹⁰Pb-scavenging does, however, illustrate the role resuspension could play in the accumulation of particle-reactive contaminants in nearshore sediment. Co and ¹³⁷Cs were not affected by desorption or geochemical scavenging and showed the greatest potential as quantitative sediment provenance indicators in material collected in nearshore sediment traps.     

北部湾沉积物中放射性核素的分布特征与控制因素

北部湾是我国大西南地区重要的海上通道，也是我国重要的渔场之一。本研究利用高纯锗γ谱仪系统分析北部湾表层和柱状沉积物中4种最主要的天然放射性核素(238U、226Ra、228Ra、40K)含量和分布特征。结果显示，北部湾沉积物中放射性核素含量低于我国大部分海域的结果，高于珊瑚礁区的极低放射性水平的结果。北部湾沉积物中4种核素都存在“蝴蝶”状空间分布特征，该特征主要源于沉积物粒径的非线性调控，且与沉积物总有机碳浓度存在正相关。此外，利用Mn和210Pb所指示的氧化还原状态和物理/生物扰动过程也可以对柱状沉积物中氧化还原敏感型核素(比如，238U)分布产生一定的影响。本文从232Th/238U、40K/238U、226Ra/238U活度比值角度，发现北部湾沉积物具有典型的陆源沉积物特征，且显著不同于南海珊瑚礁区中生源沉积物特征。本研究有利于掌握滨海核电发展背景下的北部湾海洋环境中放射性核素水平，揭示核素的“蝴蝶”状分布特征和控制因素，探索基于放射性核素的地球化学新指标在海洋沉积过程中的应用。     

Trapping of fine sediment in a semi-enclosed bay, Palau, Micronesia

Airai Bay, Palau, is a small (3 km²), semi-enclosed, mangrove-fringed, meso-tidal, coral lagoon on the southeast coast of Palau. It drains a small catchment area (26 km²) of highly erodible soils in an area with high annual rainfall (3.7 m). River floods are short-lived and the sediment load is very large, with suspended fine sediment concentration exceeding 1500 mg l⁻¹. The resulting river plume is about 2 m thick. The brackish water residence time is about 7 days; during this period the plume remains a distinct surface feature even after river runoff has ceased. About 98% of the riverine fine sediment settles in Airai Bay, of which about 15–30% is deposited in the mangroves during river floods. This mud remains trapped in Airai Bay because the bay is protected from ocean swells and the tidal currents and locally generated wind waves are too small to resuspend the mud in quantity. The mud is smothering coral reefs, creating a phase shift from coral to fleshy algae dominance, and is even changing habitats by creating mud banks. The persistence of Airai Bay marine resources may not be possible without improved soil erosion control in the river catchment.