Dissolved chromium in the St. Lawrence estuary

A study of dissolved chromium in the St. Lawrence estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence has been carried out. A chromium concentration of 0·7 μg l^?1 was found in the St. Lawrence River. In the turbidity maximum of the upper estuary, chromium is removed from solution onto fine-grained resuspended sediments and internally produced organic-rich floccules. A simple flux calculation shows that these processes remove ～50% of the total dissolved chromium input of the river. At salinities greater than 5‰ dissolved chromium mixes conservatively.     

Dissolved Aluminum in the Upper St. Lawrence Estuary

The concentrations of dissolved aluminum (Al) in the upper St. Lawrence Estuary were determined during periods of high and intermediate river-discharge. Laboratory experiments simulating estuarine processes were also conducted in order to examine possible mechanisms controlling the Al distribution. During the high river-discharge, the Al concentration at river end-member was 1.63 µM and decreased exponentially with increasing salinity. An almost complete removal of dissolved Al was observed in the low salinity area up to 10 with an intensive removal in the turbidity maximum zone. Principal mechanisms responsible for the Al removal inferred from the laboratory experiments were flocculation and adsorption onto suspended particulate matter (SPM). During the intermediate river-discharge, the Al concentration was 0.72 µM at the river end-member and again decreased with increasing salinity. However, the removal was less pronounced, being only about 25%. Good fits with model predictions and laboratory experiments suggest that principal removal mechanisms were authigenic aluminosilicate formation and adsorption onto SPM. In the upper St. Lawrence Estuary, Al distribution is controlled by a combination of three removal mechanisms: flocculation, authigenic aluminosilicate formation, and adsorption. Each mechanism can become a dominant factor depending on the concentration level and speciation of dissolved Al in the river water.     

Fatty acids in recent sediments in the St. Lawrence estuary

Surface sediments along the Rimouski section in the St. Lawrence estuary were sampled at the surface and at 10 cm depth. Fatty acids were extracted and analysed. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acid contents at the two depths vary with the nature of the sediments. The clay sediments rich in organic matter contain more fatty acids than the corresponding sand or gravel. Unsaturated fatty acids were more abundant in the surface sediments. Some iso- and anteiso-odd carbon fatty acids were detected in the sediments; these acids could indicate a microbial activity. Correlation is made with the fatty acid contents of the water column together with the surface microlayer of the estuarine water.     

Benthic nutrient fluxes along the Laurentian Channel: Impacts on the N budget of the St. Lawrence marine system

Water column concentrations and benthic fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and oxygen (DO) were measured in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Upper and Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (USLE and LSLE, respectively) to assess the nitrogen (N) budget in the St. Lawrence (SL) system, as well as to elucidate the impact of bottom water hypoxia on fixed-N removal in the LSLE. A severe nitrate deficit, with respect to ambient phosphate concentrations (N*∼−10 μmol L⁻¹), was observed within and in the vicinity of the hypoxic bottom water of the LSLE. Given that DO concentrations in the water column have remained above 50 μmol L⁻¹, nitrate reduction in suboxic sediments, rather than in the water column, is most likely responsible for the removal of fixed N from the SL system. Net nitrate fluxes into the sediments, derived from pore water nitrate concentration gradients, ranged from 190 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in the hypoxic western LSLE to 100 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in the Gulf. The average total benthic nitrate reduction rate for the Laurentian Channel (LC) is on the order of 690 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹, with coupled nitrification-nitrate reduction accounting for more than 70%. Using average nitrate reduction rates derived from the observed water column nitrate deficit, the annual fixed-N elimination within the three main channels of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and LSLE was estimated at 411 × 10⁶ t N, yielding an almost balanced N budget for the SL marine system.     

Suspended particulate matter in the St. Lawrence estuary and Gulf surface layer and development of a remote sensing algorithm

Remote sensing of chlorophyll concentration is potentially affected by the presence of inorganic matter in the water column. Seasonal variability of total suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration and its partition into organic and inorganic fractions was thus measured in the estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence during five cruises. These measures were made in the surface layer down to the depth of the 0.1% light level. Results indicate that vertical variability was small for the entire study area. Data analysis lead to the definition of two main regions having different SPM characteristics: 1) the estuary zone characterized by a strong spatial variability, intermediate SPM concentrations and a clear spring phytoplankton bloom that is combined to an increased inorganic matter load; 2) the gulf region characterized by a relatively low SPM concentration and phytoplankton blooms in the spring and fall periods. Combined with in situ measurements of remote sensing reflectances, the database was used to validate existing inorganic matter retrieval algorithms and develop a new one better adapted to the low concentrations encountered in the St. Lawrence estuary and Gulf.     

Methane-derived authigenic carbonates from active hydrocarbon seeps of the St. Lawrence Estuary,Canada

Nearly 2000 pockmarks with diameters ranging from a few tens of meters up to 700 m are present on the seafloor of the St. Lawrence Estuary in eastern Canada. Coring of some pockmarks resulted in the recovery of various-sized and shaped carbonate concretions in a predominantly silty mud matrix. Petrographic and geochemical data on four authigenic carbonate concretions are reported as well as data from shell material in the unconsolidated sediment. Video observations and echo-sounder images indicate that the sampled pockmarks are actively gas venting. The video images show significant look-alike microbial mats in areas where gas is venting. The carbonate concretions are primarily made up of carbonate cements with varying percentage of shell fragments, micrite particles and fine-grained clastics. Orthorhombic crystal morphology and diagenetic fabrics including isopachous layers and botryoids characterize the aragonite cement. Oxygen isotopes ratios for the cement crusts do not record any thermal anomaly at the site of precipitation with δ¹⁸O_VPDB ratios (+3‰) in equilibrium with cold (5 °C) deep marine waters, whereas significant negative δ¹³C_VPDB ratios (−9.9 to −33.5‰) for cement and shell material within concretions indicate that the carbonates largely derive from the microbial oxidation of methane. The δ¹³C_VPDB ratios of aragonite shells (−2.7 to −5.6‰) taken from unconsolidated sediments at some distance from the concretions/vents show variable dilution of HCO₃⁻ with negative δ¹³C_VPDB ratios derived from microbial oxidation of methane with isotopically normal (0‰) marine bicarbonate. These results are in agreement with other lines of evidence suggesting that pockmarks formed through the recent and still active release of gas from a reservoir within the Paleozoic sedimentary succession.     

Seasonal variations in dimethylsulfoniopropionate and dimethylsulfide concentrations in relation to the plankton community in the St. Lawrence Estuary

Weekly variations in total dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPt) and dimethylsulfide (DMS) were investigated in relation to the phytoplankton assemblage from spring to fall 1994 at a coastal fixed station in the St. Lawrence Estuary. DMSPt and DMS concentrations showed a strong seasonality and were tightly coupled in time. Maximum concentrations of DMSPt and DMS were observed in July and August, during a period of warm water and low nutrient concentrations. Seasonal maxima of 365.4 nmol l⁻¹ for DMSPt and 14.2 nmol l⁻¹ for DMS in early August coincided with the presence of many phytoplankton species, such as Alexandrium tamarense, Dinophysis acuminata, Gymnodinium sp., Heterocapsa rotundata, Protoperidinium ovatum, Scrippsiella trochoidea, Chrysochromulina sp. (6 μm), Cryptomonas sp. (6 μm), a group of microflagellates smaller than 5 μm (mf < 5), many tintinnids, and Mesodinium rubrum. The abundance of mf < 5 followed the general trend of DMS concentrations. The temporal occurrence of high P. ovatum abundance and DMSPt concentrations suggests that this heterotrophic dinoflagellate can either synthesize DMSP or acquire it from DMSP-rich prey. The calculated sea-to-air DMS flux reached a maximum of 8.36 μmol ⁻² d⁻¹ on August 1. The estimated annual emission from the St. Lawrence Estuary is 77.2 tons of biogenic sulfur to the atmosphere.     

Near bottom variations of turbidity in the St Lawrence estuary

Observations of the turbidity and velocity fields in the near-bottom waters of the St Lawrence estuary were obtained with a package which includes a self-recording attenuance meter and a currentmeter. The latter also measures salinity and temperature. Time series varying in length between 26 h and 26 days, and with repetition rates between one and 15 min are discussed for 3 typical open-channel and nearshore stations. A high-frequency sampling mode provides a means to observe the passage of a frontal disturbance over the bottom during the semi-diurnal cycle. With lower frequency records having lengths of one week to one month, contributions to the turbidity fluctuations due to the spring-neap oscillations, seasonal changes in run-off, and the sudden rise in solid discharge of local tributaries following storms, can be resolved. From turbidity polar diagrams, local onshore sources of particulate suspended matter can be identified. Among other advantages, it is possible from such records to time precisely the occurrence of turbidity peaks in relation to the ebb and flow velocities, to assess the importance of resuspension, and to specify exactly the time rate of change of the turbidity. On the whole, self-recording equipments provide a wealth of information unavailable from more traditional hydrocast sampling techniques.     

Distribution of Biological Activity in the Lower St Lawrence Estuary as Determined by Multivariate Analysis

Three stations located in the Laurentian Trough were investigated three times during the summer production maximum (in June-July 1990; COUPPB90-1 cruise). A range of multivariate analyses was carried out to extract major physical-biological features in a large data set covering the whole cruise. This study presents the advantages of combining conventional principal component analysis (PCA) with a three-way data analysis. PCA provides the centre of gravity of the different locations for each variable and each sample during the cruise without temporal information. Three-way data analysis produces the trajectory of the different site/time locations for each variable and each sample, and clarifies spatial and temporal relationships between variables. The results reproduce the main patterns of the lower St Lawrence Estuary during the summer plankton bloom and indicate an upstream movement of warm and less saline waters associated with surface production. Apparently these large changes at the surface are not reflected in the deeper layers. Cluster analysis suggests that autotrophic and heterotrophic activities are decoupled when production is low and are correlated only when production increases.     

Temporal occurrence of ichthyoplankton in relation to hydrographic and biological variables at a fixed station in the St Lawrence Estuary

Spring to autumn temporal distributions of ichthyoplankton and other oceanographic variables were measured at three nearshore stations in the lower St Lawrence Estuary in 1977 and 1978. The seasonal occurrence of various species of fish eggs and larvae was similar from one year to the next. Inshore-offshore gradients in abundance of eggs and larvae of different species appeared to be primarily related to the spawning location of each species. The semidiurnal variability was considerably less than the week-to-week variability in all physical and biological variables measured. The weekly variability is predominantly a function of spatiotemporal interactions, due to the geographic displacement of different water masses and their associated plankton in relation to the neap-spring tidal cycle. The timing and duration of spawning for each common species, inferred from ichthyoplankton distributions, suggest a unique combination of spawning and hatching times, ensuring a succession in the occurrence of larvae through time. Results of the temporal and spatial distributions of the different species of ichthyoplankton are discussed in terms of reduced competitive interactions. The relationship between ichthyoplankton distributions and the plankton production cycle in the St Lawrence Estuary is discussed in comparison with other areas.     

Statistical Analysis of the 30-Day Water Level Forecasts in the St. Lawrence River

Forecasts of water levels in the St. Lawrence River on the east coast of Canada have been issued every working day since 1997 using a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model (One-D) for periods extending up to 30 days. In order to assess the performance of these forecasts, a comparison between the model forecasts and the observations of the water levels during 2005 was done at 12 stations of the SINECO network located between Montreal and Quebec City. The statistical analysis shows that mean errors are small compared to the water level fluctuations. Confidence intervals of the forecasted values for all stations are evaluated.     

Numerical study on salinity stratification in the Pamlico River Estuary

The variations of current circulation, salt intrusion, and vertical stratification under different river flow and wind conditions in the Pamlico River Estuary (PRE) were investigated in this paper using a three-dimensional numerical model. The model was calibrated and verified against water level variation, temperature, and salinity variations during 2003 and 2001, respectively. Eight sensitivity tests were conducted with different river flow and wind conditions specified in the model. Model results show that salinity intruded further upstream under scenarios with low flow, downriver local wind, and remote-wind-caused water level set-up conditions. In contrast, the responses of salinity stratification to different environmental forcing functions were different in different portions of the estuary. Salinity stratification was enhanced under high flow condition at the lower part of the estuary, under upriver wind near the river mouth, under downriver wind at the upstream to middle portion of the estuary, and under remote-wind-caused water level set-up condition at the majority of the estuary except near the river mouth. Model results also show that across-channel wind tended to reduce salt intrusion and salinity stratification in the PRE through increased vertical mixing.     

Changes in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem estimated by inverse modelling: Evidence of a fishery-induced regime shift?

Mass-balance models have been constructed using inverse methodology for the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence for the mid-1980s, the mid-1990s, and the early 2000s to describe ecosystem structure, trophic group interactions, and the effects of fishing and predation on the ecosystem for each time period. Our analyses indicate that the ecosystem structure shifted dramatically from one previously dominated by demersal (cod, redfish) and small-bodied forage (e.g., capelin, mackerel, herring, shrimp) species to one now dominated by small-bodied forage species. Overfishing removed a functional group in the late 1980s, large piscivorous fish (primarily cod and redfish), which has not recovered 14 years after the cessation of heavy fishing. This has left only marine mammals as top predators during the mid-1990s, and marine mammals and small Greenland halibut during the early 2000s. Predation by marine mammals on fish increased from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s while predation by large fish on fish decreased. Capelin and shrimp, the main prey in each period, showed an increase in biomass over the three periods. A switch in the main predators of capelin from cod to marine mammals occurred, while Greenland halibut progressively replaced cod as shrimp predators. Overfishing influenced community structure directly through preferential removal of larger-bodied fishes and indirectly through predation release because larger-bodied fishes exerted top-down control upon other community species or competed with other species for the same prey. Our modelling estimates showed that a change in predation structure or flows at the top of the trophic system led to changes in predation at all lower trophic levels in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. These changes represent a case of fishery-induced regime shift.     

Contrasting changes between the northern and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystems associated with the collapse of groundfish stocks

In order to have a global view of ecosystem changes associated with the collapse of groundfish species in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the early 1990s, Ecopath mass-balance models were constructed incorporating uncertainty in the input data. These models covered two ecosystems (northern and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence; NAFO divisions 4RS and 4T), and two time periods (before the collapse, in the mid-1980s, and after it, in the mid-1990s). Our analyses revealed that the ecosystem structure shifted dramatically from one previously dominated by piscivorous groundfish and small-bodied forage species during the mid-1980s to one now dominated only by small-bodied pelagic species during the mid-1990s in both southern and northern Gulf. The species structure in the northern Gulf versus southern Gulf was different, which may explain why these two ecosystems did not recover the same way from the collapse in the early 1990s. Productivity declined in the northern Gulf after the collapse but increased in the southern Gulf. The collapse of groundfish stocks resulted in declines in the mean trophic level of the landings in both the northern and the southern Gulf. Even though fishing mortality was then intentionally reduced, this part of the total mortality was taken up by predation. The temporal changes in the internal structure of both ecosystems are reflected in their overall emergent properties.     

伶仃洋河口横向环流

横向环流存在于大多数河口中,在河口的动量平衡和物质输运过程中起着重要的作用,其形成的机制众多。本文利用三维水动力模型EFDC(Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code),结合1989年和2002年的实测数据对伶仃洋河口进行研究,得到了伶仃洋河口在洪季和枯季时期不同的水动力和盐度分布结构。在文中选取了具有代表性的两个断面,针对洪枯季、大小潮以及涨落潮等不同时期的横向流结构和盐度剖面分布特点进行比较和分析。结果显示,受局地的径、潮流条件和地形约束影响,横向环流结构并不能充分形成,在不同的区域表现出截然不同的结构特点。伶仃洋河口横向环流主要是在径、潮流与地形三者之间的相互作用下形成的,不同的区域的形成机制存在差异。综合分析后,本文认为伶仃洋河口的横向环流在该区域的动力过程中相对较为次要。     

The benthic macrofauna of the St. Lucia Estuary during the 2005 drought year

The St. Lucia Estuary is the largest estuarine system in Africa. The estuary is part of the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, which has been declared a World Heritage Site. This ecosystem has been subjected to severe drought conditions over the last four to five years, resulting in its mouth being closed off from the ocean in June 2002 for a period of over four years. The main aim of this study was to document the effects of the prevailing drought on the macrofauna of the system, since the last work on this benthic component had been undertaken over a decade ago, during a normal-to-wet phase. Macrofauna samples together with physico-chemical data were collected at representative sites in the Narrows, and the South and North lakes in February, April, August and October 2005. The drought exerted a strong influence on the system, leading to hypersaline conditions developing in its northern regions (maximum of 126 at Hell's Gate), and to the loss of aquatic habitat. Ordinations and clustering indicated that the macrofauna of the system could generally be separated into three clusters viz. (1) the Narrows and the southern portion of South Lake, (2) the northern half of South Lake, and (3) the North Lake–False Bay complex. Multivariate correlations indicated weak relationships between macrofaunal community structure and physico-chemical parameters. The distinction in macrofaunal assemblages between these clusters was probably caused by these habitats being physically separated at the peak of the drought, with no water flow between them, thereby preventing exchange of planktonic larvae and retarding colonisation of habitats. There was a northward decline in taxonomic richness and diversity of macrofauna in the system, which correlated positively with water depth and negatively with the biomass of microphytobenthos. It is evident that the drought structured macrofauna communities primarily through its effects on water depth and habitat fragmentation. The results of this investigation provide valuable information regarding the effects of droughts on estuarine–lake systems and the possible mechanisms by which they occur.     

长江口河口锋的悬沙及动力特征初探

通过对2002年9月、2003年4月和2004年10月在长江口滨外区多船同步定点观测的数据进行分析,捕捉到了长江口河口锋带位置,并利用调查数据分析了河口锋带的动力特征.结果表明:长江口河口锋的位置大约位于122°10′E,30°50′N至122°20′E,31°00′N一线附近,在河口锋带有着较为强烈的河海相互作用,流速不符合典型的对数流速曲线,河水与海水的相互消长局限于海面以下5 m的表层范围,观测表明在河口锋面区悬浮泥沙为泥沙流伏在海水之上输运.     

Lateral stratification and dynamic balance at the Matane transect in the lower Saint Lawrence estuary

The lateral stratification and momentum balance in the lower Saint Lawrence estuary (LSLE) were investigated over a period of six days from current, temperature, and salinity measurements taken in 1979 at the Matane transect. Asymptotic singular decomposition analysis was used to show that the spatial variability of hydrodynamic parameters at that cross-section was more pronounced than their temporal or tidal variability. Classification of the section in the lateral circulation/stratification diagram revealed that the LSLE is one of the most laterally-stratified estuaries examined in the world. Estimates of various acceleration terms in the lateral dynamic balance equation showed that, when averaged over many tidal cycles, the motion can be considered as being quasigeostrophic to a first approximation, with contributions of the same order of magnitude from the baroclinic and the barotropic pressure gradients. Convection accelerations were found to be important only near the north shore, where strong cross-channel currents were recorded, whilst local and centrifugal accelerations were found to be of secondary importance.