Coastal phytoplankton blooms in the Southern California Bight

Surface chlorophyll (CHL) measured at the Scripps Pier in the Southern California Bight (SCB) for 18 years (1983–2000) reveals that the spring bloom occurs with irregular timing and intensity each year, unlike sea-surface temperature (SST), which is dominated by a regular seasonal cycle. In the 1990s, the spring bloom occurred earlier in the year and with larger amplitudes compared to those of the 1980s. Seasonal anomalies of the Pier CHL have no significant correlation with local winds, local SST, or upwelling index, which implies that classical coastal upwelling is not directly responsible for driving chlorophyll variations in nearshore SCB.The annual mean Pier CHL exhibits an increasing trend, whereas the Pier SST has no evident concomitant trend during the CHL observation period. The interannual variation of the Pier CHL is not correlated with tropical El Niño or La Niña conditions over the entire observing period. However, the Pier CHL was significantly influenced by El Nino/Southern Oscillation during the 1997/1998 El Niño and 1998/1999 La Niña transition period. The Pier CHL is highly coherent at long periods (3–7 years) with nearby offshore in situ surface CHL at the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Fisheries Investigations) station 93.27.     

Circulation and multiple-scale variability in the Southern California Bight

The oceanic circulation in the Southern California Bight (SCB) is influenced by the large-scale California Current offshore, tropical remote forcing through the coastal wave guide alongshore, and local atmospheric forcing. The region is characterized by local complexity in the topography and coastline. All these factors engender variability in the circulation on interannual, seasonal, and intraseasonal time scales. This study applies the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) to the SCB circulation and its multiple-scale variability. The model is configured in three levels of nested grids with the parent grid covering the whole US West Coast. The first child grid covers a large southern domain, and the third grid zooms in on the SCB region. The three horizontal grid resolutions are 20 km, 6.7 km, and 1 km, respectively. The external forcings are momentum, heat, and freshwater flux at the surface and adaptive nudging to gyre-scale SODA reanalysis fields at the boundaries. The momentum flux is from a three-hourly reanalysis mesoscale MM5 wind with a 6 km resolution for the finest grid in the SCB. The oceanic model starts in an equilibrium state from a multiple-year cyclical climatology run, and then it is integrated from years 1996 through 2003. In this paper, the 8-year simulation at the 1 km resolution is analyzed and assessed against extensive observational data: High-Frequency (HF) radar data, current meters, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) data, hydrographic measurements, tide gauges, drifters, altimeters, and radiometers. The simulation shows that the domain-scale surface circulation in the SCB is characterized by the Southern California Cyclonic Gyre, comprised of the offshore equatorward California Current System and the onshore poleward Southern California Countercurrent. The simulation also exhibits three subdomain-scale, persistent (i.e., standing), cyclonic eddies related to the local topography and wind forcing: the Santa Barbara Channel Eddy, the Central-SCB Eddy, and the Catalina-Clemente Eddy. Comparisons with observational data reveal that ROMS reproduces a realistic mean state of the SCB oceanic circulation, as well as its interannual (mainly as a local manifestation of an ENSO event), seasonal, and intraseasonal (eddy-scale) variations. We find high correlations of the wind curl with both the alongshore pressure gradient (APG) and the eddy kinetic energy level in their variations on time scales of seasons and longer. The geostrophic currents are much stronger than the wind-driven Ekman flows at the surface. The model exhibits intrinsic eddy variability with strong topographically related heterogeneity, westward-propagating Rossby waves, and poleward-propagating coastally-trapped waves (albeit with smaller amplitude than observed due to missing high-frequency variations in the southern boundary conditions).     

Inorganic and organic nitrogen cycling in the Southern California Bight

On the basis of mass balance calculations performed for nitrogen (N) uptake experiments in the Southern California Bight (SCB), it has been suggested that a significant portion of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) uptake results in the production of dissolved organic N (DON). To investigate this process, the fate of ammonium (NH₄⁺) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) uptake was quantified within the euphotic zone at three coastal stations in the SCB using ¹⁵N tracer techniques. Several trends in the fate of DIN and the production of DON were observed. First, production of particulate N (PN), from both NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻, was quantitatively more important in near surface waters, while DON release dominated within the nitracline. Second, the percentage of gross N uptake released as DON was generally higher when NO₃⁻, rather than NH₄⁺, was the substrate. Third, the percentage of N released as DON was higher at night, relative to the day. Fourth, rates of DON release were significantly correlated to NH₄⁺ regeneration, suggesting that similar mechanisms are responsible for both processes—presumably grazing. The results of this study indicate that the DON pool is a sink for DIN uptake on the time scale of hours. One implication of this finding is that new production estimates based on ¹⁵NO₃⁻ uptake rates will likely underestimate particle flux out of the surface layer because the rate of NO₃⁻ uptake is underestimated due to loss of DO¹⁵N during the incubation. On time scales of months to years, however, the N that is taken up as NO₃⁻ and released as DON will likely contribute to export flux via incorporation of the dissolved phase during seasonal mixing into sinking particles or transport. The export of DON on these time scales argues for the use of gross uptake rates to calculate f-ratios.     

Evaluation of two spectral wave models for wave hindcasting in the Mackenzie Delta

Climate change, reduced sea ice and increased ice-free waters over extended areas for longer summer periods potentially lead to increased wave energy in the Beaufort Sea (Wang et al., 2015; Khon et al., 2014) [1], [2], which is a major concern for coastal and offshore engineering activities. We compare two spectral wave models SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) and MIKE 21 SW (hereafter MIKE21) in simulations of storm-generated waves in the Mackenzie Delta region of the southern Beaufort Sea. SWAN model simulations are performed using two nested grids system, whereas MIKE21 uses an unstructured grid system. Forcing fields are defined by hourly hindcast winds. Moving ice edge boundaries are incorporated during storm simulations. Modelled wave spectra from four storms are shown to compare well with field observations. Two established whitecapping formulations in SWAN are investigated: one dependent on mean spectral wave steepness, and the other on local spectral steepness. For the Beaufort Sea study area, we suggest that SWAN wave simulations using the latter local spectral steepness formulation are better than those using the former mean spectral steepness formulation. MIKE21 simulations also tend to agree with SWAN results using the latter whitecapping formulation.     

Chlorophyll, photosynthesis and new production in the Southern California Bight

The study of phytoplankton distributions and processes in these waters has been stimulated in recent years (1) by the synoptic views of surface pigment afforded by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) aboard the NIMBUS-7 satellite; (2) by rapid developments in bio-optical oceanography toward the estimation of in situ photosynthetic rate; (3) by use of sediment traps and geochemical tracers to determine the flux of organic matter from the euphotic zone; and (4) by measurements of new production based on the utilization of nitrate by the plankton. The evolution and rationale of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study of ocean biogeochemical cycles and ocean climate changes serve to focus much of the work. In that context, a major goal is to assess new/export production on large time and space scales accessible to date only by remote sensing.     

Seasonal occurrence of larval fishes in the nearshore Southern California Bight off San Onofre,California

Larval fishes were sampled from the nearshore region of the Southern California Bight off San Onofre for 29 months and analyzed with a Curtis-Bray Cluster Analysis to determine temporal assemblages and species associations. Two major assemblages of larvae were found: members of the winter-spring (December-May) assemblage were most abundant from January to May; members of the summer-fall (June-November) assemblage were most abundant from July to September. The winter-spring assemblage was composed primarily of Engraulis mordax, Genyonemus lineatus, Sebastes spp. and Paralichthys californicus; some abundant taxa in the summer-fall assemblage were Seriphus politus, Paralabrax spp., and Hypsoblennius spp., although E. mordax again predominated. Demersal spawners tended to have spawning seasons of longer duration than pelagic spawners; winter-spring spawners generally had longer spawning seasons than summer-fall spawners.We suggest that temperature is an important determinant in the seasonal pattern of larval fish occurrence. The annual ocean temperature cycle near San Onofre was a good indicator of the seasonal occurrence of fish larvae in this area. Larvae found in the cooler months were generally offspring of adults whose northern ranges extend to Canada. Warm-water larvae were offspring of adults whose northern ranges extend to Point Conception or northern California.     

Forecasting and hindcasting waves with the SWAN model in the Southern California Bight

The Naval Research Laboratory created a wave forecasting system in support of the Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX) field program. The outer nest of this prediction system encompassed the Southern California Bight. This forecasting system is described in this paper, with analysis of results via comparison to the extensive buoy network in the region. There are a number of potential errors, two of which are poor resolution of islands in the Bight—which have a strong impact on nearshore wave climate—and the use of the stationary assumption for computations. These two problems have straightforward solutions, but the solutions are computationally expensive, so an operational user must carefully consider their cost. The authors study the impact of these two types of error (relative to other errors, such as error in boundary forcing) using several hindcasts performed after the completion of NCEX. It is found that, with buoy observations as ground truth, the stationary assumption leads to a modest increase in root-mean-square error; this is due to relatively poor prediction of the timing of swell arrivals and local sea growth/decay. The model results are found to be sensitive to the resolution of islands; however, coarse resolution does not incur an appreciable penalty in terms of error statistics computed via comparison to buoy observations, suggesting that other errors dominate. Inaccuracy in representation of the local atmospheric forcing likely has a significant impact on wave model error. Perhaps most importantly, the accuracy of directional distribution of wave energy at the open ocean boundaries appears to be a critical limitation on the accuracy of the model-data comparisons inside the Bight.     

Evaluation of the wave transformation in an open bay with two spectral models

An evaluation of two state of the art phase averaged wave models for the transformation scale, SWAN and STWAVE, is carried out in the present work. The target area is the Obidos Bay located in the central part of the Portuguese continental nearshore. The wave input for the two models is provided by an offshore buoy. In order to compare the nearshore outputs of the wave models against in-situ measurements, a directional buoy and an ADCP, operating in intermediate water depth, are used. The wave parameters considered for comparisons are significant wave height, peak period and wave direction. Sensitivity analyses studies and evaluations in the spectral and geographical spaces concerning the results of the two models are also carried out in both intermediate and shallow water. The present study provides some information on the performances of the two wave models in different forcing conditions as well as on their sensitivity in relationship with various input parameters and some physical processes. STWAVE appears to be faster and more robust than SWAN, which on the other hand has more options and flexibility. In statistical terms the results are comparable.     

The restoration of fishing services and the conveyance of risk information in the Southern California Bight

Southern California's marine areas are heavily contaminated with dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs), and fish consumption advisories (FCAs) have been issued throughout the region. Between 2002 and 2003, the Montrose Angler Survey, a large-scale survey of subsistence anglers, was developed and implemented on site in Orange and Los Angeles counties. This survey was intended to assist natural resource trustees in the development of restoration programs that will address injuries to natural resources and restore lost economic services for anglers, but the data were never fully analyzed. The trustees have shown a clear preference for ecological restoration programs that may take years to improve fishing services. In contrast, this analysis, which includes a random-parameter fishing site choice model, demonstrates that simple, inexpensive programs such as better signage to warn of FCAs and transportation to clean sites have the potential to yield substantial benefits quickly. This paper also focuses on how different ethnic minority groups are affected by FCAs, and determines how best to communicate risk information and change fishing behavior through outreach programs.     

Seasonal changes in coccolithophore densities in the Southern California Bight during 1991–1992

Seasonal changes in coccolithophore cell densities in the San Pedro Basin, Southern California Bight, were investigated for the period October 1991 to September 1992. Coccolitho phore cell densities ranged from 6.3 × 10⁴ coccospheres per liter in March 1992 to 0 cells per liter in November 1991. High coccolithophore concentrations occurred in late winter and spring, and low densities occurred in the summer and fall. The high coccolithophore densities during spring 1992 were associated with unusually low surface nutrient concentrations and a lack of upwelling, suggesting that the high densities were not part of a typical spring phytoplankton bloom in this region. We propose that the suppression of upwelling during spring 1992 may have been related to the prevailing ENSO conditions. Emiliania huxleyi type A dominated the total coccolithophore population throughout the year, Umbilicosphaera sibogae var. sibogae being the second most important contributor to the coccolithophore assemblages.     

Municipal wastewater contamination in the Southern California Bight. Part II. Cytosolic distribution of contaminants and biochemical effects in fish livers

The objective of this study was to examine the cytosolic distribution of metals and oxygenated organic metabolites (MTBs), and biochemical effects, in livers of fish collected from both highly contaminated and less contaminated southern California coastal sites. Cytosolic extracts were separated by Sephadex G-75 column chromatography into high molecular weight (> 20 000 daltons) enzyme-containing (ENZ) pools, medium molecular weight (3000–20000 daltons) metallothionein- or metallothionein-like-containing (MT) pools, and low molecular weight (< 3000 daltons) glutathione-containing (GSH) pools.Concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn were frequently lower in cytosolic pools of longspine combfish, yellowchin sculpin, and California tonguefish from highly contaminated Palos Verdes (PV) relative to those from less contaminated Santa Monica Bay (SMB) despite much higher concentrations of these metals in sediments at PV. Patterns of cytosolic metal distribution differed more between metals than between species or sampling locations. Most Cd, Cu and Zn occurred in the MT pools of these three species, with the exception of Zn in California tonguefish which occurred predominately in the ENZ pool. In all three species, ENZ-Cu showed positive slopes when regressed against total cytosolic Cu, while ENZ-Cd showed no significant slopes when regressed against total cytosolic Cd. Patterns for Zn were the least consistent among species, with higher ENZ-Zn slopes occurring in fish livers with lower cytosolic Zn concentrations.The largest portion of DDT and PCB oxygenated MTBs occurred in GSH pools of scorpionfish livers from PV or less contaminated Cortes Bank (CB). Concentrations of MTBs in ENZ- and MT-pools of CB scorpionfish livers showed positive slopes when regressed against total cytosolic- and GSH-MTBs.Positive slopes for regressions of ENZ-Cu, -Zn and -MTBs against total cytosolic concentrations are consistent with the model of an equilibrium-dependent exchange of these among cytosolic pools.The lower metal concentrations, higher glutathione concentrations, and higher catalase activities found in fish from PV relative to those from SMB are in accordance with effects known to result from exposure to organic contaminants.     

Phase-decoupled refraction–diffraction for spectral wave models

Conventional spectral wave models, which are used to determine wave conditions in coastal regions, can account for all relevant processes of generation, dissipation and propagation, except diffraction. To accommodate diffraction in such models, a phase-decoupled refraction–diffraction approximation is suggested. It is expressed in terms of the directional turning rate of the individual wave components in the two-dimensional wave spectrum. The approximation is based on the mild-slope equation for refraction–diffraction, omitting phase information. It does therefore not permit coherent wave fields in the computational domain (harbours with standing-wave patterns are excluded). The third-generation wave model SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) was used for the numerical implementation based on a straightforward finite-difference scheme. Computational results in extreme diffraction-prone cases agree reasonably well with observations, analytical solutions and solutions of conventional refraction–diffraction models. It is shown that the agreement would improve further if singularities in the wave field (e.g., at the tips of breakwaters) could be properly accounted for. The implementation of this phase-decoupled refraction–diffraction approximation in SWAN shows that diffraction of random, short-crested waves, based on the mild-slope equation can be combined with the processes of refraction, shoaling, generation, dissipation and wave–wave interactions in spectral wave models.     

Dynamic patterns of dissolved nitrogen in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Spatial and temporal variations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) have been assessed in onshore and offshore areas of the Southern Bight on the basis of several years' measurements. They indicate that both the residual flow lines and DIN isoconcentration lines run parallel with the coast except in the vicinity of important freshwater discharge points such as the Scheldt estuary. Evidence was found that the seasonal DIN oscillations are not created through fluctuations in input conditions at the lateral boundaries, despite considerable fluctuations in these inputs which include the English Channel (from 500 tons(t) N day^?1 in June up to approximately 2000 t N day^?1 in February) and also rivers such as the Scheldt estuary (up to 50 t N day^?1 in January but less than 5 t N day^?1 in June–July). In both the onshore and offshore areas the sum of daylight phytoplanktonic nitrogen intake and sediment release of nitrogen corresponds to the observed DIN variations during most of the year. Pelagic N-mineralization from natural or grazing mortality of phytoplankton (220 mg N m^?2 day^?1 onshore at its maximum) can account for the differences (200 mg N m^?2 day^?1 onshore at its maximum), especially at the end of the phytoplankton spring bloom. Although the causes of DIN oscillations onshore and offshore are the same, the results differ because offshore (1) the vegetative season lasts longer, and (2) DIN is exhausted at the end of the phytoplankton spring bloom.     

近岸较大区域波浪数值模型的比较

将适用于近岸较大区域波浪传播变形的三种模型,即基于抛物型缓坡方程的不规则波模型、引入浅水波浪谱 TMA 谱的 SWAN(simulating waves nearshore)模型以及采用默认 JONSWAP 谱的 SWAN模型应用于特拉华大学(University of Delaware)圆形浅滩实验进行比较.结果显示,抛物型缓坡方程和SWAN 的模拟结果与实验所测数据符合都比较好; SWAN 在非线性作用较强的浅滩中心及靠后部效果更佳,而抛物型缓坡方程由于没有考虑非线性作用,模拟得到的最大波高较实测值偏高,且波高变化较为剧烈.     

A comparison of weakly and fully non-linear models of the shoaling of a solitary internal wave

This study investigates the behaviour of internal solitary waves crossing a continental slope in the presence of a seasonal thermocline. Comparisons are made between a fully non-linear computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, and weakly non-linear theory. Previous observations suggested that the amplitudes of solitary waves are capped as they pass across the continental slope, which may be due to laminar dynamics, or due to the effect of turbulence. Across the continental slope, CFD and second order variable depth KdV (vEKdV) predictions agree well with observations of a limited change in solitary wave amplitude. First order variable depth KdV theory overpredicts the final amplitude significantly. In terms of the wave shape, the CFD modeled wave changes from a KdV shape in deep water towards an EkdV solution in shallow water, as observations suggest. The phase speed of the CFD and vEKdV waves are similar to that observed in waters of 400–500 m deep, but are slightly lower than observed in 140 m depth. CFD predictions using a standard k, turbulence model showed that turbulence had little effect on the amplitude. These preliminary results indicate that in this situation wave capping is due to laminar, large amplitude solitary wave dynamics and is independent of turbulent mixing.     

A comparison of two global ocean-ice coupled models with different horizontal resolutions

A global eddy-permitting ocean-ice coupled model with a horizontal resolution of 0.25 by 0.25 is established on the basis of Modular Ocean Model version 4 (MOM4) and Sea Ice Simulator (SIS). Simulation results are compared with those of an intermediate resolution ocean-ice coupled model with a horizontal resolution of about 1 by 1 . The results show that the simulated ocean temperature, ocean current and sea ice concentration from the eddy-permitting model are better than those from the intermediate resolution model. However, both the two models have the common problem of ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) that the majority of the simulated summer sea surface temperature (SST) is too warm while the majority of the simulated subsurface summer temperature is too cold. Further numerical experiments show that this problem can be alleviated by incorporating the non-breaking surface wave-induced vertical mixing into the vertical mixing scheme for both eddy-permitting and intermediate resolution models.     

不同湍流模型在波浪水槽数值模拟中的 应用与比较

为了研究不同湍流模型在建立数值水槽中的适用性,选用计算流体力学软件,采用S-A、标准的k-着及RNG k-着 等8种不同的湍流模型对水槽中的波浪进行了数值模拟,通过对比得到：RNG k-着模型不仅具有较高的精度,而且又节省计 算资源,较其它模型更具优势。     

Transverse mixing and surface heat exchange in the Waikato River: A comparison of two models

Abstract

Two mathematical models of different complexity were used to study transverse dispersion and surface heat transfer in the lower Waikato River. A simple analytical streamtube model (HPLUME) gave adequate temperature predictions in a reach where the channel was fairly regular but performed poorly where there were extensive shallows. In the latter reach, a two‐dimensional numerical model (SYSTEM21) gave good temperature and flow predictions once properly calibrated. Model calibration proved to be difficult in the Waikato River because the natural river temperature varied significantly along the channel. A search method was developed to estimate both the transverse dispersion and surface heat exchange coefficients from measured plume temperature profiles based on the observation that transverse variations in natural temperature were small. This method was used to calibrate SYSTEM21 in two separate reaches. Coefficient estimates were sensitive to measurement errors and slight departures in homogeneity of natural temperature and it would be desirable to corroborate the estimates of E_z using dye tests. In the upper reach, the average transverse dispersion coefficient was E_z/hu? = 1 which is high but within the range of published values. A sharp bend and buoyant spreading contributed to the high E_z value. E_z increased with river flow because both h and u? increase with flow. In the lower reach, E_z/hu? = 0.1 which is lower than expected but islands may have affected the model calibration. The surface heat exchange coefficient averaged K = 84–167 W m^?2 s^?1 °C^?1 which falls within the range of published values. No significant relationship could be found between surface heat exchange coefficient and meteorological variables.