A numerical model study of barotropic subtidal water exchange between estuary and subestuaries (tributaries) in the Chesapeake Bay during northeaster events

Northeasters are storms that affect the Chesapeake Bay area more frequently, last for longer periods and impact larger areas than hurricanes. Their impacts on storm surge development and the water exchange between estuary and subestuaries (tributaries) in the Bay vary from one event to another. In this study, three different northeaster events were selected based on their tracks when passing through the Chesapeake Bay area. An unstructured grid finite volume model ELCIRC was utilized to examine the response of the water level of the Chesapeake Bay to three selected northeasters, and the barotropic subtidal water exchanges between the tributaries and the estuary in the Bay. Model sensitivity tests were conducted to examine various effects induced by, for example, tide–surge interaction, open boundary condition, river inflow, wetting-and-drying of the low-lying land area and the usage of 2-D or 3-D mode. The results show that excluding tide–surge interaction did not deteriorate the model performance in the lower Bay but it increased the model inaccuracy in the upper Bay and in the tributaries; using radiation boundary condition decreased the sea level variation in the Bay without appropriately specifying incoming wave; excluding wetting-and-drying of low-lying land area reduced the volume flux by approximately 5%; and using 3-D mode generally increased the water level variation in the Bay. The model predicted storm surges well for three northeaster events. Further diagnostic experiments show that the relative importance of the local and remote winds in generating storm surges in the Bay varied with different northeasters. The inverse barometeric effect played an important role in inducing storm surges for two selected northeasters. The interaction between the tributaries and the Bay proper is considerable. The impacts of the remote wind and Bay wind can be much larger than that of the tributary wind and, thus, control the hydrodynamics and mass transport in the tributaries. The Bay wind and tributary wind effects are largely affected by the wind direction and wind phase, and geographic locations of the tributaries in the Bay. The tributary wind can be dominant over the remote wind and Bay wind effects when the local wind stress and barometric pressure changes are large.     

Sea level fluctuations in central California at subtidal to decadal and longer time scales with implications for San Francisco Bay, California

Sea level elevations from near the mouth of San Francisco Bay are used to describe the low-frequency variability of forcing of the coastal ocean on the Bay at a variety of temporal scales. About 90% of subtidal fluctuations in sea level in San Francisco Bay are driven by the sea level variations in the coastal ocean that propagate into the Bay at the estuary mouth. We use the 100-year sea level record available at San Francisco to document a 1.9 mm/yr mean sea level rise, and to determine fluctuations related to El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other climatic events. At time scales greater than 1 year, ENSO dominates the sea level signal and can result in fluctuations in sea level of 10–15 cm. Alongshore wind stress data from central California are also analyzed to determine the impact of changes in coastal elevation at the mouth of San Francisco Bay within the synoptic wind band of 2–30 days. At least 40% of the subtidal fluctuations in sea level of the Bay are tied to the large-scale regional wind field affecting sea level variations in the coastal ocean, with little local, direct wind forcing of the Bay itself. The majority of the subtidal sea level fluctuations within the Bay that are not related to the coastal ocean sea level signal are forced by an east–west sea level gradient resulting from tidally induced variations in sea level at specific beat frequencies that are enhanced in the northern reach of the Bay. River discharge into the Bay through the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Delta also contributes to the east–west gradient, but to a lesser degree.     

Multiple longshore sand bars in the upper Chesapeake Bay

In the upper Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, U.S.A.) field surveys were conducted at 18 multiple longshore sand bar sites. The multiple bar systems were found in water depths less than approximately 2 m (mean sea level), and exhibited mild bottom slopes of 0·0052 or less. The number of bars composing each system ranged from four to 17 and the spacing between the crests typically increased in the offshore direction, ranging from 12 to 70 m. Bar height also typically increased with distance offshore and ranged from 0·03 to 0·61 m. A grain size analysis of crest and trough sediment did not reveal any significant differences and the sediment was categorized as ‘fine sand’. A review of the literature data indicated that the Chesapeake Bay multiple bars possessed similar characteristics to those found in Gelding Bay (Baltic Sea); similarities in fetch, wave height and tidal range between the two bays may account for this finding. The surf-scaling parameter indicated that the multiple bar systems were extremely dissipative with regard to wave energy, and wave height appeared to be an important factor in controlling bar spacing and bar height. A multiple wave break point hypothesis was discussed as a possible mechanism for the formation of Chesapeake Bay multiple longshore bars, and limited observational evidence appeared to support such a mechanism.     

Anaerobic metabolism in lagoon sediments from Davies Reef,Great Barrier Reef

Sulphate reduction rates were measured in the lagoon sediments at Davies Reef, on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Sulphate reduction rates averaged 0·622 mmol sulphate m⁻² day⁻¹, over the 0–12 cm depth of sediment, compared to an average heterotrophic oxygen uptake rate by the sediment of 27 mmol oxygen m⁻² day⁻¹. Thus sulphate reduction to acid-volatile sulphide appeared to account for only about 5% of the total organic matter degradation, although the proportion may be greater if sulphate reduction to tin-reducible sulphide was taken into account. Although dissolved sulphate concentration in the sediment pore water was that of sea water, a large excess (equivalent to about 0·8% of the sediment dry weight) of precipitated sulphate was present in the sediment. This excess could not be attributed to precipitated strontium sulphate, and there was no exchange between the dissolved and precipitated sulphate. Methane formation in these superficial sediments was not detectable.     

Estimation of benthic respiration parameters from field data

Seasonal benthic respiration rate observations from Chesapeake Bay and the Patuxent estuary have been used to determine the benthic decay coefficient. Non-linear parameter estimation procedures were employed to delineate the optimal values and associated confidence intervals for the microbial decay and macrofaunal respiration parameters. The results demonstrate that microbial decay of organic detritus on the bottom is a long-term process with a yearly averaged decay coefficient of around k = 0·0056 day^?1 ($\text{τ =}\text{1}\text{k}\text{= 180}\text{day}$).     

Accretion rates in brackish marshes of a Chesapeake Bay estuarine tributary

Vertical accretion rates were determined for brackish marshes in an estuarine tributary on the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay. These rates determined on the basis of the peak phase of early European settlement as recorded in pollen spectra of the marsh sediments range between 0. 18 to 0.74 cm yr⁻¹ over approximately the last 194 years and generally decrease down the estuary. More recent accretion rates (estimated from changes in pine pollen concentration) appear to have accelerated, exceeding the present local rate of sea level rise. The implications for using estuarine marsh accretion rates as surrogates for changes in sea level are discussed.     

The effect of salinity on the microbial mineralization of two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in estuarine sediments

Sediments from the lower Hudson River estuary and two other coastal environments were examined experimentally for their ability to mineralize (convert to CO₂) the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) naphthalene and anthracene over a range of salinities. Routine assays employed 1:1 (vol fresh sed:vol water) sediment slurrys in order to overcome natural variability in mineralization rates among replicates. Mineralization rates were stimulated by about 2·5 fold, compared to unslurried controls, while the coefficient of variation fell from 13% to 3·5%.Rates of naphthalene mineralization in surface sediments from along the mainstem of the Hudson River (salinities from 2 to 27%) ranged from 0·011 to 1·5 nmol cm⁻³ day⁻¹ (pool turnover [T_n] from 60 to 2040 days) with no discernible trends along the estuarine gradient. For two stations examined experimentally (mile point 5, salinity 23%; mile point 26, salinity 5%), microbial assemblages appeared acclimated to broad salinity variations as alter rates of mineralization compared to controls.Sediments from two upstream marshes of the Hudson (mile points 36 and 45) showed rates of naphthalene mineralization from 0·007 to 0·15 nmol cm⁻³ day⁻¹ (T_n from 14 to 368 days), while sediments from a third marsh in freshwater (mile point 76) had high rates (66 nmol cm⁻³ day⁻¹; T_n 40 days). For the two upstream marsh stations which rarely experienced salt intrusion, there was a substantial decrease in mineralization of naphthalene and anthracene with increasing salinity.Consistently high rates of naphthalene mineralization (780 to 1600 nmol cm⁻³ day⁻¹; T_n 5 to 6 days) were observed in petroleum contaminated sediments from Port Jefferson Harbor (PJH) on the north shore of Long Island. PJH has a relatively constant salinity regime (about 27%) and imposed decreases in salinity effected decreases in rates of naphthalene and anthracene mineralization. Lowest rates of naphthalene mineralization (0·003 to 0·004 nmol cm⁻³ day⁻¹; T_n from 714 days to 833 days) were found in sediments from two stations in the relatively pristine Carmans River estuary on the south shore of Long Island.The ability of increases or decreases in salinity to affect the rate of model PAH mineralization appeared to be dependent on the natural variation in the salinity regime from which a sample was obtained. Data from all the environments studied indicated a strong positive correlation between PAH concentration and the rates of mineralization of naphthalene. Rates of PAH mineralization in all environments examined appear to be primarily controlled by the extent of pollutant loading and not by natural variations in the salinity regime.     

渤海湾非周期性水位变化与风和气压的关系

风和气压的变化是引起海洋非周期性水位(实测潮位值减去预报潮位值的差值,以下简称水位)变化的主要原因。尽管人们对这种过程之间的关系进行了大量研究,但对这一自然现象的研究至今不衰;这是因为水位变化在渤海这种浅水海区达到很大的值,若恰遇高潮阶段,则往往会使所影响的海域水位暴涨,以至海水内陆溢浸造成灾害。所以人们用各种途径去探讨水位变化与强迫力之间的关系。 引起和影响水位变化的原因中,风应力是     

Deposition of organic material in a coral reef lagoon,One Tree Island,Great Barrier Reef

Deposition of organic material was measured at four sites on One Tree Island coral reef using fixed sediment traps. Although no reliable data were obtained for the reef crest area because of problems of resuspension, mean deposition in the backreef area amounted to some 4 g organic C m⁻² day⁻¹ whereas in the lagoon it was about 1·5 g C m⁻² day⁻¹. This amounted to mean nitrogen deposition rates of 160 and 95 mg N m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively. As primary production by turf algae, the principal producers at One Tree Island, has been estimated at about 2·3 g C m⁻² day⁻¹ for the whole reef system and the weighted mean carbon deposition is estimated at 2·2 g C m⁻² day⁻¹, it is clear that the carbon produced by plants is largely retained in the system. Nitrogen deposition, on the other hand, amounted to only about 60% of that produced by turf algae and it must be assumed that much of this leached into the water during sedimentation. Losses of nitrogen may be minimized by incorporation of dissolved nitrogen by pelagic microheterotrophs which may in turn be consumed by filter feeders before they leave the reef.     

Mechanisms of low-frequency sea level fluctuations in the Hangzhou Bay

-low-frequency sea level fluctuations in the Hangzhou Bay in winter and summer, 1973-1974 are analyzed in this paper. The established multi-spectrum response models effectively identify the different dynamical factors and their contributions to the low-frequency sea level fluctuations inside the bay. The results show that the Ekman transport due to longshore winds is the major mechanism to induce the sea level fluctuations, more important than the frictional effect of local winds. There also exists obviously the influental effect of the free fluctuations of the continental shelf. In addition ,a simple estimation suggests that the remarkable sea level fluctuation of 0. 4 d-1 in the bay is related to the resonance of the Huanghai Sea and the Bohai Sea (taken as a single bay).     

Variations in the boundary-drag coefficient in the tidal entrance to Chesapeake Bay,Virginia

Use of the quadratic shear-stress law for estimating boundary drag requires specific knowledge of the magnitude of a drag coefficient, C_D, and sectional mean velocity, $\text{u}\text{?}$. In previous attempts to adapt the relationship for use in studies of marine-sediment transport, the flow measurement has been standardized at a level 100 cm above the bed. The particularized value of the drag coefficient has been designated as C₁₀₀.In the entrance area to Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, C₁₀₀ has been found to range through unacceptably wide limits. Two-thirds of the values obtained are between 3.5 · 10^?3 and 5.4 · 10^?2. Mean C₁₀₀ for the area is 1.3 · 10^?2 as compared to 3 · 10^?3 for tidal channels within Puget Sound, Washington.Present data suggest that, given a moveable bed, a size hierarchy of mobile bed forms, time-varying flow, and a lack of equilibrium between flow and bed, C₁₀₀ changes continuously with boundary shear stress.Accurate evaluation of boundary shear stress in tidal entrances with high flow rates and mobile beds presently requires measurement of velocity profiles.     

Subtidal Flow Patterns in Western Florida Bay

Recent observations using moored current meters, shipboard ADCP transects, salinity mapping and drifters have been used to study the residual circulation including wind drift in western Florida Bay.Rapid, nearly synoptic surveys of salinity over a large area was an effective tracer-mapping technique, when salinity gradients were sufficiently strong, and provided qualitative information on Lagrangian water motion for the entire study area. The salinity maps indicated a general south-eastward advection, which was only subordinate to tidal mixing in a narrow zone adjacent to the Florida Keys.Drifter data collected simultaneously, allowed quantitative estimates to be added to the transport pattern suggested by salinity maps. The selectively deployed drifters yielded estimates of total drift velocities. In addition, moored current meters and shipboard current profiling were used to determine the distribution of flow across the mouth of the bay facing the Gulf of Mexico and the transport through Long Key Channel, a major connection between the bay and the Atlantic Ocean.Analysis showed that from 64 to over 92% of the drifter trajectory variances could be explained by the combination of a local wind drift, expressed in terms of a wind drift factor multiplied by the surface shear velocity, and an ambient current. For a 1 m high drifter deployed at the surface of the water column, the wind drift factor was found to be approximately 0·125m, making the drift speed roughly equal to 0·45% of wind speed. The mean drifter speeds were linearly proportional to mean transport estimates derived from the current meter observations in Long Key Channel, enhancing confidence in both data sets.The total south-eastward directed residual current varied between 100 and 5000 m day⁻¹and was weaker in summer than in winter, when southward winds associated with periodic passage of cold fronts boost the residual flow. The estimated contribution from local wind drift varied between 500 m day⁻¹in summer to 1000 m day⁻¹in winter. The remaining contribution to the observed Lagrangian residual circulation in western Florida Bay is caused by other forcing, including tidal rectification, remote wind forcing and large-scale current systems (the Gulf Stream and Florida Current systems).     

Determining the age of water and long-term transport timescale of the Chesapeake Bay

The concept of age of water (AW) is applied to the Chesapeake Bay to investigate the long-term transport properties for dissolved substances. A real-time calibrated hydrodynamic Chesapeake Bay model in 3 Dimensions (CH3D), employing a boundary-fitted curvilinear grid, is used for the study. The long-term transport properties, represented by AW, are investigated under the conditions of low river inflow of 1995 and high river inflow of 1996, as well as for constant mean inflows. The influences of freshwater, density-induced circulation, and wind-induced transport on age distribution have been investigated. Model results show that river inflows, wind stress, and density-induced circulation play important roles in controlling the long-term transport in the Bay. The model results shows that it requires 120–300 days for a marked change in the characteristics of the pollutant source discharged into the Bay from the Susquehanna River to affect significantly the conditions near the mouth under different hydrodynamic conditions. An increase of river discharge results in increases of downstream residual current and gravitational circulation, and thus reduces AW. The density-induced circulation contributes to the transport substantially. The dissolved substances discharged into the Bay are transported out of the Bay more rapidly when the estuary becomes more stratified. Southeasterly and southwesterly winds have strong impacts on the transport compared to the northeasterly and northwesterly winds. The former increases lateral and vertical mixing significantly. Consequently, the gravitational circulation is reduced and the transport time is increased by 50%. The model results provide useful information for understanding the long-term transport processes in the Bay.     

Nutrient exchange across the sediment-water interface in the Potomac River estuary

The flux of ammonia, phosphate, silica and radon-222 from Potomac tidal river and estuary sediments is controlled by processes occurring at the sediment-water interface and within surficial sediment. Calculated diffusive fluxes range between 0·6 and 6·5 mmol m^?2 day^?1 for ammonia, 0·020 and 0·30 mmol m^?2 day^?1 for phosphate, and 1·3 and 3·8 mmol m^?2 day^?1 for silica. Measured in situ fluxes range between 1 and 21 mmol m^?2 day^?1 for ammonia, 0·1 and 2·0 mmol m^?2 day^?1 for phosphate, and 2 and 19 mmol m^?2 day^?1 for silica. The ratio of in situ fluxes to diffusive fluxes (flux enhancement) varied between 1·6 and 5·2 in the tidal river, between 2·0 and 20 in the transition zone, and from 1·3 to 5·1 in the lower estuary. The large flux enhancements from transition zone sediments are attributed to macrofaunal irrigation. Nutrient flux enhancements are correlated with radon flux enhancements, suggesting that fluxes may originate from a common region and that nutrients are regenerated within the upper 10–20 cm of the sediment column.The low fluxes of phosphate from tidal viver sediments reflect the control benthic sediment exerts on phosphorus through sorption by sedimentary iron oxyhydroxides. In the tidal river, benthic fluxes of ammonia and phosphate equal one-half and one-third of the nutrient input of the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant. In the tidal Potomac River, benthic sediment regeneration supplies a significant fraction of the nutrients utilized by primary producers in the water column during the summer months.     

Wind-related resuspension of sediments in the Peel-Harvey Estuarine System

Resuspension of bottom sediments accounted for 69–92% of mean deposition rates (11·6–69·3 gm^?2 day^?1) measured at 5 sites in the Peel-Harvey Estuarine System, Western Australia. Deposition rates at all but one of the sites were found to be correlated (P<0·05) with a function of wind combining a fetch factor with the number of hours of winds greater than 5 ms^?1 weighted by the third power of wind velocity. The exception was the only site with a cover of benthic algae (Cladophora) during the study. Wind-related resuspension greatly affects the forms and amounts of productivity in this system.     

Deoxygenation and remineralization above the sediment-water interface; an in situ experimental study

An in situ chamber of volume 3881 and bottom area 0·64 m² was used to determine the flux of oxygen and inorganic nutrients across an estuarine sediment-water interface over a 65-day period. Over the first 7 days, oxygen uptake was 378 mg m^?2 day^?1 and the rates of ammonium and phosphate release were 2·22 and 0·34 mg at. m^?2 day^?1, respectively. The water became anoxic in 14 days.The rates of flux in a similar chamber containing only detritus recently settled from the water column were 371 mg m^?2 day^?1 (oxygen), 1·66 mg at. m^?2 day^?1 (ammonium) and 0 12 mg at. m^?2 day^?1 (phosphate), demonstrating that detritus contributes substantially to exchange across the sediment-water interface.The evolution of the two chambers was similar over the latter part of the experimental period. A third chamber containing only water exhibited very minor changes.The role of detritus in nutrient recycling at the sediment-water interface is discussed in relation to the productivity of shallow water bodies such as the estuary in which the experiment was conducted, which itself undergoes periodic deoxygenation during prolonged stratification. The measured flux of nitrogen across the interface was found to represent approximately 31% of the mean daily phytoplankton requirement.     

Coccolithophorids on the continental slope of the Bay of Biscay – production,transport and contribution to mass fluxes

Coccoliths collected by sediment traps deployed on the slope of the Bay of Biscay (northeastern Atlantic), from June 1990 to August 1991, were examined to determine their contribution to the transport of carbonate on a mid-latitude continental margin. They also were used as tracers of particle transfer processes on this slope. Two traps located at 1900 m, respectively at 2300 (Mooring Site 1) and 3000 m (Mooring Site 2) water depths provided high-resolution (4–7 days) time-series samples covering a 14-month period at MS2 and a 3-month period at MS1. Coccoliths from 28 species were identified over the course of the experiment, among which Emiliania huxleyi was always dominant (relative abundance range: 59–93%). Total coccoliths number fluxes were high but variable, ranging from 390×10⁶ to 1610×10⁶ coccoliths m⁻² day⁻¹ at MS1, and from 58×10⁶ to 1500×10⁶ coccoliths m⁻² day⁻¹ at MS2. The time-weighted mean flux, calculated for the whole experiment at MS2, was 499×10⁶ coccoliths m⁻² day⁻¹. Estimate of coccoliths minimal contribution to total carbonate flux at 1900 m depth averaged 12%, which represented a weighted mean flux of 7.3 mg m⁻² day⁻¹ (2.7 g m⁻² yr⁻¹). Lateral transport of coccoliths resuspended from shelf and/or upper slope sediments seems to be the dominant transfer process to depth on this northeastern Atlantic slope. Nevertheless, the clear seasonal succession observed in the species composition implies that the deposition/resuspension/transport sequence is rapid (presumably less than a few months). Several short and unsmoothed signals directly issued from coccoliths bloom events also were recorded in our traps, a result that indicates rapid settling rates. The overall coccolith sedimentation processes appear as being quite diversified, but quantitative and qualitative analyses of aggregates collected by the traps suggest that they are important carriers of coccoliths in this margin environment.     

Continental shelf waves off the fukushima coast Part I: Observations

Current records obtained in the inshore region along the Fukushima coast are analyzed. The existence of periodical current fluctuations whose period is about 100 hours and whose amplitude is as large as 15–25cm s^–1 is recognized. Auto-spectral analyses are made also for sea level, atmospheric pressure and wind records. Each spectrum has significant peaks at the similar period to the current spectrum. The wind spectrum has a broad peak compared with the current. The periodical current fluctuations propagate southward with speed of 3–5 km h^–1. These propagation speeds seem to correspond to those of the second-and third-mode shelf waves.     

Climatic variability in the vicinity of Wallis,Futuna, and Samoa islands (13°–15° S, 180°–170° W)

Mean conditions, seasonal, and ENSO-related (El Niño Southern Oscillation) variability in the vicinity of Wallis, Futuna, and Samoa islands (13°–15° S, 180°–170° W) over the 1973–1995 period are analysed for wind pseudo-stress, satellite-derived and in situ precipitation, sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS), sea level, and 0–450 m temperature and geostrophic current. The mean local conditions reflect the presence of the large scale features such as the western Pacific warm pool, the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), and the South Pacific anticyclonic gyre. The seasonal changes are closely related to the meridional migrations of the SPCZ, which passes twice a year over the region of study. During the warm phase of ENSO (El Niño), we generally observe saltier-than-average SSS (of the order of 0.4), consistent with a rainfall deficit (0.4 m yr⁻¹), a hint of colder-than-average surface temperature is also identified in subsurface (0.3°C), a weak tendency for westward geostrophic current anomalies (2 cm s⁻¹ at the surface), a sea level decrease (5–10 cm), together with easterly (5 m²s⁻²) and well marked southerly (10 m²s⁻²) wind pseudo-stress anomalies. Anomalies of similar magnitude, but of opposite sign, are detected during the cold phase of ENSO (La Niña). While these ENSO-related changes apply prior to the 1990s, they were not observed during the 1991–1994 period, which appears atypical.