Sea-level fluctuations in the fleet, an English tidal lagoon

Tidal elevation data are presented for places along the length of the Fleet, which is a tidal lagoon behind Chesil Beach on the south coast of England. Harmonic analysis of the data is not able to represent the observations adequately, particularly at the inner end of the lagoon. However, careful inspection of the data shows that the tidal regime is capable of being understood in terms of the non-linear propagation of long waves in very shallow water. Distortion of the tidal wave by unequal progression speeds of high and low water, and the set-up of mean level by frictional effects, are shown to be the important physical mechanisms controlling the observed water level fluctuations. A one-dimensional numerical model which incorporates these processes is able to reproduce the observations satisfactorily. Whilst the model predicts strong effects of wind stress, the meteorological influences in the observed data appear to be largely due to external surges in the English Channel which propagate into the lagoon through its entrance.     

Effects of tidal flushing on phytoplankton in a eutrophic tropical lagoon in Taiwan

The effects of tidal flushing on the abundance, productivity, and community structure of phytoplankton in response to eutrophication were examined every 2–3 months for more than 2 years in Tapong Bay, a tropical lagoon with only 1 tidal inlet connecting it to the sea in southern Taiwan. Water flushing time ranged from 4–12 d (8–25% d⁻¹) in the outer region subject to fast flushing to 8–24 d (4–12% d⁻¹) in the inner region subject to poor flushing. Chlorophyll a, cell number, and gross production (GP) rate of phytoplankton were significantly greater in the inner region than in the outer region. However, while GP rate was normalized by chlorophyll a (P^B) and was expressed as photosynthetic intensity, no significant differences were detected among the study sites. These parameters exhibited a unimodal seasonal pattern across all study sites, with greater values in summer and lower values in winter. No significant differences in species richness or Shannon–Wiener diversity were detected among the study sites. Nevertheless, diversity indices were significantly higher in winter and lower in summer. Classification of phytoplankton communities showed that the grouping patterns were primarily determined by sampling time. Ordination by non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) revealed a clear temporal continuum of changes in species composition across all study sites, suggesting that the communities were primarily structured by time, but that it was little affected by study site. Analyses of similarities (ANOSIM) showed that phytoplankton communities sampled in winter could be separated from those in summer, but others were barely separable at all. In summer, the most frequently observed species were the diatom Skeletonema costatum and the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria sp., and these shifted to the diatoms S. costatum and Cylindrotheca closterium in winter. Our results suggest that tidal flushing is an important factor for regulating responses of phytoplankton abundance and productivity to eutrophication in tropical lagoons, but the community structure was little affected due to horizontal mixing by the tidal circulation.     

引潮力对海洋环流模式的影响

The eight main tidal constituents have been implemented in the global ocean general circulation model with approximate 1° horizontal resolution.Compared with the observation data,the patterns of the tidal amplitudes and phases had been simulated fairly well.The responses of mean circulation,temperature and salinity are further investigated in the global sense.When implementing the tidal forcing,wind-driven circulations are reduced,especially those in coastal regions.It is also found that the upper cell transport of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation(AMOC) reduces significantly,while its deep cell transport is slightly enhanced from 9×106m3/s to 10×106 m3/s.The changes of circulations are all related to the increase of a bottom friction and a vertical viscosity due to the tidal forcing.The temperature and salinity of the model are also significantly affected by the tidal forcing through the enhanced bottom friction,mixing and the changes in mean circulation.The largest changes occur in the coastal regions,where the water is cooled and freshened.In the open ocean,the changes are divided into three layers:cooled and freshened on the surface and below 3 000 m,and warmed and salted in the middle in the open ocean.In the upper two layers,the changes are mainly caused by the enhanced mixing,as warm and salty water sinks and cold and fresh water rises;whereas in the deep layer,the enhancement of the deep overturning circulation accounts for the cold and fresh changes in the deep ocean.     

一个考虑潮汐、中尺度涡和地形影响的南海底部环流诊断模型

本文构造了一个考虑潮汐、中尺度涡和地形影响下的南海底部环流诊断模型。在该模型中,潮汐混合和涡致混合引起的垂直速率用一个类似的改进参数化方案来表示。该模型结果显示在南海深层吕宋海峡"深水瀑布"和斜压影响最大,潮汐作用和中尺度涡影响次之,风场的影响最小。斜压影响的整体效应与其他因素相反。潮汐混合与涡致混合具有明显的地形依赖性。潮汐混合主要集中在南海北部海盆地形较为陡峭的陆坡区和南海中部海山区,而涡致混合主要集中在海盆西边界区以及中部海山区。在不考虑吕宋海峡"深水瀑布"、潮汐和中尺度涡的情况下(对应吕宋海峡关闭),南海底部环流为反气旋式环流。考虑吕宋海峡"深水瀑布"后,南海底层环流为气旋式环流,而潮汐混合和涡致混合起到加强整个气旋式环流强度的作用。此外,该模型还给出了南海底部环流量级大小与地形坡度之间的密切关系,即地形坡度较大的地方,其流速也大。这对于现场观测有着一定的参考意义。最后,本文用尺度分析的方法从理论上分析了该模型的适用性,证实了该模型具有一定的可靠性。     

The decomposition and simulation of the longitudinal circulation in a coastal lagoon

Current measurements during a 32-day study period in late spring, 1977, are used to quantify the magnitude and relative importance of tidal and wind-driven motion in the interior of the Indian River lagoon, on the Atlantic coast of Florida. Harmonic analysis of the total longitudinal flow along the axis of the lagoon isolates the tidal component of the current; non-tidal flow is revealed by subtracting the tidal current from the total current, and making corrections for non-linear relationships between the current and both surface wind stress and bottom friction. A one-layer, one-dimensional model is developed to simulate wind drift. A quadratic bottom friction term with a drag coefficient of 15 × 10^?3 gives results which compare most favourably with observations. Results indicate that tidal forcing explains approximately 45% of the total variance at the study site, 25 km from the nearest inlet. Local wind forcing accounts for 44% of the non-tidal flow. The remainder of the variance is attributed to freshwater outflow through the lagoon and non-local forcing.     

Effects of physical phenomena on the distribution of nutrients and phytoplankton productivity in a coastal lagoon

Sea level, salinity, temperature, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate, chlorophylls a, b and c and their phaeophytins, phytoplankton abundance and phytoplankton productivity time series were generated for the mouth and three interior locations of Bahia San Quintin, Baja California, Mexico, for 10 days during summer of 1979. The samples were taken once every 2 h. This was done to describe space and time variability of these ecological properties and to elucidate the main factors that cause this variability. Upwelling events bring nutrient reach waters near the bay mouth and tidal currents propagate those waters throughout the bay. Nutrient remineralization at the sediments and the effect of turbulence induced by tidal currents and winds increase nutrient concentrations in the interiors of the bay. In comparison with available information on nutrients limited growth of planktonic algae, nutrients seemed not to be limiting to phytoplankton growth during the sampling period. Phytoplankton cell abundances at the extremes of the lagoon are an order of magnitude lower than at the mouth due to greater turbidity. Chlorophyll concentrations at the extremes are about one-third of those of the mouth. Primary productivity decreases from the mouth to the interiors in the same manner as chlorophyll does. There is not a significant difference in cell size between phytoplankton at the bay mouth and those at the extremes of the bay. Primary productivity in the bay is comparable to the productivity maxima of other upwelling areas. There is no clear permanent dominance of diatoms over dinoflagellates, or vice versa, at any location in the bay. The alternation of upwelling and non-upwelling played an important role, together with that of the spring-neap tide cycle, in producing low frequency (< 0.01 cycles h^?1) temporal variability of ecological properties throughout the bay.     

杭州湾南部主水道内温度、盐度、潮流的变化特征

本文基于船载及锚定ADCP、CTD观测,获得了大、小潮时的温度、盐度、浊度、潮位、流速等观测数据,研究杭州湾南部的一个主要弯曲航道——螺头水道内的潮流动力学特性。螺头水道水深超过100 m、最大潮差大于2.5 m。涨潮时,强潮流速出现在水道北岸,落潮时,强潮流速出现在水道南岸,最大流速值分别为约2 m/s和1.8 m/s。受压强梯度、密度梯度、科氏力和离心力影响,涨落潮过渡时在水道的横断面产生较为明显的环流。夏季存在较弱的层化现象,深水处受环流的影响,盐度、温度的混合较强。锚定观测数据表明,温度、盐度的变化频率与潮流的变化频率相似,但存在高于M2分潮频率的谱峰值。因此,笔者认为潮流与横向环流的相互作用,可能导致更高频率的盐度和温度变化。     

Variability and fluxes of nitrogen and organic carbon at the mouth of a coastal lagoon

This work examines the tidal exchanges of heat, inorganic nitrogenous nutrients and various forms of organic matter at the mouth of San Quintin Bay, Baja California, Mexico. It also attempts to elucidate the main factors responsible for the short-term fluctuations of these seawater properties. To accomplish this, a time series sampling was carried out at the mouth of the bay from 25 June to 5 July, 1979. The bay systematically exported heat, with an average of 1·2×10¹⁰ kcal per half tidal cycle during the sampling period. Inputs of nitrite and nitrate during upwelling were of major importance to the productivity of the lagoon. During non-upwelling conditions the trend was toward a dynamic equilibrium in the oxidized inorganic nutrient fluxes. There were significant exports of ammonia. These ammonia exports were, on average, about 20% of the nitrate plus nitrite imports. Ammonia concentrations were related to metabolic and mixing processes. Ammonia might be an important export product throughout the year, as a result of the reduced state of the sediments. During the sampling, there were imports of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen. The C/N ratio suggests that the main origin of organic detritus was other than the breakdown of eelgrass in the bay. There were mostly imports of diatom carbon, but fluxes of dinoflagellate carbon were always near equilibrium. Zooplankton showed both exports and imports. Variability in the zooplankton carbon was mostly related to diel vertical migration. There were no significant exports of floating seagrass, not even during spring tides.     

Estimation of freshwater runoff into Glacier Bay,Alaska and incorporation into a tidal circulation model

Freshwater discharge is one of the most critical parameters driving water properties within fjord estuarine environments. To date, however, little attention has been paid to the issue of freshwater runoff into Glacier Bay, a recently deglaciated fjord in southeastern Alaska. Estimates of discharge into Glacier Bay and the outlying waters of Icy Strait and Cross Sound are therefore presented. Existing regression equations for southcentral and southeastern coastal Alaska are applied to Glacier Bay to arrive at the estimates. A limited set of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements generally support the predictions of the regression equations. The results suggest that discharge into the bay ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand m³ s⁻¹ during a typical year. Peak discharges can be much higher, approximately 10,000 m³ s⁻¹ for the 10-year flow event. Estimates of the seasonal variation of discharge are also obtained and reveal a broad peak during the summer months.     

A note on turbulent perturbations of salinity in a partially mixed estuary

Measurements of salinity perturbations in a partially mixed estuary have been used to evaluate the usefulness of an inductive salinometer and to determine some of the characteristics of the salinity perturbations. The salinometer performed satisfactorily under most conditions. Although internal wave like effects were present, the turbulence fluctuations were dominant. The salinity fluctuations and the turbulent fluxes $\text{sw}$ and $\text{su}$ were found to behave in a manner similar to the density fluctuations in a thermally stratified atmospheric boundary layer and a laboratory open channel flow. A quadrant analysis suggested that the contribution of each quadrant to the turbulent flux changed with Ri. The turbulence parameters ν and c_γ were found to decrease and increase respectively as Ri increases.     

Seasonal variation of average phytoplankton concentration in the Kattegat—a periodical point model

Seasonal variations in primary production, phytoplankton biomass, chlorophyll-a, dissolved inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in the upper 10 m of the Kattegat were analysed by means of monitoring data from 1993–1997. Spatial optimal analysis, based on a stochastic model, was used to reconstruct weekly constituent fields onto a spatial grid. The reconstructed fields were spatially integrated, resulting in a relatively smooth seasonal variability of the average variables. A simple dynamical model, set up as a periodical boundary problem, is suggested for the average phytoplankton concentration, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and entrainment depth as state variables. The model is forced by the solar radiation, nitrogen load from the land sources and atmosphere as well as by nitrogen supply from the lower nutrient-rich layer. The latter process is modelled proportional to the water entrainment into the upper euphotic layer and is driven by atmospheric forcing, river runoff and the Baltic water inflow. Four model coefficient values were fitted by minimising the root mean square difference between the integrated monitoring data and the model output. The suggested diagnostic model reflects the main features in seasonal variability of phytoplankton and nitrogen concentrations by average values, including the magnitude and timing of such dynamic events as the spring and late summer phytoplankton blooms. The importance of different forcing factors is quantified and estimates of unobserved components such as new primary production can be computed.     

Ocean circulation and exchanges through the northern Bering Sea—1979–2001 model results

We have developed and run a model with sufficiently high resolution (9 km and 45 levels) and a large enough spatial domain to allow for realistic representation of flow through the narrow and shallow straits in the northern Bering Sea. This is potentially important for quantification of long-term mean and time-dependent ocean circulation, and water mass and property exchanges between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Over a 23 year interval (1979–2001), mean transport through Bering Strait is estimated to be 0.65 Sv. Comparison of our model results with published observations indicates that ocean circulation is not only variable at seasonal to interdecadal scales but it is also responsive to short-term atmospheric forcing. One of such events occurred during the winter of 2000–2001 with reversed oceanic flow in some areas and much reduced sea-ice cover. Analyses of eddy kinetic energy fields identify some high biological productivity regions of the Chirikov Basin coincident with persistent high energy (up to 2700 cm² s⁻² in the surface layer and up to 2600 cm² s⁻² at mid-depth) throughout the annual cycle. Model output in the Bering Strait region is validated against several time series of moored observations of water mass properties. Comparison with shipboard observations of near-bottom salinity from late winter through autumn indicates that the model reasonably represents the major water-mass properties in the region. The modeled vertical water-column structure in the northern Bering Sea allows increased understanding of the mechanisms of water transformation and transport northward through Bering Strait into the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. We conclude that the long-term model results for the northern Bering Sea provide important insights into the ocean circulation and fluxes and they are a useful frame of reference for limited observations that are short-term and/or cover only a small geographic region.     

Influence of Wind on Dynamics and Flushing of Shallow Estuaries

Observations of two small estuaries in Cape Cod, U.S.A. indicate large variations in salinity structure that are forced by variations in along-estuary wind stress. During onshore winds, the estuarine circulation is reduced, and the along-estuary salinity gradient increases as freshwater accumulates. During offshore winds, the surface outflow is enhanced, freshwater is flushed out of the estuary, and the along-estuary salinity gradient becomes weak. Constrictions block the wind-induced flushing, resulting in strong salinity fronts across the constrictions. The residence time of one of the estuaries varies by more than a factor of three in response to variations in wind-induced flushing. The other estuary has little variation of flushing associated with winds, due to a constriction at the mouth that inhibits the wind-induced exchange. The strong influence of winds on the flushing of these estuaries is due in part to their shallow depths, which accentuates the influence of wind stress relative to the effects of the horizontal density gradient. In addition, the residence times of the estuaries are comparable to the time scale of wind forcing, allowing large changes in water properties during wind events.     

A box model of Puget Sound

A classical two-layer box model has been used to calculate volume transports and vertical exchange coefficients for the Main Basin of Puget Sound. High river flow (January–February) and low flow (August–September) calculations, using salinity and runoff observations, show that basically two estuarine types exist within the basin under both flow conditions. Admiralty Inlet, the north entrance to the Main Basin, is similar to a partially mixed estuary with vigorous tidal mixing, so that horizontal and vertical salinity gradients are similar in winter and late summer. Within the deep main basin, two layer transports are proportional to salinity stratification and the vertical exchanges are low. Calculated summer transports are about a factor of two smaller than winter transports for the Main Basin. Model transports agree quite well with daily net transports estimated from current meters. Flushing times calculated by the model also agree with volume replacement times calculated using current meter data and by methods using oxygen deficits in the lower layer.