Quantifying potential propagule pressure of aquatic invasive species from the commercial shipping industry in Canada

We quantify and compare different measures of potential propagule pressure (PPP) of aquatic invasive species (AIS) from commercial vessels in Canada. We used ship arrivals and ballast water discharge volumes as proxies for PPP from ballast water organisms, and wetted surface area (WSA) as a proxy for hull fouling PPP, to determine their relative contributions to total PPP. For three regions studied, PPP proxies correlated significantly across ports and some vessel categories. Relative contributions of ship arrivals, ballast discharge, and WSAs to PPP, evidenced by non-significant correlations across these measures, varied across regions, ports, vessel types, and seasons. Flow-through (dominant on east and west coasts) and empty-refill (in Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region) were the major ballast water exchange methods employed by the vessels surveyed. These methods have different biological efficacy for AIS removal, influencing PPP. Our study illustrates benefits and limitations of using different PPP proxies to estimate invasion risk.     

Vessel traffic patterns in the Port of Kaohsiung and the management implications for preventing the introduction of non-indigenous aquatic species

Data on shipping traffic in one of the busiest seaports in the world, the Port of Kaohsiung, were analyzed to evaluate the implications for ballast water management. Results show that 67% of the arriving vessels were registered to a flag of convenience, which typically have a lower degree of environmental records. The top five donor countries historically suffer from harmful algal bloom problems. The short journey and busy trading between these countries and Taiwan lead to a higher risk of inoculation. In addition, only 1.4% of all vessels visited more than once every year during the 9-year span, indicating that the port authority encounters many new vessels each year. These findings could influence the design and application of ballast water management strategies as well as highlight the challenges in their implementation. We suggest that an analysis of vessel traffic patterns should be coupled with other useful vessel information to make risk assessment successful.     

Challenges in global ballast water management

Ballast water management is a complex issue raising the challenge of merging international regulations, ship's specific configurations along with ecological conservation. This complexity is illustrated in this paper by considering ballast water volume, discharge frequency, ship safety and operational issues aligned with regional characteristics to address ecological risk for selected routes. A re-estimation of ballast water volumes gives a global annual level of 3500 Mton. Global ballast water volume discharged into open sea originating from ballast water exchange operations is estimated to approximately 2800 Mton. Risk based decision support systems coupled to databases for different ports and invasive species characteristics and distributions can allow for differentiated treatment levels while maintaining low risk levels. On certain routes, the risk is estimated to be unacceptable and some kind of ballast water treatment or management should be applied.     

Sensitivity to open boundary forcing in a fine-resolution model of the Iberian shelf-slope region

A fine-resolution primitive equation numerical model is constructed for the Iberian continental shelf and slope region, with open boundaries to the north, south and west. The model is forced by climatological wind fields and relaxed at the surface to climatological temperature and salinity fields. A series of numerical experiments is conducted to investigate the influence of the open boundary conditions. The numerical results include coastal upwelling in summer and a poleward current in winter. The effects of advection of Mediterranean Water and eastern North Atlantic Central Water feature in the circulation. Qualitative comparisons are made with observations.     

Effect of stratification on tidal circulation over the Scotian Shelf and Gulf of St. Lawrence: a numerical study using a three-dimensional shelf circulation model

A three-dimensional shelf circulation model is used to examine the effect of seasonal changes in water-column stratification on the tidal circulation over the Scotian Shelf and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The model is driven by tidal forcing specified at the model’s lateral open boundaries in terms of tidal sea surface elevations and depth-averaged currents for five major tidal constituents (M₂, N₂, S₂, K₁, and O₁). Three numerical experiments are conducted to determine the influence of baroclinic pressure gradients and changes in vertical mixing, both associated with stratification, on the seasonal variation of tidal circulation over the study region. The model is initialized with climatological hydrographic fields and integrated for 16 months in each experiment. Model results from the last 12 months are analyzed to determine the dominant semidiurnal and diurnal tidal components, M₂ and K₁. Model results suggest that the seasonal variation in the water-column stratification affects the M₂ tidal circulation most strongly over the shelf break and over the deep waters off the Scotian Shelf (through the development of baroclinic pressure gradients) and along Northumberland Strait in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (through changes in vertical mixing and bottom stress). For the K₁ constituent, the baroclinic pressure gradient and vertical mixing have opposing effects on the tidal circulation over several areas of the study region, while near the bottom, vertical mixing appears to play only a small role in the tidal circulation.     

Larval connectivity of harbours via ocean currents: A New Zealand study

Non-indigenous marine species (NIMS) are likely to be introduced into harbours by ballast water discharge or hull fouling, and then spread by natural means in the nearshore/shelf circulation. Reanalysis currents from the Australian Bluelink modelling project are used with particle-tracking to estimate the potential dispersal kernels for major New Zealand ports. A random walk term is added to the particle-tracking algorithm to account for missing variability in the numerical model currents. With few data to validate the model, the choice of added diffusivity is made by comparing simulated dispersal with observed dispersal of Global Program drifters. Histograms of the dispersal times between the ports are computed, along with estimates of the 10⁻¹ and first percentile dispersal times, which are taken as proxies for the minimum dispersal time between the ports. The 10⁻¹ percentile times range from 1 day (e.g., Bay of Islands to Whangarei) to several months (Tauranga to Chatham Islands). We identify eight geographical regions, based on the coastal currents and present kernels for a representative port in each region, along with tables of the 10⁻¹ and first percentile dispersal times for all ports. The regions are: (1) northeast coast of the North Island (influenced by the East Auckland Current), (2) east coast of the North Island (East Cape Current), (3) west coast of the North Island (West Auckland Current/Taranaki Bight circulation), (4) Cook St (circulation in Cook St), (5) east coast of the South Island (Southland Current), (6) west coast of the South Island (Westland Current), (7) Fiordland (Subtropical Front/Southland Current), and (8) the Chatham Islands.     

Potential microbial bioinvasions via ships' ballast water, sediment, and biofilm

A prominent vector of aquatic invasive species to coastal regions is the discharge of water, sediments, and biofilm from ships' ballast-water tanks. During eight years of studying ships arriving to the lower Chesapeake Bay, we developed an understanding of the mechanisms by which invasive microorganisms might arrive to the region via ships. Within a given ship, habitats included ballast water, unpumpable water and sediment (collectively known as residuals), and biofilms formed on internal surfaces of ballast-water tanks. We sampled 69 vessels arriving from foreign and domestic ports, largely from Western Europe, the Mediterranean region, and the US East and Gulf coasts. All habitats contained bacteria and viruses. By extrapolating the measured concentration of a microbial metric to the estimated volume of ballast water, biofilm, or residual sediment and water within an average vessel, we calculated the potential total number of microorganisms contained by each habitat, thus creating a hierarchy of risk of delivery. The estimated concentration of microorganisms was greatest in ballast water>sediment and water residuals>biofilms. From these results, it is clear microorganisms may be transported within ships in a variety of ways. Using temperature tolerance as a measure of survivability and the temperature difference between ballast-water samples and the water into which the ballast water was discharged, we estimated 56% of microorganisms could survive in the lower Bay. Extrapolated delivery and survival of microorganisms to the Port of Hampton Roads in lower Chesapeake Bay shows on the order of 10(20) microorganisms (6.8 x 10(19) viruses and 3.9 x 10(18) bacteria cells) are discharged annually to the region.     

Study on subtidal circulation and variability in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,Scotian Shelf,and Gulf of Maine using a nested-grid shelf circulation model

This paper examines the subtidal circulation and associated variability in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Scotian Shelf, and the Gulf of Maine (GSL-SS-GOM) in 1988–2004 based on results produced by a nested-grid shelf circulation model. The model has a fine-resolution child model (～ (1/12)°) embedded inside a coarse-resolution parent model (～ (1/4)°) of the northwest Atlantic. The combination of the semi-prognostic method and the spectral nudging method is used to reduce the model seasonal bias and drift. The child model reproduces the general features of the observed circulation and hydrography over the study region during the study period. The child model results demonstrate that the time-mean circulation in the GSL is affected by the time-mean atmospheric forcing and inflow through the Strait of Belle Isle. The temporal variability in atmospheric forcing affects the outflow through western Cabot Strait, which in turn affects the transport of the Nova Scotian Current and the gulf-wide cyclonic circulation in the GOM. The simulated seasonal variability of salinity in the top 30 m of the GSL-SS-GOM is mainly affected by the equatorward advection of low-salinity waters from the lower St. Lawrence Estuary to the GOM through the Scotian Shelf. The simulated intraseasonal variability of circulation in the GSL is affected by the variability in the estuarine circulation in response to the temporal variability in atmospheric forcing. On the Scotian Shelf, the intraseasonal variability is mainly driven by the variability of wind forcing and mesoscale and nonlinear dynamics over the shelf break and slope region. The interannual variability in the simulated temperature and salinity are spatially coherent in the intermediate waters in the GSL, which is caused partially by the local response to atmospheric variability and partially by variabilities over the southern Newfoundland Shelf that enter the GSL through the eastern Cabot Strait. By comparison, on the Scotian Shelf, the interannual variability of simulated circulation is affected by anomalies produced by the nonlinear dynamics which are advected equatorwards by the shelf break jet.     

Lagrangian circulation and forbidden zone on the West Florida Shelf

This paper presents some recent results of drifters released on the West Florida Shelf during 1996–1997 and compares with the numerical model results of the wind-driven circulation. Using satellite tracked surface drifters during the one year period from February 1996 to February 1997, a drifter free region, called the “forbidden zone”, is found over the southern portion of the West Florida Shelf. This finding is consistent with historical drift bottle data and with a recent numerical model study of the West Florida Shelf circulation response to climatological wind forcing. Direct drifter simulations by numerical model during March 1996 show a good agreement with both the in situ ADCP current observation and drifter observation. Three mechanisms are proposed for the observed Lagrangian features. The primarily dynamic mechanism is the along-shore wind forcing, which induces a coastal jet that tends to leave the coast and the bottom onshore and near surface offshore transports. The second one is the convergent coastal geometry and bottom topography for the southward flow in central shelf near Tampa Bay that enforces the coastal jet and the bottom and near surface transport. The last is a kinematic one, simply due to the short along-shore Lagrangian excursion, driven by the typical synoptic weather systems. Thus near surface shelf waters over the north may not reach the southern coast of the West Florida. Implication is that surface hazard such as oil spill that may occur outside of the southern West Florida shelf may not greatly impact the southern coastal region except Florida Keys. However, the biological and chemical patches over the north that may occur in the water column such as red tides still can easily reach the southern coastal region through the subsurface and bottom waters.     

Remote sensing and modelling of bio-physical distribution patterns at Porcupine and Rockall Bank,Northeast Atlantic

Monthly composites of multi-year sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) have been used in combination with ocean model simulations to study bio-physical distribution patterns at Porcupine and Rockall Bank, two large submarine banks in the Northeast Atlantic in close proximity to the European shelf edge. Seven years (January 1998–December 2004) of remotely sensed data have been collated to create monthly climatological fields and to analyse principal spatio-temporal characteristics. At both banks, a region of cooler SST is found over the summit region compared to warmer waters of the surrounding ocean, less apparent in summer when capped by the seasonal thermocline. Enhanced Chl-a levels are found over both banks with a lifetime partly exceeding the bloom period. At Rockall Bank, both SST and Chl-a signals are more pronounced and persistent showing a 30% increase in annual Chl-a levels over the summit area with an even higher ratio in spring and autumn. A combination of physical processes appears to promote the enhanced productivity over both banks through the generation of a quasi-steady dome of cold, dense water during winter convection and upwelling events. This cold dome is associated with the presence of a retentive circulation based on Taylor cap dynamics and tidal rectification processes. The larger and more persistent enhancement of Chl-a levels over Rockall Bank would appear due to its isolated nature as well as its size. In contrast, Porcupine Bank is partly attached to the Irish shelf edge and exposed to the poleward flowing shelf edge current which may strip passive particles from the central bank region. Satellite derived Chl-a spring/summer distributions over the banks have been used to initialise model simulations of passive tracer dispersion. Timescales for the observed lifetime of the remotely sensed Chl-a patches are consistent with model derived retention timescales and simple scaling for the dispersion of passive biological material over the banks. Surface particle residence times over Rockall Bank are estimated to exceed Porcupine Bank values by a factor of two. Finally, the tidal contribution to individual particle motion is found to be large in some Rockall Bank areas, but less important at Porcupine Bank.     

Ballast water: A threat to the Amazon Basin

Ballast water exchange (BWE) is the most efficient measure to control the invasion of exotic species from ships. This procedure is being used for merchant ships in national and international voyages. The ballast water (BW) salinity is the main parameter to evaluate the efficacy of the mid-ocean ballast water exchange. The vessels must report to the Port State Control (PSC), via ballast water report (BWR), where and how the mid-ocean BWE was performed. This measure allows the PSC to analyze this information before the ship arrives at the port, and to decide whether or not it should berth.Ship BW reporting forms were collected from the Captaincy of Santana and some ships were visited near the Port of Santana, located in Macapá (Amazon River), to evaluate the BW quality onboard. We evaluated data submitted in these BWR forms and concluded that the BWE efficacy might be compromised, because data contained in these BWR indicate that some ships did not change their BW. We found mistakes in filling the BWR forms and lack of information. Moreover, these ships had discharged BW with high level of salinity, Escherichia coli and total coliforms into the Amazon River. We concluded that the authorities of the Amazon Region need to develop more efficient proceedings to evaluate the ballast water reporting forms and BW quality, as there is potential risk of future invasion of exotic species in Brazilian ports.     

Management and environmental risk study of the physicochemical parameters of ballast water

Shipping is a vital industry for the global economy. Stability of ships, provided by ballast water, is a crucial factor for cargo loading and unloading processes. Ballast water treatment has practical significance in terms of environmental issues, ecosystem, and human health, because ships discharge this water into the environment before loading their cargos. This study reviews the common methods for ballast water management – exchange, heating, filtration, ultrasonic treatment, ultraviolet irradiation, chemicals, and gas supersaturation – to select the best one. This study compares water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals (Co, Cr, Ni, Pb) for ballast tanks of selected ships with the recipient port environment in the Persian Gulf as a case study. The exchange of ballast water in the ocean and/or its treatment on board to prevent inadvertent effects on the environment's physicochemical conditions is related to vessel characteristics, legislation, and the environmental condition. Ecological risk study showed that the salt content in ballast water is close to that of seawater, but the values of Cr (2.1 mg/l) and Ni (0.029 mg/l) in ballast water are higher than those in seawater (1 and 0.004 mg/l, respectively).     

Modelling the impact of Black Sea water inflow on the North Aegean Sea hydrodynamics

The impact of the Black Sea Water (BSW) inflow on the circulation and the water mass characteristics of the North Aegean Sea is investigated using a high-resolution 3D numerical model. Four climatological numerical experiments are performed exploring the effects of the exchange amplitude at the Dardanelles Straits in terms of the mean annual volume exchanged and the amplitude of its seasonal cycle. Larger inflow of low salinity BSW influences the water characteristics of the whole basin. The largest salinity reduction is encountered in the upper layers of the water column, and the most affected region is the northeastern part of the basin. The winter insulation character of the BSW layer (low-salinity layer) is reduced by the seasonal cycle of the inflow (minimum during winter). The maximum atmospheric cooling coincides with the minimum BSW inflow rate, weakening the vertical density gradients close to the surface and thus facilitating the vertical mixing. The inflow rate of BSW into the North Aegean Sea constitutes an essential factor for the circulation in the basin. Increased inflow rate results into considerably higher kinetic energy, stronger circulation and reinforcement of the mesoscale circulation features. Although the position of the front between BSW and waters of Levantine origin does not vary significantly with the intensity of the BSW inflow rate, the flow along the front becomes stronger and more unstable as the inflow rate increases, forming meanders and rings. The changes in the intensity of BSW inflow rate overpower the wind and thermohaline forcing and largely determine the general circulation of the North Aegean Sea.     

A high-resolution modeling study of the Western Iberian Margin mean and seasonal upper ocean circulation

The mean seasonal hydrography and circulation of the Western Iberian Margin (WIM) are studied by means of a high-resolution configuration of the Regional Oceanic Modeling System. A comparison of 5-year model averages for January and July with climatological datasets shows a general good agreement in the reproduction of the mean water mass properties and hydrographic distribution. We find that there is a prevailing tendency for slope poleward flow at about 80–100 km offshore at all latitudes from the surface to 1,500 m with strong vertical coupling. This northward flow, which is mainly along slope and amounts up to 8–10 cm s^?1, exhibits several mean flow recirculation regions on its way and evidences of an offshore pathway of poleward flow. Transports at different zonal sections further confirm the poleward flow tendency with two peaks of poleward transport in summer (3–10 Sv) and winter (2–7 Sv). The transport time series emphasize the seasonal character of the alongshore circulation and the interannual intrinsic variability of the circulation, since the forcing fields are climatological. As a conceptual essay with the purpose of assessing the Mediterranean Water flow influence on the WIM mean circulation, a second model configuration is setup, where the Mediterranean outflow into the study domain is removed. We find that there is an attenuation of the mesoscale field, but the slope poleward flow intensifies and remains as a mean dynamical feature closer to the upper slope.     

Lagrangian particle tracking of a toxic dinoflagellate bloom within the Tampa Bay estuary

A coastal risk assessment system simulates the basic physical mechanisms underlying contaminant transport in Tampa Bay. This risk assessment system, comprised of a three-dimensional numerical circulation model coupled to a Lagrangian particle tracking model, simulates the transport and dispersion of a toxic dinoflagellate bloom. Instantaneous velocity output from the circulation model drives the movement of particles, each representing a fraction of a K. brevis bloom, within the model grid cells. Hindcast simulations of the spatial distribution of the K. brevis bloom are presented and compared with water sample concentrations collected during the peak of the bloom. Probability calculations, herein called transport quotients, allow for rapid analysis of bay-wide K. brevis transport showing locations most likely to be impacted by the contaminant. Maps constructed from the transport quotients provide managers with a bay-wide snapshot of areas in Tampa Bay most at risk during a hazardous bloom event.     

Intra-coastal ballast water flux and the potential for secondary spread of non-native species on the US West Coast

Ballast water is a dominant mechanism for the interoceanic and transoceanic dispersal of aquatic non-native species (ANS), but few studies have addressed ANS transfers via smaller scale vessel movements. We analyzed ballast water reporting records and ANS occurrence data from four US West Coast port systems to examine patterns of intra-coastal ballast water transfer, and assess how ballast transfers may have influenced the secondary spread of ANS. In 2005, one third of the vessels arriving to the US West Coast originated at one of four West Coast port systems (intra-coastal traffic). These vessels transported and discharged 27% (5,987,588 MT) of the total ballast water volume discharged at these ports that year. The overlap of ANS (shared species) among port systems varied between 3% and 80%, with the largest overlap occurring between San Francisco Bay and LA/Long Beach. Our results suggest that intra-coastal ballast water needs further consideration as an invasion pathway, especially as efforts to promote short-sea shipping are being developed.     

Fjord–shelf exchanges controlled by ice and brine production: The interannual variation of Atlantic Water in Isfjorden,Svalbard

Exchanges between oceanic and coastal waters are fundamental in setting the hydrography of arctic shelves and fjords. In West Spitsbergen, Atlantic Water from the West Spitsbergen Current exchanges with the seasonally ice-covered waters of the coast and fjords causing a major annual shift in hydrographic conditions. The extent to which Atlantic Water dominates the fjord systems shows significant interannual variability. Hydrographic sections taken between 1999 and 2005 from Isfjorden and the adjacent shelf have been analyzed to identify the causes of the variability in Atlantic Water occupation of the fjord system. By treating the fjord system as a coastal polynya and running a polynya model to quantify the salt release each winter, we conclude that the critical parameter controlling fjord–shelf exchange is the density difference between the fjord water masses and the Atlantic Water. We provide a full dynamical mechanism for the interaction between water masses at the fjord entrance to rationalize the interannual variability.     

Cascading ocean basins: numerical simulations of the circulation and interbasin exchange in the Azov-Black-Marmara-Mediterranean Seas system

In this paper, we use the unstructured grid model SCHISM to simulate the thermohydrodynamics in a chain of baroclinic, interconnected basins. The model shows a good skill in simulating the horizontal circulation and vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and currents. The magnitude and phases of the seasonal changes of circulation are consistent with earlier observations. Among the mesoscale and subbasin-scale circulation features that are realistically simulated are the anticyclonic coastal eddies, the Sebastopol and Batumi eddies, the Marmara Sea outflow around the southern coast of the Limnos Island, and the pathway of the cold water originating from the shelf. The superiority of the simulations compared to earlier numerical studies is demonstrated with the example of model capabilities to resolve the strait dynamics, gravity currents originating from the straits, high-salinity bottom layer on the shallow shelf, as well as the multiple intrusions from the Bosporus Strait down to 700 m depth. The warm temperature intrusions from the strait produce the warm water mass in the intermediate layers of the Black Sea. One novel result is that the seasonal intensification of circulation affects the interbasin exchange, thus allowing us to formulate the concept of circulation-controlled interbasin exchange. To the best of our knowledge, the present numerical simulations, for the first time, suggest that the sea level in the interior part of the Black Sea can be lower than the sea level in the Marmara Sea and even in some parts of the Aegean Sea. The comparison with observations shows that the timings and magnitude of exchange flows are also realistically simulated, along with the blocking events. The short-term variability of the strait transports is largely controlled by the anomalies of wind. The simulations demonstrate the crucial role of the narrow and shallow strait of Bosporus in separating the two pairs of basins: Aegean-Marmara Seas from one side and Azov-Black Seas from the other side. The straits of Kerch and Dardanelles provide sufficient interbasin connectivity that prevents large phase lags of the sea levels in the neighboring basins. The two-layer flows in the three straits considered here show different dependencies upon the net transport, and the spatial variability of this dependence is also quite pronounced. We show that the blocking of the surface flow can occur at different net transports, thus casting doubt on a previous approach of using simple relationships to prescribe (steady) outflow and inflow. Specific attention is paid to the role of synoptic atmospheric forcing for the basin-wide circulation and redistribution of mass in the Black Sea. An important controlling process is the propagation of coastal waves. One major conclusion from this research is that modeling the individual basins separately could result in large inaccuracies because of the critical importance of the cascading character of these interconnected basins.     

Ecosystem under pressure: ballast water discharge into Galveston Bay, Texas (USA) from 2005 to 2010

Ballast water exchange processes facilitate the dispersal and unnatural geographic expansion of phytoplankton, including harmful algal bloom species. From 2005 to 2010, over 45,000 vessels (≈ 8000 annually) travelled across Galveston Bay (Texas, USA) to the deep-water ports of Houston (10th largest in the world), Texas City and Galveston. These vessels (primarily tankers and bulkers) discharged ≈ 1.2 × 10(8) metrictons of ballast water; equivalent to ≈ 3.4% of the total volume of the Bay. Over half of the ballast water discharged had a coastwise origin, 96% being from US waters. Galveston Bay has fewer non-indigenous species but receives a higher volume of ballast water discharge, relative to the highly invaded Chesapeake and San Francisco Bays. Given the magnitude of shipping traffic, the role of Galveston Bay, both as a recipient and donor region of non-indigenous phytoplankton species is discussed here in terms of the invasibility risk to this system by way of ballast water.     

Modeling the circulation in the Gulf of Tonkin, South China Sea

The circulation in the Gulf of Tonkin (Beibu Gulf) was studied using the Princeton Ocean Model, which was forced with the daily surface and lateral boundary fluxes for 2006 and 2007, as well as tidal harmonics and monthly climatological river discharges. In the southern Gulf, the vertically averaged circulation was anti-cyclonic in summer and changed to cyclonic in winter. Although it was highly correlated with the local wind, the southern gyre was driven primarily by the South China Sea (SCS) general circulation from the south. Flows in the Qiongzhou Strait that played a significant role in determining the circulation variability in the northeastern Gulf could be eastward or westward at any given day in summer or winter, but the seasonal mean current was eastward from late spring through summer and westward during the rest of the year, with an annual mean westward transport of ～0.1 Sv into the Gulf. Different water masses were distinguished at the surface with the warm and saline SCS water in the south, relatively fresh plume waters along the northern and western coasts of the Gulf, and the mixture of the two in between. At lower levels, two cold water masses were identified in the model, and each had T/S distributions qualitatively similar to the observations obtained in 2007. These two water masses were produced throughout the winter, sheltered from the surface warming by a thermocline as the season progressed, and eventually disappeared in late fall.