Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Estuarine Shoreline Change in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System,North Carolina,USA

Many shoreline studies rely on historical change rates determined from aerial imagery decades to over 50 years apart to predict shoreline position and determine setback distances for coastal structures. These studies may not illustrate the coastal impacts of short-duration but potentially high-impact storm events. In this study, shoreline change rates (SCRs) are quantified at five different sites ranging from marsh to sediment bank shorelines around the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system (APES) for a series of historical (decadal to 50-year) and short-term (bimonthly) time periods as well as for individual storm events. Long-term (historical) SCRs of approximately ?0.5 ± 0.07 m year^?1 are observed, consistent with previous work along estuarine shorelines in North Carolina. Short-term SCRs are highly variable, both spatially and temporally, and ranged from 15.8 ± 7.5 to ?19.3 ± 11.5 m year^?1 at one of the study sites. The influence of wave climate on the spatial and temporal variability of short-term erosion rates is investigated using meteorological observations and coupled hydrodynamic (Delft3D) and wave (SWAN) models. The models are applied to simulate hourly variability in the surface waves and water levels. The results indicate that in the fetch-limited APES, wind direction strongly influences the wave climate at the study sites. The wave height also has an influence on short-term SCRs as determined from the wave simulations for individual meteorological events, but no statistical correlation is found for wave height and SCRs over the long term. Despite the significantly higher rates of shoreline erosion over short time periods and from individual events like hurricanes, the cumulative impact over long time periods is low. Therefore, while the short-term response of these shorelines to episodic forcing should be taken into account in management plans, the long-term trends commonly used in ocean shoreline management can also be used to determine erosion setbacks on estuarine shorelines.     

Coasts: the high-risk areas of the world

No other region is more threatened by natural perils than coasts. Fierce winds, storm surges, large waves and tsunamis expend their destructive energy when they reach the coastline. Constituting, in many cases, the boundary between continental plates, coasts experience earthquakes and volcanic eruptions more frequently. The changing climate poses the threat of sea level rise. Most global trade crosses the oceans; ports are the entry and exit points of a nation’s trade. As a consequence, coasts attract people, businesses and industries. Some coastal regions rank among the top places in the world in terms of population and value accumulation. Enormous catastrophe loss potentials have been created and are increasing. Risk is the result of a natural hazard, the values at risk and their vulnerability. Living with and reducing the risk requires awareness at all levels of society and partnership between the public authorities, the people and enterprises concerned, and the financial sector. Great natural events are not avoidable, great disasters are. Catastrophes are not only products of chance but also the outcome of the interaction between political, financial, social, technical and natural circumstances. Effective safeguards are both achievable and indispensable, but they will never provide complete protection. In order to manage the risks faced by a society, we have to be aware of that.     

Benthic Superheroes: Living Foraminifera from Three Bays in the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve,USA

Studies of living foraminiferal assemblages provide much information about their roles in present environments and a perspective on interpreting the past. Along modern coasts, benthic Foraminifera act as ecological indicators in their responses to different natural and anthropogenic conditions, such as food availability, oxygen concentrations, salinity, and trace metal concentrations. A detailed survey of foraminiferal populations was undertaken in the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Texas, close to the time of its establishment in 2006. The purpose was to gauge the overall status of populations and provide baseline data for future comparison. The arid south Texas Gulf Coast is a variable and often harsh environment where biota are subject to multiple anthropogenic stressors. Despite these rigors, living Foraminifera were prolific in the Reserve. This paper discusses the results from Mesquite (July 2008), Copano (May 2006), and Mission Bays (June 2006). Populations were robust in each bay, with Ammonia parkinsoniana, Ammotium salsum, and Elphidium excavatum being most abundant. Highest numbers corresponded mainly to areas of greater circulation. In Mission Bay, elemental analysis of shells, prompted by the presence of sulfur grains in sediments and by yellow tests, detected elevated levels of barium, strontium, and iron. Most sediment samples were black and sulfidic, and ubiquitous framboidal pyrite in sediment and shells suggests that forams were frequently subject to low-oxygen conditions. Abundant living numbers, tolerance of low-oxygen conditions, and the ability to cycle trace metals emphasize the resilience of Foraminifera in taxing environments and their integral position as lower trophic level members.     

Similarities Between Granites on the East and West Coasts of the Pacific Ocean

The traditional idea proposes that granites on the east and west coasts of the Pacific Ocean are different. According to field investigations of the geology of the western United States coupled with the authors' long-term studies on granites in South China, granites both in eastern China and in the western United States are similar.     

Estimation of Tsunami Risk for the Coasts of Peru and Northern Chile

Data for tsunamigenic earthquakes and observed tsunami run-up are used to estimate tsunami-risk for the coasts of Peru and northern Chile for zones bounded by 5–35° S latitude. Tsunamigenic earthquake estimates yield magnitudes of 8.52, 8.64, and 8.73 for recurrence periods of 50, 100, and 200 years, respectively. Based on three different empirical relations between earthquake magnitudes and tsunamis, we estimate expected tsunami wave heights for various return periods. The average heights were 11.2 m (50 years), 13.7 m (100 years), and 15.9 m (200 years), while the maximum height values (obtained by Iidas method) were: 13.9, 17.3, and 20.4 m, respectively. Both the averaged and maximum seismological estimates of tsunami wave heights for this region are significantly smaller than the actually observed tsunami run-up of 24–28 m, for the major events of 1586, 1724, 1746, 1835, and 1877. Based directly on tsunami run-up data, we estimate tsunami wave heights of 13 m for a 50-year return period and 25 m for a 100-year return period. According to the seismic gap theory, we can expect that the next strong earthquake and tsunami will occur between 19 and 28° S in the vicinity of northern Chile.     

Estuarine Foraminifera from the Gulf of Cambay

A low diversity, epifaunal to infaunal Foraminiferal assemblage widely distributed in sand flats, mud flats and marshes along the coastal tracts of the Gulf of Cambay. It is dominated by the species of Ammonia, Rotalidium, Murrayinella, Haynesina, Quinqueloculina, Nonionella, Florilus, Elphidium, Trochammina and Miliammina. A triserial planktonic foraminifer Gallitellia vivans, an indicator of stressed and upwelling areas, is also characteristically present in the sediments of the estuaries. The paper discusses the systematics and distribution of the Foraminiferal species in the macrotidal estuaries of the Gulf of Cambay.     

Geological Responses to Urbanization of the Naples Bay Estuarine System,Southwestern Florida,USA

The Naples–Dollar Bay Estuarine System (NDBES), situated in southwestern Florida, has undergone extensive modifications caused directly and indirectly by anthropogenic influences. These alterations include: (1) the substitution of mangrove-forested shorelines with concrete bulkheads and installation of residential canals; (2) installation of a regionally extensive navigational channel; and (3) canalization of the watershed, resulting in annexation of a heavily altered drainage basin ten times the size of the pre-alteration basin and with a significantly different soil and bedrock. The NDBES consists of northern Naples Bay, southern Naples Bay, and Dollar Bay, whose shorelines range from highly developed to undeveloped, respectively. This project explored the geological response of the system to these alterations using data from side-scan sonar, sediment grab samples, and vibracores. In highly urbanized northern Naples Bay, benthic substrates consist primarily of muddy sand with few oyster reefs. Southern Naples Bay and Dollar Bay, however, consist of coarser sediment, and are characterized by extensive mangrove shorelines and numerous fringing oyster reefs. The impact of anthropogenic alterations has significantly shifted sediment distributions in northern Naples Bay from a relatively coarser to a relatively fine grained substrate; to a lesser degree in southern Naples Bay, and Dollar Bay, this transition has not taken place due to the general lack of anthropogenic modifications made to this part of the system.     

Estuarine sedimentation in the Eocene of southern England

A temporary section in the Cuisian Bagshot Beds, which has been mapped in detail, displayed estuarine sediments with interlayered sands and muds, fine sands, channel-fill sands and intraformational (mainly mud clast) conglomerates. The facies show rapid lateral and vertical changes in grain size and bed form and a restricted suite of trace fossils including Ophiomorpha nodosa and Arenicolites sp. The sequence is shown to have been deposited in a subtidal channel where tidal, wave and fluvial processes were dominant at different times. The following points are considered to be characteristic of sedimentation in this environment: (i) correlation is difficult and facies predictability is low; (ii) there are frequent lateral facies changes from the channel to the subtidal bank environment; (iii) pene-contemporaneous erosion removes considerable amounts of sediment; (iv) load structures may be exposed, eroded, buried and reactivated; and (v) muddy layers and bioturbated horizons offer similar resistance to penecontemporaneous erosion.     

MIS 3晚期以来江苏中部海岸的层序地层

通过对苏北岸外西洋潮流通道内钻孔和地震剖面的地层沉积学、年代地层学、地震地层学和层序地层学等多学科再研究,以及区域钻孔再对比,本文确定该海域约从35kaBP(14C惯用年龄)开始经历了滨岸砂坝、淡水湖沼、河流泛滥平原、滨岸沼泽、潮流沙脊和潮流通道一系列的环境演变,主要受控于MIS3晚期以来的海平面旋回以及古河流入海沉积物供给,而构造沉降是相对次要的,由此形成了五级层序地层中的末次冰期晚间冰阶准层序和冰后期准层序,以及前者的高水位体系域和强制海退楔体系域、后者的海侵体系域和高水位体系域。海域中潮流沙脊可能开始发育于冰后期海侵淹没本区(约9calkaBP)之后,但一直只是水下暗沙且处在不断调整之中,直到1128～1855AD间黄河夺淮从苏北入黄海,大量泥沙充填潮道,部分水下暗沙出露海面成为明沙。西洋潮流通道并非是晚全新世期间通过沙脊的蚀低而形成,而在全新世高海面前后就已具雏形并持续至1128AD,1128～1855AD和1855AD至今分别经历了充填淤浅与冲刷成型的过程,且今后具有进一步展宽刷深的趋势。     

The Barnacle,Balanus subalbidus,as a salinity bioindicator in the Oligohaline Estuarine Zone

The distribution and size of the barnacle Balanus subalbidus were studies along salinity gradients in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. It was common in gradient estuaries occurring in salinities ranging from near fresh water to 16 ppt. It was the dominant barnacle species in the oligohaline zone, but at salinities above 6 ppt its relative abundance decreased and it was replaced by B. improvicus and B. eburneus. Its low-salinity limit corresponded to the boundary between the oligohaline and fresh water estuarine salinity zones and there was a high negative correlation between size (basal rostral-carinal diameter) and salinity. Its size and distribution could be used to determine prevailing salinity at a site because of its abundance and uniform distribution in oligohaline areas.     

Assessing Nitrogen Dynamics Throughout the Estuarine Landscape

Assessing nitrogen dynamics in the estuarine landscape is challenging given the unique effects of individual habitats on nitrogen dynamics. We measured net N₂ fluxes, sediment oxygen demand, and fluxes of ammonium and nitrate seasonally from five major estuarine habitats: salt marshes, seagrass beds (SAV), oyster reefs, and intertidal and subtidal flats. Net N₂ fluxes ranged from 332?±?116 μmol?N-N₂?m^?2?h^?1 from oyster reef sediments in the summer to ?67?±?4 μmol?N-N₂?m^?2?h^?1 from SAV in the winter. Oyster reef sediments had the highest rate of N₂ production of all habitats. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) was measured during the summer and winter. DNRA was low during the winter and ranged from 4.5?±?3.0 in subtidal flats to 104?±?34 μmol?¹⁵NH ₄ ⁺ ?m^?2?h^?1 in oyster reefs during the summer. Annual denitrification, accounting for seasonal differences in inundation and light, ranged from 161.1?±?19.2 mmol?N-N₂?m^?2?year^?1 for marsh sediments to 509.9?±?122.7 mmol?N-N₂?m^?2?year^?1 for SAV sediments. Given the current habitat distribution in our study system, an estimated 28.3?×?10⁶?mol of N are removed per year or 76 % of estimated watershed nitrogen load. These results indicate that changes in the area and distribution of habitats in the estuarine landscape will impact ecosystem function and services.     

Estuarine macrobenthos in Calcasieu Lake,Louisiana: Community and trophic structure

Macrobenthic assemblages in Calcasieu Lake estuary (Louisiana) were sampled at 11 sites from October 1983 through November 1985. The sites were numerically dominated by subsurface-deposit feeders, consisting mostly of polychaetes. Greater densities of macrofauna were collected at the northern (upper) stations of the lake than were collected in West Cove or the southern stations. Abundances of polychaetes, oligochaetes, and amphipods at the upper lake stations accounted for most of the differences among stations. The numerical dominance by detritivores (97% of the fauna) and lack of strong sediment or salinity gradients across the estuary, resulted in an absence of temporal pattern in trophic structure of the macrofauna.     

Hydrological hazards at mouths of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora rivers,Russian Federation

The article presents results of long-term monitoring, detailed studies and numerical simulation of hydrological hazards at the mouths of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora rivers. The Northern Dvina River discharges into the White Sea and the Pechora River flows into the Barents Sea. They are major rivers in northern European Russia. The main hydrological hazards at the mouths of these rivers include dangerous ice phenomena, inundations from both pure maximum stream flow and peak discharges with ice jams, surge-induced flooding, wind-induced down-surges, low-water periods and seawater intrusion into the delta branches. These hazards repeatedly caused significant socioeconomic loss and environmental damage to the riparian areas. Causes and characteristics of hydrological hazards have been evaluated and considered with respect to features, pattern and factors of their long-term, seasonal and spatial variability using statistic methods, remote sensing data and numerical simulation. Furthermore, the impact of regional climate change and economic activities is discussed. As a result, detailed information about the Northern Dvina river mouth is presented. It included the structure and the efficiency of measure for preventing ice jam formation and protecting from river discharge, ice jam and surge-induced inundations. The article also included fundamental and updated data on the structure, parameters and hydrological regime of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora river mouths and specifics of their changes in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.     

四川盆地元坝地区上三叠统须家河组的潮控河口湾与潮控三角洲沉积

通过盆地边缘地表剖面,以及元坝区岩芯的研究,发现须家河组并非长期以来人们普遍认定的陆相沉积,而是海岸系统产物。须二段属潮控河口湾环境,包括冲积河道、潮汐—河流水道、UFR沙坪、潮汐沙坝、泥坪和盐沼等相。须四段属潮控三角洲环境,包括三角洲平原河道、分流河口潮汐沙坝、三角洲前缘与前三角洲、泥坪与盐沼等相。这两种环境（沉积）,都是海侵的产物,都是地史上的暂时现象。当其被充满时（海退）,就变为潮坪—海岸平原环境,分别对应于须三段、须五段的细粒含煤序列。基于储层质量与原始沉积环境密切相关,划分了5类储层相。根据我们研究安岳地区须家河组的成功经验,提出了勘探建议。     

浙闽淤泥质港湾表层沉积物的地球化学特征

采用原子吸收光谱法,对乐清湾及三都澳表层沉积物的15只样品,进行了分析,其结果显示,沉积环境,沉积物类型和泥沙来源,控制着乐清湾和三都澳金属元素及有机质迁移富集规律,并显示具有极为相似的分布特征。本区重金属元素的含量与其它区域相比,以及Fe/Mn比值,充分显示了它们的继承性和亲陆性,同时进一步说明本区表层沉积物,主要由潮流作用从口外海域搬运而来,受到长江口泥沙扩散的影响,其次是周围岛屿和山溪性河流的补给。