Causes of the bottom hypoxia in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland in the baltic sea

The data on the bottom concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland obtained in 1923–1939 and in 1962–1989 were analyzed. No statistically reliable differences were found between the two periods studied. It was found that, during the 20th century, the fluctuations in the oxygen concentration were caused by the interannual variability of the winter severity and water salinity. A strong oxygen deficit in the summer was recorded after cold winters, when early freezing suppressed the vertical mixing, and/or in the years of a significant inflow of salt waters from the Baltic Sea with low oxygen contents. It is likely that the long-term dynamics of the oxygen concentration near the bottom in the open parts of the bay is determined by the large-scale variability of the hydrometeorological parameters.     

Assessing the extent of mangrove change caused by Cyclone Vance in the eastern Exmouth Gulf, northwestern Australia

Changes in mangal area were quantified in the eastern Exmouth Gulf over six years (1999–2004) after Cyclone Vance using Landsat TM satellite imagery and aerial photography. Vance was the strongest tropical cyclone ever to impact the Australian mainland before 2006 and produced wind gusts of more than 280 km h⁻¹. Image data were processed using ENVI™ and IDRISI™ software. Three sets of Landsat TM images from 1999 (a few days before the cyclone), 2002 and 2004 were used, along with 2004 digital aerial photography. A ‘common’ subset of 904 km² was selected from all images and classification was developed using ISODATA™ unsupervised classification to identify spectrally distinct areas followed by principal component analysis (PCA), vegetation indices and supervised classification. Some 12,800 ha of mangrove habitat was present before the cyclone and approximately 5700 ha (44%) was removed by it. Most mangroves lost (74%) between 1999 and 2004 were converted either to bare sediment or to live saltmarshes and this occurred mostly between 1999 and 2002. Five basic categories of damage were conspicuous from imagery and field observations, and evidence suggests that much of the loss was due to the longer term consequences of sediment deposition or smothering, rather than the immediate effects of wind or waves. Mangroves exhibited accelerated recovery between 2002 and 2004, and around 1580 ha regenerated during this time, amounting to a return of 68% of their former coverage. At this recovery rate we estimate that they should have returned to their pre-cyclone area by 2009. Over half of the saltmarsh habitats (54%) were removed by the cyclone (4060 ha) but their recovery has been far more rapid than mangroves. After 5 years, saltmarshes had returned to 87% of their previous area. The 5700 ha of mangrove habitat damaged by Cyclone Vance exceeds any anthropogenic impact that has ever taken place in Western Australia by several orders of magnitude.     

Regime shifts in the Humboldt Current ecosystem

Of the four major eastern boundary currents, the Humboldt Current (HC) stands out because it is extremely productive, dominated by anchovy dynamics and subject to frequent direct environmental perturbations of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The long-term dynamics of the HC ecosystem are controlled by shifts between alternating anchovy and sardine regimes that restructure the entire ecosystem from phytoplankton to the top predators. These regime shifts are caused by lasting periods of warm or cold temperature anomalies related to the approach or retreat of warm subtropical oceanic waters to the coast of Peru and Chile. Phases with mainly negative temperature anomalies parallel anchovy regimes (1950–1970; 1985 to the present) and the rather warm period from 1970 to 1985 was characterized by sardine dominance. The transition periods (turning points) from one regime to the other were 1968–1970 and 1984–1986. Like an El Nino, the warm periods drastically change trophic relationships in the entire HC ecosystem, exposing the Peruvian anchovy to a multitude of adverse conditions. Positive temperature anomalies off Peru drive the anchovy population close to the coast as the coastal upwelling cells usually offer the coolest environment, thereby substantially decreasing the extent of the areas of anchovy distribution and spawning. This enhances the effects of negative density-dependent processes such as egg and larval cannibalism and dramatically increases its catchability. Increased spatial overlap between anchovies and the warmer water preferring sardines intensifies anchovy egg mortality further as sardines feed heavily on anchovy eggs.Food sources for juvenile and adult anchovies which prey on a mixed diet of phyto- and zooplankton are drastically reduced because of decreased plankton production due to restricted upwelling in warm years, as demonstrated by lower zooplankton and phytoplankton volumes and the diminution of the fraction of large copepods, their main food source.Horse mackerel and mackerel, the main predators of anchovy, increase predation pressure on juvenile and adult anchovies due to extended invasion into the anchovy habitat in warmer years. In contrast to these periods of warm and cold temperature anomalies on the decadal scale, ENSO events do not play an important role for long-term anchovy dynamics, as the anchovy can recover even from strong ENSO events within 1–2 years. Consequently, the strong 1972–1973 ENSO event (in combination with overfishing) was not the cause of the famous crash of the Peruvian anchovy fishery in the 1970s.     

Changes in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem estimated by inverse modelling: Evidence of a fishery-induced regime shift?

Mass-balance models have been constructed using inverse methodology for the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence for the mid-1980s, the mid-1990s, and the early 2000s to describe ecosystem structure, trophic group interactions, and the effects of fishing and predation on the ecosystem for each time period. Our analyses indicate that the ecosystem structure shifted dramatically from one previously dominated by demersal (cod, redfish) and small-bodied forage (e.g., capelin, mackerel, herring, shrimp) species to one now dominated by small-bodied forage species. Overfishing removed a functional group in the late 1980s, large piscivorous fish (primarily cod and redfish), which has not recovered 14 years after the cessation of heavy fishing. This has left only marine mammals as top predators during the mid-1990s, and marine mammals and small Greenland halibut during the early 2000s. Predation by marine mammals on fish increased from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s while predation by large fish on fish decreased. Capelin and shrimp, the main prey in each period, showed an increase in biomass over the three periods. A switch in the main predators of capelin from cod to marine mammals occurred, while Greenland halibut progressively replaced cod as shrimp predators. Overfishing influenced community structure directly through preferential removal of larger-bodied fishes and indirectly through predation release because larger-bodied fishes exerted top-down control upon other community species or competed with other species for the same prey. Our modelling estimates showed that a change in predation structure or flows at the top of the trophic system led to changes in predation at all lower trophic levels in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. These changes represent a case of fishery-induced regime shift.     

Effects of the invasive polychaete Marenzelleria spp. on benthic processes and meiobenthos of a species-poor brackish system

The effects of the invasive polychaete Marenzelleria spp. on sediment processes and meiobenthos with an emphasis on free-living nematodes of the Vistula Lagoon (southern Baltic Sea) were investigated in a laboratory microcosm experiment. Marenzelleria occupies an open niche and its deep burying behaviour and feeding strategy represent a new function in the study area. Halos of oxidized sediment along Marenzelleria burrow walls indicated oxygen penetration into the burrows but the polychaete had no significant effect on porewater nutrient concentrations. The results showed, however, the density dependent effects of Marenzelleria on ammonium transport. An enhanced ammonium efflux was recorded at high polychaete densities (2000 ind. m^− 2) but not at low polychaete densities (300 ind. m^− 2).There was no observable impact of the polychaete on total meiobenthic numbers. There was, therefore, no indication that Marenzelleria caused meiofauna mortality. On the contrary, the polychaete significantly affected vertical distribution of meiofauna facilitating the colonization of deeper sediment depths and thus extending the habitat to be used by meiobenthos. In addition, Marenzelleria had a positive impact on the survival of turbellarians.Nevertheless, there was no effect of Marenzelleria on nematode assemblage structure and diversity, indicating that neither the physical presence nor the biological activity of the worm affected the nematode community. This suggests either 1. the limited impact of Marenzelleria on nematodes, resulting from the creation of simple, narrow and un-branched burrows, 2. poor response of nematode community resulting from their low abundance and diversity in the study area, or 3. the overriding role of the harsh chemical environment typical of sediments of the Vistula Lagoon, masking the effect of the bioturbator.     

Effects of diesel oil on the polychaete Annelida in model benthic ecosystem

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The coastal profile in the eastern Gulf of Finland: The results of a survey and the reconstruction of the evolution in the Late Holocene

The studies carried out by the Karpinskii All-Russia Research Institute of Geology using side-scan profiling, echo sounding, and surface sediment sampling allowed revealing the detailed structure of the underwater coastal slope in the eastern Gulf of Finland. In particular, a submarine sand terrace was found at depths of 4–5 m. An attempt at the reconstruction of the coastal evolution over the period of the Late Holocene was made using mathematical modeling in order to explain the observed morphology of the submarine coastal slope. The key assumption of the concept suggested is that, at the earlier stage, the tectonic processes played the main role, while, at the later stage, the sea-level changes were of greater importance. The tectonic block comprising the investigated area of the Gulf of Finland at first rapidly increased and then it stabilized and was influenced by the sea level’s rise. These processes resulted in the formation of a series of terraces. The earlier of those are now located on dry land, while the later terraces are observed on the submarine slope. Within the concept proposed, the coastal evolution in the Late Holocene appears as a process of the gradual erosion of the above-water terraces and the formation of new underwater terraces. During the transgressive phases, the rate of the coast’s recession reached 0.5 m year⁻¹, while decreasing by a factor of two during the intermediate stages. The submarine terrace developed over the period of 3.2–1.2 thousand years ago, and it extended in equal measure due to the coast’s recession and the material’s accumulation near its external edge. During that period, the coast retreated by approximately 500 m, while the average accumulation rate could have been as high as 0.7 m³ m⁻¹ year⁻¹.     

The influence of hypo‐osmotic stress on the regenerative capacity of the invasive polychaete Marenzelleria viridis from its native range

The euryhaline polychaete Marenzelleria viridis is a notorious invader of the Baltic region and while many studies have focused on the effects of osmotic stress on larval development of the species, few have assessed its effect on adult specimens. This study investigated the effects of low salinity on the physiology of M. viridis by using its regenerative capacity as a proxy for physiologic performance. Specimens were collected in spring 2015 on sandy flats in Hempstead Bay (Long Island, New York), a site that falls within its native range. Worms were ablated between the 14th and 20th chaetigers and cultured at five different salinity treatments (24psu, 15psu, 10psu, 5psu and 0psu) that reflected the broad salinity regimes of its distributional range. Data for anterior regeneration were analysed and presented. Morphogenesis during anterior regeneration was characterized by the formation of a blastema from which the major anatomic structures emerged. All specimens cultured at 5–24psu successfully completed regeneration whereas 75% of specimens cultured at 0psu died and the survivors were unable to proceed beyond the blastema stage. Salinity did not have an effect on regeneration time (14.5–15.1 days) but did have an effect on the percentage of chaetigers regenerated (lowest – 77% at 5psu, highest – 97.5% at 15‰). The post‐regeneration phase was characterized by variability in pigmentation patterns in the regenerated anterior structures, which appear to be independent of salinity treatments. In conclusion, adult M. viridis appears to exhibit high tolerance to low salinity environments, which may have been inherited from its larval stages. In addition, the different pigmentation patterns observed in regenerated structures may allude to the variability of this feature in spionids.     

Variability of the Baltic Sea level and floods in the Gulf of Finland

The statistical analysis of the long-term data on the variability of the Baltic Sea level has revealed the complicated character of the wave field structure. The wave field formed by the variable winds and the disturbances of the atmospheric pressure in the Baltic Sea is a superposition of standing oscillations with random phases. The cross spectral analysis of the synchronous observation series of the level in the Gulf of Finland has shown that the nodal lines of the standing dilatational waves are clearly traced with frequencies corresponding to the distance from the nodal line to the top of the gulf (a quarter of the wave length). Several areas of the water basin with clearly expressed resonant properties may be distinguished: the Gulfs of Finland, Riga, and Bothnia, Neva Bay, etc. The estimations of the statistical correlation of the sea level oscillations with the variation of the wind and atmospheric pressure indicate the dominant role of the zonal wind component during the formation of the floods in the Gulf of Finland. The probable reason for the extreme floods in St. Petersburg may be the resonance rocking of the eigenmode oscillations corresponding to the basic fundamental seiche mode of the Gulf of Finland with a period of 27 h when the repeated atmospheric disturbances in the Baltic Sea occur with a period of 1–2 days.     

On the estuarine transport reversal in deep layers of the Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is a 400-km long and 48–135-km wide tributary estuary of the Baltic Sea featuring the longitudinal two-layer estuarine flow modified by transverse circulation. Longitudinal volume transport in the deep layer is investigated by decomposing it into an averaged, slowly changing estuarine component (due to large-scale density gradients, river discharge and mean wind stress) and wind-driven fluctuating component. The derived expression relates the total deep-layer transport to the projection of wind stress fluctuation to a site-specific direction. The relationship is tested and calibrated by the results from numerical experiments carried out with the three-dimensional baroclinic circulation model. For the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, winds from northeast support standard estuarine circulation and winds from southwest work against the density-driven and riverine flow. The deep estuarine transport may be reversed if the southwesterly wind component exceeds the mean value by 4–5.5 m s⁻¹. According to the data from hydrographic observations in the western Gulf of Finland, an event of advective halocline disappearance was documented in August 1998. Comparison of the deep-water transport estimates calculated from the wind data in 1998 with the observed salinity variations showed that the events of rapid decay of estuarine stratification were coherent with the estimated reversals of deep-layer volume transport, i.e. events of salt wedge export from the gulf.     

Suspended matter in surface waters of the eastern Gulf of Guinea

Suspended matter in the surface waters of the eastern Gulf of Guinea was studied in relation to the prevailing oceanic currents and the sediment composition and source. A confused current system arises from the confluence of the Guinea Current and the South Equatorial Current in this area. Sediment-laden water is transported to the south of Fernando Póo into the Gulf in a south-westerly direction. The southeasterly flowing Guinea Current along the western edge of the Niger delta and the enormous sediment loads of the distributaries in this area contribute to a major lobe of suspended matter off the southwestern nose of the delta. Sediment concentration is inversely related to salinity in the northeastern Gulf. Sediment is also swept northwestward from the continental shelf of Gabon and the Congo Republic into the Gulf. Diatoms are the most abundant constituents with lesser amounts of organic aggregates and two varieties of fecal pellets.     

Economic tradeoffs in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem: Herring and whale-watching

This research attempts to quantify some of the effects of localized depletion of herring by examining the search times of commercial whale-watching vessels. Whale-watching vessels are indirect users of herring; whales feed on herring and may disperse when prey availability is low. A dataset of daily whale-watching outcomes is combined with fishing effort and oceanographic data to test the hypothesis that intensive fishing effort increases the search time of whale-watching companies. Our results suggest that fishing may have a detrimental impact on search time; however, the magnitude of this effect is fairly small. We find policy that the recently enacted policy which prohibits fishing for herring in whale-watching areas would decrease search times by a small amount. We find some evidence of a localized aggregation effect; search times are the lowest when herring are spawning in the inshore areas. These results should be of interest to policymakers in determining future fishing regulations in an ecosystem-based fisheries management context.     

Composition and ecological distribution of ichthyoplankton in eastern Beibu Gulf

Surveys were conducted in four seasons in the eastern Beibu Gulf from July 2006 to November 2007,to determine the ichthyoplankton composition,abundance,as well as environmental factors impacted on their spatiotemporal distributions.The fish eggs and larvae were sorted from 303 zooplankton quantitative samples,in which at least 1 order,60 families,31 genera and 61 species of fish eggs and larvae were identified.The species number was highest in summer whereas lowest in winter.With the most abundant fish egg (the average density was 2.41 ind./m 3),spring was the main spawning season,while the greatest mean density of fish larva was 1.35 ind./m 3 in summer.In the whole year around,fish eggs had the trends to aggregate in the nearshore of Guangxi coast,fish larvae were more abundant in the northern water.Relationships between fish eggs and larvae abundance and environmental factors were analyzed by using the Yield-Density model.The spatiotemporal distribution of ichthyoplankton in eastern Beibu Gulf was closely related to the Chl a concentration,and the optimal temperature,salinity and Chl a were 19.4-21.7 C,31.8-33.1 and 1.5-4.8 mg/m 3,respectively.Additionally,the distribution of fish larvae could be effected by ocean currents in summer and autumn.     

On the genesis of some bottom and coastal features in the Eastern Gulf of Finland

An investigation undertaken recently by the Division of Regional Geoecology and Marine Geology of the Karpinsky All-Russian Research Geological Institute in the coastal zones of the Eastern Gulf of Finland allowed finding some specific relief forms of both near-shore bottom topography and shoreline shape. First of all, among the most interesting objects, the sand ridges on the surface of submarine terrace (between Repino locality and Cape Lautaranta) should be mentioned. These ridges are elongated at an angle to the shoreline and are located beyond the limits of wave action. The other interesting morphological type is represented by longshore sand waves up to some hundreds of meters long and some tens of meters wide near the Bol’shaya Izhora locality. Longshore sand waves move along the southern coast of the gulf, this causing alteration of erosion and accretion zones and leading to formation and degradation of the sand spits. Shore-face-connected ridges are believed to develop under the action of drift currents generated during the passage of deep west cyclones. It is shown that the ridge turned toward the current gives rise to a convergence of the cross-shore flows over the crest and provokes a shift of the maximum velocity toward the front side of the structure. Associated changes in sediment discharges result in accumulation and growth of the ridge. The origin of wavelike features in the shoreline contour (longshore sand waves) is due to a very oblique wave approach caused by predominance of the west winds blowing along the axis of the gulf. Under these conditions a small perturbation of the shoreline contour is shown to manifest a trend to increase with time.     

Changes in trophic flows and ecosystem properties of the Beibu Gulf ecosystem before and after the collapse of fish stocks

Mass-balance models (Ecopath) of the ecosystem before and after collapse (1959-1961 and 1997-1999) of fish stocks were developed with Ecopath software to compare the differences in ecosystem structure, functioning and ecosystem properties of the Beibu Gulf. The model includes 20 functional groups consisting of commercial important fish groups and other ecologically important groups in the ecosystem such as zooplankton, phytoplankton, and detritus. Results indicated that biomass and catches of the system have changed drastically between the 1960s and 1990s, especially for the high trophic levels (TL). The biomass of level V in the early 1960s was 32 times higher than that of the late 1990s, however, the biomass of level I and II in the 1990s was higher than the 1960s. Despite the higher catches in the 1990s, fishing was ecologically less expensive during the 1990s than 1960s due to small fish catches were large. Mean transfer efficiency decreased from for 10.2% in the 1960s to 9.1% in the 1990s periods. According to the summary statistics, the parameters of net system production (NPS) and total primary production to total respiration ratio were increased from 1.013 in the 1960s to 2.184 in the 1990s, however, the connectance index (CI), system omnivore index, Finn’s cycling index and mean path length decreased from the 1960s to the 1990s. The overhead (O) was higher in the 1990s model while the ascendancy (A) decreased nearly 10% in the 1960s. The ‘Keystoneness’ result indicate that zooplankton was identified as keystone species in 1960s, however, the elasmobranches was keystone species in the late 1990s. The average trophic level of the fishery decreased from 3.32 in the 1960s to 2.98 in the 1990s, and exhibits classic symptoms of “fishing down the food web”. All the indices of the system attributes suggests that the Beibu Gulf ecosystem in 1960s was found to be more mature than in the 1990s due to the collapse of demersal ecosystem, and the ecosystem changed from being dominated by long-lived, high trophic level groundfish dominated system toward a system with small-size and low-value species over fifty years.     

Severity of sea ice in the Southern Baltic Sea, Gulf of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia up 21st century

The study focused on the evaluation of probable changes in the severity of sea ice conditions occurring in 3 selected areas of the Baltic Sea: the Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Finland and the Southern Baltic Sea up to the year 2100. The areas have been chosen due to the high intensity of marine traffic (the Gulfs??of Bothnia and of Finland) and due to differences in sea ice conditions; winters in the Gulf of Bothnia were characterized as the most severe, whereas in the Southern Baltic were classified as the mildest ones. Consequently, three scenarios were taken into account in the study: A2 (slow rate of global economic development, market scenario), A1B (regional scenario, rapid economic development, with ecological priorities), B1 (sustainable, median economic development with strong ecological priorities), all three constructed on the basis of Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES models of greenhouse gas emission). The probable changes of sea ice conditions expressed as severity index S were calculated from these models. The main results of the investigation are as follows, the variety of sea ice conditions occurring in specific regions of the Baltic will remain stable (i.e. the most severe winter conditions will still occur in Gulf of Bothnia, while the mildest in the Southern Baltic Sea). The most significant changes are likely to occur in the Southern Baltic, where some winters without ice cover in the Vistula Lagoon may happen. Nonetheless, some extremely severe winters will occur and also within specific seasons more winters with a lower number of days with ice will occur.     

Mixing and biological production at eddy margins in the eastern Gulf of Alaska

We performed a multi-day shipboard experiment in June 2001 to test whether combining water from within an anticyclonic mesoscale eddy in the eastern Gulf of Alaska with water from outside could result in enhanced phytoplankton growth and to determine how mixing might influence planktonic assemblages. Initially, the eddy had lower standing stocks of algal pigments (chlorophyll a [chl a] and accessory pigments), nutrients, phytoplankton, and particulate organic carbon/nitrogen compared to waters outside of the eddy. The eddy possessed a greater diversity and abundance of coastal diatoms while the outside waters had a greater proportion of oceanic species, including the endemic pennate diatom, Nitzschia cylindroformis. After one week of incubation, rates of primary production were significantly higher in the mixed water compared to both the eddy and outside treatments. Pigment concentrations (except chl c₃, alloxanthin, and zeaxanthin) and the proportion of large diatoms (mainly Pseudo-nitzschia spp.) and heterotrophic dinoflagellates were greater in the mixed water than would be expected from the simple combination of inside and outside waters. Nutrient limitation (most likely by trace metals) appeared to be less severe in the mixed water. Chl a was enhanced in the mixed water, particularly when compared to the eddy water. The mixing of eddy and outside water masses stimulated primary production by ∼20%, but more importantly, the mixing resulted in a distinct planktonic assemblage. The biomass enrichment was short-lived, indicating that the maintenance of elevated chl a would require further mixing events in a physical setting that also permits an accumulation of biomass. We note that submesoscale processes, including the intensification of ageostrophic circulation that elicits strong vertical mixing in the presence of strain, might explain observed patterns of high phytoplankton standing stocks at the inner edges of Haida eddies in the field.     

Sediment failures and flows in the Gulf of Cadiz (eastern Atlantic)

Several types of sediment failures in the Gulf of Cadiz were observed using multibeam bathymetry, acoustic imagery and high-resolution seismic. These instabilities are mainly sediment failures and flows. Their width and length vary from 1 to more than 10 km. The failures are mainly related to high sedimentation rates, particularly in places where the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) spills over, such as channel bends and the outer side of the giant contourite levee. Steep slopes are also a trigger for failure at the continental shelf-slope transition, on valley sides, on canyon flanks, and on the sides of bathymetric highs. Other mass movements are related to fluid escape (mud volcanoes) and earthquakes. In areas where the MOW flows along the seafloor, the constant shearing and related erosion can add to the overall stresses. The frequency of failures can be estimated using the deposits resulting of their distal transformations into turbidites.     

Multiparameter cluster analysis of seasonal variation of water masses in the eastern Beibu Gulf

Using the hierarchical clustering method, we present comprehensive analyses of water masses and their seasonal variations based on substantial in situ observations in the eastern Beibu Gulf, a shallow sea with a depth mostly less than 100 m. Besides traditional physical parameters (salinity and temperature), chemical and biological parameters are also used for the water mass classification and analyses, which include dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, nitrite, reactive silicate, and chlorophyll a. Consequently, the eastern Beibu Gulf water is classified into five water masses in the study area, namely the diluted water, the mixed water, the surface water, the subsurface water, and the bottom water. The diluted water is located in the area along the Guangxi coast; the mixed water mainly occupies the northern study area; the surface water resides in the central and southern study area; the subsurface water exists just near the Gulf mouth; and the bottom water appears in the lower layer east of Bailongwei Island, which is different from the Beibu Gulf cold water mentioned in previous studies. The parameter properties and spatial distribution of most water masses in the eastern Beibu Gulf exhibit strong seasonal variability which is mainly modulated by circulations and solar radiation.     

Quantitative model of trophic interactions in Beibu Gulf ecosystem in the northern South China Sea

1IntroductionThe Beibu Gulf is a natural semiclosed conti-nental sea of the South China Sea,which is situatedat17°00′~21°45′N,105°40′~110°10′E,and sur-rounded by China and Vietnam(see Fig.1).It hasa subtropic monsoon climate with an average winter