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1.
Experiments were carried out on an intermittent estuary during its closed (summer) and open (winter) states to identify the physical processes responsible for vertical mixing across the halocline, and to quantify vertical fluxes of oxygen and salt between water layers. During the blocked phase a two-layer structure was observed, with a brackish surface layer overlying old seawater. Within a deep basin the wind-driven turbulent mixing was consistent with the measured surface-layer turbulent dissipation, but the dissipation in the bottom layer appeared to be driven by internal seiching. In the shallow regions of the estuary vertical fluxes of dissolved oxygen were indicative of oxygen demand by respiration and remineralization of organic material in bottom water and sediments. During the estuary's open phase a three-layer structure was observed, having a fresh, river-derived surface layer, a middle layer of new seawater, and a bottom layer of old seawater. In the shallower regions surface-layer turbulent diffusion was consistent with the strong, gusty winds experienced at the time. The dissolved oxygen of the incoming seawater decreased to very low values by the time it reached the upstream deep basin as a result of the low cross-pycnocline oxygen flux being unable to compensate for the oxygen utilization. At least 50 % of the cross-pycnocline salt fluxes in the shallow reaches of the open estuary are suggested to be driven by Holmboe instabilities.
Responsible Editor: Hans Burchard 相似文献
2.
Variability in water-exchange time between Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean during winter is investigated based on the results of intensive field observation from November 2000 to March 2001. Water-exchange time between Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean during winter mainly depends on the strength of northerly monsoon, being about 16 days under the weak monsoon and about 12 days under the strong monsoon. Moreover, it becomes longer by about 1 day in spring tide and shorter in neap tide due to the coupling effect of estuarine circulation and vertical mixing. Water-exchange time also varies depending on the open-ocean condition. When the warm water mass approaches from the Pacific Ocean to the mouth of Tokyo Bay through the eastern channel of Sagami Bay, which connects Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, water-exchange time becomes longer by about 2 days because the warm water mass is blocked in the surface layer at the bay mouth. On the other hand, when the warm water mass approaches to the mouth of Tokyo Bay through the western channel of Sagami Bay, water-exchange time becomes shorter by about 1 day because the warm water mass intrudes into the middle or lower layers of Tokyo Bay. Such different behavior of warm water mass at the mouth of Tokyo Bay is due to the difference in density of approaching warm water masses, that is, the density of the warm water mass through the eastern channel is smaller than that of the warm water mass through the western channel of Sagami Bay.Responsible Editors: Yens Kappenberg 相似文献
3.
Preliminary observations of oxygen and carbon dioxide of the wintertime Bering Sea marginal ice zone
Chen-Tung A. Chen 《Continental Shelf Research》1985,4(4):465-483
Wintertime oxygen and pH profiles across the marginal ice zone of the central and southeastern Bering Sea shelf are analyzed and compared with summer data. During the winter, at water depths shallower than 75 m, the water column is homogeneous and near freezing. Between the 75- and 200-m isobaths the structure is essentially two-layered, a cool and fresh upper layer overlying a warmer, more saline bottom layer. The oxygen concentration in the surface mixed layer is higher than the summer values, but the degree of saturation is lower because of the lower temperature in winter. The oxygen degree of saturation in the bottom mixed layer on the shelf in winter are higher than in the surface water in winter and the bottom water in summer.In summer the oxygen and carbon dioxide data show extreme variability governed primarily by biological processes. Winter oxygen and pH data, however, do not scatter as much as the summer data and indicate conservative mixing of several sub-surface water masses. The surface water is undersaturated in both oxygen and carbon dioxide and seems to absorb oxygen, but little carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere.Two stations were occupied in the Aleutian Basin. The homogeneous surface layer has the same oxygen and pH values as in the minimum temperature layer observed in the summer by other investigators at the same location. The result substantiates the hypothesis of early investigators that the summer minimum temperature layer is the remnant local winter water. All winter surface waters sampled are undersaturated with respect to oxygen, suggesting that the input of oxygen through the air-sea exchange does not keep up with the rate of upwelling and cooling, which reduces the degree of oxygen saturation. Surface carbon dioxide is also undersaturated because of cooling. The maximum temperature layer at these two Aleutian Basin stations is warmer, fresher, and contains more oxygen, but less carbon dioxide, than in the summer, suggesting advective input of some nonlocal seawater. 相似文献
4.
Daisuke Takahashi Kazuo Kido Yoshinori Nishida Naoto Kobayashi Naoyuki Higaki Hideo Miyake 《Continental Shelf Research》2007
We conducted hydrographic observations in 2002 to investigate the anticyclonic eddy that emerges every summer in Funka Bay, Hokkaido, Japan, and elucidate dynamical structure and wind-driven upwelling within the eddy. The anticyclonic eddy has a vertical scale of 32 m and is characterized by a strong baroclinic flow and a sharp pycnocline with a concave isopycnal structure. The sharp pycnocline occurs below a warm and relatively low-salinity water termed summer Funka Bay water (FS), which is formed by heating from solar radiation and dilution from river discharge in summertime Funka Bay. Flow of the anticyclonic eddy rotates as a rigid body at each layer, and the horizontal scale and rotation period of the eddy in the surface layer are about 15 km and 2.2 days, respectively. The dynamical balance of the anticyclonic eddy is well explained by the gradient flow balance. The contribution of centrifugal force to the gradient flow balance is about 27%. Therefore, the effect of the nonlinear term associated with centrifugal force cannot be neglected in considering the dynamics of the anticyclonic eddy in summertime Funka Bay. In addition, upwelling of subsurface water was observed in the surface layer of the central part of the eddy. The formation mechanism of this upwelling is consistent with interaction between horizontal uniform wind and the eddy. This upwelling is driven by upward Ekman pumping velocity related to the horizontal divergence of Ekman transport. In summertime Funka Bay, there are two wind effects that affect the anticyclonic eddy: a decay effect of the upwelling of subsurface water resulting from horizontal uniform wind (mainly northwesterly wind), and a maintenance or spin-up effect of horizontal non-uniform wind (mainly southerly–southeasterly seasonal wind) with negative wind stress curl. 相似文献
5.
新安江水库(千岛湖)热力学状况及热力分层研究 总被引:3,自引:3,他引:3
利用2012年1-12月在新安江水库(千岛湖)6个点位的每月一次的水温及其他环境因子的周年观测资料,分析了水库水温逐月变化、季节变化、垂直分布及温跃层的形成与变化,探讨了温跃层特征量(温跃层深度、厚度、强度)与表层水温、水体透明度的关系.新安江水库表层和中层水温与气温存在显著的线性相关,又以表层水温线性关系最好,而下层水温与气温没有显著相关性,说明下层水温受气温的影响很小,全年处于相对恒温状态.水库表层和中层水温逐月变化明显,呈现夏季最高、春秋季次之、冬季最低的变化趋势,其中中层水温最高值出现的季节较表层水温明显后延,下层水温没有明显的逐月变化和季节变化.水温垂直分布显示,4个季节均存在不同程度的温跃层和温度分层现象,其中水深最深的大坝前水温分层最明显.小金山、三潭岛和大坝前3个典型点位从春季的4月份到冬季的2月份温跃层深度由1.61±0.47 m逐渐增加至39.37±5.35 m,而温跃层厚度和强度则在夏季最高、冬季最低,温跃层随着季节的变化呈现增强稳定减弱消失的周期变化.温跃层深度与水体透明度存在显著正相关,与表层水温存在显著负相关,并基于透明度和表层水温建立温跃层深度的多元线性回归模型. 相似文献
6.
A study designed to evaluate ground water quality changes resulting from spreading oil-field brine on roads for ice and dust control was conducted using a gravel roadbed that received weekly applications of brine eight times during the winter phase and 11 times during the summer phase of the study. A network of 11 monitoring wells and five pressure-vacuum lysimeters was installed to obtain ground water and soil water samples. Thirteen sets of water- quality samples were collected and analyzed for major ions, trace metals, and volatile organic compounds. Two sets of samples were taken prior to brine spreading, four sets during winter-phase spreading, five sets during summer- phase spreading, and two sets during the interim between the winter and summer phases. A brine plume delineated by elevated specific-conductance values and elevated chloride concentrations developed downgradient of the roadbed during both the winter and summer phases. The brine plume caused chloride concentrations in ground water samples to exceed U.S. EPA public drinking-water standards by two-fold during the winter phase and five-fold during the summer phase. No other major ions, trace metals, or volatile organic compounds exceeded the standards during the winter or summer phases. More than 99 percent dilution of the solutes in the brine occurred between the roadbed surface and the local ground water flow system. Further attenuation of calcium, sodium, potassium, and strontium resulted from adsorption, whereas further attenuation of benzene resulted from volatilization and adsorption. 相似文献
7.
Acoustic Doppler current profiles and current meter data are combined with wind observations to describe the transport of water leaving Florida Bay and moving onto the inner shelf on the Atlantic side of the Florida Keys. A 275-day study in the Long Key Channel reveals strong tidal exchanges, but the average ebb tide volume leaving Florida Bay is 19% greater than the average flood tide volume entering the bay. The long-term net outflow averages 472 m3 s−1. Two studies in shelf waters describe the response to wind forcing during spring and summer months in 2004 and during fall and winter months in 2004–2005. During the spring–summer study, southeasterly winds have a distinct shoreward component, and a two-layer pattern appears. Surface layers move shoreward while near-bottom layers move seaward. During the winter study, the resultant wind direction is parallel to the Keys and to the local isobaths. The entire water column moves in a nearly downwind direction, and across-shelf transport is relatively small. During the summer wet season, Florida Bay water should be warmer, fresher, and thus less dense than Atlantic shelf waters. Ebbing bay water should move onto the shelf as a buoyant plume and be held close to the Keys by southeasterly winds. During the winter dry season, colder and saltier Florida Bay water should leave the tidal channels with relatively high density and be concentrated in the near-bottom layers. But little across-shelf flow occurs with northeasterly winds. The study suggests that seasonally changing wind forcing and hydrographic conditions serve to insulate the reef tract from the impact of low-quality bay water. 相似文献
8.
Scales and structure of frontal adjustment and freshwater export in a region of freshwater influence
Sea surface temperature satellite imagery and a regional hydrodynamic model are used to investigate the variability and structure
of the Liverpool Bay thermohaline front. A statistically based water mass classification technique is used to locate the front
in both data sets. The front moves between 5 and 35 km in response to spring–neap changes in tidal mixing, an adjustment that
is much greater than at other shelf-sea fronts. Superimposed on top of this fortnightly cycle are semi-diurnal movements of
5–10 km driven by flood and ebb tidal currents. Seasonal variability in the freshwater discharge and the density difference
between buoyant inflow and more saline Irish Sea water give rise to two different dynamical regimes. During winter, when cold
inflow reduces the buoyancy of the plume, a bottom-advected front develops. Over the summer, when warm river water provides
additional buoyancy, a surface-advected plume detaches from the bottom and propagates much larger distances across the bay.
Decoupled from near-bed processes, the position of the surface front is more variable. Fortnightly stratification and re-mixing
over large areas of Liverpool Bay is a potentially important mechanism by which freshwater, and its nutrient and pollutant
loads, are exported from the coastal plume system. Based on length scales estimated from model and satellite data, the erosion
of post-neap stratification is estimated to be responsible for exporting approximately 19% of the fresh estuarine discharge
annually entering the system. Although the baroclinic residual circulation makes a more significant contribution to freshwater
fluxes, the episodic nature of the spring–neap cycle may have important implications for biogeochemical cycles within the
bay. 相似文献
9.
Coastal embayments located downwind of large rivers under an upwelling-favorable wind are prone to develop low-oxygen or hypoxic conditions in their bottom water. One such embayment is Mirs Bay, off the Guangdong coast, which is affected by upwelling and the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) plume during summer. The relative importance of physical and biochemical processes on the interannual variability of hypoxia in Mirs Bay and its adjacent waters was investigated using statistical analyses of monthly hydrographic and water quality monitoring data from 2001 to 2015. The results reveal that the southwesterly wind duration and the PRE river discharge together explain 49% of the interannual variability in the size of the hypoxic area, whereas inclusion of the nutrient concentrations inside Mirs Bay and phytoplankton on the shelf explains 75% of the interannual variability in the size of the hypoxic area. This finding suggests that the interannual variability of hypoxia in Mirs Bay is regulated by coupled physical and biochemical processes. Increase of the hypoxic area under a longer-lasting southwesterly wind is caused by increased stratification, extended bottom water residence time, and onshore transport of a low-oxygen water mass induced by stable upwelling. In contrast, a reduction in the size of the hypoxic area may be attributed to a decrease in the surface water residence time of the particulate organic matter outside Mirs Bay due to increased discharge from the PRE. The results also show that the effects of allochthonous particulate organic matter outside Mirs Bay on bottom hypoxia cannot be neglected. 相似文献
10.
《水文科学杂志》2013,58(6)
Abstract In water reservoirs (lakes) in the summer period, three layers can be observed: the epilimnion, metalimnion and hypolimnion. In summer an increase in the thickness of the epilimnion layer is observed together with a movement of the metalimnion towards the bottom and a significant increase in the temperature of the two layers. An increase in hypolimnion temperature is observed in autumn during the cooling of the surface layers of the water. The increase in temperature of the epilimnion and metalimnion in summer and the downward movement of the metalimnion has not been clearly explained. The movement of the metalimnion is connected with thermal energy transfer, but previous theories do not take into account the phenomenon observed. In this paper, a new theory of thermal energy transfer in water reservoirs is elaborated and subsequently checked by laboratory experiments. A physical model of the water reservoir was designed and constructed. During the investigations it was noted that thermal energy can be transferred towards the bottom of the reservoir due to the existence of anti-convectional currents, which appear with the water temperature inversion in the upper part of the water column. The results obtained in the laboratory were confirmed by measurements in the Solina Reservoir in Poland. 相似文献
11.
Seasonal variation of water column structure and sediment transport in a mud depo-center off the Zhejiang-Fujian coast in China 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Two surveys were conducted in December, 2008, and August, 2009, in the mud depo-center off the Zhejiang-Fujian coast (MDZFC) in the inner shelf of East China Sea to depict the seasonal variation of the water column structure and analyze the factors responsible for the variation. The results were also used to discuss the sediment transport process and formation mechanism of the MDZFC. The water column structures varied significantly between the two surveys, with respect to the temperature, salinity, and turbidity. The summer water body, with relatively high temperatures and salinities, was evidently stratified with respect to the temperature, whereas the salinity remained constant throughout the water column. The stratification restricts sediment resuspension and transport. From the north to the south, the temperature in the middle-bottom water layer slightly increased, whereas the salinity remained mostly constant. In winter, the water body, with relatively low temperatures and salinities, was well mixed vertically. The temperature and salinity both increased from the surface to the bottom toward the east (deep water) and the south. A wedge-shaped water mass, which appears as a coastal upwelling, with relatively low temperature and high salinity in summer and relatively high temperature and high salinity in winter, spread landward along the sea floor, from the sea deeper than 50 m, whereas the extension was relatively stronger in winter. The water turbidity in winter was clearly higher than in summer. In the surface layer, the turbidity was generally greater than 5 FTU in winter and less than 1 FTU in summer. In the bottom layer, the turbidity was much greater than 200 FTU in winter and slightly greater than 50 FTU in summer. Moreover, the turbid water layer close to the sea floor in winter can reach into an area deeper than 50 m with a thickness of over 10 m; however, it was only limited to only 30-m-deep water with a thickness of 5 m in summer. The differences of marine sedimentary environment in the MDZFC were attributed to the seasonal variations of hydrodynamics environment, weather conditions, sediment supplies, and seasonal circulations. The results suggest that winter is the key season for particle transportation and deposition. The bottom turbid layer is the primarily channel of sediment transport, and the upwelling currents and the oceanic front systems play an important role in the sediment deposit processes and the formation of the MDZFC. 相似文献
12.
N. I. Grigoryeva 《Water Resources》2018,45(1):98-103
Observations of 2006–2013 were used to characterize water in the Eastern Bosporus Strait (Peter the Great Gulf, the Sea of Japan) by dissolved oxygen concentration and its biochemical demand. The mean monthly concentrations of oxygen in bottom water layer were found to have decreased considerably compared with the mean values in 1981–1985, and its minimal values were observed within four months—from July to October. The low oxygen concentrations in summer were found to be due mostly to oxygen-deficient water from Amursky Bay. 相似文献
13.
The temporal and spatial distribution of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the seawater of Tianjin Bohai Bay during 1996-2005 was investigated for the first time. TPH concentrations in 480 seawater samples collected from 16 stations during a 10-year span were quantified by ultra-violet fluorescence spectroscopy. Petroleum hydrocarbons were ubiquitous in the seawater, and their concentrations were highly variable, ranging from 23.7 to 508 μg L−1. TPH concentrations in the seawater varied with seasons, showing a decreasing order of winter > spring > summer. Over the 10-year period, TPH at all stations steadily decreased. The highest values obtained were at stations near the port areas and Dagu outfall where shipping activities and land-based waste water discharges were the major sources of pollution. Our results provided the background information on the extent of TPH contamination in the seawater and highlighted the need to further control TPH pollution in Tianjin Bohai Bay. 相似文献
14.
前期风场控制的太湖北部湖湾水动力及对蓝藻水华影响 总被引:7,自引:6,他引:1
为明确前期风场对太湖北部湖湾水动力及蓝藻水华分布的影响,对2008年9月梅梁湾及贡湖湾水文、水质及气象开展了同步观测,结果表明:受前期东北风影响,梅梁湾及贡湖湾表层、中层及底层湖流流向均顺风向自湾内流向湾外,两个湖湾均不存在补偿流.表层湖流对风场变化响应敏感,而中场及底层流场对风场变化响应存在显著滞时.在偏南风作用下,梅梁湾表层湖流能快速形成顺时针环流.在偏西风作用下,贡湖湾表层湖流流向虽未发生偏转,但是湖流流速显著减小并导致流速沿水体垂向呈递增分布.观测期间水动力强度对太湖北部湖区叶绿素a浓度垂向分层及蓝藻水华水平漂移均具有重要影响.在水动力滞缓水域,蓝藻水华易在水表发生漂移堆积.在水动力强度较大水域,强烈的垂向混合作用能使蓝藻沿水深方向混合均匀,降低水华暴发风险.相对于水动力条件,营养盐对叶绿素a浓度空间分布的影响较弱. 相似文献
15.
太湖草/藻型湖区沉积物-水界面环境特征差异 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
在太湖草、藻型湖区进行冬、夏两季多点采样,分别对采样点的水环境特征、泥面以上5 cm上覆水中营养盐以及沉积物的含水量、中值粒径、有机碳、氮、磷、金属元素和溶解氧进行测定.结果表明:夏季藻型湖区表层水体pH高于中、底层,冬季草型湖区各层水体pH高于藻型;草型湖区水体浊度夏季低于藻型,冬季反之;藻型湖区上覆水中的硝态氮和磷酸根浓度显著高于草型;草型湖区沉积物中含水量冬季显著高于夏季;草型湖区沉积物中总有机碳显著高于藻型;Fe、Zn、Ca、Pb、Na和K等元素在草、藻型湖区间差异显著;沉积物中溶解氧表现为冬季深于夏季,藻型深于草型的规律. 相似文献
16.
Li D Dong M Shim WJ Hong SH Oh JR Yim UH Jeung JH Kanan N Kim ES Cho SR 《Marine pollution bulletin》2005,51(8-12):966-974
In order to investigate spatial and temporal distribution of organic pollutants in the Saemangeum Bay, organophosphorus pesticides (10), alkylphenols (8), chlorophenols (2), bisphenol A were analyzed from the surface seawater taken in 2002–2003. Most of the analytes were not detected in all stations except nonylphenol and S-benzyl-O,O-di-isopropyl phosphorothioate (IBP). Concentrations of nonylphenol and IBP ranged from ND to 298 ng/l and from ND to 1840 ng/l, respectively. The high levels of nonylphenol and IBP were found in the estuary areas of Mangyeong and Dongjin River. The levels of nonylphenol and IBP in surface seawater varied through seasons and the high levels of nonylphenol and IBP were in summer season (August). Based on real time monitoring of IBP and on correlation between concentrations of target compounds and contents of salinity in seawater, physical mixing and diffusion of seawater were found to be the major factors that affect the spatial distribution of IBP and nonylphenol in the Saemangeum Bay environment. 相似文献
17.
Naomi Greenwood David J. Hydes Claire Mahaffey Andrew Wither Jon Barry David B. Sivyer David J. Pearce Susan E. Hartman Olga Andres Helen E. Lees 《Ocean Dynamics》2011,61(12):2181-2199
This paper presents data for the temporal and spatial distribution of nutrients in Liverpool Bay between 2003 and 2009 and
an analysis of inputs of nutrients from the major rivers. The spatial distribution of winter nutrient concentrations are controlled
by the region of freshwater influence (ROFI) in Liverpool Bay through the mixing of riverine freshwater and Irish Sea water,
with strong linear relationships between nutrient concentration and salinity between December and February. The location of
highest spring and summer phytoplankton biomass reflects the nutrient distributions as controlled by the ROFI. Analysis of
7 years of data showed that the seasonal cycle of winter maximum nutrient concentrations in February and drawdown in April/May
is a recurrent feature of this location, with the timing of the drawdown varying by several weeks between years. A comparison
of observed nutrient concentrations in Liverpool Bay with those predicted from inputs from rivers has been presented. Nutrient
concentrations in the rivers flowing into Liverpool Bay were highly variable and there was reasonable agreement between predicted
freshwater nutrient concentrations using data from this study and riverine nutrient concentrations weighted on the basis of
river flow, although the exact nature of mixing between the rivers could not be determined. Predicted Irish Sea nutrient concentrations
in the winter were lower than those reported for the input waters of the North Atlantic, supporting findings from previous
work that nitrogen is lost through denitrification in the Irish Sea. 相似文献
18.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and sediment of the Baltic Sea 总被引:10,自引:0,他引:10
G. Witt 《Marine pollution bulletin》1995,31(4-12)
Between 1992 and 1994, the distribution of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in seawater and surface sediments of the Baltic Sea. The analysis of PAHs in seawater is very difficult due to the low concentration. High separation capability is required. A method for analysing very low concentrations of PAHs is presented. The method is based on the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The concentrations of PAHs in seawater are discussed in relation to water depth. A seasonal variation of PAHs in seawater was observed, with lowest concentrations occurring in summer and generally higher concentrations occurring in November. According to the regional distribution, elevated concentrations of PAHs were found in coastal regions of the Baltic Sea. The regional distribution of PAHs in surface sediments of the Belt Sea and the Arkona Basin were also investigated. The relationship between the content of PAHs and the percentage of total organic carbon in sediments is discussed. 相似文献
19.
A numerical model (MARS-2D) was developed, with the aim of describing the hydrodynamics that prevail in Arcachon Bay. Direct model results as well as derived mixing and transport time-scales (tidal prism, local and integrated flushing times, age of water masses), were used to understand the behaviour of water masses and exchanges between the Bay and its frontiers. Particular attention was paid to the processes that drive the hydrodynamics (tides, wind and rivers), in order to understand their respective influence.The Arcachon Bay hydrodynamic system appears primarily to be highly influenced by tides; secondarily, by winds. About two third of the lagoon total volume is flushed in and out at each tidal cycle, which represent a mean tidal prism of 384 millions of cubic meters. The percentage of seawater flushed out during the ebb, that returns into the lagoon during the following flood flow is very high (return flow factor=0.95). This pattern leads to calculated integrated flushing times (IFT) ranging from 12.8 to 15.9 days, respectively, for the winter 2001 and summer 2005 simulations (two contrasting climatological situations: in summer, light northwesterly winds and low discharges in the rivers and, in winter, stronger southwesterly winds and higher river flows). Moreover, it has been found that northerly and westerly winds tend to reduce the flushing time, whilst southerly and easterly winds tend to hinder the renewal of the water in the Bay. The behaviour of the waters originating from the two main rivers of the lagoon, was studied also by means of the mean age assessment, under varying conditions of river flow and wind regime. 相似文献
20.
Brian DzwonkowskiKyeong Park Ho Kyung Ha William M. Graham Frank J. HernandezSean P. Powers 《Continental Shelf Research》2011,31(9):939-950
Hydrographic variability on the Alabama shelf just outside of Mobile Bay, a major source of river discharge into the Gulf of Mexico, is examined using time series of water column temperature and surface and bottom salinity from a mooring site with a depth of 20 m in conjunction with a series of across-shelf CTD surveys. The time series data show variability in a range of time scales. The density variation is affected by both salinity and temperature, with its relatively strong annual signal mostly determined by temperature and its year to year variability mostly determined by salinity. Seasonal mean structures of temperature, salinity, and density show a transition from estuarine to shelf conditions in which three regions with distinct seasonal characteristics in their horizontal and vertical gradient structures are identified. Correlation analysis with the available forcing functions demonstrates the influence of Mobile Bay on the variability at the mooring site. At low frequencies, river discharge from Mobile Bay has a varying influence on salinity, which is absent during the periods with unusually low discharge. At shorter synoptic time scales, both the estuarine response to the across-shelf wind stress and the shelf response to the along-shelf wind stress are significantly correlated with temperature/salinity variability: the former becoming important for the surface layer during winter whereas the latter for the bottom layer during both winter and summer. These forcing functions are important players in determining the estuarine-shelf exchange, which in turn is found to contribute to the shelf hydrographic structure. 相似文献