Currents along the Tsitsikamma coast,South Africa,and potential transport of squid paralarvae and ichthyoplankton

In July 1998, a bottom-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler was deployed at 36m depth in the centre of the Tsitsikamma National Park on the eastern Agulhas Bank, South Africa. The purpose was to investigate transport of chokka squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii paralarvae hatched on the inshore spawning grounds (<60m) and ichthyoplankton spawned within the park. Analysis of the first 12 months of data (July 1998–June 1999) shows that surface flow was mainly eastward (alongshore), with a maximum velocity (u-component) of +115cm s^?1 and an average of +24cm s^?1. Generally, velocity decreased with depth, with a maximum bottom velocity (u-component) of +65cm s^?1 and an average of +10cm s^?1. Data from a nearby thermistor array show that the water column was usually isothermal during winter (July–September), with bottom flow in the same direction as the surface layer. In summer (December–March), vertical stratification was most intense, and surface and bottom flows differed in velocity and direction. Potential net monthly displacements calculated for three depths (5m, 23m and 31m) indicate that passive, neutrally buoyant biological material (e.g. squid paralarvae, fish eggs and larvae) would likely be transported eastwards in the surface layer for eight of the 12 months, and would generally exceed distances of 220km month–1. Displacement in the bottom layer was more evenly distributed between east and west, with net monthly (potential) transport typically 70–100km, but reaching a maximum of 200km. Wind-driven coastal upwelling, prevalent during the summer, causes the surface layer of the coastal counter-current to flow offshore for several days, resulting in potential displacement distances of 40km from the coast. These results suggest that squid paralarvae hatched on the inshore spawning grounds are not generally transported towards the 'cold ridge', a prominent semi-permanent oceanographic feature of cold, nutrient-rich upwelled water, where food is abundant, and that fish larvae, whether from the surface or bottom layer, are exported beyond the boundaries of the Tsitsikamma National Park.     

Large ageostrophic currents in the abyssal layer southeast of Kyushu, Japan, by direct measurement of LADCP

With full-depth LADCP velocity data collected in a wide area southeast of Kyushu, Japan, large velocity currents, occasionally exceeding 15 cm s^?1, were observed in a thick, 500–1,500 m, near-homogeneous density layer below approximately 3,000 m depth around the steep topographies. The currents were found not to flow along the topographic contours, and to be strongly ageostrophic. The directions of the bottom-layer currents are rather related with phase of the semi-diurnal tides, suggesting deeply intruded internal tides generated at the steep topographies.     

吕宋海峡纬向海流及质量输送

分析和计算了吕宋海峡PR21断面最近海洋调查的部分CTD资料和ADCP资料,再一次证明吕宋海峡常年存在纬向流。但对于天气尺度而言,该流型是多变的。根据高分辨率的海洋环流数值模式4a(1992～1996年)海平面高度(SSH)的输出值,运用地转关系估计了吕宋海峡纬向流的月平均值。研究表明;通过海峡流入、流出南海纬向流的深度一般达到500m左右,200m以上流速较大,平均流速为50cm/s,最大时达80cm/s以上。500m以下的纬向地转流流速较小,通常小于10cm/s.由大洋进入海峡的入流位置位于海峡的中部和南部,月平均入流最大值出现在11月,为50cm/s.位于海峡的北部和南部上层海洋的月平均出流,最大流速亦出现在11月,也为50cm/s,这与秋季北赤道流分叉位置最北(15°N),春季分叉位置最南(14°N)有关。上层流入、流出海峡的流量的月平均值分别约为10×106m3/s和5×106m3/s.当东北季风盛行时(从10月到翌年2月),流入海峡的流量远大于流出海峡的流量,两者的差可达8×106m3/s,而在其他季节两者的差仅为3×106m3/s.这说明东北季风盛行时,会有较多的水从南海南？     

Response of water column to strong wind forcing,southern Brazilian inner shelf: Implications for sand ridge formation

The result of two sequential oceanographic stations of 36 hours each in the area of sand ridges are presented. One station was located in the trough between two sand ridges and the other was at the crest of a sand ridge. At these stations salinity and temperature of the sea water, currents, winds, waves, and barometric pressure were measured each hour.During the observations, a cold front passed; this generated westerly winds that grew in speed from 24 to 52 km h^?1. The average height of the wind generated waves grew from 1.0 to 1.5 m and their periods increased from 7 to 10 s, and the speed of the northeast directed surface current increased from 40 to 82 cm s^?1. A bottom current (also directed northeast) increased from 26 to 34 cm s^?1.After the cold front had passed, the wind backed to the southeast and decreased in speed from 26 to zero km h^?1. The surface current in a northwest direction decreased from 29 to 8 cm s^?1. A bottom current (also directed northwest) decreased from 22 to 3 cm s^?1. Later, swells from the southeast appeared and their periods increased from 5 to 9 s and their heights grew from 1.0 to 1.5 m. After 3 hours, the speeds of the surface and bottom currents increased from 8 to 72 cm s^?1 and 3 to 62 cm s^?1 respectively.This cold front induced strong winds and storm-wave currents able to erode sediments (assuming a threshold velocity of 20 cm s^?1) and transport them in a north-northeast direction.The origin and the maintenance of these sand ridges is thought to be a function of sediments eroded from troughs and piled up at ridge crests during a storm condition. Some eroded sediments are transported north of Verga lighthouse where they are deposited on a smooth bottom.     

Sound speed dispersion characteristics of three types of shallow sediments in the southern yellow sea

To accurately characterize sound speed dispersion of shallow sediments in the Southern Yellow Sea, three types of sediments, i.e., silt, clayey silt, and silty clay, were selected to measure the sound speeds at 25–250?kHz. Over the frequency range, the sound speeds vary approximately from 1,536 to 1,565?m?s^?1 in silt sediment, from 1,511 to 1,527?m?s^?1 in clayey silt sediment, and from 1,456 to 1,466?m?s^?1 in silty clay sediment. The sound speed exhibits a slow increase with frequency in a nearly linear gradient, but these three types of sediments have different sound speed dispersion characteristics. The silt sediment with relatively coarse grains has the most significant sound speed dispersion, while the sound speed dispersions of the two others are relatively weak. Comparison between the measured dispersions and the model predictions shows that the grain-shearing model can match the measured data at most of frequencies. Nevertheless, when the grain bulk modulus was assigned 3.2?×?10¹⁰?Pa according to relevant references, the Biot–Stoll model predictions were higher than the measured values at high frequencies; when it was assigned a relatively small value of 2.8?×?10¹⁰?Pa, the model predictions achieved optimal matching with the measured values.     

Mixing and transport near the shallow-crested Rumble III seamount and the implications for plankton distribution

Vessel-based observations of water column structure and flow near a shallow-crested seamount are used to quantify the physical disturbance induced by that seamount. The implications of this disturbance on the ‘feeding hole’ hypothesis are then examined based on data from moored thermistors and acoustic current profilers, as well as vessel-based acoustic sounding-derived biomass estimates, currents, and conductivity-temperature-depth profiles from a 55 km square grid of stations around the crest. Mean currents in the region of 0.2 m s^?1 are comparable to observations from surface drifters whereas the semidiurnal tidal flow amplitude was one third of this. Thorpe Scale-based estimates of energy dissipation rate were in the range 10^?9 to 2.10^?8 W kg^?1 and vertical diffusivities K_z were in the range 10^?4 to 10^?3 m² s^?1. Turbulence levels were higher upstream of the seamount–likely due to the influence of nearby seamounts Rumble IV and V. There was no evidence of a Taylor Cap in the Rumble III velocity field. The sounder data provide some evidence of a feeding hole and analysis based on diffusivities suggests that this might persist downstream of the seamount for as much as 7 days.     

Silicon flux and distribution of biogenic silica in deep-sea sediments in the western North Pacific Ocean

We investigated biogenic silica, several biological components, and silicate in pore-water in the abyssal sediment to determine silicon flux of western North Pacific during several cruises. The surficial sediment biogenic silica content was high at high latitudes with the boundary running along the Kuroshio Extension, and maximum values (exceeding 20%) were found in the Oyashio region. In the subtropical region to the south, most stations showed less than 5% biogenic silica content. This distribution pattern reflected primary production and ocean currents in the surface layer very well. Pore-water samples were collected from 4 stations along the east coast of Japan. The highest asymptotic silicic acid concentration (670 μmol L^?1) in pore-water was observed at the junction of Kuroshio and Oyashio, followed by samples from the Oyashio region. It is at the southern station that the lowest value (450 μmol L^?1) was observed, and the primary production is low under the influence of Kuroshio there. The diffusive flux followed the same geographic trend as the asymptotic silicic acid concentrations did, ranging 77–389 mmol m^?2 yr ^?1. Multiple sampling of pore-water was conducted throughout the year at one station at high latitude. The average annual biogenic silica rain flux observed using sediment traps was 373 mmol m^?2 yr^?1; the diffusive flux and burial flux at the sediment–water interface were 305 and 9 mmol m^?2 yr^?1, respectively. We concluded that most of the settling silica particles dissolved and diffused at the sediment–water interface and approximately 3% only were preserved in this area. In addition, the obvious time lag observed between the peak rain flux and the maximum diffusive flux suggested that primary production in the surface layer has a great influence on the sedimentation environment of abyssal western North Pacific. These transitions of Si flux at the sediment–water interface were considerably greater in northwestern North Pacific than in southwestern North Pacific. In addition, a station in the Philippine Sea indicated high biogenic silica content because of Ethmodiscus ooze, which are scattered randomly on the sea floor in the subtropical region.     

Remote effects of mixed layer development on ocean acidification in the subsurface layers of the North Pacific

Using the outputs of projections under the highest emission scenario of the representative concentration pathways performed by Earth system models (ESMs), we evaluate the ocean acidification rates of subsurface layers of the western North Pacific, where the strongest sink of atmospheric CO₂ is found in the mid-latitudes. The low potential vorticity water mass called the North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water (STMW) shows large dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration increase, and is advected southwestward, so that, in the sea to the south of Japan, DIC concentration increases and ocean acidification occurs faster than in adjacent regions. In the STMW of the Izu-Ogasawara region, the ocean acidification occurs with a pH decrease of ~0.004 year^?1 , a much higher rate than the previously estimated global average (0.0023 year^?1), so that the pH decreases by 0.3–0.4 during the twenty-first century and the saturation state of calcite (Ω_Ca) decreases from ~4.8 down to ~2.4. We find that the ESMs with a deeper mixed layer in the Kuroshio Extension region show a larger increase in DIC concentration within the Izu-Ogasawara region and within the Ryukyu Islands region. Comparing model results with the mixed layer depth obtained from the Argo dataset, we estimate that DIC concentration at a depth of ~200 m increases by 1.4–1.6 μmol kg^?1 year^?1 in the Izu-Ogasawara region and by 1.1–1.4 μmol kg^?1 year^?1 in the Ryukyu Islands region toward the end of this century.     

An offshore eddy in the California current system part II: Surface manifestation

Ship and satellite observations taken over the last thirty years show that mesoscale patterns of sea surface temperature (SST) in the California Current System are consistently found throughout the year and usually occur in approximately the same geographical locations. Typically, these patterns are more pronounced in fall/winter than in spring/summer. The temporal and spatial characteristics of these persistent feature were examined with satellite infrared (IR) measurements during winter 1980–1981. In January 1981, a ship surveyed the vertical structure of several physical, chemical, and biological parameters beneath one of these SST features centered near 32°N, 124°W. The surface IR pattern had a length scale of 200 km and a time scale of about 100 days. It disintegrated following the first two storms of the winter season. Motion studies of the pattern in late October indicated an anticyclonic rotation with maximum velocities of 50 cm s^?1 at 50 km from the axis of rotation. As a unit, the pattern advected southward with an average speed of 1 cm s^?1. Thermal fronts, determined from the satellite imagery, were strongest (0.4°C km^?1) along the rim of the pattern and were advected anticyclonically with the pattern; their length scales were 20–30 km in the along-front direction and less than 10 km wide. The hydrographic data revealed a three-layer structure beneath the surface pattern; a 75 m deep surface layer, a cold-core region from 75 to 200 m depth, and a warm-core eddy extending from 250 to 1450 m. The anticyclonic motion of the surface layer was caused by a geostrophic adjustment to the surface dynamic height anomaly produced by the subsurface warm-core eddy. The IR pattern observed from space reflects the horizontal structure of the surface layer and is consistent with a theoretical model of a mean horizontal SST gradient perturbed by a subsurface density anomaly. Ship of opportunity SST observations collected by the National Marine Fisheries are shown to resolve mesoscale patterns. For December 1980, the SST pattern near 32°N, 124°W represented a 2°C warm anomaly compared with the 20-year mean monthly SST pattern.     

Estimating helicity in the atmospheric boundary layer from acoustic sounding data

Distributions of the velocity-field helicity in the atmospheric boundary layer have been obtained from acoustic sounding data. The helicity of large-scale motions (0.3–0.6 m/s²) exceeds (by an order of magnitude) its independently measured turbulent values, which are close to helicity averaged over the layer (0.02–0.12 m/s²). In the absence of strong convection, there is good correlation between helicity and wind velocity squared at upper sounding levels of 400 to 600 m.     

Characteristics of observed turbulent mixing across the Antarctic Slope Front at 140°E, East Antarctica

The strength of mixing due to turbulence in the Antarctic Slope Front (ASF) region was investigated using CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth profilers) observations and direct measurements of turbulence conducted off Adélie Land, East Antarctica along 140°E from the 12th–14th February, 2005. The strongest horizontal gradient of the ASF was located below 300 m depth near the 1000 m isobath. The turbulent measurements revealed that the energy dissipation rate frequently exceeded 10^?8 Wkg^?1 on the continental shelf and upper slope regions. Turbulent diffusivities near the shelf break were higher than 10^?3 m²s^?1. Near the ASF the average turbulent heat flux was 5.7 Wm^?2 and 1.1 Wm^?2 across the temperature minimum layer to 250 m and from 300 to 600 m, respectively. The distribution of the high dissipation rate was consistently explained by the characteristic curve of the M2 internal wave emanating from the shelf break and continental slope. The water mass observed in the ASF below 300 m in the continental slope comprised Modified Circumpolar Deep Water and low salinity Shelf Water originating from either the upper layer of the Adélie Depression or the Adélie Bank, and produced by boundary mixing near the shelf break.     

Resuspension of benthic fluff by tidal currents in deep stratified waters, northern North Sea

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration and properties (particle size and settling velocity), water column and boundary layer dynamics were measured during a 60-d period at a site in 110 m water depth in the northern North Sea. The site was in stratified waters and measurements were made during September–November as the seasonal thermocline was progressively weakening. SPM concentration was low, c. 1 mg dm⁻³ in the surface mixed layer and maximum values of 2 mg dm⁻³ in the bottom mixed layer. The bottom layer was characterised by larger mean particle size. SPM signals in the two layers were decoupled at the start of the period, when the thermocline was strong, but were increasingly coupled as the thermocline progressively weakened. A spring-neap cycle of resuspension and deposition of SPM was observed in the bottom mixed layer. Bed shear stresses were too small to entrain the bottom sediment (a fine sand) but were competent to resuspend benthic fluff: threshold bed shear stress and threshold current velocity at 10 mab were 0.02–0.03 Pa. and 0.18 m s⁻¹, respectively. Maximum SPM concentration in the bottom layer preceded peak spring tide currents by 3 d. Simulation of fluff resupension by the PROWQM model confirms that this was due to a finite supply of benthic fluff: the fluff layer was stripped from the seabed so that fluff supply was zero by the time of peak spring flow. SPM was redeposited over neap tides. Fluff resuspension must have been enhanced by intermittent inertial currents in the bottom layer but unequivocal evidence for this was not seen. There was some resuspension due to wave activity. Settling velocity spectra were unimodal or bimodal with modal values of 2×10⁻⁴–2×10⁻³ mm s⁻¹ (long-term suspension component) and 0.2–5.7 mm s⁻¹ (resuspension component). The slowest settling particles remained in suspension at peak spring tides after the fluff layer had been exhausted. There was evidence of particle disaggregation during springs and aggregation during neaps.     

Barotropic Response of the Sea of Okhotsk to Wind Forcing

We have examined wind-induced circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk using a barotropic model that contains realistic topography with a resolution of 9.25 km. The monthly wind stress field calculated from daily European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Re-Analysis data is used as the forcing, and the integration is carried out for 20 days until the circulation attains an almost steady state. In the case of November (a representative for the winter season from October to March), southward currents of velocity 0.1–0.3 m s⁻¹ occur along the bottom contours off the east of Sakhalin Island. The currents are mostly confined to the shelf (shallower than 200 m) and extend as far south as the Hokkaido coast. In the July case (a representative for the summer season from April to September), significant currents do not occur, even in the shallow shelves. The simulated southward current over the east Sakhalin shelf appears to correspond to the near-shore branch of the East Sakhalin Current (ESC), which was observed with the surface drifters. These seasonal variations simulated in our experiments are consistent with the observations of the ESC. Dynamically, the simulated ESC is interpreted as the arrested topographic wave (ATW), which is the coastally trapped flow driven by steady alongshore wind stress. The volume transport of the simulated ESC over the shelf reaches about 1.0 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹) in the winter season, which is determined by the integrated onshore Ekman transport in the direction from which shelf waves propagate. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Seasonal and Interannual Variability in the Distribution of Surface Nutrients and Dissolved Inorganic Carbon in the Northern North Pacific: Influence of El Niño

The seasonal and interannual changes in surface nutrients, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) were recorded in the North Pacific (30–54°N) from 1995 to 2001. This study focuses on the region north of the subarctic boundary (∼40°N) where there was extensive monthly coverage of surface properties. The nutrient cycles showed large interannual variations in the eastern and western subarctic gyres. In the Alaska Gyre the seasonal depletion of nitrate (ΔNO₃) increased from 8–14 μmol kg⁻¹ in 1995–1999 to 21.5 μmol kg⁻¹ in 2000. In the western subarctic the shifts were similar in amplitude but more frequent. The large ΔNO₃ levels were associated with high silicate depletions, indicating enhanced diatom production. The seasonal DIC:NO₃ drawdown ratios were elevated in the eastern and central subarctic due to calcification. In the western subarctic and the central Bering Sea calcification was significant only during 1997 and/or 1998, two El Ni?o years. Regional C/N stoichiometric molar ratios of 5.7 to 7.0 (>40°N) were determined based on the years with negligible or no calcification. The annual new production (NP_a) based on ΔNO₃ and these C/N ratios showed large interannual variations. NP_a was usually higher in the western than in the eastern subarctic. However, values of 84 gC m⁻²yr⁻¹ were found in the Alaska Gyre in 2000 which is similar to that in the most productive provinces of the northern North Pacific. There were also large increases in NP_a around the Alaska Peninsula in 1997 and 1998. Finally, the net removal of carbon by the biological pump was estimated as 0.72 Gt C yr⁻¹ in the North Pacific (>30°N). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Direct velocity measurements of deep circulation southwest of the Shatsky Rise in the western North Pacific

Direct velocity measurements undertaken using a nine-system mooring array (M1–M9) from 2004 to 2005 and two additional moorings (M7p and M8p) from 2003 to 2004 reveal the spatial and temporal properties of the deep-circulation currents southwest of the Shatsky Rise in the western North Pacific. The western branch of the deep-circulation current flowing northwestward (270–10° T) is detected almost exclusively at M2 (26°15′N), northeast of the Ogasawara Plateau. It has a width less than the 190 km distance between M1 (25°42′N) and M3 (26°48′N). The mean current speed near the bottom at M2 is 3.6±1.3 cm s^?1. The eastern branch of the deep-circulation current is located at the southwestern slope of the Shatsky Rise, flowing northwestward mainly at M8 (30°48′N) on the lower part of the slope of the Shatsky Rise with a mean near-bottom speed of 5.3±1.4 cm s^?1. The eastern branch often expands to M7 (30°19′N) at the foot of the rise with a mean near-bottom speed of 2.8±0.7 cm s^?1 and to M9 (31°13′N) on the middle of the slope of the rise with a speed of 2.5±0.7 cm s^?1 (nearly 4000 m depth); it infrequently expands furthermore to M6 (29°33′N). The width of the eastern branch is 201±70 km on average, exceeding that of the western branch. Temporal variations of the volume transports of the western and eastern branches consist of dominant variations with periods of 3 months and 1 month, varying between almost zero and significant amount; the 3-month-period variations are significantly coherent to each other with a phase lag of about 1 month for the western branch. The almost zero volume transport occurs at intervals of 2–4 months. In the eastern branch, volume transport increases with not only cross-sectional average current velocity but also current width. Because the current meters were too widely spaced to enable accurate estimates of volume transport, mean volume transport is overestimated by a factor of nearly two, yielding values of 4.1±1.2 and 9.8±1.8 Sv (1 Sv=10⁶ m³ s^?1) for the western and eastern branches, respectively. In addition, a northwestward current near the bottom at M4 (27°55′N) shows a marked variation in speed between 0 and 20 cm s^?1 with a period of 45 days. This current may be part of a clockwise eddy around a seamount located immediately east of M4.     

Determination of volatile fatty acid turnover rates in organic-rich marine sediments

Volatile fatty acid (VFA) apparent turnover rates in organic-rich marine sediments were determined by measuring whole sediment VFA concentration and the corresponding first-order reaction rate constants. In order to measure VFA concentrations, bulk wet sediment samples were basified, freeze-dried, extracted with methanol, derivatized to form methyl esters of the VFAs, and analyzed by packed-column gas chromatography using hexanoic acid as an internal standard. The detection limits for acetate, propionate, iso-butyrate and butyrate were 1.0, 0.4, 0.2 and 0.2 μmol l^?1_s, respectively, for 600 ml samples. Rate constants for acetate and propionate were determined by anaerobically incubating samples at in-situ temperatures with tracer levels of ¹⁴C-labelled VFAs. Metabolized label was recovered as CO₂, CH₄, cellular material, water-soluble material, and VFA (ether-soluble) fractions. Apparent turnover rates measured during summer and winter in anoxic Cape Lookout Bight, North Carolina (U.S.A.) sediments were in the range of 19–330 μmol l^?1_s h^?1 for acetate and 0.7–7.0 μmol l^?1_s h^?1 for propionate.     

Some oceanographic observations in the New Zealand fjords

Four New Zealand fjords were surveyed in March and April 1980. In Milford Sound, unusually low dissolved oxygen levels in Stirling Basin suggests that intermittent stagnation events occur, while in Deep Water Basin the bottom water was virtually anoxic. Near the entrance to Milford Sound aperiodic currents up to 38 cm s^?1 were recorded. In Isthmus Sound and Long Sound, in Preservation Inlet, contrasting circulation and mixing regimes were found and tidal currents up to 60 cm s^?1 over the entrance sill to Long Sound are important for deep water renewal.     

Inertial currents in the northern North sea

Current profiles were measured in the northern North Sea during the autumnal breakdown of stratification (September and October) in 1998. The site was in 110 m of water and the depth-averaged M₂ tidal current amplitudes were about 0.15 m s⁻¹. The surface and bed mixed layers were initially well separated. The measurements were made principally with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) which gave good coverage of the majority of the water column.During a two-month period several episodes of inertial currents were observed, exhibiting a range of responses some of which corresponded very closely to that predicted by theory. The structure of the inertial currents was primarily first mode baroclinic, with no inertial energy in the depth-averaged current. This implies that the currents in the lower layer are strongly linked to those in the surface layer and also that dissipation could be generated by bed friction, but the nature of the link is unclear. The level of least motion coincided with the thermocline. Since the currents in the upper and lower layers are 180° out of phase, large shears can occur across the thermocline; occasionally the bulk Richardson number determined with a four-metre vertical resolution was less than one.Turbulence measurements suggest that when large inertial current shears are present across the thermocline, which exceed the buoyancy frequencies, then mixing within and across the thermocline is significant. Future experiments should concentrate on enhanced dissipation measurements around the thermocline and higher spatial resolution time series measurements of current and density.     

Rates of coastal erosion and accretion in New Zealand

Abstract

Rates of coastal erosion and accretion for New Zealand are calculated for the period since early European colonisation. Methods used for calculating rates from cadastral plans, vertical aerial photographs and field measurements are described, evaluated, and illustrated with examples. The most natural reference line for measurements of shoreline changes and for defining the seaward boundary of land is the seaward limit of land vegetation. Measurements made from air photographs and plans at scales larger than 1:4000 have errors less than ± 1 m. As scales become small, errors increase proportionately. Along depositional shorelines, erosion and accretion generally occur at 0.5–4.0 m.y^?1. Maximum erosion and accretion rates are 25.4 m.y^?1 at North Kaipara Head and 68.9 m.y^?1 at Farewell Spit respectively. Cliff recession generally occurs at 0.25 ‐ 1.0 m.y^?1 with maximum rates of 2.25 m.y^?1 for mudstone cliffs at Cape Tumagain and 3.46 m.y^?1 for conglomerate cliffs at Ngapotiki.     

Spatial distribution of turbulent diapycnal mixing along the Mindanao current inferred from rapid-sampling Argo floats

The Mindanao Current (MC) bridges the North Pacific low-latitude western boundary current system region and the Indonesian Seas by supplying the North Pacific waters to the Indonesian Throughflow. Although the previous study speculated that the diapycnal mixing along the MC might be strong on the basis of the water mass analysis of the gridded climatologic dataset, the real spatial distribution of diapycnal mixing along the MC has remained to be clarified. We tackle this question here by applying a finescale parameterization to temperature and salinity profiles obtained using two rapid-sampling profiling Argo floats that drifted along the MC. The western boundary (WB) region close to the Mindanao Islands and the Sangihe Strait are the two mixing hotspots along the MC, with energy dissipation rate ε and diapycnal diffusivity K_ρ enhanced up to?~?10^–6 W kg^?1 and?~?10^–3 m² s^?1, respectively. Except for the above two mixing hotspots, the turbulent mixing along the MC is mostly weak, with ε and K_ρ to be 10^–11–10^–9 W kg^?1 and 10^–6–10^–5 m² s^?1, respectively. Strong mixing in the Sangihe Strait can be basically attributed to the existence of internal tides, whereas strong mixing in the WB region suggests the existence of internal lee waves. We also find that water mass transformation along the MC mainly occurs in the Sangihe Strait where the water masses are subjected to strong turbulent mixing during a long residence time.