Hydrologic Variability and Its Control of Phytoplankton Community Structure and Function in Two Shallow,Coastal, Lagoonal Ecosystems: The Neuse and New River Estuaries,North Carolina,USA

Hydrologic conditions, especially changes in freshwater input, play an important, and at times dominant, role in determining the structure and function of phytoplankton communities and resultant water quality of estuaries. This is particularly true for microtidal, shallow water, lagoonal estuaries, where water flushing and residence times show large variations in response to changes in freshwater inputs. In coastal North Carolina, there has been an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme climatic (hydrologic) events over the past 15 years, including eight hurricanes, six tropical storms, and several record droughts; these events are forecast to continue in the foreseeable future. Each of the past storms exhibited unique hydrologic and nutrient loading scenarios for two representative and proximate coastal plain lagoonal estuaries, the Neuse and New River estuaries. In this synthesis, we used a 13-year (1998–2011) data set from the Neuse River Estuary, and more recent 4-year (2007–2011) data set from the nearby New River Estuary to examine the effects of these hydrologic events on phytoplankton community biomass and composition. We focused on the ability of specific taxonomic groups to optimize growth under hydrologically variable conditions, including seasonal wet/dry periods, episodic storms, and droughts. Changes in phytoplankton community composition and biomass were strongly modulated by the amounts, duration, and seasonality of freshwater discharge. In both estuaries, phytoplankton total and specific taxonomic group biomass exhibited a distinctive unimodal response to varying flushing rates resulting from both event-scale (i.e., major storms, hurricanes) and more chronic seasonal changes in freshwater input. However, unlike the net negative growth seen at long flushing times for nano-/microphytoplankton, the pigments specific to picophytoplankton (zeaxanthin) still showed positive net growth due to their competitive advantage under nutrient-limited conditions. Along with considerations of seasonality (temperature regimes), these relationships can be used to predict relative changes in phytoplankton community composition in response to hydrologic events and changes therein. Freshwater inputs and droughts, while not manageable in the short term, must be incorporated in water quality management strategies for these and other estuarine and coastal ecosystems faced with increasing frequencies and intensities of tropical cyclones, flooding, and droughts.     

Multiscale Variability of Twenty-Two Coastal Phytoplankton Time Series: a Global Scale Comparison

We provide an introduction and a foreword to the Special Issue “Phytoplankton Time Series in Estuaries and Coastal Ecosystems”. This issue includes long-term investigations (10–40 years) of 22 coastal ecosystems and a comparative analysis of chlorophyll a from 84 time series. The results and conclusions provided by these studies help to illuminate the disparities and similarities in long-term phytoplankton dynamics among a wide range of coastal systems and provide insight into the major driving factors responsible for short- and long-term trends in phytoplankton communities.     

Wet early to middle Holocene conditions on the upper Coastal Plain of North Carolina, USA

A peat core from a cutoff paleochannel of Little River on the upper Coastal Plain of North Carolina provides a continuous pollen record of environmental change for the past 10,500 years and includes a sedimentary record of overbank floods. Palynological and sedimentary data indicate that the early to middle Holocene was wetter than previously suggested from lake sites in the southeastern United States. The period from 9000 to 6100 cal yr B.P. is characterized by high pollen percentages of Nyssa and Quercus, but low percentages of Pinus. Fifteen large overbank flood events are present within this period (5 floods/1000 yr). In contrast, only 6 large overbank flood events occurred since 6100 cal yr B.P. (1 flood/1000 yr). The increases in moisture and flood events probably were controlled by changes in atmospheric circulation related to shifts in the position of the Bermuda High, sea surface temperatures, and El Niño activity that together may have affected the frequency of large floods generated from tropical storms in the region.     

Multiple-method estimation of recharge rates at diverse locations in the North Carolina Coastal Plain, USA

Recharge rates determined at diverse study sites in a shallow, unconfined aquifer differed from one another depending on the analytical method used and on each method’s applicability and limitations. Total recharge was quantified with saturated-zone methods using water-table fluctuations at seven sites in North Carolina, USA and using groundwater-age dating at three of the seven sites; at two of the sites, potential recharge was quantified with an unsaturated-zone method using Darcy’s law; and at five of the sites, net recharge was quantified with a stream hydrograph-separation method using streamflow-recession curves. Historical mean net recharge was 25 to 69% of the historical total recharge rates. The large disparity is attributed to groundwater losses between recharge and discharge areas, primarily by evapotranspiration and seepage to underlying aquifers. The spatial distribution of historical mean annual total recharge did not vary between landscape units, as suggested in a previous study. Similarly, total recharge did not correlate significantly with mean annual rainfall, mean annual water table depth, or the surficial soil properties of percent clay and bulk density. Total recharge did correlate significantly with the surficial soil properties of percent sand and percent silt.

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Résumé Les taux de recharge déterminés sur divers sites d’études dans un aquifère phréatique libre, varient les uns par rapport aux autres selon la méthode analytique utilisée et les limites et l’applicabilité de chaque méthode. La recharge totale a été quantifiée avec des méthodes en zone saturée utilisant les fluctuations des nappes sur sept sites de la Caroline du Nord, USA, et en utilisant les datations des eaux souterraines sur trois des sept sites ; sur deux des sites, la recharge potentielle a été quantifiée avec une méthode en zone non-saturée utilisant la loi de Darcy, et sur deux sites, la recharge nette a été quantifiée suivant une méthode de séparation des hydrographes de cours d’eau utilisant les courbes de récession du débit. La moyenne historique de la recharge nette est comprise entre 25 et 69% des taux historiques de recharge totale. L’importante disparité est attribuée aux pertes en eaux souterraines entre les zones de recharge et les zones d’exutoire, d’abord par évapotranspiration et ensuite par infiltration vers les aquifères sous-jacents. La distribution spatiale de la recharge historique moyenne annuelle et totale ne varie pas selon les unités paysagères, comme cela était suggéré dans une étude antérieure. De même, la recharge totale n’est pas corrélée significativement avec la moyenne annuelle des précipitations, la moyenne annuelle de la profondeur de la nappe, ou les propriétés de surface des sols que sont le pourcentage d’argile ou la densité apparente. La recharge totale est corrélée significativement avec les propriétés de surface du sol et les teneurs en sable et en silt.

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Resumen Las tasas de recarga determinadas en diversos sitios de estudio en un acuífero somero no confinado difieren entre sí dependiendo del método analítico usado y de las limitaciones y aplicabilidad de cada método. Se cuantificó la recarga total con métodos de zona saturada usando fluctuaciones del nivel freático en siete sitios en Carolina del Norte, Estados Unidos, y usando datación de edades de agua subterránea en tres de los siete sitios; en dos de los sitios se cuantificó la recarga potencial con un método de zona no saturada usando la Ley de Darcy y en cinco de los sitios se cuantificó la recarga neta con el método de separación hidrográfica usando curvas de recesión de flujo en arroyos. La recarga neta media histórica varió entre 25 y 69% de las tasas de recarga total histórica. La diferencia tan grande se atribuye a pérdidas de agua subterránea entre áreas de descarga y recarga, principalmente por evapotranspiración y escurrimiento hacia acuíferos subyacentes. La distribución espacial de la recarga total anual media histórica no varió entre las unidades de paisaje, como ya se había sugerido en un estudio previo. De modo similar, la recarga total no guarda correlación significativa con la lluvia media anual, la profundidad media anual del nivel freático, o las propiedades superficiales del suelo, particularmente porcentaje de arcilla y densidad volumétrica. La recarga total si tuvo una correlación significativa con las propiedades superficiales del suelo tal como porcentaje de arena y porcentaje de limo.

     

Factors Controlling Phytoplankton Biomass in a Subtropical Coastal Lagoon: Relative Scales of Influence

Patterns in phytoplankton biomass are essential to understanding estuarine ecosystem structure and function and are the net result of various gain and loss processes. In this study, patterns in phytoplankton biomass were explored in relation to a suite of potentially regulating factors in a well-flushed, subtropical lagoon, the Matanzas River Estuary (MRE) in northeast Florida. We examined temporal variability in water temperature, light availability, nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton productivity, and phytoplankton standing stock over 8 years (2003–2010) and explored relationships among variables through correlation analysis. Laboratory experiments in the spring and summer of 2009 quantified phytoplankton growth rates, nutrient limitation potential, and zooplankton grazing rates. The potential influence of oyster grazing was also examined by scaling up population metrics and filtration rate estimates. Results indicated that phytoplankton biomass in the study area was relatively low mainly due to a combination of low temperature and light availability in the winter and consistent tidal water exchange and bivalve grazing throughout the year. Relatively low levels of phytoplankton standing stock and small inter-annual variability within the MRE reflect a balance between gain and loss processes which provide a degree of resilience of the system to natural and anthropogenic influences.     

典型滨海平原区地下水流系统水化学场演化及成因:以杭嘉湖平原为例

滨海平原地区地下水流系统水化学场演化过程复杂,同时受古海侵咸化以及现代人类活动影响,当前对其专门分析的研究较少.以杭嘉湖平原为例,综合运用多元统计和水化学分析方法,对采集的78个深层孔隙承压水样品水化学数据进行解译.研究表明:区内水化学分区可划分为"古海侵区"、"径流排泄区"、"海水咸化区",水化学类型依次为Na-Cl...     

Airborne detection of ecosystem responses to an extreme event: Phytoplankton displacement and abundance after hurricane induced flooding in the Pamlico-Albemarle Sound system,North Carolina

Airborne laser-induced fluorescence measurements were used to detect and monitor ecosystem wide changes in the distribution and concentration of chlorophyll biomass and colored dissolved organic matter in the Pamlico-Albemarle Sound system, North Carolina, U.S., following massive flooding caused by a series of three hurricanes in the late summer of 1999. These high-resolution data provided a significantly more detailed representation of the overall changes occurring in the system than could have been achieved by synoptic sampling from any other platform. The response time for the distribution of chlorophyll biomass to resume pre-flood conditions was used as a measure of ecosystem stability. Chlorophyll biomass patterns were reestablished within four mo of the flooding, whereas higher chlorophylla biomass concentrations persisted for approximately 6 mo. The primary trophic level in the Pamlico-Albemarle Sound system returned to equilibrium in less than a year of a major perturbation.     

平原地区水文地质结构条件模拟及其应用:以华北平原为例

为了分析储水介质非均质性问题,采用了基于马尔柯夫地层序列分析的分布条件模拟方法,用转移概率矩阵的谱分析函数替代传统地质统计学中的变差函数,利用协同指示克里格方法和条件模拟建立结构模型。以华北平原为例,论述了模拟结构建立过程及其在水流模型中的应用。通过对模拟结果与实测数据的分析比较,认为模拟结果能够客观反映整个研究区的沉积规律,以岩性赋水文地质参数的方法更加客观准确地解决储水介质非均质性问题。分析了该方法的优、缺点,并提出了该方法深入研究的方向与思路。     

A Modeling Approach to Assess the Key Factors in the Evolution of Coastal Systems: the Ebro North Hemidelta Case

One-Line shoreline evolution models have been used as a tool to understand and forecast long-term coastal evolution. However, in some coastal environments, where the influence of the wind is important, the limitations of existing models preclude its direct application to characterize its effect on sediment transport processes. To fill this knowledge gap, we have developed a shoreline evolution model that includes the effect of wind on longshore sediment transport and accounts for beach-dune sedimentary exchange due to aeolian transport. The model produces quantitative estimates of sediment transport and exchanges rates alongshore, easing the assessment of the role of different forcing agents in coastline evolution. The model was applied to the Ebro north hemidelta coast. The results are used to discuss the relative importance of the wind interaction in the evolution of different coastline stretches. Aeolian sand transport at Riumar Beach could cause coastal erosion. At the rectilinear coast, aeolian exchange does not seem to influence the shoreline evolution but the wind-current interaction does. The model provides valuable data when considering the approach to be taken regarding conservation measures. Alongshore aeolian sediment transport can be useful when designing and placing aeolian sediment traps. Conservation of the Ebro north hemidelta coast needs to focus on increasing the river sediment supply. The application herein presented can be regarded as a first step in understanding wave and wind coupling effects in shoreline evolution.     

冲积扇沉积向滨岸沉积的转变--以华北克拉通南缘中元古界兵马沟组为例

中国华北克拉通南缘的前寒武纪沉积地层发育齐全、出露较好,具有较高的研究价值。但前寒武纪的沉积地层年代久远,缺少佐证的生物依据,对沉积环境的判断更多依赖于构造背景、地理环境、岩石类型和沉积构造等,导致前人研究有较多的争议。以华北克拉通南缘汝阳群兵马沟组为例,通过精细分析岩石特征、古水流和沉积相,结合相关地层的区域对比及古地貌的重建,解释了兵马沟组的沉积成因和环境转换。汝阳群沉积地层不整合覆盖在华北克拉通南缘太古宙变质结晶基底或古元古代熊耳群火山-沉积岩系之上,兵马沟组作为汝阳群底部的地层单元,受地形和断裂的明显控制,接受丰富的物源供给,发育了一套极具特色的“双层叠加”沉积地层,代表了从冲积扇沉积到砂砾质滨岸沉积的环境转变,作为华北克拉通南缘以海相为主控的沉积开端,具有重要的科学价值。     

浮游植物叶绿素a含量不同方法测定比较——以白洋淀区域水体为例

实验使用国际上较通用的热乙醇萃取分光光度法、国内常用的丙酮萃取分光光度法、BBE藻类分类测定仪及YSI多参数测定仪测定浮游植物的叶绿素a,并将这4种方法的测定结果进行了比较。结果表明丙酮法的测定结果相对较高;BBE藻类分类仪检测叶绿素a较接近于乙醇法的叶绿素a的测定结果,线性关系和回归系数也最好,丙酮法测定的结果次之,YSI现场多参数检测结果与乙醇法叶绿素a的测定结果差别较大。实验得出,BBE藻类分类仪检测结果可进行部分采用,而YSI现场多参数检测结果可作为实验的参考值,而且离心的步骤省略对实验结果影响较大。     

关于饮用地下水水质评价标准的探讨——以华北平原地下水水质调查结果为例

地下水水质评价方法应以人体健康为依据,同时满足原理简单、计算简便、物理意义明确三个特点.基于地下水水质标准GB/T14848-93,修订了其分级限值,使得评价结果的物理意义更为明确.本文根据华北平原地下水水质测试结果评价了水质状况,对水中主要有机和无机组分在区域上的分布特征及可能来源进行了分析.为了使地下水水质评价的结果更加适合我国的国情,提出了地下水饮用适宜性评价意见,并对评价结果进行了讨论.     

A Tale of Two Fishes: Using Recreational Angler Records to Examine the Link Between Fish Catches and Floodplain Connections in a Subtropical Coastal River

In the tropical and subtropical wet and dry regions, maintaining natural hydrologic connections between coastal rivers and adjacent ephemeral wetlands is critical to conserving and sustaining high levels of fisheries production within these systems. Though there is a consensus that there is a need to maintain these natural connections, little is known about what attributes of floodplain inundation regimes are most important in sustaining fisheries production. Two attributes of the flood season and thus floodplain inundation that may be particularly influential to fisheries are the amplitude of the flood season (floodplain water depth and spatial extent of inundation) and the duration of the flood season (i.e., time floodplains are inundated). In mangrove-dominated Everglades coastal rivers, seasonal inundation of upstream marsh floodplains may play an important role in provisioning recreational fisheries; however, this relationship remains unknown. Using two Everglades coastal river fisheries as a model, we tested whether the amplitude of the flood season or the duration of the flood season is more important in explaining variation in angler catch records of common snook and largemouth bass collected from 1992 to 2012. We validated angler catches with fisheries-independent electrofishing conducted in the same region from 2004 to 2012. Our results showed (1) that bass angler catches tracked electrofishing catches, while snook catches were completely mismatched. And (2) that previous year's marsh dynamics, particularly the duration of the flood season, was more influential than the flood season amplitude in explaining variation in bass catches, such that bass angler catches were negatively correlated to the period time that floodplains remained disconnected from coastal rivers in the previous year, while snook catches were not very well explained by floodplain inundation terms.     

Wetland Plant Community Responses to the Interactive Effects of Simulated Nutrient and Sediment Loading: Implications for Coastal Restoration Using Mississippi River Diversions

The Mississippi River Delta Complex (MRDC) has experienced extensive wetland loss in the last century due, in part, to flood control levees that have isolated the lower Mississippi River and its sediment resource from adjacent wetlands. Reconnecting the River to these wetlands through diversions is being used and proposed on a larger scale for the future, to reduce wetland loss rates. However, some currently operating diversions (e.g., Caernarvon and Davis Pond) have been implicated in causing negative impacts on wetland ecosystem structure and function due to increased nutrient loads in diverted Mississippi River water combined with insufficient sediment delivery. Initial assessments of these concerns were carried out in a greenhouse setting where six nutrient enrichment treatment levels (control, NO₃, NH₄, PO₄, SO₄, and Combo [NO₃?+?NH₄?+?PO₄?+?SO₄]) were applied with and without sediment addition to 60 marsh sods from a Sagittaria lancifolia-dominated oligohaline wetland at rates simulating the Davis Pond Diversion of the Mississippi River. After 25 months, independent enrichment with N (regardless of form) and sediment was generally beneficial to wetland structure and function, while SO₄ enrichment had the opposite effect, regardless of sediment addition. Simultaneous application of N and P (i.e., the Combo treatment level) ameliorated the negative impacts of SO₄-loading, but the concurrent application of sediment did not, likely because the loading rate was based on a diversion that was designed to deliver water and not to maximize sediment input. Nonetheless, sediment input is critical to the sustainability of MRDC wetlands experiencing high rates of deterioration. Thus, optimizing future diversions to maximize sediment delivery, along with continued surveillance of negative nutrient effects, are recommended management decisions.     

近海营养盐和微量元素的大气沉降

受气候变化和人类活动的影响,传输和沉降到全球近海的大气污染物急剧增加.1997年后对近海营养盐和微量元素大气沉降的众多研究表明,通过大气沉降至近海的氮和磷分别为13～73 mmol N/(m2·a)和0.11～1.6 mmol P/(m2·a),微量元素的沉降通量具有显著的时空变化特征,在不同海区最高可相差3个数量级.对于很多近海包括东海(East China Sea)和黄海(Yellow Sea),大气沉降的营养盐和部分微量元素可能超出了其河流输入量.大气沉降除了对近海富营养化有重要贡献之外,其事件性特征可使初级生产力在短期内大幅度增加,从而影响赤潮发生.微量元素沉降还可能抑制某些藻类生长,对初级生产力和生态系统结构产生更为复杂的影响.未来研究重点是准确估算近海各物质的大气沉降通量,了解其对浮游植物生长的影响机制.     

区域地下水质量评价及影响因素识别方法研究——以华北平原为例

地下水质量是水岩作用和人类活动双重动力的结果,在认识地下水质量的同时还应知道其影响因素。本文在严格分析地下水质量分类标准和指标值的基础上,提出了衡量地下水质量的单指标综合评价和影响因素识别相结合的方法。该方法不仅能够反映具有明确物理意义的地下水质量类别,还能够划分区域地下水人为污染的可能性。本文以华北平原为案例区,选择具有代表性的6063个地下水井,检测了49项无机和有机指标。分析认为华北平原地下水质量受地质环境和水文地质条件控制,一般化学指标对地下水质量影响程度最高,原生指标中锰、总硬度、溶解性总固体、碘化物对超Ⅲ类水单指标贡献率超过50%,污染指标中亚硝酸盐贡献率达20%,重金属和有机指标对区域地下水质量影响很小。     

Dealing with the Spatial Synthetic Heterogeneity of Aquifers in the North China Plain: A Case Study of Luancheng County in Hebei Province

The complexity of alluvial-pluvial fan depositional systems makes the detailed characterization of their heterogeneity difficult, yet such a detailed characterization is commonly needed for construction of reliable groundwater models. Traditional models mainly focus on using a single aquifer property to qualitatively or semi-quantitatively characterize the heterogeneity of aquifer, so that they are unable to quantitatively reflect the synthetic heterogeneity of all aquifer properties. In this paper, we propose the heterogeneity synthetic index (HSI) for quantitative characterization of synthetic heterogeneity of an aquifer. The proposed calculation process involves four steps: (1) estimation of the hydraulic conductivity of a sediment sample using the cloud-Markov model, (2) establishment of the sedimentary microfacies distribution model through the Markov chain, (3) characterization of the distribution model of hydrogeological parameters using the improved sequential simulation method according to the “facies-controlled modeling” technique, and (4) application of the entropy weight method to calculate the weight coefficient of the above aquifer properties. The HSI of an aquifer is calculated by superposition of these models according to the corresponding weight coefficient. This approach was applied to the Luancheng aquifer deposit in the southeast Hutuo River alluvial-pluvial fan in the North China Plain (NCP). The results have demonstrated that aquifer 3 which was formed in the middle Pleistocene has the strongest heterogeneity, with an HSI of 0.25–0.75. Aquifer 4 formed in the early Pleistocene shows an intermediate heterogeneity, with the HSI ranging 0.35–0.75. The weakest heterogeneity was found in aquifers 1 and 2 formed in the Holocene and late Pleistocene, with HSI values of 0.40–0.75 and 0.40–0.80, respectively. The heterogeneity of all the four aquifers is relatively strong in the radial direction of the Huai River alluvial-pluvial fan due to the abrupt change of microfacies. In contrast, in the radial direction of the Hutuo River alluvial-pluvial fan, the microfacies change mildly, and the continuity of hydrogeological parameters is better, which has resulted in weaker heterogeneity of the four aquifers in this direction. Findings suggest that the sedimentary environment has significant effects on the aquifer heterogeneity. Considering that there are many aquifer properties, HSI can quantitatively characterize the synthetic heterogeneity of the aquifer and describe the influence of each aquifer property on the synthetic heterogeneity of the aquifer according to its weight coefficient. Thus the HSI approach can be successfully used to deal with the spatial heterogeneity of aquifer and provide a foundation for studies on contaminant transport.     

气候与土地利用变化对流域水资源的影响——以美国北卡罗莱纳州Trent流域为例

分布式水文模型PRMS可为气候与土地利用变化对流域水资源影响的研究提供技术和理论支撑.对Trent流域产流过程采用PRMS模型进行模拟检验,结果表明,Nash模型确定性系数达到0.8以上.水文响应单元(HRU)划分尺度减小,可以有效地提高PRMS模拟精度达7%左右,划分尺度缩小到71个HRU时,模拟精度不再提高.流域蒸...