Physical control of sediment carbon content in an estuarine tidal flat system (Nanakita River, Japan): A mechanistic case study

Temporal variations in sediment carbon content were tracked by sampling every 2 weeks for 6 to 33 months at 6 tidal flat stations with different carbon content levels (0.05–1.64%) in a single estuary. Three temporal series of current velocity at 5 cm above the sediment were also obtained. Non-cohesive and cohesive sediment stations differed in patterns of temporal variation in sediment carbon content, suggesting the difference in processes controlling sediment carbon content. In the stations of non-cohesive sandy sediment with relatively low carbon content (0.05–0.15%), sediment carbon content fluctuated within ranges specific to each station. In these stations, current velocity data suggested that frequency of sand resuspension washing out sediment carbon controls sediment carbon content level. In the stations of cohesive sediment with relatively high carbon content (0.77–1.64%), sediment carbon contents showed some unusual upward and downward peaks, recovered to usual levels specific to the stations, and was always kept higher than that in the non-cohesive sediment stations. We speculate that in the cohesive sediment stations, sand inputs may significantly control processes establishing the consolidated sediments with various carbon content levels. Spatial transitions from non-cohesive to cohesive sediments and from low to high sediment carbon contents likely occur as sand resuspension at spring tides become more irregular and less frequent. Based on these results, conceptual models describing physical processes controlling sediment carbon content at the studied stations were proposed.     

河口潮滩沉积物磷的季节性累积和生物有效性

对长江口潮滩表层沉积生磷的赋存形态和含量的研究表明,碎屑态磷为沉积物中磷的主要形态,约占总磷的62.52%;铁结合态磷和有机磷次之,分别占总磷的18.06%和14.69%;自生磷灰石加钙结合态磷和吸附态磷最少。综合研究区内的各种理化条件,指出弱吸附态磷、铁结合态磷和有机磷是长江口潮滩潜在生物可利用磷,约占总磷的33.16%,是导致水体富营养化的潜在因素。上覆水的盐度效应是影响沉积物铁结合态磷含量的关键性因子;而自生磷灰石加钙结合态磷的含量变化则与上覆水的温度、溶氧量及沉积物有机质的分解有关;有机磷在时间和空间尺度上都存在较大变化,主要与潮滩生物动态过程,即磷的再矿化有关。     

基于潮沟定点观测的潮间带水、沙、盐交换研究

为研究潮间带和潮下带的水、沙、盐交换,于2006年6月25~28日（夏季大潮）和2006年12月29日~2007年1月4日（冬季中-大潮和小潮）在长江口九段沙一典型潮沟的固定点利用OBS-3A和ADP-XR进行了水深、浊度、盐度、流速流向剖面和回声强度观测。结果和结论为：（1）夏季大潮、冬季中-大潮、冬季小潮的潮周期垂向平均流速分别为26.5、15.9和8.4 cm/s,夏、冬季观测到的最大流速分别为84 cm/s和35 cm/s。（2）夏季盐度变化范围为0.65~4.91,平均盐度2.14;冬季盐度变化范围为3.5~10.3,中-大潮和小潮平均盐度分别为6.26和7.98。（3）高悬沙浓度出现在涨潮初期和部分落潮末期的低水位阶段;涨潮阶段的平均悬沙浓度是落潮阶段的1.11~7.0倍。（4）涨、落潮阶段的水体和盐输运量大体上趋于平衡;（5）无论是冬夏季或大小潮,潮沟在潮周期内的净输沙方向均指向陆,即落潮输沙量小于涨潮输沙量（平均小40%）;平均每个潮周期的净输沙量为6102 kg,结合潮盆面积推算的潮周期沉积速率为0.0112 mm/tide,或8.2 mm/a。     

Effect of emersion and immersion on the porewater nutrient dynamics of an intertidal sandflat in Tokyo Bay

Porewater nutrient dynamics during emersion and immersion were investigated during different seasons in a eutrophic intertidal sandflat of Tokyo Bay, Japan, to elucidate the role of emersion and immersion in solute transport and microbial processes. The water content in the surface sediment did not change significantly following emersion, suggesting that advective solute transport caused by water table fluctuation was negligible. The rate of change in nitrate concentration in the top 10 mm of sediments ranged from −6.6 to 4.8 μmol N l⁻¹ bulk sed. h⁻¹ during the whole period of emersion. Steep nutrient concentration gradients in the surface sediment generated diffusive flux of nutrients directed downwards into deeper sediments, which greatly contributed to the observed rates of change in porewater nutrient concentration for several cases. Microbial nitrate reduction within the subsurface sediment appeared to be strongly supported by the downward diffusive flux of nitrate from the surface sediment. The stimulation of estimated nitrate production rate in the subsurface layer in proportion to the emersion time indicates that oxygenation due to emersion caused changes in the sediment redox environment and affected the nitrification and/or nitrate reduction rates. The nitrate and soluble reactive phosphorus pools in the top 10 mm of sediment decreased markedly during immersion (up to 68% for nitrate and up to 44% for soluble reactive phosphorus), however, this result could not be solely explained by molecular diffusion.