Space–time variability of the Plata plume inferred from ocean color

Satellite ocean color and surface salinity data are used to characterize the space–time variability of the Río de la Plata plume. River outflow and satellite wind data are also used to assess their combined effect on the plume spreading over the Southwestern South Atlantic continental shelf. Over the continental shelf satellite-derived surface chlorophyll-a (CSAT) estimated by the OC4v4 SeaWiFS retrieval algorithm is a good indicator of surface salinity. The log (CSAT) distribution over the shelf presents three distinct modes, each associated to: Subantarctic Shelf Water, Subtropical Shelf Water and Plata Plume water. The log (CSAT) 0.4–0.8 range is associated with a sharp surface salinity transition across the offshore edge of the Plata plume from 28.5 to 32.5. Waters of surface salinity <31, derived from mixtures of Plata waters with continental shelf waters, are associated to log (CSAT)>0.5. In austral winter CSAT maxima extend northeastward from the Plata estuary beyond 30°S. In summer the high CSAT waters along the southern Brazil shelf retreat to 32°S and extend south of the estuary to about 37.5°S, only exceeding this latitude during extraordinary events. The seasonal CSAT variations northeast of the estuary are primarily controlled by reversals of the along-shore wind stress and surface currents. Along-shore wind stress and CSAT variations in the inner and mid-shelves are in phase north of the estuary and 180° out of phase south of the estuary. At interannual time scales northernmost Plata plume penetrations in winter (∼1200 km from the estuary) are associated with more intense and persistent northeastward wind stress, which in the period 2000–2003, prevailed over the shelf south of 26°S. In contrast, in winter 1999, 2004 and 2005, characterized by weaker northeastward wind stress, the plume only reached between 650 and 900 km. Intense southwestward plume extensions beyond 38°S are dominated by interannual time scales and appear to be related to the magnitude of the river outflow. The plume response to large river outflow fluctuations observed at interannual time scales is moderate, except offshore from the estuary mouth, where outflow variations lead CSAT variations by about 2 months.     

Thermal and haline variability over the central Bering Sea shelf: Seasonal and interannual perspectives

We examine multi-year conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data to better understand temperature and salinity variability over the central Bering Sea shelf. Particular consideration is given to observations made annually from 2002 to 2007 between August and October, although other seasons and years are also considered. Vertical and horizontal correlation maps show that near-surface and near-bottom salinity anomalies tend to fluctuate in phase across the central shelf, but that temperature anomalies are vertically coherent only in the weakly or unstratified inner-shelf waters. We formulate heat content (HC) and freshwater content (FWC) budgets based on the CTD observations, direct estimates of external fluxes (surface heat fluxes, ice melt, precipitation (P), evaporation (E) and river discharge), and indirect estimates of advective contributions. Ice melt, P−E, river discharge, and along-isobath advection are sufficient to account for the mean spring-to-fall increase in FWC, while summer surface heat fluxes are primarily responsible for the mean seasonal increase in HC, although interannual variability in the HC at the end of summer appears related to variability in the along-isobath advection during the summer months. On the other hand, FWC anomalies at the end of summer are significantly correlated with the mean wind direction and cross-isobath Ekman transport averaged over the previous winter. Consistent with the latter finding, salinities exhibit a weak but significant inverse correlation between the coastal and mid-shelf waters. The cross-shelf transport likely has significant effect on nutrient fluxes and other processes important to the functioning of the shelf ecosystem. Both the summer and winter advection fields appear to result from the seasonal mean position and strength of the Aleutian Low. We find that interannual thermal and haline variability over the central Bering Sea shelf are largely uncoupled.     

A model study of tide- and wind-induced mixing in the Columbia River Estuary and plume

A numerical simulation of circulation in the Columbia River estuary and plume during the summer of 2004 is used to explore the mixing involved as river water is transformed into shelf water. The model is forced with realistic river flow, tides, wind stress, surface heat flux, and ocean boundary conditions. Simulated currents and water properties on the shelf near the mouth are compared with records from three moorings (all in 72 m of water) and five CTD sections. The model is found to have reasonable skill; statistically significant correlations between observed and modeled surface currents, temperature, and salinity are all 0.42–0.72 for the mooring records. Equations for the tidally averaged, volume-integrated mechanical energy budget (kinetic and potential) are derived, with attention to the effects of: (i) Reynolds averaging, (ii) a time varying volume due to the free surface, and (iii) dissipation very close to the bottom. It is found that convergence of tidal pressure work is the most important forcing term in the estuary. In the far field plume (which has a volume 15 times greater than that of the estuary), the net forcing is weaker than that in the estuary, and may be due to either tidal currents or wind stress depending on the time period considered. These forcings lead to irreversible mixing of the stratification (buoyancy flux) that turns river water into shelf water. This occurs in both the plume and estuary, but appears to be more efficient (17% vs. 5%), and somewhat greater (4.2 MW vs. 3.3 MW), in plume vs. estuary. This demonstrates the importance of both wind and tidal forcing to watermass transformation, and the need to consider the estuary and plume as part of a single system.     

Controls on the interannual variability of hypoxia in a subtropical embayment and its adjacent waters in the Guangdong coastal upwelling system,northern South China Sea

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.     

North Atlantic extratropical and subpolar gyre variability during the last 120 years: a gridded dataset of surface temperature,salinity, and density. Part 1: dataset validation and RMS variability

We present a binned annual product (BINS) of sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), and sea surface density (SSD) observations for 1896–2015 of the subpolar North Atlantic between 40° N and 70° N, mostly excluding the shelf areas. The product of bin averages over spatial scales on the order of 200 to 500 km, reproducing most of the interannual variability in different time series covering at least the last three decades or of the along-track ship monitoring. Comparisons with other SSS and SST gridded products available since 1950 suggest that BINS captures the large decadal to multidecadal variability. Comparison with the HadSST3 SST product since 1896 also indicates that the decadal and multidecadal variability is usually well-reproduced, with small differences in long-term trends or in areas with marginal data coverage in either of the two products. Outside of the Labrador Sea and Greenland margins, interannual variability is rather similar in different seasons. Variability at periods longer than 15 years is a large part of the total interannual variability, both for SST and SSS, except possibly in the south-western part of the domain. Variability in SST and SSS increases towards the west, with the contribution of salinity variability to density dominating that of temperature in the western Atlantic, except close to the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Current in the southwest area. Weaker variability and larger relative temperature contributions to density changes are found in the eastern part of the gyre and south of Iceland.

     

Hydrographic variability on a coastal shelf directly influenced by estuarine outflow

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.     

Implementation of a wetting-and-drying model in simulating the Kennebec–Androscoggin plume and the circulation in Casco Bay

A high-resolution coastal ocean model was developed to simulate the temporal/spatial variability of the Kennebec–Androscoggin (K–A) river plume and the circulation in Casco Bay. The model results agree favorably with the moored and shipboard observations of velocity, temperature, and salinity. The surface salinity gradient was used to distinguish the plume from the ambient coastal water. The calculated plume thickness suggests that the K–A plume is surface trapped. Its horizontal scales correlate well with Q ^0.25, where Q is the volume discharge of the rivers. Directional spreading is affected by the wind with the upwelling favorable wind transporting the plume water offshore. Both the wind and the tide also enhance mixing in the plume. The inclusion of a wetting-and-drying (WAD) scheme appears to enhance the mixing and entrainment processes near the estuary. The plume becomes thicker near the mouth of the estuary, the outflow velocity of the plume is weaker, and the radius of the river plume shrinks. The flow field in the model run with the WAD is noisier, not only in shallow areas of Casco Bay but also in the plume and even on the shelf. We speculate that the WAD processes can affect much larger areas than the intertidal zones, especially via a river plume that feeds into a coastal current.     

Variability of dense water formation in the Ross Sea

This paper presents results from a model study of the interannual variability of high salinity shelf water (HSSW) properties in the Ross Sea. Salinity and potential temperature of HSSW formed in the western Ross Sea show oscillatory behaviour at periods of 5–6 and 9 years superimposed on long-term fluctuations. While the shorter oscillations are induced by wind variability, variability on the scale of decades appears to be related to air temperature fluctuations. At least part of the strong decrease of HSSW salinities deduced from observations for the period 1963–2000 is shown to be an aliasing artefact due to an undersampling of the periodic signal. While sea ice formation is responsible for the yearly salinity increase that triggers the formation of HSSW, interannual variability of net freezing rates hardly affects changes in the properties of the resulting water mass. Instead, results from model experiments indicate that the interannual variability of dense water characteristics is predominantly controlled by variations in the shelf inflow through a sub-surface salinity and a deep temperature signal. The origin of the variability of inflow characteristics to the Ross Sea continental shelf can be traced into the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas. The temperature anomalies are induced at the continental shelf break in the western Bellingshausen Sea by fluctuations of the meridional transport of circumpolar deep water with the eastern cell of the Ross Gyre. In the Amundsen Sea, upwelling due to a persistently cyclonic wind field carries the signal into the surface mixed layer, leading to fluctuations of the vertical heat flux, anomalies of brine release near the sea ice edge, and consequently to a sub-surface salinity anomaly. With the westward flowing coastal current, both the sub-surface salinity and deep temperature signals are advected onto the Ross Sea continental shelf. Convection carries the signal of salinity variability into the deep ocean, where it interacts with modified circumpolar deep water upwelled onto the continental shelf as the second source water mass of HSSW. Sea ice formation on the Ross Sea continental shelf thus drives the vertical propagation of the signal rather than determining the signal itself.     

Effects of lakes and reservoirs on annual river nitrogen,phosphorus, and sediment export in agricultural and forested landscapes

Recently, effects of lakes and reservoirs on river nutrient export have been incorporated into landscape biogeochemical models. Because annual export varies with precipitation, there is a need to examine the biogeochemical role of lakes and reservoirs over time frames that incorporate interannual variability in precipitation. We examined long‐term (~20 years) time series of river export (annual mass yield, Y, and flow‐weighted mean annual concentration, C) for total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and total suspended sediment (TSS) from 54 catchments in Wisconsin, USA. Catchments were classified as small agricultural, large agricultural, and forested by use of a cluster analysis, and these varied in lentic coverage (percentage of catchment lake or reservoir water that was connected to river network). Mean annual export and interannual variability (CV) of export (for both Y and C) were higher in agricultural catchments relative to forested catchments for TP, TN, and TSS. In both agricultural and forested settings, mean and maximum annual TN yields were lower in the presence of lakes and reservoirs, suggesting lentic denitrification or N burial. There was also evidence of long‐term lentic TP and TSS retention, especially when viewed in terms of maximum annual yield, suggesting sedimentation during high loading years. Lentic catchments had lower interannual variability in export. For TP and TSS, interannual variability in mass yield was often >50% higher than interannual variability in water yield, whereas TN variability more closely followed water (discharge) variability. Our results indicate that long‐term mass export through rivers depends on interacting terrestrial, aquatic, and meteorological factors in which the presence of lakes and reservoirs can reduce the magnitude of export, stabilize interannual variability in export, as well as introduce export time lags. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Oceanographic and meteorological forcing of the pelagic ecosystem on the Gulf of Cadiz shelf (SW Iberian Peninsula)

The spatial and temporal distribution of physical, chemical and biological variables of the NE continental shelf of the Gulf of Cadiz were analyzed monthly during almost three annual cycles. This analysis was performed with the aim of deriving the main forcing factors controlling variability at inter-annual, seasonal and short-time scales. Meteorological forcing related to heavy episodes of rainfall that affected river discharges and the wind regime, controlled both the currents along the shelf together and the nutrient concentrations of the surface waters. Meteorological forcing in turn determined the subsequent development and maintenance of phytoplankton blooms. Superimposed on the seasonal cycle typical of temperate latitudes, the inputs of continental nutrients mainly from the Guadalquivir River, along with episodes of upwelling favored by the predominance of westerly winds triggered phytoplankton growth on the shelf, highlighting the markedly relevant role of this large estuary in the control of the biological activity on the shelf.     

Cadmium and manganese distributions in the Hudson River estuary: interannual and seasonal variability

Surface waters collected along the salinity gradient of the Hudson River estuary in four cruises between 1995 and 1997 were size-fractionated into particulate (>0.45 μm), ‘dissolved' (<0.45 μm), colloidal (10 kDa, 0.45 μm) and low molecular weight (<10 kDa) phases. Dissolved Cd concentrations (range: 0.11–1.19 nM) in surface waters of the estuary appear to have decreased fourfold (from an average of 2.36 to 0.61 nM) over a 23-year period, since the initial analysis of samples collected in the 1970s by Klinkhammer and Bender [Estuar. Coastal Shelf Sci. 12 (1981) 629–643]. This interannual decline reflects improvement in sewage treatment and the elimination of industrial Cd sources to the Hudson River estuary. In contrast, dissolved Mn levels (range: 0.033–1.46 μM) have remained relatively constant over the same period of time, suggesting that anthropogenic sources have very limited impact on Mn concentrations in the estuary. The concentrations of both Cd and Mn appeared to strongly depend on the season and/or river discharge. The highest concentrations were detected under low freshwater discharge, implying that limited hydraulic flushing allows a build-up of metals in the water column. Although the decline in Cd levels within the estuary reflects a reduction in the magnitude of anthropogenic inputs, mass balance estimates indicated that current sources of Cd to the estuary include sewage discharges (in the lower estuary around Manhattan) and diagenetic remobilization from industrial Cd deposited in sediments nearly 2 decades ago (in the upper estuary near Foundry Cove). Moreover, under low river discharge, the sources considered in our model (sewage, riverine input, atmospheric deposition, and benthic fluxes) could account for no more than 60% of the Cd exported from the lower estuary to the ocean. This suggests that undefined sources such as ground water and inputs from other watersheds (e.g., Long Island Sound and Newark Bay) may potentially influence the water quality of the New York Harbor. The size-fractionated metal concentrations indicated that most of the traditionally defined ‘dissolved' Cd and Mn consisted of <10 kDa molecular weight species. High molecular weight colloidal species of Mn accounted for about 50% of the dissolved fraction at the riverine end-member and <5% at intermediate and high salinities. Colloidal Cd accounted for <6% of the dissolved phase throughout the estuary. Unlike the non-conservative excess (relative to ideal dilution of river water and seawater) of dissolved Mn observed along the estuary, high molecular weight colloidal Mn appeared to be removed at the head of the estuary. The small contribution of colloidal Cd and Mn to the ‘dissolved' phase suggests that remobilization from suspended particulate phases and/or from sediments occurs through the formation of small molecular weight species.     

Fjord–shelf exchanges controlled by ice and brine production: The interannual variation of Atlantic Water in Isfjorden,Svalbard

Exchanges between oceanic and coastal waters are fundamental in setting the hydrography of arctic shelves and fjords. In West Spitsbergen, Atlantic Water from the West Spitsbergen Current exchanges with the seasonally ice-covered waters of the coast and fjords causing a major annual shift in hydrographic conditions. The extent to which Atlantic Water dominates the fjord systems shows significant interannual variability. Hydrographic sections taken between 1999 and 2005 from Isfjorden and the adjacent shelf have been analyzed to identify the causes of the variability in Atlantic Water occupation of the fjord system. By treating the fjord system as a coastal polynya and running a polynya model to quantify the salt release each winter, we conclude that the critical parameter controlling fjord–shelf exchange is the density difference between the fjord water masses and the Atlantic Water. We provide a full dynamical mechanism for the interaction between water masses at the fjord entrance to rationalize the interannual variability.     

ENSO and the natural variability in the flow of tropical rivers

This paper examines the relationship between the annual discharges of the Amazon, Congo, Paran á, and Nile rivers and the sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean, an index of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Since river systems are comprehensive integrators of rainfall over large areas, accurate characterization of the flow regimes in major rivers will increase our understanding of large-scale global atmospheric dynamics. Results of this study reveal that the annual discharges of two large equatorial tropical rivers, the Amazon and the Congo, are weakly and negatively correlated with the equatorial Pacific SST anomalies with 10% of the variance in annual discharge explained by ENSO. Two smaller subtropical rivers, the Nile and the Paraná, show a correlation that is stronger by about a factor of 2. The Nile discharge is negatively correlated with the SST anomaly, whereas the Paraná river discharge shows a positive relation. The tendency for reduced rainfall/discharge over large tropical convection zones in the ENSO warm phase is attributed to global scale subsidence associated with major upwelling in the eastern Pacific Ocean.     

An overview of physical and ecological processes in the Rio de la Plata Estuary

The Rio de la Plata is a large-scale estuary located at 35°S on the Atlantic coast of South America. This system is one of the most important estuarine environments in the continent, being a highly productive area that sustains valuable artisanal and coastal fisheries in Uruguay and Argentina. The main goals of this paper are to summarize recent knowledge on this estuary, integrating physical, chemical and biological studies, and to explore the sources and ecological meaning of estuarine variability associated to the stratification/mixing alternateness in the estuary. We summarized unpublished data and information from several bibliographic sources. From study cases representing different stratification conditions, we draw a holistic view of physical patterns and ecological processes of the stratification/mixing alternateness. This estuary is characterized by strong vertical salinity stratification most of the time (the salt-wedge condition). The head of the estuary is characterized by a well-developed turbidity front. High turbidity constrains their photosynthesis. Immediately offshore the turbidity front, water becomes less turbid and phytoplankton peaks. As a consequence, trophic web in the estuary could be based on two sources of organic matter: phytoplankton and plant detritus. Dense plankton aggregations occur below the halocline and at the tip of the salt wedge. The mysid Neomysis americana, a key prey for juvenile fishes, occurs all along the turbidity front. A similar spatial pattern is shown by one of the most abundant benthic species, the clam Mactra isabelleana. These species could be taken advantage of the particulate organic matter and/or phytoplankton concentrated near the front. Nekton is represented by a rich fish community, with several fishes breeding inside the estuary. The most important species in terms of biomass is Micropogonias furnieri, the main target for the coastal fisheries of Argentina and Uruguay. Two processes have been identified as producing partially stratified conditions: persistent moderate winds (synoptic scale), or low freshwater runoff (interannual scale). Less frequently, total mixing of the salt wedge occurs after several hours of strong winds. The co-dominance of diatoms (which proliferate in highly turbulent environments) and red tides dinoflagellates and other bloom taxa (better adapted to stratified conditions), would indicate great variability in the turbulence strength, probably manifested as pulses. Microplankton and ichthyoplankton assemblages defined for the stratified condition are still recognized during the partially mixed condition, but in this case they occupy the entire water column: vertical structure of the plankton featuring the stratified condition become lost. Bottom fish assemblages, on the contrary, shows persistence under the different stratification conditions, though the dominant species of the groups show some variations. Summarizing, the Río de la Plata Estuary is a highly variable environment, strongly stratified most of the time but that can be mixed in some few hours by strong wind events that occur in an unpredictable manner, generating stratification/partially mixed (less frequently totally mixed) pulses all along the year. At larger temporal scales, the system is under the effects of river discharge variations associated to the ENSO cycle, but their ecological consequences are not fully studied.     

Increasing discharge from the Mackenzie River system to the Arctic Ocean

The Mackenzie River, Canada's longest and largest river system, provides the greatest Western Hemisphere discharge to the Arctic Ocean. Recent reports of declining flows have prompted concern because (1) this influences Arctic Ocean salinity, stratification and polar ice; (2) a major tributary, the Peace River, has large hydroelectric projects, and further dams are proposed; and (3) the system includes the extensive and biodiverse Peace–Athabasca, Slave and Mackenzie deltas. To assess hydrological trends over the past century that could reflect climate change, we analysed historic patterns of river discharges. We expanded the data series by infilling for short gaps, calculating annual discharges from early summer‐only records (typical r² > 0.9), coordinating data from sequential hydrometric gauges (requiring r² > 0.8) and advancing the data to 2013. For trend detection, Pearson correlation provided similar outcomes to non‐parametric Kendall's τ and Spearman's ρ tests. There was no overall pattern for annual flows of the most southerly Athabasca River (1913–2013), while the adjacent, regulated Peace River displayed increasing flows (1916–2013, p < 0.05). These rivers combine to form the Slave River, which did not display an overall trend (1917–2013). The more northerly, free‐flowing Liard River is the largest tributary and displayed increasing annual flows (1944–2013, p < 0.01, ~3.5% per decade) because of increasing winter, spring, and summer flows, and annual maximum and minimum flows also increased. Following from the tributary contributions, the Mackenzie River flows gradually increased (Fort Simpson 1939–2013, p < 0.05, ~1.5% per decade), but the interannual patterns for the Liard and other rivers were correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, complicating the pattern. This conclusion of increasing river flows to the Arctic Ocean contrasts with some prior reports, based on shorter time series. The observed flow increase is consistent with increasing discharges of the large Eurasian Arctic drainages, suggesting a common northern response to climate change. Analyses of historic trends are strengthened with lengthening records, and with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation influence, we recommend century‐long records for northern rivers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of impacts of dams on the annual maximum flow characteristics in three regulated hydrologic regimes in Québec (Canada)

Despite the presence of numerous dams in Québec, no study has yet been devoted to their impacts on flood levels. To compensate for this deficiency, we have compared the impacts of dams on the five characteristics (magnitude and its interannual variability, timing and its interannual variability, and asymmetry) of the maximum annual flows between natural rivers and regulated rivers by means of several statistical approaches (analysis of variance, chi‐square test, nonparametric tests, etc.). In the course of this study, we analysed 88 stations on pristine rivers and 60 stations on regulated rivers. The latter group was subdivided into three regulated hydrologic regimes, i.e. inversed flow regimes (25 stations), homogenization flow regimes (15 stations) and natural‐type flow regimes (20 stations). The following observations emerge from this study. (1) In inversed and homogenization flow regimes, generally associated with reservoirs, all the flow characteristics are modified. These modifications notably entrain a decrease in magnitude, a significant reduction in the frequency of the maximum annual spring flows when the snow is melting and an increase in skewness of the distribution and interannual variability of the magnitude and dates of occurrence of the annual maximum flows. We also observed the disappearance of most flows with a recurrence of over 10 years. All these changes particularly affect watersheds larger than 10 000 km². (2) In natural‐type flow regimes, often associated with run‐of‐river dams, very few changes were observed compared with pristine rivers. These changes primarily affected watersheds smaller than 1000 km². Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of surface layer salinity on wintertime convection in Wilkinson Basin,Gulf of Maine

Observations suggest that the interannual variability of wintertime convection in Wilkinson Basin (WB) during 1977–2005 is related to the variation in the surface layer salinity in the western Gulf of Maine (wGOM). When the winter convection is stronger (weaker), the resulting deep-layer temperatures in the wGOM are colder (warmer), and the likelihood of deep winter mixing is greater when the wGOM salinities are high. This hypothesis was tested using a one-dimensional mixed layer model to simulate the water column structure over the cooling period. Comparisons were made between the convection potential for the range of observed late-fall salinity values. Model results indicated that the mixed layer depth could deepen by as much as 50% when the surface layer salinities in the wGOM were high. Sensitivity tests revealed that the surface layer salinity variability, and its influence on the water column density structure, was a significant factor, along with local climate variability, in determining the observed time series trend in springtime bottom layer temperatures.     

Variability and trends in runoff in the rivers of British Columbia's Coast and Insular Mountains

This study examines the 1914–2015 runoff trends and variability for 136 rivers draining British Columbia's Coast and Insular Mountains. Rivers are partitioned into eastward and westward flowing rivers based on flow direction from the Coast Mountains. Thus, eastward and westward runoff trends and influence of topography on runoff are explored. Our findings indicate that rivers flowing eastward to the Nechako and Chilcotin plateaus contribute the lowest annual runoff compared to westward rivers where runoff is high. Low interannual runoff variability is evident in westward rivers and their alpine watersheds, whereas eastward rivers exhibit high interannual runoff variability. On Vancouver Island, some of the rivers with the highest annual runoff exhibit high interannual variability. A significant (p < .05) negative correlation exists between mean annual runoff (R_m) and latitude, gauged area, mean elevation, and its corresponding coefficient of variation. However, a significant positive correlation was found between the glacierized area of mountainous regions and R_m. The mean coefficient of variation in annual runoff is significantly negatively correlated with latitude and glacierized area, but significantly positively correlated with longitude. Annual and seasonal runoff trend analyses of each river were performed for an early (1936–2015), a middle (1966–2015), and a late (1986–2015) period using the Mann–Kendall test. Trend analyses revealed a shift towards more positive detectable (signal‐to‐noise ratio > 1) trends in annual and seasonal runoff from the middle to the late period across the study domain. Most positive detectable seasonal runoff trends in the middle period occur in spring in glacierized westward rivers located >1,200 m, whereas in the late period, they all occur in fall and are regionally coherent around Vancouver Island and south coastal BC. Rivers draining eastward exhibit more positive trends over 1986–2015 compared to westward rivers. This study provides crucial information on the hydrology of mountain watersheds across British Columbia's coast in response to Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase changes, the elevational amplification of regional climate change, and their influences on precipitation and glacier retreat.