Fate and effects of a heavy fuel oil spill on a Georgia salt marsh

Addition of a heavy oil to a Spartina salt marsh in the autumn resulted in high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment and benthic animals. The highest concentrations of phenanthrene, chrysene and fluoranthene in the sediment were 112, 105 and 75 ng/g sediment, respectively. These concentrations rapidly decreased during the 20 week period following the spill. The times for these hydrocarbons to decrease to 50% of their highest values, i.e. half-life, were approximately 100, 70 and 30 days in sediment, mussels and oysters, respectively. Benthic macrofauna species showed three responses to oil addition which included no change, an increase, or a decrease in the population. No changes were noted in populations of fiddler crabs (Uca pugnax), oysters (Crassostrea virginica), and mussels (Modiolus demissus). Mud snails (Nassarius obsoleta) increased in density after the spill due to immigration of adult snails from untreated areas to scavenge on animals killed by the oil. Many of the adult periwinkles (Littorina irrorata) were killed by the oil. In the spring, juvenile periwinkles recolonised to oiled areas as a result of larvae settling.     

An alkaline unwinding assay for the detection of DNA damage in aquatic organisms

This paper reports a rapid and facile procedure for obtaining of DNA from small, whole aquatic organisms (fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas) as well as from the liver of another species (bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus) and the subsequent estimation of its double strandedness. DNA was isolated from various tissues by homogenization in a basic pH solution containing detergent followed by differential extraction using organic solvents. Additional purification was accomplished by molecular sieve chromatography. Under defined alkaline unwinding conditions, the amount of double-stranded and single-stranded DNA was determined using the bisbenzimidazole dye Hoechst 33258. The technique was used to detect the occurrence of strand breaks in DNA of fathead minnows chemically exposed to benzo[a]pyrene.     

Generation of random waves in time-dependent extended mild-slope equations using a source function method

We develop techniques of numerical wave generation in the time-dependent extended mild-slope equations of Suh et al. [1997. Time-dependent equations for wave propagation on rapidly varying topography. Coastal Engineering 32, 91–117] and Lee et al. [2003. Extended mild-slope equation for random waves. Coastal Engineering 48, 277–287] for random waves using a source function method. Numerical results for both regular and irregular waves in one and two horizontal dimensions show that the wave heights and the frequency spectra are properly reproduced. The waves that pass through the wave generation region do not cause any numerical disturbances, showing usefulness of the source function method in avoiding re-reflection problems at the offshore boundary.     

Effects of salinity, temperature and food type on the uptake and elimination rates of cd, cr, and zn in the asiatic clamcorbicula fluminea

Laboratory radiotracer experiments were conducted to determine assimilation efficiencies (AE) from ingested algal food and oxic sediment particles, uptake rates from the dissolved phase, and the efflux rates of Cd, Cr and Zn in the Asiatic clamCorbicula fluminea. Among three elements, AE from both algal and sediment food was greatest for Cd, followed by Zn and Cr. The AEs of tested elements from algal food(Phaeodactylum tricornutum) were consistently higher than those from sediments at a given salinity and temperature. The influence of salinity (0, 4 and 8 psu) and temperature (5, 13 and 21¼) on the metal AEs was not evident for most tested elements, except Cd AEs from sediment. The rate constant of metal uptake from the dissolved phase (k _u was greatest for Cd, followed by Zn and Cr in freshwater media. However, in saline water, thek _u of Zn were greater than those of Cd. The influx rate of all tested metals increased with temperature. The efflux rate constant was greatest for Cr (0.02 d^-1), followed by Zn (0.010~0.017 d^-1) and Cd (0.006 d^-1). The efflux rate constant for Zn in clam tissues depurated in 0 psu (0.017 d^-1) was faster than that in 8 psu (0.010 d^-1). Overall results showed that the variation of salinity and temperature in estuarine systems can considerably influence the metal bioaccumulation potential in the estuarine clamC. fluminea. The relatively high Cd accumulation capacity ofC. fluminea characterized by the high AE, high dissolved influx rate and low efflux rate, suggested that this clam species can be used as an efficient biomonitor for the Cd contamination in freshwater and estuarine environments.     

Glaciomarine sedimentation and palaeo-glacial setting of Maxwell Bay and its tributary embayment, Marian Cove, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica

High-resolution (3.5 kHz and multi-channel) seismic profiles and piston cores were collected from Maxwell Bay and its tributary embayment, Marian Cove, in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, during the Korea Antarctic Research Program (1992/93 and 1995/96) to elucidate the glaciomarine sedimentation processes and recent glacial history of the area. Seismic data from Maxwell Bay reveal a rugged bay margin and flattened basin floor covered with well-stratified hemipelagic muds. On the base-of-slope, acoustically transparent debris flows occur, indicating downslope resedimentation of glaciomarine sediments. Despite the subpolar and ice-proximal settings of Marian Cove, the seafloor is highly rugged with a thin sediment drape, suggesting that much of the area has been recently eroded by glaciers. Sediment cores from the cove penetrated three distinct fining-upward lithofacies: (1) basal till in the lower part of the core, accumulated just seaward of the grounding line of the tidewater glacier; (2) interlaminated sand and mud in the middle part, deposited in ice-proximal zone by a combination of episodic subglacial meltwater inflow and iceberg dumping; and (3) pebbly mud in the upper part, deposited in ice-distal zone by both surface meltwater plume and ice-rafting from the glacier front. A reconstruction of the glacial history of these areas since the late glacial maximum shows an ice sheet filling Maxwell Bay in late Wisconsin time and grounding of the tidewater glacier in Marian Cove until about 1300 yr BP.     

Circulation

Low-frequency current and temperature variability on the southeast US continental shelf during summer conditions of weak wind forcing and vertical stratification was found to be similar in many aspects to previous findings for winter, when stronger wind forcing and vertical homogeneity prevails. Subtidal variability in the outer shelf is dominated by the weekly occurrence of Gulf Stream frontal eddies and meanders. These baroclinic events strongly affect the balance of momentum in the outer shelf, but not at mid-shelf. A negative alongshore sea level slope of order −10⁻⁷ is required to balance mean along-shelf momentum at the shelf edge, similar to oceanic estimates, and can contribute to the observed northward mean flow over the shelf.Low-frequency flow at mid-shelf and coastal sea level fluctuations appear to occur as a forced wave response to local alongshore wind stress events that are coherent over the shelf domain. Momentum balances indicate a trapped wave response similar to the arrested topographic wave found in the mid-Atlantic Bight (CSANADY, 1978). Density driven currents from river discharge do not appear to be significant at mid-shelf. Cold, subsurface intrusions of deeper, nutrient rich Gulf Stream waters can occasionally penetrate to mid- and inner-shelf regions north of Cape Canaveral, causing strong phytoplankton and zooplankton responses. These events were observed following the simultaneous occurrence of upwellings from northward winds and Gulf Stream frontal eddies at the shelf break during periods when the Stream was in an onshore position. Subsurface Gulf Stream intrusions to mid-shelf occur only during the summer, when the shelf is vertically stratified and cross-shelf density gradients do not present a barrier as in winter.     

Abundance, distribution and patch formation of zooplankton

The goal of studies described here was to determine the responses of zooplankton taxa to phytoplankton patches which develop in and near intrusions of cold, nutrient-rich Gulf Stream water. To achieve this goal we determined the horizontal and vertical distributions of abundant mesozooplankton taxa on the south-eastern continental shelf of the USA between 29°30′ and 31°N. The study period was from June 23 to August 16, 1981. Highest concentrations of zooplankton usually occurred in and near patches of phytoplankton. Increased phytoplankton appeared to trigger the formation of patches of the calanoid copepod Temora turbinata and the cyclopoid copepods Oithona spp. and Oncaea spp. The patches of zooplankton had greater alongshore than cross-shelf dimensions. T. turbinata responded rapidly to increased concentrations of phytoplankton by reproducing and aggregating in and above intruded waters. Oithonidae which were often, but not always, abundant in phytoplankton patches eventually attained high concentrations over most of the middle and part of the inner shelf. Their concentration and that of Oncaeidae increased steadily. Oncaeidae were not abundant in recently upwelled waters, as was T. turbinata but reached high concentrations in older intrusions when the abundance of T. turbinata remained level or decreased slowly. Both cyclopoid taxa are thought to reproduce slowly (egg sacs) compared to T. turbinata. Another taxon, the doliolids, became abundant far more rapidly in intruded waters (by asexual reproduction) than did the other three taxa. Doliolids were the most opportunistic intrusion zooplankton form. They do not regularly occur in low abundance on the shelf, as do the three copepod taxa, but develop in pulses in regions where T. turbinata and Oncaea are not abundant. Of the four taxa studied the abundance of doliolids increased and decreased most rapidly, whereas Oithona and Oncaea increased slowly and did not decrease during the study period. T. turbinata and Oncaea were most abundant at 60% of all stations in the intruding water. Doliolids and Oithona on the other hand, were mostly in the thermocline and intrusion. Whereas phytoplankton patches, which developed in intrusions, were physically induced (PAFFENHÖFER and LEE, 1988), patches of zooplankton were biologically induced.     

不同软基处理方法适用性比较

总结分析了国内外现有的软土地基处理的各种方法。通过对采用不同方法进行软基处理的工程实例处理效果的定量对比，发现不同软基处理方法的适用性差异很大，多数工程中仅用一种方法很难达到设计要求，而两种或多种方法联合则可望取得更好的效果。     

A comparison of several wave spectra for the random wave diffraction by a semi-infinite breakwater

A comparison of the diffraction of multidirectional random waves using several selected wave spectrum models is presented in this paper. Six wave spectrum models, Bretschneider, Pierson–Moskowitz, ISSC, ITTC, Mitsuyasu, and JONSWAP spectrum, are considered. A discrete form for each of the given spectrum models is used to specify the incident wave conditions. Analytical solutions based on both the Fresnel integrals and polynomial approximations of the Fresnel integrals and numerical solutions of a boundary integral approach have been used to obtain the two-dimensional wave diffraction by a semi-infinite breakwater at uniform water depth. The diffraction of random waves is based on the cumulative superposition of linear diffraction solution. The results of predicted random wave diffraction for each of the given spectrum models are compared with those of the published physical model presented by Briggs et al. [1995. Wave diffraction around breakwater. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering—ASCE 121(1), 23–35]. Reasonable agreement is obtained in all cases. The effect of the directional spreading function is also examined from the results of the random wave diffraction. Based on these comparisons, the present model for the analysis of various wave spectra is found to be an accurate and efficient tool for predicting the random wave field around a semi-infinite breakwater or inside a harbor of arbitrary geometry in practical applications.     

Aliasing due to sampling of the Adriatic temperature, salinity and density in space

High-resolution underway temperature and conductivity measurements collected by R/V Knorr during winter and spring 2003 are used to characterize errors associated with spatial aliasing in the northern and central Adriatic Sea. During winter, 99th percentile temperature, salinity and density errors were 0.62 °C, 0.25 and 0.12 kg/m³ (0.25 °C, 0.10 and 0.05 kg/m³) for sampling at 10 km (5 km) horizontal resolution, respectively. The corresponding values in spring were 1.31 °C, 0.50 and 0.40 kg/m³ (0.93 °C, 0.25 and 0.22 kg/m³) for the 10 km (5 km) sample spacing, respectively. The largest errors were associated with energetic regions over the shallow, western Adriatic, in front of the Po River mouth and off the tip of the Istrian peninsula. The deeper eastern basin exhibited smaller errors. The variability of errors in time and space reflected the variability of small-scale density features, characterized by wavelengths as small as 2 km in winter and 1 km in spring and being more pronounced in the western and northern parts of the Adriatic. As these results indicate that errors associated with undersampling can be considerable, they should be taken into account while planning future CTD measurements in the region.