Relationships between structure functions and temperature ramps in the atmospheric surface layer

The behaviour of odd-order structure functions of temperature in the atmospheric surface layer is consistent with the presence of a coherent structure characterised by temperature ramps. The use of a simple linear model for the ramp together with measurements of second-, third-, and fifth-order temperature structure functions yields estimates for the characteristic mean amplitude and repetition interval of ramps for stability conditions ranging from neutral to moderately unstable. Both amplitude and repetition interval compare favourably with values derived from observations of temperature traces obtained simultaneously at two heights in the surface layer.     

Streamwise heat flux budget in the atmospheric surface layer

Atmospheric surface-layer measurements of terms in the equation for the streamwise heat flux confirm previous results in both laboratory and atmosphere that the temperature-pressure gradient correlation acts as a sink, approximately equal in magnitude to the production term. The measured viscous dissipation term is independent of stability and represents less than 10% of the production term over the range of experimental stability conditions. Models for the temperature-pressure gradient correlation are compared with the measurements.     

Determination of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height from Radiosonde and Lidar Backscatter

The height of the atmospheric boundary layer is derived with the help of two different measuring systems and methods. From radiosoundings the boundary layer height is determined by the parcel method and by temperature and humidity gradients. From lidar backscatter measurements a combination of the averaging variance method and the high-resolution gradient method is used to determine boundary layer heights. In this paper lidar-derived boundary layer heights on a 10 min basis are presented. Datasets from four experiments – two over land and two over the sea – are used to compare boundary layer heights from both methods. Only the daytime boundary layer is investigated because the height of the nighttime stable boundary layer is below the range of the lidar. In many situations the boundary layer heights from both systems coincide within ±200 m. This corresponds to the standard deviation of lidar-derived 10-min values within a 1-h interval and is due to the time and space variability of the boundary layer height. Deviations appear for certain situations and depend on which radiosonde method is applied. The parcel method fails over land surfaces in the afternoon when the boundary layer stabilizes and over the ocean when the boundary layer is slightly stable. An automatic radiosonde gradient method sometimes fails when multiple layers are present, e.g. a residual layer above the growing convective boundary layer. The lidar method has the advantage of continuous tracing and thus avoids confusion with elevated layers. On the other hand, it mostly fails in situations with boundary layer clouds     

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.     

Climatology of surface and near-bed temperature and salinity on the north-west European continental shelf for 1971–2000

A 30-year (1971–2000) temperature and salinity climatology is presented for surface and near-bed regions of the NW European shelf seas, with a resolution of 1/6^°$1/6^{°}$ longitude by 1/10^°$1/{10}^{°}$ latitude. The data have been extracted from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) data centre and supplemented by additional records from the World Ocean Data Centre (WODC). From the original data, which are irregularly distributed in space and time, the mean monthly temperature and salinity are calculated, as well as the climatic mean annual cycle. The climatology presented here is an improvement upon all existing climatologies presented in the literature for the NW European shelf; covering a wider area on a finer scale and including the surface and near-bed distribution of both temperature and salinity. Comparison of our data with existing climatologies shows good agreement, with differences occurring where our climatology is an improvement. This climatology, which will prove to be valuable to many users in the marine community, will be regularly updated and made available to all users via the ICES data centre.     

Effect of siderophores on the light-induced dissolution of colloidal iron(III) (hydr)oxides

Siderophores play an important role in biological iron acquisition in iron-limited aquatic systems. While it is widely accepted that the solubilization of iron-bearing mineral phases is a key function of siderophores, the mechanism of siderophore-promoted mineral dissolution in aquatic systems is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of siderophores (desferrioxamine B (DFOB) and aerobactin) on light-induced dissolution of goethite and lepidocrocite in the presence or absence of oxalate in aerated and deaerated suspensions at pH 6. For the irradiated two-ligand system (oxalate/siderophore), the experimental results suggest that oxalate acts as the electron donor for the formation of surface Fe(II), and the siderophore acts as an efficient shuttle for the transfer of surface Fe(II) into solution. Furthermore, even in the absence of an electron donor such as oxalate, both DFOB and aerobactin accelerated the light-induced dissolution of lepidocrocite as compared to the thermal dissolution. Experiments with dissolved Fe(III)–DFOB and Fe(III)–aerobactin complexes suggest that this enhancing effect is not due to photolysis of corresponding surface complexes but to efficient transfer of reduced surface Fe(II) into solution, where surface Fe(II) may be formed, e.g., through photolysis of surface Fe(III)–hydroxo groups. Based on this study, we conclude that the interplay of light and siderophores may play a key role in the dissolution of colloidal iron(III) (hydr)oxides in marine systems, particularly in the presence of efficient electron donors.     

Ecotoxicological and human health risk in a petrochemical district of southern Italy

An ecotoxicological investigation has been carried in the petrochemical district of Priolo (Sicily, Italy), one of the largest in Europe. Results indicated a severe mercury contamination in sediments sampled near a chloro-alkali plant. A clear bioavailability of this element was demonstrated in mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis (both native and translocated) and the benthic fish Mullus barbatus, which also exhibited marked genotoxic damages. The elevated mercury concentrations in marine organisms are a serious concern for human health; according to the national average fish consumption, the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of Hg would be easily exceeded by at least 4 to 12 fold. Such toxicological risk is of particular importance for pregnant women, being possibly involved in the elevated frequency of neonatal malformations.     

Significance of the Virus-Rich 2–200 nm Size Fraction of Seawater for Heterotrophic Flagellates: I. Impact on Growth

Abstract. The effect of artificially changing the concentration of naturally occurring free virus-like particles (VLPs) on growth of marine heterotrophic flagellates was tested in batch cultures using ultrafiltration technology. This manipulation influenced the course of flagellate growth markedly. During 1 week of incubation the growth of 4 tested flagellate strains ( Oxyrrhis marina, Paraphysomonas imperforata, Petalomonas cantuscygni, Pteridomonas danica ) was strongly favoured after increasing the VLP concentration. Bacteria, however, were repressed in these treatments beyond 50 h. In cultures with natural seawater microbiota, we both reduced and enriched the concentration of VLPs. In these cultures, reduction of material in the virus-rich 2–200 nm size fraction led to a strong positive growth response of heterotrophic flagellates. In VLP-enriched treatments of natural seawater microbiota a tendency toward growth stimulation was also found, although this was not significant. Enrichment with VLPs caused no recognizable mortality either in cultured flagellate strains or in naturally occurring flagellate communities. However, it is suggested that a highly bioactive component must be present in the virus-rich 2–200 nm size fraction. Virus-like particles are discussed as possible candidates influencing heterotrophic flagellate community successions.