Spatial and Temporal Variations of Sound Speed at the PN Section

Gridded sound speed data were calculated using Del Grosso's formulation from the temperature and salinity data at the PN section in the East China Sea covering 92 cruises between February 1978 and October 2000. The vertical gradients of sound speed are mainly related to the seasonal variations, and the strong horizontal gradients are mainly related to the Kuroshio and the upwelling. The standard deviations show that great variations of sound speed exist in the upper layer and in the slope zone. Empirical orthogonal function analysis shows that contributions of surface heating and the Kuroshio to sound speed variance are almost equivalent. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Onshore Neogene stratigraphy in the North of the Alboran Sea (Betic Internal Zones): Paleogeographic implications

The Neogene is the period in which the Betic Cordillera, the Rif, and the Alboran Sea acquired their present configuration. The Neogene sediments of the Betic Internal Zones (located directly to the North of the Alboran Sea) show the effects of important periods of deformation. Deposition was clearly controlled by tectonics. Therefore the generation, evolution, and total or partial destruction of basins and the formation of new, often superimposed, basins are common phenomena, according to the locations of the basins in the Betic Cordillera and to the different geodynamic situations.     

Seasonal variations of water system distribution and flow patterns in the southern sea area of Hokkaido,Japan

Hydrographic data and composite current velocity data (ADCP and GEK) were used to examine the seasonal variations of upper-ocean flow in the southern sea area of Hokkaido, which includes the “off-Doto” and “Hidaka Bay” areas separated by Cape Erimo. During the heating season (April–September), the outflow of the Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) from the Tsugaru Strait first extends north-eastward, and then one branch of TWC turns to the west along the shelf slope after it approaches the Hidaka Shelf. The main flow of TWC evolves continuously, extending eastward as far as the area off Cape Erimo. In the late cooling season (January–March), part of the Oyashio enters Hidaka Bay along the shallower part of the shelf slope through the area off Cape Erimo, replacing almost all of the TWC water, and hence the TWC devolves. It is suggested that the bottom-controlled barotropic flow of the Oyashio, which may be caused by the small density difference between the Oyashio and the TWC waters and the southward migration of main front of TWC, permits the Oyashio water to intrude along the Hidaka shelf slope.     

Stability analysis of a two-inlet bay system

The stability analysis for a double-inlet bay system is applied to an inlet system resembling Big Marco Pass and Capri Pass on the lower west coast of Florida. Since the opening of Capri Pass in 1967, the length of Big Marco Pass has increased from 2000 m in 1967 to 3000 m in 1988 and the cross-sectional area has decreased from 1200 m² in 1967 to 1000 m² in 1988. Since 1967, the cross-sectional area of Capri Pass has steadily increased and in 1988 was 700 m². Tides off the inlets are of the mixed type with a diurnal range of 1 m. The gross littoral transport rate in the vicinity of the inlets is estimated at 150,000 m³ yr⁻¹.For each inlet the maximum tidal velocities are calculated as a function of the gorge cross-sectional areas using a lumped-parameter model to describe the hydrodynamics of the flow. In the model it is assumed that the bay level fluctuates uniformly and the bay surface area remains constant. The velocities are used to calculate the tidal maximum of the bottom shear stress in each inlet as a function of the cross-sectional areas of the two inlets (=closure surface). Values of the equilibrium shear stress are derived from an empirical relationship between cross-sectional area and tidal prism for stable inlets along the west coast of Florida. Closure surfaces and equilibrium stress values are calculated for values of friction factors ranging from F=4×10⁻³ to F=6×10⁻³. Using the closure surfaces and equilibrium stress values, the equilibrium flow curve for each inlet is determined. The equilibrium flow curve represents the locus of the combination of cross-sectional areas for which the actual bottom shear stress in the inlet equals the equilibrium shear stress.Based on the equilibrium flow curves and the known values of the cross-sectional areas of the two inlets in 1988, it is expected that, ultimately, Big Marco Pass will close and Capri Pass will remain as the sole inlet with a cross-sectional area of 1250 m² and a maximum tidal velocity pertaining to a diurnal tide of 0.85 m s⁻¹.     

The influence of salinity on the solubility of Zn and Cd sulphides in the Scheldt estuary

In the estuary of the river Scheldt, where an oxygen gradient exists in addition to the salinity gradient, redox processes will be of major importance for trace metal mobilisation. In this study, the influence of salinity and pH on the redox processes of dissolved Zn and Cd sulphides is investigated together with the effects on the ratio of the dissolved Zn and Cd concentrations. The speciation of these metals is calculated with the chemical equilibrium programme +. Zn sulphides are oxidised at lower oxygen concentrations than Cd sulphides, due to lower stability constants, causing a sudden increase or peak in the dissolved Zn/Cd ratio. The formation of dissolved Cd chloride complexes when oxidation occurs at high salinities (S=15) increases the mobility of Cd, causing a decrease in the Zn/Cd peak of the total dissolved concentrations. The peak is three to four times smaller at S=15 than when oxidation occurs at S=2. The simple model calculations compare very well with field data. The Scheldt estuary is suitable to illustrate these calculations. In the 1970s, the anoxic part of the estuary reached S=15–20, but since the early 1980s it has dropped to S=2–10. Historic data on metals in the estuary from 1978, 1987 and the 1990s were used to compare with the equilibrium calculations. The increase of the dissolved Zn/Cd peak at low salinity as a consequence, of the decreasing anoxic region is confirmed well by the data. The good agreement between model calculations and field data is a proof of the extreme importance of redox processes for the solubility of Zn and Cd sulphides in the estuary.     

The fate of dumped sediments monitored by a high-resolution multibeam echosounder system,Weser Estuary,German Bight

With the development of high-resolution multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) for surveying shallow-water areas a new tool is available to monitor rapid changes in seabed morphology as, e.g., caused by the dumping of dredge spoil in coastal waters. In this study, four data sets of repeated bathymetric surveys with a MBES were processed and analyzed. The data were collected in a 1.94-km² dumping site in the outer Weser Estuary (German Bight). Between June and December 1998, 2.6 million m³ of dredged sediment were deposited there. The bathymetric maps generated in the course of this study reveal features such as subaqueous dunes, scour holes, and mounds of dumped dredge spoil. The mean water depth decreased by about 1 m during the dumping period. Furthermore, difference grids showing changes in sediment volume allowed a calculation of the sediment budget for the monitored area. After a time period of only 5 months, 0.5 million m³ of the originally dumped 2.6 million m³ of dredge spoil had already been removed from the dumping site.     

Diet shifts of Caribbean grunts (Haemulidae) and snappers (Lutjanidae) and the relation with nursery-to-coral reef migrations

The spatial size distribution of grunts and snappers have previously indicated the separation of juveniles in nursery habitats from the adults on the coral reef. This implies life cycle migrations from nursery habitats (such as seagrass beds and mangroves) to the coral reef. If diet shifts are related to such migrations, then the diets of these fish must change before or around the fish size at which such migrations take place. A wide size range of juveniles of two grunt species (Haemulon sciurus and Haemulon flavolineatum) and of two snapper species (Lutjanus apodus and Ocyurus chrysurus) were caught in seagrass beds and mangroves, and their gut contents identified and quantified. Regression analysis between fish size and dietary importance of small crustaceans showed a negative relationship in all four species. Positive relations were found for H. sciurus, L. apodus and O. chrysurus between fish length and the dietary importance of decapods, and for L. apodusand O. chrysurus between fish length and prey fish importance. Critical changes in the fish diets with fish size were examined by application of a Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). The CCA yielded three clusters of size-classes of fishes with similar diets, and application of a Mantel test showed that each of these clusters had significantly different diets, and that each cluster diet was significantly specialised. The size at which a fish species ‘switched’ from one cluster to another was compared with size-at-maturity data and with the typical size at which these species migrate from the nursery habitats to the coral reef. H. sciurus and H. flavolineatum may be prompted to migrate from the nursery habitats to coral reef habitats because of dietary changes, or because of the development of the gonads. For L. apodus and O. chrysurus, a dietary changeover forms a more likely explanation for nursery-to-reef migrations than does sexual maturation because these species reach maturity at sizes much larger than the maximum size of individuals found in nursery habitats. Although other factors may theoretically initiate or promote the migration patterns, the results of this study indicate that ontogenetic dietary changes may crucially influence the nursery-to-coral reef migrations of these reef fish species.     

Atmospheric forcing of fine-sand transport on a low-energy inner shelf: south-central Louisiana,USA

Hydrodynamic and sediment transport measurements from instrumentation deployed during a 54-day winter period at two sites on the Louisiana inner shelf are presented. Strong extratropical storms, with wind speeds of 7.8 to 15.1 m s^-1, were the dominant forcing mechanism during the study. These typically caused mean oscillatory flows and shear velocities about 33% higher than fair weather (averaging 12.3 and 3.2 cm s^-1 at the landward site, and 11.4 and 2.7 cm s^-1 at the seaward site, respectively). These responses were coupled with mean near-bottom currents more than twice as strong as during fair weather (10.3 and 7.5 cm s^-1 at the landward and seaward sites, respectively). These flowed in approximately the same direction as the veering wind, causing a net offshore transport of fine sand. Weak storms were responsible for little sediment transport whereas during fair weather, onshore sand transport of approximately 25-75% of the storm values appears to have occurred. This contradicts previous predictions of negligible fair-weather sediment movement on this inner shelf.     

Tectonic control over topography and channel sedimentation across the forearc slope of the southern Kurile Trench

A high-resolution seismic survey covering more than 2,000 km² has revealed the processes responsible for the slope morphology and channel sedimentation across the forearc slope-basin of the Kurile Arc–NE Japan Arc collision zone, offshore from Tokachi (Hokkaido, Japan). The dominant slope contours parallel the trench but, in the middle and lower reaches of the southern slope, contours are convex-shaped with an offshore trend. This sector of the slope is traversed diagonally by the Hiroo submarine channel. The offshore-trending convex contours and the channel course have developed through the interplay of tectonic and sedimentary processes, including the development of anticlines, anticline-induced lobe sedimentation and channel avulsion. In its upper reaches, the channel is restricted by a topographic low associated with NNW–SSE-trending anticlines which developed within the upper and middle slope sectors during late Miocene uplift. The uplift timing and trend of these anticlines indicate that they resulted from collision, the channel sedimentology and slope morphology of the middle and lower slopes having been influenced by Pliocene uplift of NE–SW-trending anticlines. The trends of these anticlines parallel those of the Kurile Trench. The Pliocene and early Pleistocene strata of the middle and lower slopes consist of ponded lobe sediments deposited along the palaeo-Hiroo submarine channel on the landward side of the anticlines. As a lobe pile accumulated, the channel thalweg shifted to the north of the stack, allowing the channel to bypass the topographic high formed by the growing stack. Thick levee deposits built up along the channel course during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. These levees, along with the Pliocene and early Pleistocene lobes, are reflected in the present-day sigmoid-shaped, convex offshore-trending contours. Thus, the interplay of subduction- and collision-related anticlines, tectonic-related channel ponding, and avulsion has contributed to the slope morphology of the southern Kurile Trench.