ENSO impacts on salinity in Tampa Bay, Florida

Estuarine salinity distributions reflect a dynamic balance between the processes that control estuarine circulation. At seasonal and longer time scales, freshwater inputs into estuaries represent the primary control on salinity distribution and estuarine circulation. El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions influence seasonal rainfall and stream discharge patterns in the Tampa Bay, Florida region. The resulting variability in freshwater input to Tampa Bay influences its seasonal salinity distribution. During El Niño events, ENSO sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) are significantly and inversely correlated with salinity in the bay during winter and spring. These patterns reflect the elevated rainfall over the drainage basin and the resulting elevated stream discharge and runoff, which depress salinity levels. Spatially, the correlations are strongest at the head of the bay, especially in bay sections with long residence times. During La Niña conditions, significant inverse correlations between ENSO SSTAs and salinity occur during spring. Dry conditions and depressed stream discharge characterize La Niña winters and springs, and the higher salinity levels during La Niña springs reflect the lower freshwater input levels.     

Portable autonomous vertical profiler for estuarine applications

The design and implementation of a portable autonomous vertical profiler are documented and example data sets from a mesotidal estuary and a microtidal, wind-driven estuary are presented. The profiler sampling range dynamically adjusts to changes in water column depth, and a typical vertical sampling resolution of 4 cm is attained. Example data show the onset and vertical and temporal extent of stratification in the water column. The profiler is ideal for water quality monitoring programs in shallow estuaries that require frequent profiles of hydrographic, chemical, and biological parameters that can be measured in situ.     

Impact of suboxia on sinking particulate organic carbon: Enhanced carbon flux and preferential degradation of amino acids via denitrification

Fluxes of particulate organic carbon (POC) through the oxygen deficient waters in the eastern tropical North Pacific were found to be relatively less attenuated with depth than elsewhere in the eastern North Pacific. The attenuation coefficient (b) for the flux was found to be 0.40 versus the composite value of 0.86 determined by Martin et al. (1987). To examine this further, sinking POC was collected using sediment traps and allowed to degrade in oxic and suboxic experiments. Using a kinetic model, it was found that degradation proceeded at similar rates (roughly 0.8 day⁻¹) under oxic and suboxic conditions, but a greater fraction of bulk POC was resistant to degradation in the suboxic experiments (61% vs. 23%). Amino acids accounted for 37% of POC collected at 75m, but following degradation the value dropped to 17% and 16% in the oxic and suboxic experiments respectively. POC collected from 500m was 10% amino acids. The non-AA component of POC collected at 75m was not degraded under suboxic conditions, while under oxic conditions it was. These results suggest that microbes degrading OC under suboxic conditions via denitrification preferentially utilize nitrogen-rich amino acids. This preferential degradation of amino acids suggests that 9% more nitrogen may be lost via water column denitrification than is accounted for when a more “Redfieldian” stoichiometry for POC is assumed.     

Morphologic and spectral investigation of exceptionally well-preserved bacterial biofilms from the Oligocene Enspel formation, Germany

The fossilised soft tissues of a tadpole and an associated coprolitic structure from the organic-rich volcanoclastic lacustrine Upper Oligocene Enspel sediments (Germany) were investigated using high-resolution imaging techniques and nondestructive in situ surface analysis. Total organic carbon analysis of the coprolite and the sediment revealed values of 28.9 and 8.9% respectively. The soft tissues from the tadpole and the coprolite were found to be composed of 0.5 to 1 μm-sized spheres and rod shapes. These features are interpreted as the fossil remains of bacterial biofilms consisting probably of heterotrophic bacteria and fossilised extracellular polymeric substances. They became fossilised while in the process of degrading the organic matter of the organism and the coprolite. Comparison with a modern marine biofilm revealed morphologic details identical to those observed in the fossil bacterial biofilms. Although the fossil biofilms on both macrofossils exhibited identical microtextures, their mode of preservation was inhomogeneous and varied between calcium phosphate and an as yet unidentified mineral phase consisting mainly of Si, Ca, Ti, P, and S, but also showing the presence of Mg, Al, and Fe. The coprolite consists purely of fossilised bacterial cells in a densely packed arrangement and associated fossilised extracellular polymeric substances.In addition to preliminary imaging and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, both the fossil biofilms and the sediment were investigated by nondestructive in situ analysis using time of flight-secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS). The mass spectra obtained on the coprolite in mass-resolved chemical mapping mode allowed the tentative identification of a number of organic secondary ion species. Some spectra appear to indicate the presence of bacterial hopanoids, but further work using standard techniques such as gas chromatography mass spectroscopy is needed to conclusively verify the presence of these substances. Nevertheless, ToF-SIMS chemical maps were successfully correlated with electron microscopy images, allowing the correlation of molecular spectra, the spatial distribution of individual organic species, and specific morphologic features to demonstrate the potential of this approach in the analysis of microfossils.     

A Comparison of Two-Phase Dynamic Upscaling Methods Based on Fluid Potentials

Although a number of methods for calculating dynamic pseudo-functions have been developed over the years, there is still a lack of understanding as to why a certain method will succeed in some cases but fail in others. In this paper, we describe the results of an assessment of several upscaling methods, namely the Kyte and Berry (KB) method, the Stone method, the Hewett and Archer (HA) method and the Transmissibility-Weighted (TW) method. We have analyzed the equations for deriving the methods and investigated the results of numerical simulations of gas displacing oil, in a variety of models to enable us to gain new insights into these, and related, upscaling methods. In particular, some novel observations on methods based on fluid potential are presented and the issue of using predicted fluid mobilities as a criterion of accuracy of an upscaling method is clarified.     

A decade of change in the Skidaway River estuary I. Hydrography and nutrients

The Skidaway River estuary is a tidally-dominated subtropical estuary in the southeastern USA surrounded by extensiveSpartina salt marshes. Weekly smapling at high and low tide began in 1986 for hydrography, nutrients, chlorophylla, particulate matter, and microbial and plankton biomass and composition; hydrographic and nutrient data during 1986–1996 are reported here. Salinity varied inversely with river discharge and exhibited variability at all time scales but with no long-term trend. Water temperature typically ranged over 25°C and was without apparent long-term frend. Seasonal cycles in concentrations of NO₃, NH₄, PO₄, Si(OH)₄, and DON were observed, with annual maxima generally occurring in late summer. Superimposed on seasonal cycles, all five nutrients exhibited steady increases in minimum, mean, and maximum concentrations; mean concentrations increased c. 50–150% during the decade. Nutrient concentrations were highly correlated with water temperature over the ten-year period, but weakly related to salinity and discharge. Nutrients were strongly correlated with one another, and the relative ratios among inorganic nutrients showed little long-term trend. Correlations among temperature and nutrient concentrations exhibited considerable inter-annual variability. Major spikes in organic and inorganic nutrient concentrations coincided with significant rainfall events; concentrations increased hyperbolically with rainfall. Although pristine compared to more heavily impacted waterways primarily outside the region, residential development and population density have been increasing rapidly during the past 15–20 years. Land use is apparently altering nutrient loading over the long-term (months-years), and superimposed on this are stochastic meteorological events that accelerate these changes over the short term (days-weeks).     

Structure sismique du socle paléozoı̈que du bassin des Doukkala,Môle côtier,Maroc occidental. Indication en faveur de l'existence d'une phase éo-varisqueSeismic structure of the Doukkala basin,Palaeozoic basement,western Morocco: a hint for an Eovariscan fold-and-thrust belt

Seismic profiles and well data from the Doukkala basin unravel the structure of the Palaeozoic basement and suggest that this coastal zone of western Morocco was affected by a compressive phase during the Frasnian. This resulted in the formation of upright, plurikilometric folds associated with reverse faults (North Doukkala), and of asymmetrical folds associated with mostly west verging ramps (South Doukkala). Folding involved all pre-Upper Frasnian formations and caused partial or total hiatus of Upper Frasnian–Strunian strata. This event can be correlated with the orogenic phase reported from more internal domains of the Morocco Hercynian belt, where it is referred to as the ‘Bretonne’ or ‘Eovariscan’ phase. To cite this article: H. Echarfaoui et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 13–20