Significance of vertical flux as a sink for surface water DMSP and as a source for the sediment surface in coastal zones of northern Europe

In April 1997 and 1998 the significance of sedimentation as a sink for epipelagic dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) production and as a source for marine sediments was reassessed using a newly designed sediment trap. The behaviour of the traps in immersion was monitored continuously and the collection efficiency was evaluated with ²³⁴Th measurements. Net DMS(P) fluxes were corrected for some physical and biological losses during the whole sedimentation process providing reliable estimates of gross DMSP fluxes. It is shown that daily losses by sedimentation account for between 0.1% and 16% of seawater particulate DMSP (DMSPp) standing stocks, and between 3% and 75% of daily DMSPp production. In the Malangen fjord we observed temporal increases of DMSP production and standing stocks which resulted also in increases of DMSP vertical fluxes and DMS(P) concentrations at the sediment surface. This result illustrates how tight the coupling can be between pelagos and benthos, and confirms that DMS(P) concentration in the sediment was a reliable diagnostic indicator of vertical export from overlying waters in Malangen fjord. In Ullsfjord, however, DMS(P) concentrations in the sediment were poorly indicators of Phaeocystis pouchetii export during the early stage of growth of a bloom. The high load of DMS(P) in Balsfjord's sediments could neither be attributed to local vertical sedimentation nor to short-term lateral advection of fresh DMSP-containing phytoplanktonic material, and provides indication that this tracer sometimes also can be misleading. The highest loads of DMS(P) in sediments and the fastest rates of sedimentation occurred in the Southern Bight of the North Sea.     

Diet restriction induced autophagy: a lysosomal protective system against oxidative- and pollutant-stress and cell injury

Nutrient deprivation or dietary restriction (DR) confers protection against ageing and stress in many animals and induced lysosomal autophagy is part of this mechanism. The effects of dietary restriction on the toxicity of copper and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene have been investigated in the common marine mussel Mytilus edulis. The findings show that DR-induced autophagy facilitates the recovery of the digestive gland (i.e., molluscan liver analogue) from cell injury caused by both copper and phenanthrene. It is inferred that DR-induced autophagy and lysosomal proteolysis results in improved cellular "housekeeping" through the more efficient removal of oxidatively and pollutant damaged proteins (e.g., protein carbonyls, protein adducts, etc.) and that this contributes to stress resistance.     

Tidally incised valleys on tropical carbonate shelves: An example from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The formation of incised valleys on continental shelves is generally attributed to fluvial erosion under low sea level conditions. However, there are exceptions. A multibeam sonar survey at the northern end of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, adjacent to the southern edge of the Gulf of Papua, mapped a shelf valley system up to 220 m deep that extends for more than 90 km across the continental shelf. This is the deepest shelf valley yet found in the Great Barrier Reef and is well below the maximum depth of fluvial incision that could have occurred under a − 120 m, eustatic sea level low-stand, as what occurred on this margin during the last ice age. These valleys appear to have formed by a combination of reef growth and tidal current scour, probably in relation to a sea level at around 30–50 m below its present position.

Tidally incised depressions in the valley floor exhibit closed bathymetric contours at both ends. Valley floor sediments are mainly calcareous muddy, gravelly sand on the middle shelf, giving way to well-sorted, gravely sand containing a large relict fraction on the outer shelf. The valley extends between broad platform reefs and framework coral growth, which accumulated through the late Quaternary, coincides with tidal current scour to produce steep-sided (locally vertical) valley walls. The deepest segments of the valley were probably the sites of lakes during the last ice age, when Torres Strait formed an emergent land-bridge between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Numerical modeling predicts that the strongest tidal currents occur over the deepest, outer-shelf segment of the valley when sea level is about 40–50 m below its present position. These results are consistent with a Pleistocene age and relict origin of the valley.

Based on these observations, we propose a new conceptual model for the formation of tidally incised shelf valleys. Tidal erosion on meso- to macro-tidal, rimmed carbonate shelves is enhanced during sea level rise and fall when a tidal, hydraulic pressure gradient is established between the shelf-lagoon and the adjacent ocean basin. Tidal flows attain a maximum, and channel incision is greatest, when a large hydraulic pressure gradient coincides with small channel cross sections. Our tidal-incision model may explain the observation of other workers, that sediment is exported from the Great Barrier Reef shelf to the adjacent ocean basins during intermediate (rather than last glacial maximum) low-stand, sea level positions. The model may apply to other rimmed shelves, both modern and ancient.     

Design of a 3D Chirp Sub-bottom Imaging System

Chirp sub-bottom profilers are marine acoustic devices that use a known and repeatable source signature (1–24 kHz) to produce decimetre vertical resolution cross-sections of the sub-seabed. Here the design and development of the first true 3D Chirp system is described. When developing the design, critical factors that had to be considered included spatial aliasing, and precise positioning of sources and receivers. Full 3D numerical modelling of the combined source and receiver directivity was completed to determine optimal source and receiver geometries. The design incorporates four source transducers (1.5–13 kHz) that can be arranged into different configurations, including Maltese Cross, a square and two separated pairs. The receive array comprises 240 hydrophones in 60 groups whose group-centres are separated by 25 cm in both horizontal directions, with each hydrophone group containing four individual elements and a pre-amplifier. After careful consideration, it was concluded that the only way to determine with sufficient accuracy the source–receiver geometry, was to fix the sources and receivers within a rigid array. Positional information for the array is given by a Real Time Kinematic GPS and attitude system incorporating four antennas to give position, heading, pitch and roll. It is shown that this system offers vertical positioning accuracy with a root-mean-square (rms) error less than 2.6 cm, while the horizontal positioning rms error was less than 2.0 cm. The system is configured so that the Chirp source signature can be chosen by software aboard the acquisition vessel. The complete system is described and initial navigational and seismic data results are presented. These data demonstrate that the approach of using fixed source-receiver geometry combined with RTK navigation can provide complete 3D imaging of the sub-surface.     

Cross-shelf exchange in a model of the Ross Sea circulation and biogeochemistry

Transport of warm, nutrient-rich Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto Antarctic continental shelves and coastal seas has important effects on physical and biological processes. The present study investigates the locations of this transport and its dynamics in the Ross Sea with a high-resolution three-dimensional numerical model. The model circulation is forced by daily wind stress along with heat and salt fluxes calculated from atmospheric climatologies by bulk formulae. All surface fluxes are modified by an imposed climatological ice cover. Waters under the Ross Ice Shelf are not included explicitly, but their effect on temperature and salinity is imposed in a buffer zone at the southern end of the model domain. A simple nutrient uptake is calculated based on the climatological chlorophyll distribution and Monod uptake kinetics.Model circulation is strongly affected by bottom topography, due to weak stratification, and agrees with schematics of the general flow and long-term current measurements except near the southern boundary. The sea-surface temperature is similar to satellite estimates except that the warmest simulated temperatures are slightly higher than observations. There is a significant correlation between the curvature of the shelf break and the transport across the shelf break. A momentum term balance shows that momentum advection helps to force flow across the shelf break in specific locations due to the curvature of the bathymetry (that is, the isobaths curve in front of the flow). For the model to create a strong intrusion of CDW onto the shelf, it appears two mechanisms are necessary. First, CDW is driven onto the shelf at least partially due to momentum advection and the curvature of the shelf break; then, the general circulation on the shelf takes the CDW into the interior.     

Natural expansion and experimental manipulation of seagrass (Zostera spp.) abundance and the response of infaunal invertebrates

A study of an expanding seagrass bed on the south-west coast of British Columbia, Canada involved documentation and explanation of the pattern of expansion of the vegetation as well as documentation and experimental investigation of the accompanying changes in the distribution of infaunal invertebrates. Expansion followed a major environmental change, improved water clarity initiated in 1969 when a causeway blocked access to the site for silty Fraser River water. The original eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed expanded landward over 30 m year⁻¹, probably causing more and more water to be retained in the bed at low tide and thus improving its own habitat. More rapid expansion occurred from 1979–1983 after Z.japonica colonized at the landward edge of the eelgrass bed and in a separate intertidal area. Expansion ceased around 1983 coincident with, but probably independent of, further construction.Burrowing shrimp (Callianassa californiensis) decreased in abundance between 1977 and 1984 in areas where the two seagrasses colonized. Short-term experiment over one summer and fall showed that removal of all shoots allowed adult shrimp and tube worms to colonize the sediment while addition of shoots of Z. japonica by transplanting caused temporary decreases in shrimp abundance. After a few weeks an established shrimp population destroyed the transplants. Among reasonable alternate hypotheses for the decline in Callianassa, the effect of sediment texture can be eliminated, but either direct negative effects of seagrass, i.e. inhibition of the burrowing of adult shrimp or of settlement of juveniles, or indirect effects, i.e. the harboring of more predators of shrimp in seagrass beds, deserve further study.     

Provenance and dispersal of muds south of the Aleutian arc,north Pacific Ocean

X-ray diffraction analyses show that the clay mineralogies of near-surface muds in the Gulf of Alaska (mostly illite and chlorite) are consistent with detrital sources in southern Alaska. Expandable clay minerals are derived from the Aleutian volcanic arc, and their percentages increase progressively toward the west. Smectite values are lower than expected, however, particularly in the central forearc, and there is less smectite on the insular trench slope than farther seaward. The regional clay-mineral distribution is controlled by two opposed contour currents and by the influx of suspended sediment via both transverse and trench-axis turbidity currents.     

A simple meteorological buoy with satellite telemetry

A small, inexpensive, and easily deployable meteorological buoy is described. Buoy motion is greatly reduced by appropriate ballast techniques; vector averaging further removes buoy motion effects from wind data. Data is transmitted to the GOES satellite and is retrieved by telephone. Measurements are vector-averaged wind components, wind speed, wind direction, water temperature, air temperature, and compass direction. Data from two field trials are discussed. Speed comparisons averaged 0.2 m sec⁻¹ with a standard deviation of 0.6 m sec⁻¹. Direction comparisons were different due to local topography, but they indicate a probable accuracy of ±5°.