2015–16 ENSO contributed reduction in oil sardines along the Kerala coast,south‐west India

Fishery along the west coast of India largely depends on pelagic fish such as oil sardines, which are dominant during the south‐west monsoon. However, the response of sardine population to the warming caused by the climatic events such as El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is poorly studied. Here, we hypothesize that the ENSO‐related changes in biogeochemistry can adversely affect the oil sardines. We have used biogeochemical data collected along the Kerala coast during September 2015 (ENSO year) and September 2017 (a normal year) supported by catch per unit effort (CPUE) and fishery landing data to show the ENSO‐related bio‐physical dynamics and its impact on the oil sardine population along the south‐west coast of India. During the 2015 ENSO year, upwelling velocity decreased minimizing cooling of surface waters and resulted with an increase in sea surface temperature (SST) (~1.8°C). Consequent decrease in nutrient levels favoured nano‐phytoplankton and pico‐phytoplankton. On the other hand, during September 2017 when the ENSO effect was nullified, the decreased SST and availability of nutrients in the euphotic zone resulted in the dominance of micro‐phytoplankton. The hydrographic conditions (reduction in upwelling intensity), and reduction in micro‐phytoplankton abundance and zooplankton density in turn perhaps affected the fishery potential of the region. Oil sardines population (along the west coast) collapsed from 1.55 lakh tones (2014) to 0.46 lakh tones during 2015–2016 ENSO event, while in 2017 the conditions become favorable and their population was back to normal (1.27 lakh tones). Our results are in close agreement with our hypothesis and suggest that ENSO events could reduce phytoplankton productivity and disrupt the food chain, which in turn can affect the oil sardine population along the west coast of India.     

Diatoms from surface sediments of Enderby Basin of Indian Sector of Southern Ocean

Diatoms from surface sediment samples collected from Enderby Basin of Indian Sector of Southern Ocean were analyzed to determine the relative abundance and distribution of seven key indicator diatom species viz. Sea ice related species Fragilariopsis rhombica, F. separanda, F. curta, F. ritscheri, Thalassiosira tumida and Actinocyclus actinochilus and Open Ocean species F. kerguelensis on the basis of modern physico-chemical parameters. The relative abundances of different species observed viz. F. rhombica — 6.25%; F. separanda — 12.5%; F. curta — 10.53–13.33%; F. ritscheri — 4.55–12.5%; F. kerguelensis — 6.25–63.64%; T. tumida — 3.13% and A. actinochilus — 9.38–13.33%. The increasing abundance of F. kerguelensis consecutively suggests the effect of Antarctic bottom water in the study area which is further substantiated by the presence and increasing abundance of F. ritscheri. The gradual decrease in abundance or absence of sea ice related species from the sampled stations indicates the summer and winter sea ice extent concentration in the study area. The nutrient concentration correlates with the distribution and abundances of diatom species.     

Propagation of tides in the Mandovi-Zuari estuarine network

Located in Goa on the west coast of India and joining the Arabian Sea, the Mandovi and the Zuari are two estuaries, each about 50 km long, connected by a narrow canal. A number of small rivers join the two estuaries, forming a network of channels, whose cross-sectional area decreases rapidly in the upstream direction. They receive large freshwater influx during the southwest monsoon and little during the rest of the year. During April (dry season) and August (wet season) 1993, the water level and salinity at 15 locations in the network were monitored for 3 days to determine characteristics of tidal propagation in the network. Analysis of the data shows that the speed of propagation of both the diurnal and the semi-diurnal tide through the main channels of the network is approximately 6 m/s. Amplitudes of these tides in the channels remain unchanged over a distance of about 40 km from the mouth and then decay rapidly upstream over the next 10 km. The undamped propagation is a consequence of the balance between geometric amplification, due to decrease in the cross-sectional area in the upstream direction, and frictional dissipation. The rapid decay near the upstream end of the channels appears to result primarily from freshwater influx.     

Up‐scaling potential impacts on water flows from agricultural water interventions: opportunities and trade‐offs in the Osman Sagar catchment,Musi sub‐basin,India

Agricultural water management (AWM) has been shown to improve and secure yields in the tropics and has been suggested as an important way to combat poverty in the region. In this paper, we describe potential impacts on upstream and downstream flows of extensive AWM interventions, using the watershed development programme of the Osman Sagar catchment of Musi sub‐basin, Andhra Pradesh semi‐arid India, as an example. Various AWM interventions are compared with a non‐intervention state and the current state of the study area, using 31 years of data by application of the calibrated and validated ARCSWAT 2005 (Version 2.1.4a) modelling tool. Different AWM interventions contribute to improved livelihoods of upstream smallholder farmers by increasing soil moisture availability and groundwater recharge, which can subsequently be used for irrigation. The result is higher crop production and hence larger incomes. Moreover, lower flow intensities and sediment losses reduced by 30–50%, reducing the risk of flooding and sediment accumulation in the Osman Sagar drinking water reservoir. On the other hand, AWM interventions are predicted to result in reduced total water inflows to the Osman Sagar reservoir from 11% of the total annual rainfall (754 mm) recorded at present, to 8% if AWM interventions were implemented at large scale throughout the catchment. A cost–benefit analysis of AWM interventions showed that the highest net economic returns were achieved at intermediate intervention levels (only in‐situ AWM). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamics of sea-ice biogeochemistry in the coastal Antarctica during transition from summer to winter

The seasonality of carbon dioxide partial pressure(pCO_2).air-sea CO_2 fluxes and associated environmental parameters were investigated in the Antarctic coastal waters.The in-situ survey was carried out from the austral summer till the onset of winter[January 2012,February 2010 and March 2009) in the Enderby Basin.Rapid decrease in pCO_2 was evident under the sea-ice cover in January,when both water column and sea-ice algal activity resulted in the removal of nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon(DIC) and increase in pH.The major highlight of this study is the shift in the dominant biogeochemical factors from summer to early winter.Nutrient limitation(low Si/N),sea-ice cover,low photosynthetically active radiation(PAR),deep mixed layer and high upwelling velocity contributed towards higher pCO_2during March(early winter).CO_2 fluxes suggest that the Enderby Basin acts as a strong CO_2 sink during January(-81 mmol m~2 d~(-1)),however it acts as a weak sink of CO_2 with-2.4 and-1.7 mmol m~(-2) d~(-1)during February and March,respectively.The present work,concludes that sea ice plays a dual role towards climate change,by decreasing sea surface PCO_2 in summer and enhancing in early winter.Our observations emphasize the need to address seasonal sea-ice driven CO_2 flux dynamics in assessing Antarctic contributions to the global oceanic CO_2 budget.     

Tides in the Mandovi and Zuari estuaries, Goa, west coast of India

Mandovi and Zuari are two estuaries located in Goa, west coast of India. Variation of water level in the estuaries was monitored for a month at 13 locations using tide-poles during March–April 2003. Analysis of this data has provided for the first time, characteristics of how tidal constituents vary in the narrow and shallow estuaries, typical of those found along the west coast of India. At a distance of 45 km from the mouth the tidal range increased in both estuaries by approximately 20%. The tidal range at the upstream end of the two channels at the stations dropped sharply because of the increase in elevation of the channels.     

Impact of sea breeze on wind-seas off Goa, west coast of India

After withdrawal of the Indian Summer Monsoon and until onset of the next monsoon, i.e., roughly during November–May, winds in the coastal regions of India are dominated by sea breeze. It has an impact on the daily cycle of the sea state near the coast. The impact is quite significant when large scale winds are weak. During one such event, 1–15 April 1997, a Datawell directional waverider buoy was deployed in 23 m water depth off Goa, west coast of India. Twenty-minute averaged spectra, collected once every three hours, show that the spectrum of sea-breeze-related ‘wind-seas’ peaked at 0.23 ±0.05 Hz. These wind-seas were well separated from swells of frequencies less than 0.15 Hz. The TMA spectrum (Bouwset al 1985) matched the observed seas spectra very well when the sea-breeze was active and the fetch corresponding to equilibrium spectrum was found to be 77±43 km during such occasions. We emphasize on the diurnal cycle of sea-breeze-related sea off the coast of Goa and write an equation for the energy of the seas as a function of the local wind