Plankton distribution associated with frontal zones in the vicinity of the Pribilof Islands

We studied the effect of four types of fronts, the coastal front, the middle front, the shelf partition front and the shelf break front on the quantitative distribution and the composition of plankton communities in the Pribilof area of the eastern Bering Sea shelf in late spring and summer of 1993 and 1994. The coastal fronts near St. Paul and St. George Islands and the coastal domains encircled by the fronts featured specific taxonomic composition of planktonic algae, high abundance and production of phytoplankton, as well as large numbers of heterotrophic nanoplankton. The coastal fronts also were characterized by high values of total mesozooplankton biomass, high concentrations of Calanus marshallae, as well as relatively high abundances of Parasagitta setosa and Euphausiacea compared to surrounding shelf waters. We hypothesize that wind-induced erosion of a weak thermocline in the inner part of the coastal front as well as transfrontal water exchange in subthermocline layers result in nutrient enrichment of the euphotic layer in the coastal fronts and coastal domains in summer time. This leads to prolonged high primary production and high phytoplankton biomass. In this paper a new type of front—the shelf partition front located 45–55 km to the north-east off St. Paul Island—is described, which is assumed to be formed by the flux of oceanic domain waters onto the shelf. This front features a high abundance of phytoplankton and a high level of primary production compared to the adjacent middle shelf. Near the southwestern periphery of the front a mesozooplankton peak occurred, composed of C. marshallae, with biomass in the subthermocline layer, reaching values typical for the shelf break front and the highest for the area. High abundance of phyto- and zooplankton as well as heterotrophic nanoplankton and elevated primary production were most often observed in the area adjacent to the shelf break front at its oceanic side. The phyto- and mesozooplankton peaks here were formed by oceanic community species. The summer levels of phytoplankton numbers, biomass and primary production in the shelf break frontal area were similar to those reported for the outer and middle shelf during the spring bloom and the coastal domains and coastal fronts in summer. In the environment with a narrow shelf to the south of St. George Island, the mesozooplankton peak was observed at the inner side of the shelf break front as close as 20 km from the island shore and was comprised of a “mixed” community of shelf and oceanic species. The biomass in the peak reached the highest values for the Pribilof area at 2.5 g mean wet weight m⁻³ in the 0–100 m layer. Details of the taxonomic composition and the numbers and production of phytoplankton hint at the similarity of processes that affect the phytoplankton summer community in the coastal domains of the islands, at the coastal fronts, and at the oceanic side of the shelf break front. The middle front was the only one that had no effect on plankton composition or its quantitative characteristics in June and July. Location of a variety of frontal productive areas within 100 km of the Pribilof Islands creates favorable foraging habitat for higher trophic level organisms, including sea birds and marine mammals, populating the islands.     

Idealised flow models to predict alluvial sandstone body distribution in the Middle Jurassic Yorkshire Basin

Prediction of the subsurface position of alluvial channel sandstones is of great importance in the search for potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. For maximum production at minimum expense, wells need to be sited where there is abundant sandstone and, for enhanced oil recovery, detailed knowledge of sandstone-body geometry and connectivity is desirable. Attempts to predict the position of sandstone-bodies in the subsurface have included theoretical computer simulation and detailed empirical modelling of alluvial architecture (three-dimensional rock type distributions). Up to now, no reliable predictive method has been developed and any improvement is of significance.The method presented here combines the theoretical approach to tectonic control of alluvial architecture with the available geological data to predict subsurface concentrations and orientations of alluvial sandstone bodies.     

Filtering inertia-gravity waves from the initial conditions of the linear shallow water equations

A method for filtering inertia-gravity waves from elevation and depth-averaged velocity is described. This filtering scheme is derived from the linear shallow water equations for constant depth and constant Coriolis frequency. The filtered solution is obtained by retaining only the eigenvectors corresponding to the geostrophic equilibrium and by discarding explicitly the eigenvectors corresponding to the fast moving inertia-gravity waves. An alternative formulation is derived using a variational approach. Both filtering methods are tested numerically for a periodic domain with constant depth and the variational approach is implemented for a closed domain with large topographic variations. The filtering methods significantly reduce the amplitudes of the inertia-gravity waves while preserving the mean flow. The variational method is compared to the Incremental Analysis Update technique and the benefits of the variational filter are presented.     

Late Quaternary polycystine radiolarian datum events in the Sea of Okhotsk

Five radiolarian datum events have been recorded in the Late Quaternary sediment section from the Sea of Okhotsk, using age assignments based on oxygen-isotope stratigraphy: the last occurrence datum (LOD) of Stylacontarium acquilonium (at about 329 ka), the LOD of Spongodiscus sp. (at about 287 ka), the LOD of Amphimelissa setosa (at about 72 ka), the LOD of Lychnocanoma nipponica sakaii (at about 28 ka), and the L. nipponica sakaii acme event (at about 72 ka). The LODs of S. acquilonium, Spongodiscus sp. and A. setosa appear to be synchronous in comparison with those in the Subarctic North Pacific, but the LOD and the acme event of L. nipponica sakaii show an apparent diachroneity with the corresponding North Pacific events.     

Horse mackerel egg identification using DNA methodology

Egg identification in plankton samples is usually needed for purposes of stock assessment. Until recently, only morphological characters were used for identifying the eggs of different fish species. Late developmental stages are easily distinguishable due to pigmentation as well as egg and oil globule size range. However, for early stages, these characteristics are difficult to be discriminated and may overlap with other species. European horse mackerel species (Trachurus trachurus, T. mediterraneus, T. picturatus) overlap significantly in their spawning areas in some European waters. Because of the fact that their eggs are morphologically similar, genetic methodologies are needed to identify eggs and larvae to species correctly. In the present study, formalin‐ and ethanol‐preserved eggs were tested to estimate the efficacy of genetic methodologies for species identification of eggs when different preservatives are used. A 370‐bp fragment of cytochrome b was successfully amplified followed by restriction fragment analysis with two restriction enzymes aiming to identify the eggs to species. Horse mackerel egg identification was accomplished with the maximum success in ethanol‐preserved eggs. However, it seems that various preservatives had different effects on the DNA quality of eggs as genetic identification was less successful in formalin‐preserved eggs. Preserving in ethanol a part of the eggs obtained in plankton surveys is suggested for purposes of accurate genetic identification, even if their morphological features are distorted in time.     

Observations of Eddies in the Japan Basin Interior

Eddy features in the Japan Basin have been studied by combining satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) images and WOCE drifter tracks with recent current meter data from a deep mooring in the interior of the Basin. SST images indicate that anticyclonic eddies often appear around the Subpolar Front in cold seasons and move into the northern cold water region entraining warm water of the frontal zone. The anti-cyclonic eddies "visualized" by the entrained warm water and trajectories of some drifters are typically 30 km in radius and have rotational speeds of 0.15 to 0.3 m/s at the surface. On the other hand, the current meter data of 3-year duration show that vertically coherent eddy-like currents of the order of 0.1 m/s occur every year in cold seasons in the deep (1000 to 3000 m) layer of the Japan Basin interior. An important finding is that available time series of SST patterns are well correlated to the vertically coherent deep currents. This correlation suggests that the anticyclonic eddies indicated by both SST images and drifter tracks are actually barotropic or quasi-barotropic, extending from the surface to the bottom. It is argued that the unique current features in the deep layer of the Japan Basin can be explained in terms of barotropic eddies. A brief discussion is also made of the possible source of the eddy kinetic energy. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sea Beam,SeaMARC II and ALVIN-based studies of faulting on the East Pacific Rise 9°20′ N–9°50′ N

A study of Sea Beam bathymetry and SeaMARC II side-scan sonar allows us to make quantitative measures of the contribution of faulting to the creation of abyssal hill topography on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) 9°15 N–9°50 N. We conclude that fault locations and throws can be confidently determined with just Sea Beam and SeaMARC II based on a number of in situ observations made from the ALVIN submersible. A compilation of 1026 fault scarp locations and scarp height measurements shows systematic variations both parallel and perpendicular to the ridge axis. Outward-facing fault scarps (facing away from the ridge axis), begin to develop within 2 km of the ridge and reach their final average height of 60 m at 5–7 km. Beyond these distances, outward-dipping faults appear to be locked, although there is some indication of continued lengthening of outward-facing fault scarps out to the edge of the survey area. Inward-facing fault scarps (facing toward the ridge axis), initiate 2 km off axis and increase in height and length out to the edge of our data at 30 km, where the average height of inward fault scarps is 60–70 m and the length is 30 km. Continued slip on inward faults at a greater distance off axis is probable, but based on fault lengths, 80% of the lengthening of inward fault scarps occurs within 30 km of the axis (>95% for outward faults). Along-strike propagation and linkage of these faults are common. Outward-dipping faults accommodate more apparent horizontal strain than inward ones within 10 km of the ridge. The net horizontal extension due to faulting at greater distances is estimated as 4.2–4.3%, and inward and outward faults contribute comparably. Both inward- and outward-facing fault scarps increase in height from north to south in our study area in the direction of decreasing inferred magma supply. Average fault spacing is 2 km for both inward-dipping and outward-dipping faults. The azimuths of fault scarps document the direction of ridge spreading, but they are sensitive to local changes in least compressive stress direction near discontinuities. Both the ridge trend and fault scarp azimuths show a clockwise change in trend of 3–5° from 9°50 N to 9°15 N approaching the 9° N overlapping spreading center.     

The effect of standing biomass on flow velocity and turbulence in Spartina alterniflora canopies

Plant-flow interactions on the surface of tidal wetlands result in flow characteristics that are profoundly different from non-vegetated flows. Reductions in mean flow velocity and turbulence, especially the vertical components, limit vertical mixing and may impact a wide range of processes including geochemical exchanges at the sediment water interface, larval recruitment and dispersion, and sediment deposition and retention. The goal of this paper is to quantify horizontal and vertical components of velocity, turbulence intensity and total turbulent kinetic energy in Spartina alterniflora canopies in southeastern North Carolina and to relate flow characteristics to particulate transport on the marsh surface. Another aim of this paper is to assess the extent to which the distribution of standing biomass affects mean flow and turbulence by comparing S. alterniflora data to other canopy types and through a series of canopy manipulations which altered canopy height and stem densities.The results of this study indicate that flow velocity, turbulence intensity, and total turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) are significantly reduced within the vegetated canopy and that this reduction is inversely related to the amount of biomass present in the water column. Within the canopy, approximately 50% of the initial mean velocity and TKE is reduced within 5 m of the canopy edge. Within the canopy, mean velocity and TKE_horiz usually exceeded vertical velocity or TKE_vert and the vertical components of flow were attenuated more strongly than the horizontal. These results suggest that within the vegetation, turbulence contributes more to lateral advection than to vertical mixing. As a result, total suspended solid concentrations were shown to decrease logarithmically with distance from the canopy edge and to decrease at a faster rate in more densely vegetated regions of the canopy (i.e. lower TKE_vert) as compared to areas of sparser vegetation (i.e. higher TKE_vert).     

Transport of salt and suspended sediments in a curving channel of a coastal plain estuary: Satilla River, GA

This study describes the transport of salt and suspended sediment in a curving reach of a shallow mesotidal coastal plain estuary. Circulation data revealed a subtidal upstream bottom flow during neap tide, indicating the presence of a gravitational circulation mode throughout the channel. During spring tide, landward bottom flow weakened considerably at the upstream end of the channel and changed to seaward in the middle and downstream areas of the reach, suggesting the importance of tidal pumping. Salt flux near-bottom was landward at both ends of the channel during neap tide. At spring, however, the salt flux diverged along the bottom of the thalweg suggesting that tidal pumping caused a transfer of salt vertically and laterally into the intertidal zone. Thus, landward flux of salt is maintained even in the presence of subtidal seaward flow along the bottom at the downstream end of the channel.Landward bottom stress is greater than seaward stress, preferentially transporting suspended sediments upstream. Compared with salt, however, the weight of the suspended sediments causes less upward transfer of sediments into the intertidal zone. Flood flow carried more suspended sediments landward at the upstream end compared with the downstream end. We speculate that secondary flow in the curving channel picks up increasing amounts of suspended sediments along the sides during flood and adds them to the axial flow in the thalweg. Since the landward flow along the bottom of the thalweg weakens and even reverses during spring tide, there appears to be a complex re-circulation system for sediments re-suspended in curving channels that complicates the picture of a net transport of sediments landward.