Influence of landscape restoration and degradation on storm surge and waves in southern Louisiana

The purpose of this investigation was to examine storm surge and wave reduction benefits of different environmental restoration features (marsh restoration and barrier island changes), as well as the impact of future wetland degradation on local surge and wave conditions. Storm surge simulations of two representative hurricanes were performed using the ADCIRC storm surge model with the inclusion of radiation stress gradients from the STWAVE nearshore wave model. Coupled model simulations were made for a number of landscape configurations that involved both restored and degraded wetland features. The impact of barrier island condition on hurricane surge and waves was also evaluated. Effects of landscape features were represented by changes in elevation and frictional resistance. Restoration and degradation of marsh resulted in decreases (for restoration cases) and increases (for degradation cases) in both surge and waves. The magnitude of change was correlated with the magnitude of the horizontal extent and elevation changes in the marsh. In general, the wave change patterns are consistent with the water level changes. Deflation of the Chandeleur Islands (barrier island chain) resulted in slightly increased surge. Results suggest that coastal marsh does have surge and wave reduction potential. Results also indicate that the impact of the landscape features is amplified in areas where there are levee “pockets.” Barrier islands and coastal ridges reduce wave heights, even if in a degraded condition and thus can reduce wave energy in wetland areas, protecting them from erosion.     

Measurement of the radius of Mercury by radio occultation during the MESSENGER flybys

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft completed three flybys of Mercury in 2008–2009. During the first and third of those flybys, MESSENGER passed behind the planet from the perspective of Earth, occulting the radio-frequency (RF) transmissions. The occultation start and end times, recovered with 0.1 s accuracy or better by fitting edge-diffraction patterns to the RF power history, are used to estimate Mercury's radius at the tangent point of the RF path. To relate the measured radius to the planet shape, we evaluate local topography using images to identify the high-elevation feature that defines the RF path or using altimeter data to quantify surface roughness. Radius measurements are accurate to 150 m, and uncertainty in the average radius of the surrounding terrain, after adjustments are made from the local high at the tangent point of the RF path, is 350 m. The results are consistent with Mercury's equatorial shape as inferred from observations by the Mercury Laser Altimeter and ground-based radar. The three independent estimates of radius from occultation events collectively yield a mean radius for Mercury of 2439.2±0.5 km.     

An investigation of the SO2 content of the venusian mesosphere using SPICAV-UV in nadir mode

Using the SPICAV-UV spectrometer aboard Venus Express in nadir mode, we were able to derive spectral radiance factors in the middle atmosphere of Venus in the 170-320 nm range at a spectral resolution of R ? 200 during 2006 and 2007 in the northern hemisphere. By comparison with a radiative transfer model of the upper atmosphere of Venus, we could derive column abundance above the visible cloud top for SO₂ using its spectral absorption bands near 280 and 220 nm. SO₂ column densities show large temporal and spatial variations on a horizontal scale of a few hundred kilometers. Typical SO₂ column densities at low latitudes (up to 50°N) were found between 5 and 50 μm-atm, whereas in the northern polar region SO₂ content was usually below 5 μm-atm. The observed latitudinal variations follow closely the cloud top altitude derived by SPICAV-IR and are thought to be of dynamical origin. Also, a sudden increase of SO₂ column density in the whole northern hemisphere has been observed in early 2007, possibly related to a convective episode advecting some deep SO₂ into the upper atmosphere.     

Effect of reproductive state and sex on movement and food consumption of western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) in a tank environment

The catchability of western rock lobsters (Panulirus cygnus) during the spawning season (October and November) may be affected by their reproductive state. In this study, movement and food consumption of males and females of different reproductive states held in laboratory tanks were measured as proxies for catchability. Density of lobsters was found to influence both movement and food consumption. Solitary animals and, to a lesser extent, two lobsters per tank, were more sedentary and consumed significantly less food than animals at a density of three or four specimens per tank. Tests using three animals per tank confirmed that mature, unmated, and ovigerous females carrying early stage eggs moved more frequently away from their shelters than males or females carrying late stage eggs (P < 0.0001, d.f. = 3). Further, unmated females and females with early stage eggs recorded significantly higher food consumption (P < 0.0061, d.f. = 3) compared with males or females carrying late stage eggs. The greater time spent away from shelter and also food consumption make unmated females and females with early stage eggs likely to be more catchable than males or females with late stage eggs. As catchability is commonly used to obtain population estimates from survey data, these results have implications for surveys which use catch rates of breeding animals as indicators of egg production.     

Terminology and units in optical oceanography

Abstract

This document presents fundamental terms describing the transfer of radiative energy and relevant optical properties of natural waters. These are primarily based upon the terminology of the “Système International d'Unités (SI)”; and the “International Commission on Illumination (CIE).’’ Quantities and Symbols as proposed in the present terminology follow and extend the terminology that was recommended by the Committee on Radiant Energy in the Sea (of the International Association of Physical Oceanography, IAPO), as published by Jerlov (1968, Optical Oceanography Elsevier Oceanography Series, Vol. 5; 1976, Marine Optics Elsevier Oceanography Series, Vol. 14).     

Computerized detection of seamounts from Seasat type geodetic data

Abstract

Geoid heights and vertical deflections derived from satellite radar altimetry contain characteristic signals that may be reproduced and explained by simple models for seamount gravitation acting on the sea surface. Computer algorithms capable of automatic operation and able to detect, approximately locate, and estimate parameters constraining the shape of actual sea‐mounts were written and tested. The computer program which utilized a digital high‐pass filter combined with a roughness sensor was effective in separating the seamount produced geoid undulation/vertical deflection pattern from the remaining data track features, simultaneously detecting and locating along the track such signals. Tests of the algorithm on several SEASAT passes over known bathymetry produced mixed results. Meaningful shape constraints were obtained by matching the geoid anomaly calculated from the seamount model to the actual mean sea level pattern for some seamounts. Results for other seamounts were poor and possible reasons for the failure are discussed. It is concluded that a computerized seamount detection program for radar altimetry data is feasible, but it will have to be more complex than the present one for fully successful operation.     

Deep-Sea Sediment Compression Curves: Some Controlling Factors,Spurious Overconsolidation,Predictions, and Geophysical Reproduction

Oedometer tests have been carried out on 70 undisturbed surficial clays (at approximately 250 mm below the mudline), mostly collected by free-fall corers from sites widely scattered throughout the deep-sea North Atlantic. Acoustic measurements were also made, initially on contiguous samples and ultimately on the same sample using a geophysically instrumented oedometer which also collected electrical resistivity data. Apart from those quiescent areas below the carbonate compensation depth, such as north of the West Indies where very fine clays exist, most of the samples are silty clays whose geotechnical-geophysical properties are dependent on the type of clay minerals present (and their ability to take in moisture), the sand-size fraction, and the quantity of carbonate present. Thus the pure clays have high compressibilities which decrease on the addition of coarse particles, while the converse is true for the acoustic parameters, these increasing with the sand fraction. Using the notion of the intrinsic compression line for all samples, and comparison to it of the measured compression curves, it is clear that, contrary to some previously held ideas, most deep-sea clays are normally consolidated; the addition of carbonate has the effect of creating an open, stronger sediment skeleton. Interestingly, where information is available, the variation with depth of a sample's acoustic velocity follows the void ratio pressure relationship of the compression curve. This allows the construction of an in-situ sediment compression curve using the in-situ geophysical observations.     

Tidal exposure or microhabitats: what determines sandy‐beach nematode zonation? a case study of a macrotidal ridge‐and‐runnel sandy beach in Belgium

Lately, across‐shore zonation has been found to be more important in structuring the nematode community of a tropical macrotidal sandy beach than microhabitat heterogeneity. To evaluate whether this zonation pattern applies to a temperate beach, a macrotidal ridge‐and‐runnels sandy beach in the North Sea was studied. We investigated whether a similar zonation occurs in sandbar and runnel microhabitats, and whether the runnels harbour a different community from the subtidal. Our results indicate that nematode communities from runnel and sandbar habitats are significantly different. In addition, horizontal zonation patterns for nematode communities differ between both habitats. Nematode assemblages from sandbars are divided to lower, middle and upper beach while upper and middle runnels cluster together. The subtidal and upper runnels showed dissimilar nematode assemblages, although runnels showed the same dominant species (Daptonema normandicum), which increases its abundance towards the upper runnels. This study illustrates the importance of microhabitat heterogeneity, which resulted in different zonation patterns across the sandy beach examined. The divergent zonation between sandbars and runnels in the macrotidal temperate sandy beach, compared with the pattern observed for a subtropical sandy beach with similar morphodynamics, indicates that generalizations about nematode distribution patterns should be made with caution.     

Within‐colony variation in skeletal mineralogy of Adeonellopsis sp. (Cheilostomata: Bryozoa) from New Zealand

Three colonies of the erect, robust branching, cheilostome bryozoan Adeonellopsis sp. were collected from Doubtful Sound, New Zealand, to investigate within‐colony variation in carbonate mineralogy. One‐hundred‐and‐twenty‐one sections from 9 branches were found to contain mostly aragonite, with calcite ranging from 1.1 to 7.3 wt% (mean ± SD = 2.4 ± 1.2 wt%, n = 120). The magnesium (Mg) content in calcite ranged from 5.3 to 13.1 wt% magnesium carbonate (8.8 ± 1.0 wt% MgCO₃; n = 120). Calcite content decreased with increasing age proximally along the branch, indicating that secondary thickening is achieved with aragonite. In contrast, an oscillating trend in Mg content along branches suggests that seasonal or interannual environmental parameters may influence this geochemical parameter. Mineralogical variability highlights the need for multiple samples from the same colony to be measured when determining quantitative carbonate mineralogy in bryozoans. Bimineralic bryozoans such as Adeonellopsis sp. may have lower preservation potential than monomineralic bryozoans, and consequently may not survive diagenesis to become fossils. Bimineralic species may also be more vulnerable to dissolution pressure and possible ocean acidification than monomineralic calcitic taxa.     

The genus Pseudo-nitzschia (Bacillariophyceae) in New Zealand: analysis of the last decade's monitoring data

The diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia blooms throughout New Zealand's coastal waters. More than a decade of monitoring data were analysed in this study and seasonality was a significant factor in the appearance of Pseudo-nitzschia blooms. Austral spring and summer were the main bloom periods, although there were regional differences. Between January 2000 and August 2011, 8.4% of 29,000 seawater samples analysed for Pseudo-nitzschia exceeded the voluntary trigger level for biotoxin testing (10×10⁴ cells l^?1), and these were analysed by fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) assays. Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta and P. pseudodelicatissima (low domoic acid [DA] producers) were the dominant bloom formers throughout New Zealand (each contributing 25%) followed by the highly toxic P. australis (10%). Shellfish flesh testing for DA was triggered on 8477 occasions between 2000 and 2011, but no samples exceeded the regulatory limit (20 mg/kg); the maximum concentration was 13 mg/kg (Marlborough Sounds, mid-winter 2010).