Hydrodynamics and suspended particulate matter retention in macrotidal estuaries located in Amazonia-semiarid interface (Northeastern-Brazil)

The aim of the current study was to determine the nature of the seasonal variability of the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) fluxes from the drainage basin to the estuary in a macrotidal region (Northeastern Brazil), and the estuarine response to a seawater intrusion regarding sediment deposition, which will support the understanding of the global transport of materials at the continent-ocean interface. Thermohaline structure data was acquired using a Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) probe with a sampling frequency of 4 Hz. Suspended particulate material was measured by gravimetric measurements applied to exact filtered volume samples. The outflows were measured through the use of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) with frequency of 1.5 MHz. The horizontal thermal and saline gradients varied from warmer and less saline waters (2014) to cooler and saline waters (2015). The gradient behavior when linked to volume transport and SPM flows, suggests a minimization of the fluvial flows in 2015, easing the advance of coastal water (CW) towards the inner estuary, leading to an inversion of the baroclinic pressure gradient. The bottom saline front, generated by the entrance of coastal water masses, caused an increase in SPM concentrations due to increased fluid density, resuspension of previously deposited sediment, and erosion of banks. High concentrations of SPM indicate higher volume transport suggesting a hydraulic barrier due to the change/inversion of the baroclinic pressure gradient, resulting in water and material retention. Material deposition was observed during neap tide, while during spring tide the material is resuspended, increasing the concentration, generating cycles of deposition and erosion during the neap-spring tides. The sediment in suspension that reach the estuary, even with low fluvial volume, stay in this environment forming new islands because of deposition. High deposition rates or sediment cycling, if generated by the hydraulic barrier, may indicate that the flows of SPM from the continental drainage to the estuary and adjacent continental shelf are interrupted and the residence time is increased.     

Freshwater transport estimates and the global overturning circulation: Shallow, deep and throughflow components

Meridional ocean freshwater transports and convergences are calculated from absolute geostrophic velocities and Ekman transports. The freshwater transports are analyzed in terms of mass-balanced contributions from the shallow, ventilated circulation of the subtropical gyres, intermediate and deep water overturns, and Indonesian Throughflow and Bering Strait components. The following are the major conclusions:

1.

Excess freshwater in high latitudes must be transported to the evaporative lower latitudes, as is well known. The calculations here show that the northern hemisphere transports most of its high latitude freshwater equatorward through North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation (as in [Rahmstorf, S., 1996. On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. Climate Dynamics 12, 799-811]), in which saline subtropical surface waters absorb the freshened Arctic and subpolar North Atlantic surface waters (0.45 ± 0.15 Sv for a 15 Sv overturn), plus a small contribution from the high latitude North Pacific through Bering Strait (0.06 ± 0.02 Sv). In the North Pacific, formation of 2.4 Sv of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) transports 0.07 ± 0.02 Sv of freshwater equatorward.In complete contrast, almost all of the 0.61 ± 0.13 Sv of freshwater gained in the Southern Ocean is transported equatorward in the upper ocean, in roughly equal magnitudes of about 0.2 Sv each in the three subtropical gyres, with a smaller contribution of <0.1 Sv from the Indonesian Throughflow loop through the Southern Ocean. The large Southern Ocean deep water formation (27 Sv) exports almost no freshwater (0.01 ± 0.03 Sv) or actually imports freshwater if deep overturns in each ocean are considered separately (−0.06 ± 0.04 Sv).This northern-southern hemisphere asymmetry is likely a consequence of the “Drake Passage” effect, which limits the southward transport of warm, saline surface waters into the Antarctic [Toggweiler, J.R., Samuels, B., 1995a. Effect of Drake Passage on the global thermohaline circulation. Deep-Sea Research I 42(4), 477-500]. The salinity contrast between the deep Atlantic, Pacific and Indian source waters and the denser new Antarctic waters is limited by their small temperature contrast, resulting in small freshwater transports. No such constraint applies to NADW formation, which draws on warm, saline subtropical surface waters .

2.

The Atlantic/Arctic and Indian Oceans are net evaporative basins, hence import freshwater via ocean circulation. For the Atlantic/Arctic north of 32°S, freshwater import (0.28 ± 0.04 Sv) comes from the Pacific through Bering Strait (0.06 ± 0.02 Sv), from the Southern Ocean via the shallow gyre circulation (0.20 ± 0.02 Sv), and from three nearly canceling conversions to the NADW layer (0.02 ± 0.02 Sv): from saline Benguela Current surface water (−0.05 ± 0.01 Sv), fresh AAIW (0.06 ± 0.01 Sv) and fresh AABW/LCDW (0.01 ± 0.01 Sv). Thus, the NADW freshwater balance is nearly closed within the Atlantic/Arctic Ocean and the freshwater transport associated with export of NADW to the Southern Ocean is only a small component of the Atlantic freshwater budget.For the Indian Ocean north of 32°S, import of the required 0.37 ± 0.10 Sv of freshwater comes from the Pacific through the Indonesian Throughflow (0.23 ± 0.05 Sv) and the Southern Ocean via the shallow gyre circulation (0.18 ± 0.02 Sv), with a small export southward due to freshening of bottom waters as they upwell into deep and intermediate waters (−0.04 ± 0.03 Sv).The Pacific north of 28°S is essentially neutral with respect to freshwater, −0.04 ± 0.09 Sv. This is the nearly balancing sum of export to the Atlantic through Bering Strait (−0.07 ± 0.02 Sv), export to the Indian through the Indonesian Throughflow (−0.17 ± 0.05 Sv), a negligible export due to freshening of upwelled bottom waters (−0.03 ± 0.03 Sv), and import of 0.23 ± 0.04 Sv from the Southern Ocean via the shallow gyre circulation.

3.

Bering Strait’ssmall freshwater transport of <0.1 Sv helps maintains the Atlantic-Pacific salinity difference. However, proportionally large variations in the small Bering Strait transport would only marginally impact NADW salinity, whose freshening relative to saline surface water is mainly due to air-sea/runoff fluxes in the subpolar North Atlantic and Arctic. In contrast, in the Pacific, because the total overturning rate is much smaller than in the Atlantic, Bering Strait freshwater export has proportionally much greater impact on North Pacific salinity balances, including NPIW salinity.

     

Perception of change in freshwater in remote resource-dependent Arctic communities

This paper provides empirical evidence to support existing anecdotal studies regarding the mechanisms by which human communities become vulnerable to rapid changes in freshwater resources on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. We interviewed adults, stratified by age, sex, and extended family, in Inupiat communities on the Seward Peninsula. Using categorical indices as part of a semi-structured interview we elicited a respondent's perception of the availability and quality of freshwater resources in their community as well as their perception of change in the availability and quality of freshwater during the period of their lifetime in that community. Significant relationships were observed between age groups for the perception of change in the availability of the local water source and the perception of change in its quality—older generations perceiving more change than younger age groups. These perceptions of change were examined with respect to recent historic changes in precipitation and temperature on the Seward Peninsula. These findings suggest that individual perceptions are instrumental in determining whether or not change merits response. The findings also provide evidence that oral traditional knowledge systems have shifted from continuous to discontinuous transmission, distancing the users from traditional resources. We discuss the role of collective knowledge, through the transmission of knowledge from elders to subsequent generations, in aiding the development of a community's ability to note and respond to changes in critical natural resources.     

Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF) for biological assessment of rivers and lakes in Flanders (Belgium)

The European Water Framework Directive requires that member states assess all their surface waters based on a number of biological elements, including macroinvertebrates. Since 1989, the Flemish Environment Agency has been using the Belgian Biotic Index for assessing river water quality based on macroinvertebrates. Throughout the years, the Belgian Biotic Index has proven to be a reliable and robust method providing a good indication of general degradation of river water and habitat quality. Since the Belgian Biotic Index does not meet all the requirements of the Water Framework Directive, a new index, the Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index Flanders (MMIF) for evaluating rivers and lakes was developed and tested. This index was developed in order to provide a general assessment of ecological deterioration caused by any kind of stressor, such as water pollution and habitat quality degradation. The MMIF is based on macroinvertebrate samples that are taken using the same sampling and identification procedure as the Belgian Biotic Index. The index calculation is a type-specific multimetric system based on five equally weighted metrics, which are taxa richness, number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa, number of other sensitive taxa, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and the mean tolerance score. The final index value is expressed as an Ecological Quality Ratio ranging from zero for very bad ecological quality to one for very good ecological quality. The MMIF correlates positively with dissolved oxygen and negatively with Kjeldahl nitrogen, total nitrogen, ammonium, nitrite, total phosphorous, orthophosphate and biochemical and chemical oxygen demand. This new index is now being used by the Flemish Environment Agency as a standard method to report about the status of macroinvertebrates in rivers and lakes in Flanders within the context of the European Water Framework Directive.     

A 12.8-ka-long palaeoenvironmental record revealed by subfossil ostracod data from lacustrine freshwater tufa in Lake Sinijärv,northern Estonia

High-resolution quantitative analysis of ostracod assemblages from 4.3-m-thick freshwater tufa-rich sediments, deposited during the last 12.8 ka in Lake Sinijärv, northern Estonia, yielded information on water level, trophic state conditions, and temperature changes since the late glacial. AMS ¹⁴C dates from aquatic mosses provided time constraints on the palaeoenvironmental development of the region. In the ostracod assemblage structure, four faunal zones (OFZ) were determined. The most significant change in the ostracod fauna occurred at 10,590 cal. y BP, when a typical littoral, polythermophilic fauna was replaced by a mostly sublittoral, species-rich meso- to stenothermophilic fauna. The ostracod data indicate two major low-water-level periods in the lake at 12,800–10,590 and 7,600–3,700 cal. y BP. Sediment analysis indicates the most intensive tufa precipitation occurred during these low stand periods, rather than during the warmest climate in Estonia between 8,000 and 4,500 cal. y BP. The late glacial low water level in the groundwater-fed Lake Sinijärv at 12,800–10,590 cal. y BP coincides partly with the regression in the Lake Peipsi basin (14,000–12,100 cal. y BP) and with the last drainage event of the Baltic Ice Lake at 11,600 cal. y BP. The low-water-level period in Lake Sinijärv occurred earlier than in lakes in the SE sector of Scandinavian glaciation. The change from low to high water level in Lake Sinijärv at 10,590 cal. y BP preceded the first post-glacial transgression events in the small lowland lakes of Estonia, southern Sweden, Poles`ye in Belarus, and Valday in NW Russia. In general, the mid-Holocene low-water-level period in Lake Sinijärv between 7,600 and 3,700 cal. y BP is concurrent with the regressions in the lakes of the SE sector of Scandinavian glaciation.     

Effects of urbanization on groundwater resources of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

 Groundwater quality in the city of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, where dependence on groundwater supply is 100%, is affected by urbanization. Data from the sampling of shallow wells and boreholes along with water level records are used to study the aquifer. Chemical changes in time of the bottom and top half of the freshwater zone are the basis for hydrogeochemistry. The comparison of 1970 data (which represent information prior to urbanization) to 1991, suggests that the most affected (contaminated) areas coincide with that of urbanization. Received: 1 October 1997 · Accepted: 23 February 1998     

A 3-D numerical study of salinity variations in the Bohai Sea during the recent years

Salinity is an important component of the marine system. Previous studies indicated that the mean salinity in the Bohai Sea had increased by 2.0 psu in the second half of the 20th century, mainly due to a sharp decrease in the Yellow River runoff, and also the effects of large-scale climatic variations and the intrusions of the North Yellow Sea Water (NYSW). Since 2002, the Yellow River Conservancy Commission has carried out the flow regulation at the beginning of every flood season, resulting in more discharge of the Yellow River freshwater into the Bohai Sea. In this study, the variations of salinity in the Bohai Sea during the recent years are investigated using a well-established three-dimensional baroclinic model, HAMburg Shelf Ocean Model (HAMSOM). The simulation results show that the Yellow River diluted water was mainly discharged into the Laizhou Bay, so the remarkable increase in the Yellow River runoff after 2002 led to a regime shift of salinity in the Laizhou Bay. However, in other parts of the Bohai Sea, salinity variation was influenced by the surrounding rivers or the intrusions of NYSW, and has little relation with the Yellow River runoff. As a whole, advection is more important than diffusion in the salinity distribution, and seasonal oscillation is the main feature of salinity variation. Via several case studies, evaporation and precipitation rates are found to be important in the long-term simulation of salinity.     

Modeling the influence of river discharge on salt intrusion and residual circulation in Danshuei River estuary,Taiwan

A 3-D, time-dependent, baroclinic, hydrodynamic and salinity model was implemented and applied to the Danshuei River estuarine system and the adjacent coastal sea in Taiwan. The model forcing functions consist of tidal elevations along the open boundaries and freshwater inflows from the main stream and major tributaries in the Danshuei River estuarine system. The bottom friction coefficient was adjusted to achieve model calibration and verification in model simulations of barotropic and baroclinic flows. The turbulent diffusivities were ascertained through comparison of simulated salinity time series with observations. The model simulation results are in qualitative agreement with the available field data.     

Freshwater mollusc biodiversity and conservation in two stressed Mediterranean basins

This paper reviews the environmental factors that influence biodiversity of freshwater mollusc communities and conservation status of watercourses in two Mediterranean acid mine drainage-impacted basins of the southern Iberian Peninsula. We found 17 mollusc species: 14 gastropods (10 native and 4 introduced) and 3 bivalves. We found five distribution patterns: native headwater (Arganiella wolfi, Stagnicola palustris, Unio delphinus, Pisidium casertanum and Pisidium personatum) and mouth (Hydrobia acuta, Peringia ulvae and Myosotella myosotis) sensitive-stenochoric species, intermediate sensitive-widely distributed species (Planorbarius metidjensis and Radix balthica), insensitive-eurychoric species (Ancylus fluviatilis), and erratic-distribution pattern species (Galba truncatula and Planorbis carinatus). The highest biodiversity indices have been found in non-impacted headwaters and, to a lesser extent, in tidal streams. The biodiversity of the middle reaches, with varying degrees of impact by acid mine drainage and high water deficit, was scarce and dominated by introduced species. Over 30% of the variation in native and introduced species richness is explained by environmental gradients related to heterogeneity (instream macrophytes cover and Fhi and Qbr indices) and acid runoffs (pH, conductivity, turbidity and concentration of sulphides). Severely impacted sites have no mollusc species. The conservation status of watercourses is also very remarkably influenced by the heterogeneity and contamination of the environment. Conservation values are higher in water bodies located in protected northern and southern sites in both basins.     

Growth,abundance, morphometric and metabolic parameters of three populations of Diplodon chilensis subject to different levels of natural and anthropogenic organic matter input in a glaciar lake of North Patagonia

Three populations of Diplodon chilensis (Hiridae, Bivalvia) from North Patagonia (Lacar lake, Argentina) have been studied to determine how organic matter (OM) influence their growth, density, morphometric and metabolic parameters in two pristine sites (Yuco and Nonthué) and in a growing touristic locality (San Martín de los Andes Bay, site SMA) affected by urban discharges. In Nonthué (chemical and biological oxygen demand ratio COD/BOD ratio of 4.7), a dense neighboring forest provides higher quantities of vegetal detritus compared to Yuco, while in SMA the OM input increase is related to anthropogenic impact, mainly sewage discharges, which is more biodegradable (COD/BOD ratio of 1.7). Our results show that population's size distribution and growth rates are affected positively by increased OM, independently of its natural or anthropogenic origin. The modal shell length interval for SMA and Nonthué is two-fold higher (70 mm), in agreement to the growth rate increase (k = 0.079), compared to Yuco (35 mm, k = 0.045). The morphometric relationships between size–size and size–mass show a higher slope for SMA and Nonthué, which underline allometric differences between these two populations and the Yuco's one. The lower population densities in both sites (SMA 33 ind./m² and Nonthué 76 ind./m²) compare to Yuco (176 ind./m²) and the absence of individuals younger than 7 and 5 years old, respectively, in SMA and Nonthué could be related to the higher allochthonous OM content in the sediments and total suspended solids in water. Increased OM due to urban pollution in SMA bivalves leads to higher oxidative damage to lipids, which is not counterbalanced by the higher detoxification enzyme glutathione-S-transferase activity. Hence, we can conclude that pollution would explain the drastic reduction in population density, probably related to a high impair in the juvenile's survival/recruitment, the higher observed mortality and the lower population longevity. When increased OM is supply by the forest, like in Nonthué, this has less negative effect on population density and no effect on longevity at all. However, a negative effect of oxygen depletion due to increased OM (either anthropogenic or natural) on juvenile survival cannot be discarded, but further studies should be carried out to support this idea.