Distribution of As, Cr and V species in the Po-Adriatic mixing area, (Italy)

The distribution of dissolved and participate concentrations of As, Cr and V was investigated in the mixing area of the Po river in five surveys over the period March 1992-March 1995. The data obtained indicate noticeable contamination of coastal waters of the northern Adriatic with Cr but not As or V. Total dissolved concentrations for As and V were comparable with oceanic levels but were higher by a factor of 4 for Cr. These results suggest either low anthropogenic inputs of As and V, from terrigenous and atmospheric sources, or efficient removal mechanisms. The investigated metals had low reactivity during freshwater-seawater mixing and the distribution of concentrations in the dissolved and solid phases suggests that the dilution process is the main factor controlling the transport of these metals to the sea in low-to-medium solid transport conditions. Further investigations are required to elucidate the behavior of these metals during high solid transport conditions. Significant changes in the speciation of As occurred during the transition between the two end-member matrices. In the coastal waters of the northern Adriatic, the arsenite fraction in winter, and the arsenite and dimethylarsinate fractions in summer increased with respect to riverine waters. Changes in the speciation of chromium were minor, but also showed a small increase in reduced species in marine waters.     

Immediate profile and planform evolution of a beach nourishment project with hurricane influences

In this study, planform adjustment began during a period of calm weather immediately after nourishment and then the passage of one strong storm caused a substantial portion of the total profile equilibration. Weekly beach profiles, shoreline surveys, and nearshore wave measurements were conducted before, during, and immediately after construction of the 1100-m long Upham Beach nourishment project on the low-energy, west coast of Florida. This project was constructed in three segments: the wide north segment, the central segment, and the narrow south segment. With the exception of the relatively distant passage of Hurricane Charley, calm weather prevailed for 45 days following completion of the south and central segments. Construction of the wide north segment was completed on August 27, 2004. Substantial planform diffusion occurred prior to construction completion via formation of a 300-m long spit extending from the wide north segment. The shoreline orientation was changed abruptly due to this diffusion spit formation, as opposed to the gradual adjustment predicted by most long-term models. Planform adjustment was initiated prior to profile equilibration, and it did not require high-energy conditions. A simple vector sum model for determining the orientation of a potential diffusion spit was developed. This study recommends designing end transitions at the predicted diffusion spit orientation to avoid post-nourishment spit formation during future projects.     

Sediment Transport in Rivers and Coastal Waters

Following Bagnold's approach, a relationship between sediment transport and energy dissipation is developed. The major assumption made in the study is that the near bed velocity plays a dominant role in the process of sediment transport. A general relationship between energy dissipation and sediment transport is first proposed. Then the equations for total sediment transport are derived by introducing the appropriate expression of energy dissipation rate under different conditions, such as open channel flows, combination of wave and current, as well as longshore sediment transport. Within the flows investigated, the derived relationships are fairly consistent with the available data over a wide range of conditions.     

Benthic photosynthesis in submerged Wadden Sea intertidal flats

In this study we compare benthic photosynthesis during inundation in coarse sand, fine sand, and mixed sediment (sand/mud) intertidal flats in the German Wadden Sea. In situ determinations of oxygen-, DIC- and nutrient fluxes in stirred benthic chamber incubations were combined with measurements of sedimentary chlorophyll, incident light intensity at the sediment surface and scalar irradiance within the sediment. During submergence, microphytobenthos was light limited at all study sites as indicated by rapid response of gross photosynthesis to increasing incident light at the sea floor. However, depth integrated scalar irradiance was 2 to 3 times higher in the sands than in the mud. Consequently, gross photosynthesis in the net autotrophic fine sand and coarse sand flats during inundation was on average 4 and 11 times higher than in the net heterotrophic mud flat, despite higher total chlorophyll concentration in mud. Benthic photosynthesis may be enhanced in intertidal sands during inundation due to: (1) higher light availability to the microphytobenthos in the sands compared to muds, (2) more efficient transport of photosynthesis-limiting solutes to the microalgae with pore water flows in the permeable sands, and (3) more active metabolic state and different life strategies of microphytobenthos inhabiting sands.     

The importance of extratropical and tropical cyclones on the short-term evolution of barrier islands along the northern Gulf of Mexico, USA

Data are presented indicating the complexity and highly variable response of beaches to cold front passages along the northern Gulf of Mexico, in addition to the impacts of tropical cyclones and winter storms. Within the past decade, an increase in the frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes impacting the northern Gulf has dramatically altered the long-term equilibrium of a large portion of this coast. A time series of net sediment flux for subaerial and nearshore environments has been established for a section of this coast in Florida, and to a lesser extent, Mississippi. The data incorporate the morphological signature of six tropical storms/hurricanes and more than 200 frontal passages.

Data indicate that (1) barrier islands can conserve mass during catastrophic hurricanes (e.g., Hurricane Opal, a strong category 4 hurricane near landfall); (2) less severe hurricanes and tropical storms can promote rapid dune aggradation and can contribute sediment to the entire barrier system; (3) cold fronts play a critical role in the poststorm adjustment of the barrier by deflating the subaerial portion of the overwash terrace and eroding its marginal lobe along the bayside beach through locally generated, high frequency, steep waves; and (4) barrier systems along the northern Gulf do not necessarily enter an immediate poststorm recovery phase, although nested in sediment-rich nearshore environments. While high wave energy conditions associated with cold fronts play an integral role in the evolution and maintenance of barriers along the northern Gulf, these events are more effective in reworking sediment after the occurrence of extreme events such as hurricanes. This relationship is even more apparent during the clustering of tropical cyclones.

It is anticipated that these findings will have important implications for the longer term evolution of barrier systems in midlatitude, microtidal settings where the clustering of storms is apparent, and winter storms are significant in intensity and frequency along the coast.     

廉州湾南部海域泥沙来源及运移趋势分析

重矿物组合、含量变化和特征矿物的分布及变化规律是沿海泥沙来源和运移趋势判断的重要手段之一。通过对廉州湾南部海域海底表层沉积物的重矿物分析 ,发现该区重矿物分布以北海地角为界 ,其百分含量和特征矿物南北有别 ,可能分别代表不同的物质来源区。其中廉州湾北部南流江流域来沙是该区主要物源 ,运移趋势为自 NE向 SW;地角西南岸段、岭南侧海岸侵蚀及银滩来沙也为该区提供了部分物源 ,运移趋势为绕过冠头岭沿海岸向 N方向运移。由于缺乏北海陆域陆相地层重矿物含量等相关资料 ,暂未做物质来源区的具体判断     

The dimensions of sand ripples in full-scale oscillatory flows

New large-scale experiments have been carried out in two oscillatory flow tunnels to study ripple regime sand suspension and net sand transport processes in full-scale oscillatory flows. The paper focuses on ripple dimensions and the new data are combined with existing data to make a large dataset of ripple heights and lengths for flows with field-scale amplitudes and periods. A feature of the new experiments is a focus on the effect of flow irregularity. The combined dataset is analysed to examine the range of hydraulic conditions under which oscillatory flow ripples occur, to examine the effects of flow irregularity and ripple three-dimensionality on ripple dimensions and to test and improve existing methods for predicting ripple dimensions.The following are the main conclusions. (1) The highest velocities in a flow time-series play an important role in determining the type of bedform occurring in oscillatory flow. Bedform regime is well characterised by mobility number based on maximum velocity in the case of regular flow and based on the mean of the highest one tenth peak velocities in the case of irregular flow. (2) For field-scale flows, sand size is the primary factor determining whether equilibrium ripples will be 2D or 3D. 2D ripples occur when the sand D₅₀ ≥ 0.30 mm and 3D ripples occur when D₅₀ ≤ 0.22 mm (except when the flow orbital diameter is low). (3) Ripple type (2D or 3D) is the same for regular and irregular flows and ripple dimensions produced by equivalent regular and irregular flows follow a similar functional dependence on mobility number, with mobility number based on maximum velocity in the case of regular flow and based on the mean of the highest one tenth velocities in the case of irregular flow. For much of the ripple regime, ripple dimensions have weak dependency on mobility number and ripple dimensions are similar for regular and irregular flows with the same flow orbital amplitude. However, differences in ripples produced by equivalent regular and irregular flows become significant at the high mobility end of the ripple regime. (4) Ripple dimensions predicted using the Wiberg and Harris formulae are in poor agreement with measured ripple dimensions from the large-scale experiments. Predictions based on the Mogridge et al. and the Nielsen formulae show better overall agreement with the data but also show systematic differences in cases of 3D ripples and ripples generated by irregular flows. (5) Based on the combined large-scale data, modifications to the Nielsen ripple dimension equations are proposed for the heights and lengths of 2D ripples. The same equations apply to regular and irregular flows, but with mobility number appropriately defined. 3D ripples are generally smaller than 2D ripples and estimates of 3D ripple height and length may be obtained by applying multipliers of 0.55 and 0.73 respectively to the 2D formulae. The proposed modified Nielsen formulae provide an improved fit to the large-scale data, accounting for flow irregularity and ripple three-dimensionality.     

Summer distribution and geochemical composition of suspended-particulate matter in the east china sea

The distribution and geochemical composition of suspended-particulate matter (SPM) in the East China Sea (ECS) were investigated during the summer period of high continental runoff to elucidate SPM sources, distribution and cross-shelf transport. The spatial variability of SPM distribution (0.3–6.5 mg l⁻¹) and geochemical composition (POC, Al, Si, Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg and K) in the ECS was pronounced during summer when the continental fluxes of freshwater and terrestrial materials were highest during the year. Under the influences of Changjiang runoff, Kuroshio intrusion, surface production and bottom resuspension, the distribution generally showed strong gradients decreasing seaward for both biogenic and lithogenic materials. Particulate organic carbon was enriched in surface water (mean ∼18%) due to the influence of biological productivity, and was diluted by resuspended and/or laterally-transported materials in bottom water (mean 9.4%). The abundance of lithogenic elements (Al, Si, Fe, Mn) increased toward the bottom, and the distribution correlations were highly significant. Particulate CaCO₃ distribution provided evidence that the SPM of the bottom water in the northern part of the study area was likely mixed with sediments originally derived from Huanghe. A distinct benthic nepheloid layer (BNL) was present in all seaward transects of the ECS shelf. Sediment resuspension may be caused by tidal fluctuation and other forcing and be regarded as the principal agent in the formation of BNL. This BNL was likely responsible for the transport of biogenic and lithogenic particles across or along the ECS shelf. Total inventories of SPM, POC and PN are 46, 2.8 and 0.4 Tg, respectively, measured over the total area of 0.45 × 10⁶ km² of the ECS shelf. Their mean residence times are about 27, 13 and 11 days, respectively. The inventory of SPM in the water column was higher in the northernmost and southernmost transects and lower in the middle transects, reflecting the influences of terrestrial inputs from Changjiang and/or resuspended materials from Huanghe deposits in the north and perhaps from Minjiang and/or Taiwan’s rivers in the south. The distribution and transport patterns of SPM and geochemical elements strongly indicate that continental sources and cross-shelf transport modulate ECS particulate matter in summer.     

九州西侧海域129°E断面的流速和温盐结构特征

根据中、日合作黑潮调查研究期间（1987－1993年）在九州西侧海域获得的水文资料，计算了129°E断面的地转流速和流量。着重提出129°E断面北侧存在一支较稳定的西向流；分析这支西向流的去向，指出它是向对马暖流输送黑潮水的重要途径；给出了这支西向流及黑潮通过该断面的流速、流轴、流幅及流量的变化特征。