Do benthic biofilters contribute to sustainability and restoration of the benthic environment impacted by offshore cage finfish aquaculture?

Benthic biofilters were deployed under a cage fish farm and in two reference locations to assess the influence of the farm on the biofilters and the surroundings, as well as to verify the usefulness of this technology as a mitigation tool. The biofilters underneath the farm recruited a fouling community practically identical to that of the control biofilters, which included a variety of trophic strategies. The former showed a higher ¹⁵N enrichment, indicating that fouling beneath the farm was benefiting from the farm waste. The waste retention efficiency was low (0.02 g N m⁻² month⁻¹) beneath the farm. Benthic biofilters aggregated demersal wild fish around and within them. Pelagic wild fish also frequently used the biofilters beneath the farm, forming compact shoals around them. The increased complexity of the habitat below the fish farm enhanced biodiversity, but this improvement did not lead to the recovery of the sediments around the biofilters.     

PAHs distribution in sediments associated with gas hydrate and oil seepage from the Gulf of Mexico

Six sediment samples collected from the Gulf of Mexico were analyzed. Total concentrations of the PAHs ranged from 52 to 403 ng g⁻¹ dry weight. The lowest PAH concentration without 5–6 rings PAHs appeared in S-1 sample associated with gas hydrate or gas venting. Moreover, S-1 sample had the lowest organic carbon content with 0.85% and highest reduced sulfur level with 1.21% relative to other samples. And, analysis of the sources of PAHs in S-1 sample indicated that both pyrogenic and petrogenic sources, converserly, while S-8, S-10 and S-11 sample suggested petrogenic origin. The distribution of dibenzothiophene, fluorine and dibenzofuran and the maturity parameters of triaromatic steranes suggested that organic matters in S-1 sample were different from that in S-8, S-10 and S-11 sample. This study suggested that organic geochemical data could help in distinguish the characteristic of sediment associated with gas hydrate or with oil seepage.     

Seismostratigraphic analysis with centennial to decadal time resolution of the sediment sink in the Ganges-Brahmaputra subaqueous delta

The deltas of large rivers have become the focus of many research studies due to their vulnerability in times of expected sea level rise. One major delta in peril is the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta (Bangladesh) due to its low elevation and high subsidence rate. In this study, high-resolution seismic and sediment echosounder data of the subaqueous part of the delta are analyzed by an integrated seismo-acoustic stratigraphic approach.Transparent Units (TUs) are the most prominent, continuously traceable architectural elements within the sigmoidal clinoform. TUs consist of homogenized sediments and are interpreted to be formed by liquefaction flows generated by subduction-related earthquakes of the nearby plate-boundary. The uppermost TUs are related to the historical well known major earthquakes which occurred in 1762, 1897 and 1950. Using the TUs as time marks the mean annual storage rates for the intervals could be assessed. A direct comparison of echosounder data gathered in 1994, 1997 and 2006 is used as another method to estimate the last decade mean annual storage rate.In general, the averaged decadal to centennial mean annual storage rates in the foreset beds have significantly decreased within the last ∼300 years from 22% to 18% and down to 13.8% of the present total annual fluviatile suspension supply to the delta (10⁹ t a⁻¹). This decrease, however, is not evenly distributed along the foreset beds. In the western clinoform mean annual storage rates slightly decreased during the last ∼300 years, whereas in the eastern clinoform the mean annual storage rate of the last decade is one-third of the initial value in the late eighteenth century.The variation of clinoform slope angles generally coincides with the local accumulation rates but a variable degree of asymmetry gives some new insights in the future trend of the subaqueous delta development. The sink of sediment in the western clinoform depocentre landward of the inflection point, where shape changes from convex to concave, is producing an increase in concavity.The decline in monsoon precipitation over the last centuries is assumed to have significantly contributed to the decreased mean annual storage rate in the eastern clinoform where the convexity of the clinoform increases seaward of the inflection point. It is very likely that the whole depocentre of the fluvial sediment load is shifting toward the western subaqueous delta and to the Swatch of No Ground Canyon and, thereby, increasing the export to the deep-sea fan.     

Temporal variation of suspended sediment load in the Pearl River due to human activities

Data on sediment flux at three hydrologic stations from the 1950s to 2006 are utilized to study the decadal,annual,and monthly variations in suspended sediment load delivered from the Pearl River to the ocean.Results show that variations in sediment flux from three main tributaries,including the West River,the North River and the East River,are spatially non-uniform.Since nearly 90%of the suspended sediment load comes from the West River,its variation has dominated the overall tendency of sediment flux in the entire Pearl River.Although a significant decreasing trend exists in the annual variation of the total sediment flux,the decadal change can be divided into an increasing phase and a decreasing phase,with the turning point between the two phases in the late 1980s.From the 1950s to the 1980s,the average annual river sediment flux increased by 30.43%.However,sediment flux has decreased significantly since the 1990s,with the average sediment flux being 38.60%less in the 2000s than that in the 1950s.The current sediment flux is also 52.93%less than its peak in the 1980s. The monthly variation pattern of the suspended sediment load transport to the sea is more interesting. For the West River,all months show a decreasing trend,and for most months the reduction values are significant.However,for the East River the sediment load shows a decrease trend in the dry season and an increase trend in the wet season.The method of regression analysis was used to study the influence of precipitation in the variation on the sediment flux.It was found that the climate change is not the main driving force behind the variation in suspended sediment load.Before the 1990s, intensive land use destroyed the vulnerable ecosystem of the upper Pearl River,and speeded up the process of rocky desertification.Consequently,aggravated soil erosion caused an increase in suspended sediment load.However,sediment retention within reservoirs had begun to play a dominant role after the massive construction of large dams after 1990,and resulted in a decrease in the suspended sediment load delivered to the ocean.     

Time lag between reduction of sediment supply and coastal erosion

The disruption of sediment supply from river to coast by dam development has been a topic of global concern.In Japan,among the top 30 dams in terms of height,14 dams were constructed prior to 1970 and another 6 dams before 1980.However,the coastline erosion did not surface up as a grievous problem until the 1980s.According to the River Bureau of Japan,the overall erosion rate along the coastline of Japan was 0.72×10~6 m~2/yr prior to 1980,but sharply increased to 1.6×10~6 m~2/yr since 1980.Therefore,there was a time lag between the disruption of sediment supply by dam and beach erosion.This paper presents a case study on what may have delayed the response of beach to the effect of dam construction.     

Characteristics of sand damages and dynamic environment along the Tuotuohe section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Sand damages along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway occur frequently and have spread rapidly since it was completely opened to traffic in 2006. The goal of this study was to understand the effects of sand damages on the railway via meteorological data and in situ observation of wind-blown sand. We selected the Tuotuohe section of this railway as a typical research object, and we systematically investigated its characteristics of sand damages, drift potential, sand-driving wind rose, and their time variation. The direction of sand-drifting wind clearly varies with the season. In winter, the predominant wind blows from the west and lasts for three months, while in summer the frequency of northeasterly wind begins to increase and multi-directional winds also occurs in July. The drift potential in this area is 705.81 VU, which makes this a high-energy wind environment according to Fryberger’s definition. The directional variability (RDP/DP) is 0.84 and the resultant drift potential is 590.42 VU with a resultant direction of 89.1°.     

Large-scale experiments on beach profile evolution and surf and swash zone sediment transport induced by long waves,wave groups and random waves

New large-scale laboratory data are presented on the influence of long waves, bichromatic wave groups and random waves on sediment transport in the surf and swash zones. Physical model testing was performed in the large-scale CIEM wave flume at UPC, Barcelona, as part of the SUSCO (swash zone response under grouping storm conditions) experiment in the Hydralab III program (Vicinanza et al., 2010). Fourteen different wave conditions were used, encompassing monochromatic waves, bichromatic wave groups and random waves. The experiments were designed specifically to compare variations in beach profile evolution between monochromatic waves and unsteady waves with the same mean energy flux. Each test commenced with approximately the same initial profile. The monochromatic conditions were perturbed with free long waves, and then subsequently substituted with bichromatic wave groups with different bandwidth and with random waves with varying groupiness. Beach profile measurements were made at half-hourly and hourly intervals, from which net cross-shore transport rates were calculated for the different wave conditions. Pairs of experiments with slightly different bandwidth or wave grouping show very similar net cross-shore sediment transport patterns, giving high confidence to the data set. Consistent with recent small-scale experiments, the data clearly show that in comparison to monochromatic conditions the bichromatic wave groups reduce onshore transport during accretive conditions and increase offshore transport during erosive conditions. The random waves have a similar influence to the bichromatic wave groups, promoting offshore transport, in comparison to the monochromatic conditions. The data also indicate that the free long waves promote onshore transport, but the conclusions are more tentative as a result of a few errors in the test schedule and modifications to the setup which reduced testing time. The experiments suggest that the inclusion of long wave and wave group sediment transport is important for improved near-shore morphological modeling of cross-shore beach profile evolution, and they provide a very comprehensive and controlled series of tests for evaluating numerical models. It is suggested that the large change in the beach response between monochromatic conditions and wave group conditions is a result of the increased significant and maximum wave heights in the wave groups, as much as the presence of the forced and free long waves induced by the groupiness. The equilibrium state model concept can provide a heuristic explanation of the influence of the wave groups on the bulk beach profile response if their effective relative fall velocity is larger than that of monochromatic waves with the same incident energy flux.     

On the criteria for the initiation of motion in tidal inlets,deterministic and stochastic approaches

Details are given herein of the refinement and application of a three-dimensional layer integrated numerical model to predict morphological changes in tidal basins. The solution of governing differential equations, which consist of the conservation of mass and momentum for the hydrodynamics, the transport equation for the suspended sediment fluxes and the sediment mass conservation equation for the bed level changes are carried out by the use of Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) Finite Difference Method (FDM). The model includes different criteria for the initiation of motion namely Shields (1936, Application of Similarity Principles and Turbulence Research to Bed load Movement, Hydrodynamics Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pub. No. 167), Kolahdoozan (1999, Numerical Modelling of Geomorphological Processes in Estuarine Waters, PhD Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK, 288) and Zanke (2003, On the Influence of Turbulence on the Initiation of Sediment Motion, International Journal of Sediment Research, 18(1), 17–31), to compare different aspects of flow conditions. As the flow is highly turbulent with the random nature of its components, many researchers have tried to express sediment transport processes by using stochastic approaches. In the current study both deterministic and stochastic methods are included in the numerical model to evaluate their accuracy and efficiency. To validate the numerical model results, laboratory measurements are used, with these being obtained from an earlier experimental program undertaken by the authors. Results of a short term bed level changes in a laboratory model harbor are included for the model verification purposes. Comparisons are undertaken using different criteria for the initiation of motion, with the results highlighting that the unsteadiness in the flow parameters included in the numerical model has a major effect on the bed level changes inside the harbor, in compare with the turbulence structure of the flow. The model is then applied to a real case study of the Humber Estuary, located in the UK, with comparisons being undertaken for different criteria for the initiation of motion, using both deterministic and stochastic approaches for the long term bed level predictions.