Early Eocene estuary at Strahan,Tasmania

Evidence from sedimentology is combined with that of palynology and macropalaeobotany to arrive at a general reconstruction of the Early Eocene environment in Macquarie Harbour in western Tasmania and its major vegetation types. The environment is interpreted as estuarine with a range of subenvironments including estuarine mouth bar, fully subtidal sands, tidal flat with mangroves, and freshwater swamps. Supratidal freshwater swamp forest (sometimes conifer‐dominated) was fringed with Nypa mangrove swamps in the high tidal regions. Non‐vegetated tidal mud and sand flats occurred in regions with longer tidal submergence. The Macquaríe Harbour beds are given formation status and the Strahan Sand Member is defined.     

Defining an estuary using the Hilbert-Huang transform

Abstract

Researchers have used various physical, chemical, or topographic features to define estuaries, based on the needs of their particular subject. The principal features of estuaries are the tides that influence their water stages; thus, the boundaries of an estuary can be determined based on whether the water stage is subject to tidal influence. However, the water stage is also influenced by the upstream river discharge. A hydrograph of water stage will therefore include both non-stationary and nonlinear features. Here, we use the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT), which allows us to process such non-stationary and nonlinear signals, to decompose the water-stage hydrographs recorded at different gauging stations in an estuary into their intrinsic mode function (IMF) components and residuals. We then analyse the relationships between the frequencies of IMFs and known tidal components. A frequency correlation indicates that the water stage of the station is subject to tidal influences and is located within the estuary. The spatial distribution of the stations that are subject to tidal influences can then be used to define the estuary boundaries. We used data from gauging stations in the estuary region of Taiwan's Tanshui River to assess the feasibility of using the HHT to define an estuary. The results show that the HHT is a dependable and easy method for determining the boundaries of an estuary.

Citation Chen, Y.-C., Kao, S.-P., and Chiang, H.-W., 2013. Defining an estuary using the Hilbert-Huang transform. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (4), 841–853.     

Occurrence of phthalate esters in the Seine River estuary (France)

The rigin and fate of six phthalate esters (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di‐n‐butyl phthalate (DnBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), di (2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di‐n‐octyl phthalate (DnOP)), were investigated during 2005 and 2006 in the densely populated Seine river estuary. Four compounds, DMP, DEP, DnBP and DEHP were detected at all the stations with DEHP (160–314 ng L^?1), followed by DEP (71–181 ng L^?1) and next DnBP (67–319 ng L^?1), except at la Bouille, where DnBP was the second most important compound. BBP and DnOP concentrations remained low and were not found at all the stations. Considering all six phthalates, Caudebec‐en‐Caux (beginning of the salinity gradient) was the least polluted station (464 ng L^?1), whereas Honfleur (771 ng L^?1) and La Bouille (716 ng L^?1) displayed the highest contamination levels, probably related to important industrial plants. From Caudebec‐en‐Caux to Honfleur (maximum turbidity), variation of DEHP concentration was related to that of suspended matter. In addition, the salinity rise in that area might have facilitated DEHP sorption upon particles. A significant correlation between flow magnitude and DEHP concentration was found (P < 0·01, n = 12), supporting the influence of the hydrological cycle upon contamination. Runoff contribution (56·9 kg d^?1) to river contamination was confirmed by the annual evolution of phthalate concentrations in the Seine river at Poses. Concentrations of DEHP in the tributaries were in the same range as those of the Seine River (100–350 ng L^?1), except for two in densely populated and industrialized areas: Robec (800 ng L^?1) and Cailly (970 ng L^?1). The treatment plant discharge fluxes were in the same range as those of tributaries (30·4–250 g d^?1). During high flow periods, the influence of tributaries and of treatment plants seemed to play a minor part in the contamination level of the Seine river estuary. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Contamination by Heavy Metals of the Guadalquivir Estuary After the Aznalcóllar Mining Spill (SW Spain)

The Guadalquivir estuary was impacted by the accidental release of 5 million cubic meters of acid waste from the processing of pyrite ore (25 April 1998). The waste entered ecologically sensitive and protected areas such as the National Park of Doñana. Here are presented the results obtained from a time sequence of different sampling sites in the estuary and in the surrounding areas from May to September 1998. Water, suspended solids and sediments were analysed for six different metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd, Pb, Cu). Also, the concentration of the metals in the different geochemical sediment fractions was determined as a means of assessing bioavailability. The results obtained during the first weeks after the incident show high concentrations of Zn. At the end of June a 10 000 m³ temporary water-treatment plant was constructed on site for depuration of the toxic waters. The results obtained in August and September show a decrease in the metal concentrations measured in the estuary. Only concentrations of Zn were higher than sediment quality values proposed by various authors.     

An Assessment of Potential Oil Spill Damage to Salt Marsh Habitats and Fishery Resources in Galveston Bay, Texas

We sampled nekton, benthic infauna, and sediments in salt marshes of upper Galveston Bay, Texas to examine relationships between habitat use and sediment hydrocarbon concentration. Most marsh sediment samples were contaminated with relatively low concentrations of weathered petroleum hydrocarbons. We found few statistically significant negative relationships between animal density and hydrocarbon concentration (6 of 63 taxa examined using simple linear regression). Hydrocarbon concentration did not contribute significantly to Stepwise Multiple Regression models we used to explore potential relationships between animal densities and environmental parameters; in most cases where hydrocarbon concentration was an important variable in the models, the relationship was positive (i.e., animal densities increased with hydrocarbon concentration). Low hydrocarbon concentrations in sediments of upper Galveston Bay marshes could have contributed to our results either because levels were too low to be toxic or levels were toxic but too low to be detected by most organisms.     

An Examination of the Fluxes of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Temperate and Tropical Estuaries: Current Estimates and Uncertainties

In a number of regions of the world, enhanced flows of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from land to sea are of major concern because of the observable deterioration in the quality of many nearshore marine waters. Estuaries receive N and P from river and other runoff, from waste discharges, from the atmosphere and ocean and from exchange with coastal groundwaters (which in all likelihood results in a net input to the estuary). For rivers that do not discharge directly onto the continental shelf, seaward fluxes of N and P will be modified by within-estuary transformations of reactive species, the burial of particulate N and P in sediments (sub/intertidal, saltmarsh, mangrove) and the loss of gaseous N and P species by bacterial reduction.Driven by a desire to understand the effects of changing N and P loads on water quality, and to gain insights into the true modification of their fluxes within estuaries, much effort has been expended on providing quantitative estimates of the sources and sinks of these constituents. Yet, accurate and precise estimates on a global scale remain elusive. Riverine inputs of total N and P are calculated to be 35–64 and 22 Mt a⁻¹, respectively. These inputs are dominated by particulate species, and because of this, are likely to be imprecise as overall sediment fluxes are disproportionately influenced by infrequent, poorly sampled, high flow events. Direct aeolian inputs of N to estuaries (P inputs are minor), at a minimum of 1–4 Mt a⁻¹, are small but significant, although again good estimates are hampered by the apparent importance of infrequent, and thus under-sampled, deposition events. Indirect atmospheric inputs via deposition onto and runoff from catchments may be highly significant, at least in environments bounding the North Atlantic Ocean. Groundwater inputs are generally unknown, but, for N, may be 5–10 Mt a⁻¹ (no data on P). Information on the global inputs of N and P from waste discharges and mariculture do not appear to be available. Denitrification, estimated to beca . 33 Mt a⁻¹, may account for 52–94% of the currently estimated total N inputs; in contrast, the loss of P via venting of gaseous phosphine is unknown. The burial of N and P in sediments is about 7% and 30% of their total inputs, respectively. Nevertheless, reliable information on the modifying role of estuarine sediments appears far from complete.Globally, the inputs of N and P to the marine environment from all sources are expected to increase over the next few decades. The resulting effects of these increases on the marine environment, including any influences due to estuarine processing, may be partly assessed through the use of dynamic transport and transformation estuarine models for N and P. A further important development in this respect will be the linking of complementary models (e.g. catchment/river/estuarine/coastal zone) and their coupling to strategic large scale observations.     

Electrochemical behavior of Al—basic sacrificial anode at estuary

The Al—basic sacrificial anode is widely used to protect steel construction from corrosion in seawater, but is not suitable for protecting steel in freshwater. In the estuary area, seawater and freshwater mix and different seawater salinity can be formed in different mixing sites between freshwater and seawater. Based on the requirements of the Shengli Petroleum Administrative Bureau of China, the effect of seawater salinity on electrochemical properties of Al—basic anode was studied under laboratory conditions by the method given in National Standard GB 4948-85 (China Starndard Bureau, 1985). No obvious effect was found when seawater salinity was 30 to 10, but obvious effect on anodic open circuit potential, closed circuit potential and current efficiency was found when seawater salinity was 5. These values are lower than those given in the National Standard. Contribution No. 2681 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This study is a major project (Ky85-11-5) and a key project (A14920416) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and also received support from the Shengli Oil Field.     

PRIMARY FISH SURVEY IK THE HUANGHE RIVER ESTUARY

The survey in the, Huanghe River estuary indicated that the 85 fish species found there comprised three faunal elements: warm-water species (29.4%), warm-temperate species (55.3%) and cpld-temperate species. (15.3%). The seasonal changes of fish species, density and bipmass are obvious. The total biomass is highest (7699t) in August and lowest(489 t) in January. Setipinna taty has mean density of 9278 indiv/km2, and is the most important species constituting 25.5% of the total weight of fish caught. Trichiurus haumela was a dominant species in the 1950s, but no one was caught in this survey. There were obvious changes of the dominant fish species during the recent three decades. The demersal fish biomass has dropped greatly to only 1/10 in over 50 years since 1930.     

DETERMINATION OF SEDIMENTARY RATE IN ESTUARY AND COAST BY ^228 Th TECHNIQUE

Analysis of ^232Th, ^230Th , and ^228Th in sediments showed that there was an excess of ^228Th over that supported by the parents ^282Th or ^228Ra in sediments in many regions. This excess ^228Th with a half-life of 1.91 years can be used for dating purpose over a time period of the order of a decade, so average sedimentary rates in the Yalujiang River Estuary, and in the Huanghe River Estuazy and its adjacent Laizhou Bay can be obtained from decreases in the excess ^228Th activity as a function of depth in sediment.