The short-term impact of managed realignment on soil environmental variables and hydrology

In July 2000 a flood defence embankment protecting abandoned agricultural land in the estuary of the River Torridge, Devon, UK, was breached as part of a managed realignment (MR) project. The objective was to restore the agricultural land, reclaimed from saltmarsh some 200 years previously, to its former habitat. Changes to the soil hydrological regime and alteration of the soil environment at the site were studied. The most significant observed impact at the MR site was the change in flooding regime, with regular tidal inundation occurring to a maximum depth of 52 cm during spring tides. Prior to the realignment, soil water table fluctuations were linked to patterns of spring and neap tides. Post-realignment, a change in mean water table height of more than 50 cm was observed at the MR site, and soil redox potential at 5 cm depth was reduced by over 700 mV immediately following reflooding, changing the soil environment from an oxidised to a reduced environment. Topsoil water (collected from 10 cm depth) demonstrated large, short-term reductions in pH. Prior to realignment topsoil water pH ranged from 6.6 to 8.7, but following realignment remained below 5 for approximately nine weeks, reaching a minimum of 3.3. Short-term changes in conductivity and NH₄⁺ concentrations in topsoil water also occurred, conductivity rising from <2000 μS to >40,000 μS following realignment, while NH₄-N concentrations rose from 0.10 mg l⁻¹ to 10.05 mg l⁻¹. Cotton tensile strength loss (CTSL) reflected these changes, exhibiting large decreases in decomposition rates at 5–10 cm depth immediately following the realignment. These results have implications for the management of MR projects, and for the health and quality of the estuary in general.     

Study on Nutrient Limitation of Phytoplankton in the Field Experiment of the Yangtze River Estuary in Summer

Introduction The growth of phytoplankton, which is the main primary producer in the ocean, is always limited by some nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. This limitation has spacial variation, and even in the same area, the nitrogen and phosphorus limitation has seasonal alternation [1]. There are many ways to determine the nutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth. Among them, the enrichment bioassay is the closest to the natural condition and is accepted by many scholars [2-7]. In r…     

分汊河口形成的基本条件

河口分汊作为一种十分常见的河口形态,存在于众多自然界的河口中。河口出现分汊需具备两个基本条件:一是河口的向海淤积延伸,这实质上是河口湾的被充填过程及其延续;另一个是河口的展宽,因为过于窄小没有展宽的河口是无法形成分汊的。只有具有了上述这两个基本条件,河口分汊的形成才成为可能。     

Spatial patterns of ichthyoplankton assemblages in the Río de la Plata Estuary (Argentina–Uruguay)

Two oceanographic surveys were conducted across the salinity gradient of the Río de la Plata Estuary during austral late spring and summer. Ichthyoplankton was dominated by families Sciaenidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae, Cynoglossidae and Carangidae. The distribution of larval fish assemblages was strongly associated to the salinity structure. Oceanographic conditions were characterized by a large salt wedge (180 km long and a vertical salinity gradient up to 10 units per meter). During both sampling periods each ichthyoplankton assemblage was related to the same region of the salt wedge: the fresh water environment, the bottom salinity front, the mixohaline zone and the outer portion (surface salinity front) of the estuary. Larval assemblages were not related to the thermal structure. Reproductive activity of fishes inside the Río de la Plata Estuary is relatively common (60% of the teleosts sampled use this estuary as a nursery ground). Moreover, the high incidence of pelagic eggs spawners (75% of the species present in the ichthyoplankton) in the Río de la Plata contrasts to the vast majority of estuaries, where this reproductive strategy is poorly represented. Estuarine dynamics plays a dominant role in allowing this reproductive style in this estuary. Spring–summer wind pattern should generate a retentive environment which could minimize advective losses of eggs and larvae to the adjacent ocean.     

Subtidal Benthic Macroinfauna in an Estuary of South Chile: Distribution Pattern in Relation to Sediment Types

Abstract. A quantitative survey (18 stations) of the subtidal soft bottom macroinfauna in an estuary of the south Chilean coast was conducted during January, 1980. The map of sedimentological facies elaborated for the Queule River Estuary shows sandy bottoms in the outlet and upper part of the area studied, while the middle part is occupied by muddy sand. The ordination of stations by Principal Component Analysis is fundamentally defined by mud and gravel percentage and is, in general, concordant with the distribution of sediments in the facies map. A total of 17,405 animals was collected (16 taxa), Polychaeta being the dominant group in density (77.47%) and biomass (73.4%). The maximum number of species was obtained outside the mouth of the estuary, while maximum densities and biomass were obtained in the middle of the estuary.
The Factor Analysis performed with the abundances data of the most abundant species rendered the ordination of two groups of stations (concordant with a Cluster Analysis) in the Q-mode and two groups of species in the R-mode. One group of stations is restricted to sandy habitats of the outlet area and is dominated by suspension feeders. The other, in the middle and upper part of the estuary (muddy sand or sandy bottoms with a higher percentage of organic matter), is dominated by deposit feeders. Between these two groups, significant differences in sedimentological variables (sand, mud, and organic matter percentage) were detected. Each of the two delineated groups of species corresponds to the groups of stations, showing that most of the taxa can be combined in faunal assemblages with preference for different types of substrate.     

珠江口台风增水对热带气旋参数改变的反响

通过计算，研究热带风暴中心气压下降示度、最大风速半径、热带气旋登陆地点、热带气旋登陆时的入射角、热带气旋移动速度等参数改变条件下，珠江口５个测站风暴潮的变化。结果表明，各站的反响很不一致，在风暴潮预报中对地形的特点、热带气旋移动速度及热带气旋登陆地点等应给予足够的重视。     

伶仃洋大铲湾潮滩冲淤遥感反演研究

由于潮滩范围广、变化频繁、缺乏常规的地形测量资料,给潮滩开发建设带来极大不便.以伶仃洋大铲湾为研究区,使用美国陆地卫星MSS,TM及ETM三类数据源,共计17个时相,时间跨度为1978～2001年,在国内首次利用多时相卫星遥感图像水边线高程反演技术,确定了大铲湾岸线变化,并进行了滩涂分带及面积的估算、滩涂利用状况及淤涨速度的确定、不同部位潮滩坡度及淤积速度的反演,为深圳港大铲湾的开发建设提供了理论依据.     

Decadal-scale sediment dynamics and environmental change in the Albemarle Estuarine System, North Carolina

During the summer of 2001, several short cores (<50 cm) were collected in the Albemarle Estuarine System (AES). Down-core measurements for radiochemical tracers (²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs) and organic matter signatures (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, C:N ratio, and LOI) have been used to elucidate potential temporal changes in fluxes and cycles of organic matter in the AES. Pb-210 geochronology indicates temporal and spatial variations in sediment deposition rates (0.08–0.57 cm y⁻¹) with highest rates near the AES western limit relative to the rest of the estuary. Low accumulation rates, deficient excess ²¹⁰Pb inventories, and near linear ¹³⁷Cs profiles throughout the AES suggest that sediments are resuspended by wind-generated waves and currents and flushed from the system by river discharge and wind-tides, probably to Pamlico Sound to the south. Sediments in the AES are accumulating at rates less than the current rate of relative sea-level rise for this region except in protected portions of the estuary. Thus sediment accumulation in the AES is controlled in the short term by storm wave-base and in the long term by the creation of accommodation space by basin subsidence and sea-level rise. The geochemical and sedimentological data characterize the evolution of the Albemarle Sound and associated tributaries over the past 200–300 years. The majority of cores collected throughout the system show a significant decrease in ¹³C and increase in ¹⁵N isotopic signatures up-core. Thus, the estuarine system of eastern North Carolina has changed from a marine-influenced, high brackish environment to the modern-day system, which is a highly variable, terrestrially influenced, low brackish environment.