The Ocean Circulation of Chatham Sound,British Columbia,Canada: Results From Numerical Modelling Studies Using Historical Datasets

Chatham Sound, a semi-enclosed inland sea located off northern British Columbia, is an important waterway due to many proposed industrial activities related to the Port of Prince Rupert, along with its high levels of marine productivity. The oceanographic forcing in Chatham Sound is complex due to a combination of large tides, seasonally strong winds, and large freshwater discharges. Although much oceanographic data have been collected over the past six decades, past studies of the oceanographic regime of the full Chatham Sound area have been very limited. Using these extensive forcing datasets, high-resolution three-dimensional numerical modelling using the Coastal Circulation model for Sediment transport was conducted to investigate the tidal and wind-driven currents in the stratified waters of Chatham Sound. The numerical study shows the progression of the river-dominated lower salinity near-surface waters being advected northward, especially on the eastern side of Chatham Sound, with more saline waters on the western side of the Sound, especially in areas of exchanges with the waters of Hecate Strait through side channels. These surface circulation results are in good agreement with the large-scale representation of the outer diffuse Skeena River plume as seen in high-resolution Landsat satellite imagery. The model was operated over a representative year with four seasonal model runs. Southern Chatham Sound was found to be dominated by large tidal currents. Seasonal variations of residual flow were also investigated. Significant correlation between non-tidal current speeds and Skeena River discharges was found in the Skeena River delta area and through narrow tidal channels in southern Chatham Sound. In other offshore areas, non-tidal currents were found to be constrained near the surface and driven mainly by winds.     

Along-Channel Winds in Howe Sound: Climatological Analysis and Case Studies

This paper examines along-channel winds within Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada, that occur from both the interior plateau out toward the coast as outflows and from the coast inland as inflows. First, the relationships between along-channel winds and pressure, temperature, and humidity are explored in Howe Sound–Cheakamus Valley. The pressure gradients between Pam Rocks and Squamish and Pam Rocks and Pemberton have the strongest correlations with outflow strength and that between Pam Rocks and Squamish has the strongest correlation with inflow strength. Outflows (inflows) have lower (higher) temperatures and dew point temperatures, except for the inflows in summer, which have lower dewpoint temperatures than the overall mean. Second, two case studies of outflow events are presented and described during the period of intensive observations prior to and during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. The January 2010 outflow event is caused by a zone of strong across-barrier mean sea level pressure gradient. The pressure gradient is formed behind an Arctic front that moved southward across Howe Sound. The February 2010 outflow event is caused by an approaching sea level low pressure centre from the Pacific that formed a northeast–southwest mean sea level pressure gradient across southern British Columbia. In the January case, the outflow layer is about 1.5?km deep, while it is shallower in the February case. Only the January outflow case exhibits hydraulic behaviour.     

Wind effects on sub-tidal currents in Puget Sound

Wind effects on sub-tidal currents are studied using current meter records obtained at six moorings across the main basin of Puget Sound. High correlations between wind speeds and currents are found near the surface and at mid-depths of about 100 m. Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis applied to the axial currents in 1984 and 1985 shows that mode 1, containing over 60% of the variance, is highly correlated with wind speed even without any near surface current records. When near surface stratification is strong, direct wind effects are limited to the upper 30 m with counter currents in the lower layer indicating a baroclinic response. The transport in the lower layer almost balances the transport in the upper layer. When near surface stratification is weak, direct wind effects on currents can be detected to about 100 m. In this case, there is no clear and consistent depth at which one can separate the upper from the lower layer. Time series show that the acceleration in the surface layer initially increases in the same direction as the wind when the wind starts blowing, but it reaches a maximum, starts decreasing, and eventually changes to the opposite direction (decelerates) while the wind continues to blow in one direction. Results of a continuously stratified normal mode model and estimations from the observations suggest that friction at solid boundaries is a major cause of these phenomena. The model shows that modal currents of normal modes 2 and 3 are as important as mode 1, although the resultant vertical structure of total current shows a two-layer type pattern with only one zero crossing. The effect of the baroclinic pressure gradient is only apparent at low frequencies and among lower modes.     

Retrospective analysis: bile hydrocarbons and histopathology of demersal rockfish in Prince William Sound,Alaska, after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Demersal rockfish are the only fish species that have been found dead in significant numbers after major oil spills, but the link between oil exposure and effect has not been well established. After the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, several species of rockfish (Sebastes spp.) from oiled and reference sites were analyzed for hydrocarbon metabolites in bile (1989-1991) and for microscopic lesions (1990 and 1991). Biliary hydrocarbons consistent with exposure to Exxon Valdez oil were elevated in 1989, but not in 1990 or 1991. Significant microscopic findings included pigmented macrophage aggregates and hepatic megalocytosis, fibrosis, and lipid accumulation. Site differences in microscopic findings were significant with respect to previous oil exposure in 1991 (P=0.038), but not in 1990. However, differences in microscopic findings were highly significant with respect to age and species in both years (P<0.001). We conclude that demersal rockfish were exposed to Exxon Valdez oil in 1989, but differences in microscopic changes in 1990 and 1991 were related more to age and species differences than to previous oil exposure.     

Restoration of oiled mussel beds in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Natural loss of hydrocarbons was often low from mussel (Mytilus trossulus) beds (which were typically not cleaned after the Exxon Valdez oil spill), thus this habitat remained a long-term source of oil. Consequently, experimental restoration of nine contaminated beds was attempted in 1994; mussels were removed, contaminated surface sediment was replaced (33 metric tons), and original mussels were returned. Hydrocarbon concentrations and mussel populations were monitored for 5 years thereafter. Post-restoration mussel population fluctuations were indistinguishable from regional changes. Increased short-term oil loss was apparent, but long-term (5 year) improvement was equivocal and difficult to distinguish from natural losses. By 1999, oil concentrations in mussels were typically at baseline levels in restored and oiled reference beds; concentrations in replaced sediment were elevated in one third of restored beds, indicating recontamination from underlying or surrounding sediment. Our results suggest mussel relocation is feasible but suggest oil might more effectively be removed from sediment mechanically or chemically than manually.     

The Three Results of Sound Velocity Variance in Sediments During Controlled Stress-strain Testing from the South China Sea

Sound velocity in each type of seafloor sediment from the South China Sea varies with the development of strain in the controlled stress-strain course. Experiments show that there may exist three cases for the maximum sound velocity: (1) it appears at the stress peak; (2) it appears in the phase of no load; and (3) it appears at the end of the strain course. These results are related to physical-mechanical properties and structure of sediments.     

Relocations of Earthquakes (1899–1917) in South-Central Alaska

I have relocated 18 earthquakes occurring in the south-central Alaska region between 1899 and 1917 using a bootstrap relocation technique. Locations of events within the Yakutat region suggest that the 1899 sequence began on 4 September with a M_S = 7.9 event within the area of the Pamplona fault zone/western Transition fault zone, rupturing the western portion of the North American/Pacific plate interface. A M_S = 7.4 event on 10 September appears to have ruptured the offshore portion of the plate interface to the east of the 4 September event. This was followed by a M_S = 8.0 event that likely ruptured the onshore and down-dip portion of the plate interface. A M_S = 7.0 event in 1908 may have ruptured a small portion of the plate interface between the 4 September and 10 September events. Events occurring between 1911 and 1916 in the Prince William Sound region appear to be slab events occurring in similar locations to more recent seismicity. Within the Kodiak region the 1900 earthquake of M_S = 7.7 has a location consistent with the rupture of the Kodiak asperity which also ruptured during the 1964 great Alaska earthquake. Other large magnitude Kodiak events appear to be associated with regions of recent seismicity, including the Karluk Lake area of southwestern Kodiak Island and the Albatross Basin located offshore southeast of Kodiak Island. Space-time seismicity patterns since 1899 indicate that magnitude 6 to7 events have occurred with regularity in the Kodiak Island region; that there has been a lack of magnitude ≥ 6 events in the Prince William Sound region since 1964, and that the Yakutat region has remained notably quiescent at the magnitude ≥ 6 level.     

New seismic data support Cenozoic rifting in George VI Sound, Antarctic Peninsula

New multifold seismic-reflection and wide-angle reflection/refraction data across George VI Sound, Antarctic Peninsula, show the presence of graben and horst structures indicating an extensional origin. The data suggest that rocks of an accretionary complex and fore-arc basin underlie the Sound and are in faulted contact along its eastern boundary with volcanic and plutonic rocks of the associated Mesozoic arc of western Palmer Land. A cover of possible syn- and postglacial Cenozoic deposits drapes the structures. The combination of new seismic, synthetic-aperture radar and previously acquired data suggests subduction-related rifting in the Sound was segmented, with opening in the south predominately by normal extension whilst in the north, dextral transtension predominated.     

声纳测深结合DGPS方法建立海底地形模型

介绍了声纳测深在海洋探测中的应用原理与方法,分析影响测深精度的因素及处理方法;并提出用差分ＧＰＳ配合声纳测深进行动态连续定位,从而建立海底地形模型的设想。     

Rockfish in Puget Sound: An ecological history of exploitation

In Puget Sound, WA (USA), rockfish (Sebastes spp.) have significantly declined in abundance, with multiple petitions to list individual species under the Endangered Species Act. In order to better understand the ecological legacy of rockfish fishing to the Puget Sound ecosystem, the local history of rockfish exploitation was reviewed, focusing on the socioeconomic forces and management decisions which influenced the trajectory of landings. Rockfish have always been harvested for human consumption in the region, but over time exploitation patterns have changed from an opportunistic subsistence activity by indigenous peoples, to a year-round target of commercial and recreational interests. Annual commercial and recreational harvests together peaked (almost 400 mt) in the early 1980s as anglers’ attitudes changed, gear technology improved, rockfish became more familiar to the market, human population increased, and agency programs promoted fisheries to sustain employment. Rockfishes were generally not managed intensely or with conservation goals in mind until the late 1980s, in part due to scientific shortcomings and a lack of resources. By the time management actions were deemed necessary, the greatest harvest had already occurred. However, the low intrinsic productivity of most rockfish species suggests that the legacy of fishing will remain for years to come. As managers strive to restore the integrity and resilience of Puget Sound, they must realize the significance of historical fishery removals to the ecosystem and use the proper social and economic incentives to drive individual behavior toward these ecosystem goals.