Effects of suction-dredging for cockles on non-target fauna in the Wadden Sea

Suction dredging for cockles removes large cockles from tidal flats and may also cause mortality of non-target fauna and make the habitat less suitable for some species. This study examines whether suction dredging for cockles on tidal flats of the Dutch Wadden Sea had affected densities of non-target fauna, directly after fishing and one year later. Densities of non-target fauna in two randomly chosen undredged locations were compared to densities at the surrounding heavily commercially dredged area. A significant negative effect of cockle dredging on densities of 0-group Macoma balthica was observed and this effect persisted one year after dredging. The dredged area appeared to be less suitable for settlement of mussels Mytilus edulis. No significant effects of dredging on the mudsnail Hydrobia ulvae and on 0 and 1-group C. edule were found. For the mobile young Macoma balthica it seems unlikely that the effect found after one year was still due to the mortality caused by dredging and this suggests that the habitat was less suitable as a consequence of dredging. Thus, even in the highly dynamic ecosystem of the Wadden Sea, effects of bottom disturbance by cockle dredging may persist after one year.     

麻痹性贝毒毒素研究Ⅰ.塔玛亚历山大藻的麻痹性贝毒毒素对运动神经末梢和全细胞钠离子通道的抑制作用研究

麻痹性贝毒(Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning，PSP)毒素由石房蛤毒素(saxitoxin，STX)及其衍生物组成，目前己发现20余种，在赤潮研究、分子生物学和神经生物学基础研究、医药、军事防化等方面都有应用潜力[其结构、类型和应用见本集刊王云峰等(2003)“麻痹性贝毒毒素的应用研究进展”一文]。由于PSP毒素的稀有来源和国际社会对STX交易的禁止，限制了国内PSP毒素应用及研究的全面深入展开，因此本文作者对PSP毒素进行了制备，并采用不同方法对制备的PSP毒素进行了研究。 PSP毒素能够选择性地可逆抑制可兴奋膜的电压依赖钠离子通道的开放，从而阻止神经冲动的发生和传导，使神经、肌肉丧失兴奋性(Frace et al.，1986；Penzotti et al.，1998)。本文利用神经束膜下记录和全细胞膜片钳技术，报道了从塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense)中提取的PSP粗毒素对小鼠运动神经末梢膜电流和NG108-15细胞钠离子通道的作用研究结果，并与STX标准毒素的作用结果进行了比较。 NG108-15细胞是由小鼠神经母细胞瘤和大鼠胶质细胞瘤融合的杂交细胞，经分化剂分化后，显示诸+L1196如兴奋性、合成和释放乙酰胆碱、与培养肌细胞形成突触联系等多种神经细胞的基本特性(Hamprcht，1977)和Na+、K+、Ca2+等多种离子通道，已作为神经细胞模型被广泛应用于分析药物对离子通道作用的研究(Enomoto et al.，1992； Docherty et al.，1992；Shi et al.，1993；Hu et al.，1997a；Hu et al.，1997b)；发育出具有Na+内流支持的锋电位(Hamprecht,1977)，该电位是分析作用于膜钠离子通道药物的好材料。     

Barotropic Response of the Sea of Okhotsk to Wind Forcing

We have examined wind-induced circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk using a barotropic model that contains realistic topography with a resolution of 9.25 km. The monthly wind stress field calculated from daily European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Re-Analysis data is used as the forcing, and the integration is carried out for 20 days until the circulation attains an almost steady state. In the case of November (a representative for the winter season from October to March), southward currents of velocity 0.1–0.3 m s⁻¹ occur along the bottom contours off the east of Sakhalin Island. The currents are mostly confined to the shelf (shallower than 200 m) and extend as far south as the Hokkaido coast. In the July case (a representative for the summer season from April to September), significant currents do not occur, even in the shallow shelves. The simulated southward current over the east Sakhalin shelf appears to correspond to the near-shore branch of the East Sakhalin Current (ESC), which was observed with the surface drifters. These seasonal variations simulated in our experiments are consistent with the observations of the ESC. Dynamically, the simulated ESC is interpreted as the arrested topographic wave (ATW), which is the coastally trapped flow driven by steady alongshore wind stress. The volume transport of the simulated ESC over the shelf reaches about 1.0 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹) in the winter season, which is determined by the integrated onshore Ekman transport in the direction from which shelf waves propagate. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

珊瑚礁岩心声速垂向跃变及其指相意义

本文在南沙群岛永署礁南永1井珊瑚礁岩心声速测量的基础上，研究了珊瑚礁岩心声速的垂向跃变特征和相应地层沉积相变及地层侵蚀间断面的关系，分析了珊瑚礁岩心相变造成其声速跃变的原因，阐明了海平面升降形式珊瑚礁地层侵蚀间断面和产生相变的具体过程, 明了珊瑚礁岩心声速垂向跃变与相应地层古气候和海平面变化的关系，该项研究在岛礁工程建设和礁灰岩区石油勘探声学测井以及西太平洋边缘海古海洋学研究学方面具有重要的实用价值和理论意义。     

Short-term and interannual variability of redox-sensitive chemical parameters in hypoxic/anoxic bottom waters of the Chesapeake Bay

A combination of CTD casts, discrete bottle sampling and in situ voltammetric microelectrode profiling was used to examine changing redox conditions in the water column at a single station south of the Bay Bridge in the upper Chesapeake Bay in late July/early August, 2002–2005. Short-term (2–4 h) fluctuations in the oxic/suboxic/anoxic interface were documented using in situ voltammetric solid-state electrodes. Profiles of dissolved oxygen and sulfide revealed tidally-driven vertical fluctuations of several meters in the depth and thickness of the suboxic zone. Bottom water concentrations of sulfide, Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺ also varied over the tidal cycle by approximately an order of magnitude. These data indicate that redox species concentrations at this site varied more due to physical processes than biogeochemical processes. Based on analysis of ADCP data, tidal currents at this station were strongly polarized, with the principal axis of tidal currents aligned with the mainstem channel. Together with the chemical data, the ADCP analysis suggests tidal flushing of anoxic bottom waters with suboxic water from north of the site. The present study is thus unique because while most previous studies have focused on processes across relatively stable redox interfaces, our data clearly demonstrate the influence of rapidly changing physical mixing processes on water column redox chemistry.Also noted during the study were interannual differences in maximum bottom water concentrations of sulfide, Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺. In 2003, for example, heavy spring rains resulted in severe hypoxia/anoxia in June and early July. While reported storm-induced mixing in late July/early August 2003 partially alleviated the low-oxygen conditions, bottom water concentrations of sulfide, Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺ were still much higher than in the previous year. The latter implies that the response time of the microbial community inhabiting the suboxic/anoxic bottom waters to changing redox conditions is slow compared to the time scale of episodic mixing events. Bottom water concentrations of the redox-sensitive chemical species should thus be useful as a tracer to infer prior hypoxic/anoxic conditions not apparent from ambient oxygen levels at the time of sampling.     

The morphodynamic modelling of tidal sand waves on the shoreface

An artificial sand wave on the Dutch shoreface of the North Sea has been studied in conditions with relatively strong tidal currents in the range of 0.5 to 1 m/s and sediments in the medium sand size range of 0.2 to 0.5 mm. The sand wave is perpendicular to the tidal current and has a maximum height and length of the order of 5 m and 1 km, respectively. The sand wave is dynamically active and shows migration rates of the order of a few metres per year. A numerical morphodynamic model (DELFT3D model) has been used to simulate the morphological behaviour of the sand wave in the North Sea. This model approach is based on the numerical solution of the three-dimensional shallow water equations in combination with a surface wave propagation model (wind waves) and the advection–diffusion equation for the sediment particles with online bed updating after each time step. The model results show that the sand wave grows in the case of dominant bed-load transport (weak tidal currents; relatively coarse sediment; small roughness height; low waves) and that the sand wave decays in the case of dominant suspended transport (strong currents, relatively fine sediment, large roughness height; storm waves).     

The impact of the M2 internal tide on data-assimilative model estimates of the surface tide

We use a synthetic data experiment to assess the accuracy of ocean tides estimated from satellite altimetry data, with emphasis on the impact of the phase-locked internal tide, which has a surface expression of several centimeters near its sites of genesis. Previous tidal estimates have regarded this signal as a random measurement error; however, it is deterministic and not scale-separated from the barotropic (surface) tide around complex bathymetric features. The synthetic data experiments show that the internal tide has a negligible impact on the barotropic tidal fields inferred under these circumstances, and the barotropic dissipation (a quadratic functional of the tidal fields) is in good agreement with the energetics of the three-dimensional regional primitive equations model which is the source of the synthetic data.     

现场海域水平扩散系数的探讨 Ⅱ．黄河三角洲埕北海域的计算

根据Ｔａｙｌｏｒ的湍流扩散理论和Ｈａｙ、Ｐａｓｑｕｉｌｌ提出的拉格朗日流和欧拉流的相关函数的相似性，用黄河三角洲埕北海域的实测资料，按四种不同方案计算出该海域的水平扩散系数和谱密度分布。指出：该海区潮流扩散系数主要受潮流的影响，其分布特征与潮流的分布基本一致，所求的水平扩散系数主要是由周期性的潮运动给予潮流扰动所致。方案４是通过富氏变换滤波消去了周期性潮流扰动，本方案计算的水平扩散系数是由周期为６ｈ以下的小尺度涡提供能量。     

An inexpensive instrument for measuring benthic current velocity and direction at sea

An instrument which measures the velocity and direction of benthic water currents at depths of up to 80 m is described. Characteristics of this meter include: (i) readings are not affected by water flow during sinking or retrieval; (ii) it is portable; (iii) it operates unattended; (iv) it is inexpensive; and (v) it requires only simple maintenance. A timing circuit which operates two time periods in succession is used to activate and de-activate a revolution counter and a fluidfilled compass which are mounted on a special frame and vane system. In the field, the instrument accurately measured average current velocities of up to 6 m s⁻¹. Data are presented which illustrate the usefulness of this instrument in describing the velocity and direction of benthic currents along the east coast of Australia and demonstrate a positive correlation between benthic current velocity and catch rates of the commercially-exploited spanner crab Ranina ranina.     

Sediment-starved sand ridges on a mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner shelf off west-central Florida

High-resolution side-scan mosaics, sediment analyses, and physical process data have revealed that the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic, inner shelf of west-central Florida supports a highly complex field of active sand ridges mantled by a hierarchy of bedforms. The sand ridges, mostly oriented obliquely to the shoreline trend, extend from 2 km to over 25 km offshore. They show many similarities to their well-known counterparts situated along the US Atlantic margin in that both increase in relief with increasing water depth, both are oriented obliquely to the coast, and both respond to modern shelf dynamics. There are significant differences in that the sand ridges on the west-central Florida shelf are smaller in all dimensions, have a relatively high carbonate content, and are separated by exposed rock surfaces. They are also shoreface-detached and are sediment-starved, thus stunting their development. Morphological details are highly distinctive and apparent in side-scan imagery due to the high acoustic contrast. The seafloor is active and not a relict system as indicated by: (1) relatively young AMS ¹⁴C dates (<1600 yr BP) from forams in the shallow subsurface (1.6 meters below seafloor), (2) apparent shifts in sharply distinctive grayscale boundaries seen in time-series side-scan mosaics, (3) maintenance of these sharp acoustic boundaries and development of small bedforms in an area of constant and extensive bioturbation, (4) sediment textural asymmetry indicative of selective transport across bedform topography, (5) morphological asymmetry of sand ridges and 2D dunes, and (6) current-meter data indicating that the critical threshold velocity for sediment transport is frequently exceeded. Although larger sand ridges are found along other portions of the west-central Florida inner shelf, these smaller sand ridges are best developed seaward of a major coastal headland, suggesting some genetic relationship. The headland may focus and accelerate the N–S reversing currents. An elevated rock terrace extending from the headland supports these ridges in a shallower water environment than the surrounding shelf, allowing them to be more easily influenced by currents and surface gravity waves. Tidal currents, storm-generated flows, and seasonally developed flows are shore-parallel and oriented obliquely to the NW–SE trending ridges, indicating that they have developed as described by the Huthnance model. Although inner shelf sand ridges have been extensively examined elsewhere, this study is the first to describe them in a low-energy, sediment-starved, dominantly mixed siliciclastic/carbonate sedimentary environment situated on a former limestone platform.