Tidal effect on dynamics of pore water nitrate in intertidal sediment of a eutrophic Estuary

To evaluate the effect of the tidal cycle on the pore water nitrate dynamics in intertidal sediment, concentrations of inorganic nitrogen in water and sediment were monitored during tidal cycles in the mud flat of Tama Estuary, Japan. During submergence, nitrate concentration was highest in the overlying water and decreased monotonically with increasing depth in the sediment, suggesting that the primary source of nitrate in the sediment was nitrate transported from the overlying water. Pore water nitrate decreased remarkably during the initial 3–4 hours after the onset of exposure. Thereafter, it was constant or slightly increased until tidal flooding.In situ accumulation of nitrate at the end of exposure, however, did not exceed the nitrate concentrations in the overlying water. The inhibition of nitrate reduction and the stimulation of nitrification would explain the change of nitrate concentration, both consistent with the input of oxygen into the sediment following a 10 mm drop of the water table. In Tama Estuary sediments, the effect of the tidal cycle on the removal of combined nitrogen is rather negative, because high nitrate concentrations in the overlying water canceled the positive effect of nitrate accumulation by nitrification during exposure, while tidal oxygen intrusion have an inhibitory effection sedimentary denitrification.     

The mobilization and deposition of mud deposits in a coastal plain estuary

Muddy sediments with their potential for containing contaminants are commonly deposited and remobilized by tidal currents in estuarine environments. We examined the mobilization and subsequent redeposition of mud in a coastal plain estuary located in the southeastern United States. Time-series data for salinity, suspended sediment concentrations and quality (percent organic matter and pigment concentrations) were obtained over a 13-hour tidal cycle. We found that fast-settling mud particles are found during the highest tidal current speeds. Particle quality analyses suggest that all the material is of similar origin, and that phaeopigment can be used as a tracer of particles in this system. These particles settle onto the bed when current speeds approach slack conditions. We speculate that the quantity of mud mobilized during neap tide is less than during spring tide resulting in an opportunity for the mud to partially consolidate on the bottom and be removed from resuspension. We further speculate that the muddy sediments are mainly derived from fringing marshes in this estuary.     

Mudbank regime off the Kerala coast during monsoon and non-monsoon seasons

Field experiments conducted in the nearshore ocean to understand the dynamics of mudbank off Kerala, south-west coast of India, are highlighted. Real time monitoring of the nearshore ocean off Purakkad, Kerala was accomplished using pressure transducers for nearshore surface wave measurements, and current sensors for nearshore velocity measurements. Comprehensive information on the spatial structure of mudbank was obtained from aerial surveys. Extensive data collected on surface waves and currents in the nearshore ocean, indicate that the infra-gravity (IG) waves (leaky modes and trapped edge wave modes), and far infra-gravity (FIG) waves coupled with strong shoreline reflections and undertow play an important role in the dynamics associated with the mudbanks off Kerala during the monsoon season. During the non-monsoon season evidence for progressive edge waves in the infragravity frequency band, an energetic gravity wave band and a strong undertow with weak reflections was observed.     

多种数字海洋地理环境信息的融合与可视化的局部实现

以潮汐、潮流和海浪数值的计算技术和数字海底地形模型的构造方法为基础,应用层次细节模型和三维渲染技术,完成了近岸海洋环境保障的多种数字海洋地理环境信息的融合与可视化的局部实现,为今后此领域的研究提供了理论和经验基础。     

Benthic photosynthesis in submerged Wadden Sea intertidal flats

In this study we compare benthic photosynthesis during inundation in coarse sand, fine sand, and mixed sediment (sand/mud) intertidal flats in the German Wadden Sea. In situ determinations of oxygen-, DIC- and nutrient fluxes in stirred benthic chamber incubations were combined with measurements of sedimentary chlorophyll, incident light intensity at the sediment surface and scalar irradiance within the sediment. During submergence, microphytobenthos was light limited at all study sites as indicated by rapid response of gross photosynthesis to increasing incident light at the sea floor. However, depth integrated scalar irradiance was 2 to 3 times higher in the sands than in the mud. Consequently, gross photosynthesis in the net autotrophic fine sand and coarse sand flats during inundation was on average 4 and 11 times higher than in the net heterotrophic mud flat, despite higher total chlorophyll concentration in mud. Benthic photosynthesis may be enhanced in intertidal sands during inundation due to: (1) higher light availability to the microphytobenthos in the sands compared to muds, (2) more efficient transport of photosynthesis-limiting solutes to the microalgae with pore water flows in the permeable sands, and (3) more active metabolic state and different life strategies of microphytobenthos inhabiting sands.     

Detailed measurements during a transient front in a small subtropical estuary

High-resolution measurements of velocity and physio-chemistry were conducted before, during and after the passage of a transient front in a small subtropical system about 2.1 km upstream of the river mouth. Detailed acoustic Doppler velocimetry measurements, conducted continuously at 25 Hz, showed the existence of transverse turbulent shear between 300 s prior to the front passage and 1300 s after. This was associated with an increased level of suspended sediment concentration fluctuations, some transverse shear next to the bed and some surface temperature anomaly.     

On the recent warming of the southeastern Bering Sea shelf

During the last decade, the southeastern Bering Sea shelf has undergone a warming of 3 °C that is closely associated with a marked decrease of sea ice over the area. This shift in the physical environment of the shelf can be attributed to a combination of mechanisms, including the presence over the eastern Bering Sea shelf of a relatively mild air mass during the winter, especially from 2000 to 2005; a shorter ice season caused by a later fall transition and/or an earlier spring transition; increased flow through Unimak Pass during winter, which introduces warm Gulf of Alaska water onto the southeastern shelf; and the feedback mechanism whereby warmer ocean temperatures during the summer delay the southward advection of sea ice during winter. While the relative importance of these four mechanisms is difficult to quantify, it is evident that for sea ice to form, cold arctic winds must cool the water column. Sea ice is then formed in the polynyas during periods of cold north winds, and this ice is advected southward over the eastern shelf. The other three mechanisms can modify ice formation and melt, and hence its extent. In combination, these four mechanisms have served to temporally and spatially limit ice during the 5-year period (2001–2005). Warming of the eastern Bering Sea shelf could have profound influences on the ecosystem of the Bering Sea—from modification of the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom to the northward advance of subarctic species and the northward retreat of arctic species.     

渤海湾环流的一次观测和分析

为了对渤海湾的环流形态有一个准确的认识，对渤海湾进行了一次较为全面的海流调查。这次调查以Ｌａｇｒａｎｇｅ观点为指导，采用３种方法：海流计在固定站位连续测流；漂流板轨迹观测和“人工水母”测底层流。本文分别介绍这三种方法及观测过程，并分析得出了渤海湾Ｌａｇｒａｎｇｅ余环流型大致是顺时针的结论     

庵东浅滩沉积分带和沉积速率

杭州湾南岸的庵东浅滩具有地貌特征、沉积类型和沉积构造各异的三个沉积相带。垂向沉积带为潮滩沉积体的盖层,以泥滩、粘土质粉砂和薄砂泥交互层为特征;改造带位于中低潮位线附近,以粉砂滩、潮沟系统、粉砂沉积和沙波层理为特征;横向沉积带为潮滩堆积体的基础,以滩坡、粉砂及细砂质粉砂沉积、冲刷-充填构造为特征。据潮汐韵律层的统计,庵东浅滩沉积速率的短周期分量,常态条件下为每半日潮周期0.1～2.0cm,异常条件下可达每半日潮周期4～64cm。沉积速率的长周期分量,据地形对比和~(210)Pb推算,垂向沉积带为2～4.5cm/a;改造带中的粉砂滩为2.1～4.5cm/a,潮沟影响范围内为1～10~1cm/a量级;横向沉积带则以高于50cm/a的高沉积速率和变幅为主。近10年来,该浅滩的年淤积量为6×10~7t/a,其中85％集中于横向沉积带。     

杭州湾南岸潮滩的~(210)Pb分布及其沉积学意义

杭州湾南岸潮滩的~(210)Pb垂向分布具有随深度波动的特征。湖滩颗粒物在吸附模拟系统中的~(210)Pb分配系数,主要受颗粒物含量的影响。本文从潮滩沉积~(210)Pb初始比度在低于平衡点一侧波动的机理,以及被沉积间断所分隔的有效封闭段的存在出发,提出选择常态沉积层的高~(210)Pb比度窗口,建立以CIC模式估计潮滩沉积速率的方法。