Variations in the quantity and composition of seston from an estuary in southern Chile on different temporal scales

Estuaries are characterised by highly variable environmental conditions largely driven by tidal and atmospheric forces. This study investigates variation in the physical environment and the composition of the seston on various temporal scales in the Quempillén estuary, southern Chile. The water column was sampled throughout the tidal cycle at various times of the year. Total particulate matter, particulate inorganic matter, particulate organic matter, particle numbers, total particle volume, proximate biochemical composition and energy content of the seston, chlorophyll a and chloropigments were routinely measured. In each of the months in which sampling took place, two or three tidal cycles were examined. The information not only helps to explain the dynamics of the estuary, but is essential for an understanding of the physiology and ecology of the suspension-feeders which exploit the seston as a food source, the most dominant being the gastropod Crepipatella dilatata. Temperature and salinity were generally highest during summer, but seston quality, defined by energy content and biochemical composition (lipid, protein and carbohydrate) was higher at the end of winter and during spring. Chlorophyll a values were greatest in late spring (November). Many of the variables studied changed frequently according to the phase of the tidal cycle, and in several cases significant differences were observed among tidal cycles from the same month of the same year. In general the variables measured did not exhibit consistent patterns linked to the tidal cycle, possibly because any such patterns were masked by atmospheric conditions (wind and rain) that dominate the region and greatly influence the estuary. The quantity and quality of the seston available to suspension-feeders is largely determined by these atmospheric forces, which cause an influx of terrigenous material from adjacent areas and also resuspend bottom sediment. These effects are magnified by the shallowness of the estuary (<2 m depth). The food supply for C. dilatata and other suspension-feeders therefore varies on temporal scales varying from hourly (tidal cycle) to daily/weekly (atmospheric forces) to monthly (seasonal influences), but inhibition of feeding by low salinity sometimes limits the ability of C. dilatata to exploit fully the available organic matter.     

Spatiotemporal aspects of silica buffering in restored tidal marshes

Losses of pelagic diatom production resulting from silica limitation have not only been blamed for toxic algal blooms, but for the reduction in ability of coastal food webs to support higher trophic levels. Recent research has shown the importance of advective seepage water fluxes of dissolved silica (DSi) from freshwater marshes to pelagic waters during moments of riverine Si-limitation. In this study, we investigated the potential impact of recently installed new tidal areas along the Schelde estuary, located in former polder areas and characterized by so-called controlled reduced tidal regimes (CRT). Nine mass-balance studies were conducted in a newly constructed CRT in the freshwater Schelde estuary. During complete tidal cycles both DSi and amorphous silica (ASi) concentrations were monitored at the entrance culverts and in different habitats in the marsh. A swift DSi-delivery capacity was observed despite the shifted spatiotemporal frame of exchange processes compared to reference marshes. As silica-accumulating vegetation is not yet present, and difference with reference marshes’ deliveries is surprisingly small, we indicate diatomaceous debris and phytoliths to be the main silica source. Although further research is necessary on the driving forces of the different processes involved, restoration of former agricultural areas under CRT-regime provide the potential to buffer silica in the estuary.     

The effect of a topographic high on the morphological stability of a two-inlet bay system

The cross-sectional stability of two tidal inlets connecting the same back-barrier lagoon to the ocean is investigated. The condition for equilibrium is the cross-sectional area tidal prism relationship. In an earlier study [Van de Kreeke, J., 1990. Can multiple inlets be stable? Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 30: 261–273.], using the same equilibrium condition, it was concluded that where two inlets connect the same basin to the ocean ultimately one inlet will close. One of the major assumptions in that study was that the water level in the basin fluctuated uniformly. In hindsight this assumption might be too restrictive. For example, in the Wadden Sea the back barrier lagoon consists of a series of basins, rather than one single basin, separated by topographic highs. These topographic highs limit but do not exclude the exchange of water between the sub-basins. For this reason in the present study, a topographic high in the form of a weir was added, separating the back-barrier lagoon in two sub-basins. The water level in the sub-basins, rather than in the back-barrier as a whole, is assumed to fluctuate uniformly. For this schematization the hydrodynamic equations are solved using a finite difference method. The results, together with the equilibrium condition, yield the equilibrium flow curve for each of the inlets. The intersections of the two equilibrium flow curves represent combinations of cross-sectional areas for which both inlets are in equilibrium. The stability of the equilibriums was investigated using a non-linear stability analysis resulting in a flow diagram. Calculations were carried out for different inlet and weir characteristics. Sinussoidal tides were the same for both inlets. The results show that for relatively large wetted cross-sectional areas over the topographic high, approaching the situation of a single basin, there are no combinations of inlet cross-sectional areas for which both inlets are in a stable equilibrium. This supports the conclusion in the earlier study. For relatively small wetted cross-sectional areas over the topographic high there is one set of stable equilibriums. In that case the two-inlet bay system approaches that of two single-inlet bay systems.     

苏北潮滩的近期变化分析

利用1999～2000年条子泥岸滩剖面实测数据和1982～1983年东沙沙滩剖面资料,分析了条子泥岸滩和东沙沙滩剖面的冲淤变化。结果表明,条子泥陆侧岸滩剖面的季节性变化特点是夏季侵蚀,冬季淤积;东沙沙脊年际变化特点为两侧边缘以侵蚀为主,而沙脊中央则以淤积为主。造成条子泥岸滩剖面季节性差异的主要原因是其周围海域中高浓度悬沙的秋、冬季落淤大于夏季所致。东沙沙脊东西两侧强烈的潮流和波浪作用使沙脊的两侧遭受较为明显的侵蚀。     

强潮河口三维无结构网格盐度数学模型

采用平面无结构网格和垂向直接分层,建立了强潮河口盐度三维斜压力数学模型。无结构网格使模型能够适应河口复杂的边界,并可以根据需要进行局部加密。Casulli的半隐式法离散模型水位梯度和垂项紊动扩散项,克服了水位梯度和垂项紊动扩散对模型稳定性的影响,Semi-Lagrangian法用于模型对流项的离散,使模型具有"无条件"稳定性。采用水池风生流和盐度异重流算例检验了模型,并应用模型模拟了强潮河口(瓯江口)的潮流盐度运动,计算和实测结果进行比较,表明该模型是准确、可靠的。     

Tidal current observation in the southern Yellow Sea in the summers of 2001 and 2003

Direct current observations in the Yellow Sea interior are very scarce due to intense fishing and trawling activities. Most previous studies on tides in the area were based on coastal measurements or satellite altimeter sea levels and have not been rigorously compared with direct measurements. In this paper, tidal currents are studied with current profiles from three bottom-moored Sontek Acoustic Doppler Profilers （ADPs） deployed in the southern Yellow Sea in summer of 2001 and 2003. The measured current series were dominated by tidal currents. Maximum velocities are between 40-80 cm/s at the mooring stations. M2 current is the most dominant primary tidal constituent, while MS4 and M4 are the most significant shallow water tides with much smaller amplitudes than the primary tides.     

张北6.2级地震的连续形变前兆异常时空特征

采用首都圈连续形变观测网内倾斜及应变的观测资料,对张北地震的前兆异常及其特征进行了分析研究,得到如下结果:震前1年半到两年(即1996年)在这一地区存在较大区域的连续形变异常;在这种中长异常背景的基础上,倾斜、应变观测结果再次出现新一轮异常,并且新的异常在观测地点和时间上一致,异常点相对于中长期时的空间范围缩小,向震中区集中(约200 km范围内).新一轮异常从其中最早的异常开始到地震发生在1年以内,并且随发震时间的逼近,不同观测项目和不同观测方向的各种参量的异常表现更为一致和显著,其中以离震中最近的张家口的异常变化最为突出.     

Hydrodynamic Tidal Model of the Persian Gulf Based on Spatially Variable Bed Friction Coefficient

The aim of this study is to develop a two-dimensional hydrodynamic tidal model for the Persian Gulf (PG2017) using 2D-MIKE21 software. The advantages of present study is accounting for the spatial variation of bed friction coefficient besides a precise bathymetry together with a 23-year of combined records of satellite altimetry data. We found that the bed friction coefficient has a significant effect on sea level changes in the region under our modeling consideration. Since the tidal behavior in the northern part of the Qeshm Island is significantly different from the other parts of the Persian Gulf, to present a more accurate hydrodynamic tidal model, the Gulf is divided into two regions where the bed friction coefficient is modeled separately for each region. The root mean square value of the differences between the amplitude of dominant constituents; M2, S2, K1, and O1 derived from the PG2017 model and that of 98 altimetry and coastal tide gauge stations are respectively equal to 1.6, 1.9, 2.8, and 1.3?cm. Moreover, comparing the PG2017 model efficiency with the FES2014, OSU12, EOT11a, DTU10, and Admiralty models shows that the PG2017 model has an improvement of 22.1%, 47.2%, 43.2%, 44.2%, and 57.6% in terms of relative error, respectively.     

Numerical Study on Tidal Mixing in the Bohai Sea

The spatial and temporal variability of tidal mixing in Bohai Sea is studied using a numerical approach. In calculating tidal mixing, accurate barotropic tidal current is obtained via a harmonic analysis package utilizing the simulated current output from a high-resolution regional ocean model. And a “small-scale” roughness map is adopted to describe the detailed topographic features of Bohai Sea. It is shown that the tidal mixing estimated in Bohai Sea is much higher than the level of global background, and fluctuates considerably at some regions within a single day. In Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay and Bohai Strait, the mixing varies greatly, with the peak value of O (10^?2) m² s^?1. The order of magnitude of mixing in Laizhou Bay is about O (10^?5～10^?3) m² s^?1. Mixing with background level of O (10^?5) m² s^?1 only appears in central area. Result also shows that rough topography plays relatively a more important role than tidal current in enhancing diapycnal mixing in Bohai Sea. The distributions of tidal mixing in selected sections reveal that the vertical stratification in Bohai Sea is not obvious, generally renders a barotropic structure.     

Topographical Mapping of a Bare Tidal Flat Outside a Mangrove Area based on the Waterline Method and an Iterative Hydrodynamic Model: A Case Study of Yingluo Bay,South China

A change in the elevation of bare tidal flats outside a mangrove area is an indispensable factor for the sustainable development of mangroves. Waterline extraction, as an effective and economical tool used in reconstructing the terrain of an intertidal zone, has been widely applied to open-coast tidal flats by constructing a digital elevation model (DEM). However, mangrove wetlands are usually located in wave-sheltered sites, such as estuaries and bays that have narrow tidal channels flanked by tidal flats. Changes in water level are affected by the dry-wet processes of complex landforms caused by tides. This article takes as a study case the area of Yingluo Bay, which covers the core region of the Zhanjiang and Shankou National Mangrove National Nature Reserve in southwestern China. Waterline extraction based on seventeen multisource and multispectral satellite images obtained from December 2014 to April 2015, combining the finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) hydrodynamic model in an iterative process, was used to generate a topographical map of the bare tidal flat outside the mangrove area in Yingluo Bay. The quality of the iterative DEMs was evaluated via six transects of a ground-based survey using Real - time kinematic (RKT) GPS in May 2015. The mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the DEM decreased with an increase in the number of iterations. In this study, the DEM in the third iteration was used as the final output because the difference from the previous iterative DEM satisfied an inversion-stopping criterion. The MAE and RMSE of the final DEM with the measured data were 0.072 and 0.09?m, respectively, without considering small tidal creeks. The method used in this study can be an effective and highly precise approach for detecting and reconstructing the historical terrain of a bare tidal flat outside a mangrove area. This work also has great importance regarding intertidal resource management and the sustainable development of mangroves facing the vulnerable coastal ecological environment.