Morphology, hydrography and sediment dynamics in a mangrove estuary: The Konkoure Estuary, Guinea

The Konkouré Estuary in the Republic of Guinea is a poorly understood atypical mangrove system. Sediment dynamics in tropical estuaries are controlled by a combination of processes including river discharge, morphology, salinity, erosion and deposition processes, the settling of mud, physico-chemical processes and mangrove swamps. Here we present a consistent set of data aimed at characterising the estuary and thus, increasing our understanding of tropical systems, as well as studying the impact of human intervention in the region. Water elevations, current measurements, salinity, suspended sediment concentrations, bathymetry and sediment cover are presented following a 3 year survey of the Konkouré Estuary. Here we provide conclusive evidence that the Lower Konkouré is a shallow, funnel shaped, mesotidal, mangrove-fringed, tide dominated estuary, well mixed during low river discharge. The estuary becomes stratified during high river flows and spring tides whereas a salt wedge appears during neap tides. The Konkouré Estuary has been described as hypersynchronous, and has three terminal outlets, two of which are landward-directed, attesting to a tidal pumping effect, while the third one is seaward-directed, and is controlled by the mangrove. The suspended matter is transported by the tidal effect within the middle estuary and is therefore trapped in the Turbidity Maximum zone (TMZ). The location of the TMZ is river-controlled and is correlated with residual currents but not with salinity front. A dam, constructed 130 km upstream, impacts on the hydrodynamics, and reduces the salinity intrusion by about 25%. It causes an increased low river discharge whereas its efficiency over high river flows is unclear.     

Changes in wild fish assemblages after the establishment of a fish farming zone in an oligotrophic marine ecosystem

The species composition, abundance and diversity of demersal fish assemblages has been investigated in an oligotrophic coastal bay in the Aegean Sea which is a designated zone for the development of aquaculture. Samples were collected using experimental trawling, before the establishment of fish cages in the area during early June 1987 and after attaining the maximal production of the aquaculture zone in late May 2001. The overall abundance of the fish assemblage increased by a factor of 4 and the average trophic level of the fish community increased from 3.59 to 3.79. Traditional diversity indices showed an increase in dominance but the distinctness measures of biodiversity showed that the overall structure obtained after the establishment of fish farming was not phylogenetically impoverished. Multivariate analysis showed that the community differences between the two periods are quantitative rather than qualitative. Comparisons in length frequencies between the two periods indicated that specimens of the species compared were either similar or larger in the second period. The species favoured by the presence of aquaculture were not the ones normally feeding on the food pellets under the cages but those normally occurring in the fishing grounds of the study. It is concluded that the release of nutrients from fish farming in nutrient-poor systems can have a positive effect on local fisheries with no visible negative change in species composition or biodiversity.     

Modelling analysis of the sensitivity of shoreline change to a wave farm

Change of shoreline wave climate caused by the installation of a wave farm is assessed using the SWAN wave model. The 30 MW-rated wave farm is called the ‘Wave Hub’ and will be located 20 km off the north coast of Cornwall, UK. Changes in significant wave height and mean wave period due to the presence of the Wave Hub are presented. The results suggest that the shoreline wave climate will be affected, although the magnitude of effects decreases linearly as wave energy transmitted increases. At probable wave energy transmission levels, the predicted change in shoreline wave climate is small.     

Sub-Lethal Effects of Elevated Concentration of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> on Planktonic Copepods and Sea Urchins

Data concerning the effects of high CO₂ concentrations on marine organisms are essential for both predicting future impacts of the increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentration and assessing the effects of deep-sea CO₂sequestration. Here we review our recent studies evaluating the effects of elevated CO₂ concentrations in seawater on the mortality and egg production of the marine planktonic copepod, Acartia steueri, and on the fertilization rate and larval morphology of sea urchin embryos, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus and Echinometra mathaei. Under conditions of +10,000 ppm CO₂ in seawater (pH 6.8), the egg production rates of copepods decreased significantly. The survival rates of adult copepods were not affected when reared under increased CO₂ for 8 days, however longer exposure times could have revealed toxic effects of elevated CO₂ concentrations. The fertilization rate of sea urchin eggs of both species decreased with increasing CO₂ concentration. Furthermore, the size of pluteus larvae decreased with increasing CO₂ concentration and malformed skeletogenesis was observed in both larvae. This suggests that calcification is affected by elevated CO₂ in the seawater. From these results, we conclude that increased CO₂ concentration in seawater will chronically affect several marine organisms and we discuss the effects of increased CO₂ on the marine carbon cycle and marine ecosystem. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Impact Pressure of Incident Regular Waves and Irregular Waves on the Subface of Open-Piled Structures

1 .IntroductionInrecentyears,theimpactloadsactingonthesuperstructureofopen piledwharfs,shoretres tles,oildrillingplatforms ,etc .,havebecomeanimportantsafetyissueinoffshoreengineering .Owingtotheeffectofseabedsubsidenceandtheoccurrenceofextremestormconditionsthatexceedpriorpre dictions,theclearanceofthesuperstructuresofsomemarinestructuresmaybeinsufficient.So ,whenwavesoflargecrestspropagatebeneaththestructure ,itsundersidewillbesubjectedtoimpactloadsofconsiderablemagnitudeswhichmaycausethesup…     

拟建三亚新机场填海对区域景观特征影响分析

为进一步完善海南国际旅游岛的交通基础设施,三亚市政府提出在红塘湾海域进行填海,用于机场及附属设施建设。而伴随着海南国际旅游岛和自由贸易试验区国家战略的稳步推进,三亚将重点保护和优化具有品牌效应的标志性景观地区。本研究运用空间视线分析及实景模拟分析法,分析三亚新机场填海工程对周边三个标志性滨海景区,即南山文化旅游区、天涯海角风景区、鹿回头风景区的景观特征影响。分析结果认为:填海建设机场将对三亚重要滨海景观资源造成较大自然和人文冲击。自然景观方面,项目填海占据了南山文化旅游区和天涯海角风景区较大的视觉范围,大尺度的直线人工岛及大体量的人工设施将改变整体环境的"自然"特征。人文景观方面,天涯海角风景区的"天地尽头"景观意象受影响大,直接破坏"天之涯""海之角"陆海分界、海阔天空的意象;建成后噪音、灯光将破坏南山文化旅游区的肃静和庄严感,南海观音也将面临灯光、噪音的日夜干扰;对于鹿回头景区,"前无去路"的内涵将受到影响。建议项目用海评估论证应纳入区域景观影响的内容,结合区域发展定位和战略需求,对新机场填海工程的可行性进行全方位论证。     

青岛海湾大桥对胶州湾潮汐、潮流及余环流的影响预测——Ⅱ.预测方法的探讨

旨在预测青岛海湾大桥对胶州湾潮流场产生的影响,首先对桥墩附近流场进行了数值计算,阐明了桥墩对流场影响的范围及程度,提出预测潮流变化所需的参数,尔后,对预测中所用替代方法的可行性进行了探讨。     

Quality Assessment and Forecast Sensitivity of Global Remote Sensing Observations

The satellite-derived wind from cloud and moisture features of geostationary satellites is an important data source for numerical weather prediction(NWP) models. These datasets and global positioning system radio occultation(GPSRO)satellite radiances are assimilated in the four-dimensional variational atmospheric data assimilation system of the UKMO Unified Model in India. This study focuses on the importance of these data in the NWP system and their impact on short-term24-h forecasts. The quality of the wind observations is compared to the short-range forecast from the model background. The observation increments(observation minus background) are computed as the satellite-derived wind minus the model forecast with a 6-h lead time. The results show the model background has a large easterly wind component compared to satellite observations. The importance of each observation in the analysis is studied using an adjoint-based forecast sensitivity to observation method. The results show that at least around 50% of all types of satellite observations are beneficial. In terms of individual contribution, METEOSAT-7 shows a higher percentage of impact(nearly 50%), as compared to GEOS, MTSAT-2and METEOSAT-10, all of which have a less than 25% impact. In addition, the impact of GPSRO, infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer(IASI) and atmospheric infrared sounder(AIRS) data is calculated. The GPSRO observations have beneficial impacts up to 50 km. Over the Southern Hemisphere, the high spectral radiances from IASI and AIRS show a greater impact than over the Northern Hemisphere. The results in this study can be used for further improvements in the use of new and existing satellite observations.