Fluxes and sources of suspended organic matter in an estuarine turbidity maximum region during low discharge conditions

Water column concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS), particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate nitrogen (PN) were measured at three different depths in four different locations bracketing the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) along the main channel of a temperate riverine estuary (Winyah Bay, South Carolina, USA). Measurements were carried out over full tidal cycle (over 24 h). Salinity, temperature, current magnitude and direction were also monitored at the same time throughout the water column. Tidally averaged net fluxes of salt, TSS, POC and PN were calculated by combining the current measurements with the concentration data. Under the extreme low river discharge conditions that characterized the study period, net landward fluxes of salt were measured in the lower part of the study area, suggesting that the landward transport through the main channel of the estuary was probably balanced by export out through the sides. In contrast, the net fluxes of salt in the upper reaches of the study area were near zero, indicating a closed salt balance in this part of the estuary. In contrast to salt, the net fluxes of TSS, POC and PN in the deeper parts of the water column were consistently landward at all four sites in Winyah Bay indicating the non-conservative behavior of particulate components and their active transport up the estuary in the region around the ETM.The carbon contents (%POC), carbon:nitrogen ratios (org[C:N]a) and stable carbon isotopic compositions (δ¹³C_POC) of the suspended particles varied significantly with depth, location and tidal stage. Tidally averaged compositions showed a significant increase up the estuary in the %POC and org[C:N]a values of suspended particles consistent with the preferential landward transport of carbon-rich particles with higher vascular plant debris content. The combination of tidal resuspension and flood-dominated flow appeared to be responsible for the hydrodynamic sorting of particles along the estuary that resulted in denser, organic-poor particles being transported landward less efficiently. The elemental and isotopic compositions indicated that vascular C₃ plants and estuarine algae were the major sources of the particulate organic matter of all the samples, without any significant contributions from salt marsh C₄ vegetation (Spartina alterniflora) and/or marine phytoplankton.     

The Mw = 6.0, 7 September 1999 Athens Earthquake

On 7 September 1999 at 11:56 GMT a destructive earthquake (M_w = 6.0) occurred close to Athens (Greece). The rupture process is examined using data from the Cornet local permanent network, as well as teleseismic recordings. Data recorded by a temporary seismological network were analyzed to study the aftershock sequence. The mainshock was relocated at 38.105°N, 23.565°E, about 20 km northwest of Athens. Four foreshocks were also relocated close to the mainshock. The modeling of teleseismic P and SH waves provides a well-constrained focal mechanism of the mainshock (strike = 105°, dip = 55° and rake = -80°) at a depth of 8 km and a seismic moment M₀ = 1.010²⁵ dyn·cm. The obtained fault plane solution represents normal faulting indicating an almost north-south extension. More than 3500 aftershocks were located, 1813 of which present RMS < 0.1 s and ERH, ERZ < 1.0 km. Two main clusters were distinguished, while the depth distribution is concentrated between 2 and 11 km. Over 1000 fault plane solutions of aftershocks were constrained, the majority of which also correspond to N–S extension. No surface breaks were observed but the fault plane solution of the mainshock is in agreement with the tectonics of the area and with the focal mechanisms obtained by aftershocks. The hypocenter of the mainshock is located on the deep western edge of the fault plane. The relocated epicenter coincides with the fringe that represents the highest deformation observed on the differential interferometric image. The calculated source duration is 5 sec, while the estimated dimensions of the fault are 15 km length and 10 km width. The source process is characterized by unilateral eastward rupture propagation, towards the city of Athens. An evident stop phase observed in the recordings of the Cornet local stations is interpreted as a barrier caused by the Aegaleo Mountain.     

Sediment deposition in the flood plain of Stemple Creek Watershed, northern California

Over the past 150 years, major land use changes have occurred in the Stemple Creek Watershed in northern California that have caused erosion to move soils from the upland to the flood plain, stream channels, and the bay. The purpose of this study is to document the recent (1954 to present) sediment deposition patterns in the flood plain area adjacent to Stemple Creek using the ¹³⁷Cesium technique. Sediment deposition ranged from 0.26 to 1.84 cm year⁻¹ for the period from 1964 to 2002 with an average of 0.85±0.41 cm year⁻¹. Sediment deposition rates were higher for the 1954 to 1964 period with a range of 0.31–3.50 cm year⁻¹ and an average of 1.29±1.04 cm year⁻¹. These data indicate that sediment deposition in the flood plain has decreased since the middle 1950s, probably related to reduction in row crop agriculture and an increase in pasturelands. This study shows that the flood plains in the Stemple Creek Watershed are a significant sink for the soils being eroded from the upland area. Given the significance of the flood plain for trapping eroded materials before they reach the stream channels or the bay, efforts need to be made to manage these flood plain areas to insure that they do not change and become a source rather than a sink for eroded materials as improved management practices on the upland areas reduce sediment input to the flood plain.     

Convergence acceleration of iterative sequences for equilibrium chemistry computations

Computational Geosciences - The modeling of thermodynamic equilibria leads to complex nonlinear chemical systems which are often solved with the Newton-Raphson method. But this resolution can lead...     

Does the Port 2000 harbour construction have an effect on the Seine estuary suprabenthic community?

Using a Before/During/After protocol, the effects of Port 2000 (the Le Havre harbour extension) on the suprabenthic communities in the Northern Channel of the Seine estuary (English Channel) were examined from March 2001 to March 2009. Since the beginning of Port 2000 construction in 2002, there have been several changes in the hydrological and sedimentary characteristics in the North Channel, including changes in current velocity, bottoms salinity and sand accumulation, as well as in the benthic communities themselves, moving from mud to medium and coarse sand communities. For the suprabenthos, changes were moderate, corresponding to an increase in species richness in the upper-part of the North Channel and a decrease in species density in the dominant mysids species (i.e., mainly Mesopodospsis slabberi) over time. Due to hydrological changes since the beginning of the Port 2000 project (several years of low freshwater input) it has been difficult to attribute the biological changes to Port 2000 construction only. In the future, the results obtained for the suprabenthos will have to be compared to those obtained for the macrobenthos. Similarly, since the suprabenthos is known to play an important role in the estuarine trophic chain, it will also be essential to estimate the fish distribution in the North Channel and to examine their stomach contents to evaluate the probable changes since the Port 2000 project began.     

Differences in the crab fauna of mangrove areas at a southwest Florida and a northeast Australia location: Implications for leaf litter processing

Existing paradigms suggest that mangrove leaf litter is processed primarily via the detrital pathway in forests in the Caribbean biogeographic realm whereas herbivorous crabs are relatively more important litter processors in the Indo-West Pacific. To test this hypothesis, we used pitfall traps to collect intertidal crabs to characterize the crab fauna in a mangrove estuary in southwest Florida. We also tethered mangrove leaves to determine if herbivorous crabs are major leaf consumers there. We compared the results with previously published data collected in an analogous manner from forests in northeastern Australia. The crab fauna in Rookery Bay, Florida, is dominated by carnivorous xanthid and deposit-feeding ocypodid crabs whereas that of the Murray River in northeastern Australia is dominated by herbivorous grapsid crabs. No leaves tethered at five sites in the forests in Southwest Florida were taken by crabs. This contrasts greatly with reported values of leaf removal by crabs in Australian forests of 28–79% of the leaves reaching the forest floor. These differences in the faunal assemblages and in the fate of marked or tethered leaves provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that leaf litter is in fact processed in fundamentally different ways in the two biogeographic realms.     

The flume net: A quantitative method for sampling fishes and macrocrustaceans on tidal marsh surfaces

We describe the use of flume nets for passively, quantitatively, and nondestructively sampling fishes and macrocrustaceans on tidal marsh surfaces. We captured 3,765 organisms of 23 species in 118 samples using six such nets in a Virginia tidal freshwater marsh in 1984. Efficiency estimates for four common species of fishes range from 53 to 80%. Flume nets are most suited to the collection of long-term data and are particularly useful in elucidating seasonal trends in species composition and relative abundance. These nets are also useful in comparing different microhabitats within and between marshes. This method is most applicable to intertidal habitats with predictable lunar tides, including mud flats, mangrove swamps, and other wetlands.     

Late-glacial vegetation and environment on the eastern slope foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada

Stratigraphic pollen analysis done on sediment cores from two sites in the upper North Saskatchewan drainage basin of the eastern slopes foothills of the Rocky Mountains in west central Alberta, Canada combined with sedimentological data provide a local vegetational and environmental history. Radiocarbon AMS dates provide a chronology back to 17960 BP. Reconstruction and interpretation of the local pollen zones includes reevaluation of steppe and grassland as analogs for full- and late-glacial vegetation. Regional vegetation from c. 17960 to 16 100 BP is interpreted as an extremely cold semi-arid Artemisia steppe, the vegetation c. 16 100 to 11 900 BP as an Artemisia-Betula shrubland, and the vegetation c. 11 900–10 200 BP as a Picea woodland, in an environment characterized by consistently arid and windy conditions. This reconstruction emphasizes the significance of aridity, as opposed to simply low temperatures, as the critical factor in determining the late Quaternary vegetation of Alberta.This is the 18th in a series of papers published in this special AMQUA issue. These papers were presented at the 1994 meeting of the American Quaternary Association held 19–22 June, 1994, at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Dr Linda C. K. Shane served as guest editor for these papers.