Temporal and cross-shelf distribution of ichthyoplankton in the central Cantabrian Sea

Environmental variables have been measured and sampling for ichthyoplankton has been conducted monthly, since April 2001, at three stations, located at the inner (1), middle (2) and outer (3) shelf of the central Cantabrian Sea. This paper presents the results of the study of the ichthyoplankton collected from July 2001 to June 2004. Fish larvae from 99 species, belonging to 37 families, were identified. Families with higher number of species were Gadidae, Sparidae and Labridae. The larval fish assemblage was dominated by pelagic fish species, with Sardina pilchardus, as the most abundant. There was a pronounced spring peak in larval abundance, dominated by S. pilchardus. A smaller peak, dominated by S. pilchardus and Micromesistius poutassou, was recorded in late winter at Stns 2 and 3. This pattern was evident for the three-year study. Results also indicate that this study was limited to the coastal larval fish assemblage inhabiting the central Cantabrian Sea shelf. This assemblage was temporally structured into other three assemblages: winter, late winter–spring and summer–autumn. Temperature was apparently a key factor in larval fish assemblage succession. In a scenario of global warming, this study constitutes a basis to evaluating the ongoing changes in the pelagic coastal ecosystem of the central Cantabrian Sea.     

Larval fish assemblages in nearshore coastal waters off central Chile: temporal and spatial patterns

In this study we identified spatial and temporal patterns in the distribution and abundance of larval stages of several fish species in nearshore waters off central Chile. Larvae were sampled monthly at two close (20 km apart) but contrasting localities, El Quisco and Las Cruces. Surveys corresponded to standard plankton tows stratified according to bathymetry and distance from shore. Our results indicate that at both localities: (1) there is a seasonal reproductive pattern for most of the species studied; (2) there is a seasonal-related change in larval species composition and abundance, with austral Winter–Spring being the time of greatest diversity; (3) larval stages of several species that, as adults occupy intertidal, estuarine–riverine, subtidal, benthic-demersal, epipelagic or mesopelagic habitats, are found within these coastal environments; (4) there is a distinctive cross-shelf pattern of larval distribution, which seems to correspond, at least for the intertidal species, with the shallower (<30 m depth) portion of area surveyed; and (5) there is a coupling between the patterns of distribution and abundance of the entire ichthyoplankton assemblage with short-term physical features such as wind forcing, Ekman transport, and local currents. Our findings suggest that both the specific composition as well as the abundance of larval fish species varies spatially and temporally and that this variability may result from the interaction of physical and biological factors at different scales.     

秋季东海内陆架悬浮体分布特征

秋季是处于夏、冬季之交的过渡季节,夏季风减弱、冬季风增强的背景下海洋水文泥沙环境有独特特征,关于该时期悬浮体分布特征的研究较少.本文基于东海内陆架2016、2017与2018年秋季悬浮体及温盐数据,分析该海域秋季悬浮体浓度的水平和垂向分布特征.结果表明:悬浮体浓度近岸高于远岸,浓度等值线大致平行于等深线,近底层悬浮体浓...     

Eddy-induced cross-shelf phytoplankton transport along the downwelling coast off Western Australia

Along the downwelling coast off Western Australia, late-autumn/early-winter chlorophyll a blooms are observed on the continental shelf south of Shark Bay (26°S), in contrast with summer blooms in the north. The late-autumn/early-winter blooms are in phase with seasonal strengthening of the Leeuwin Current and its eddy field. Anticyclonic eddies entrain the high phytoplankton biomass waters from the shelf and transport offshore into the oligotrophic, subtropical marine environment, as revealed by coalescing the finite-size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) of the surface geostrophic flow field and the satellite chlorophyll a images.     

Use of riverine through reef habitat systems by dog snapper (Lutjanus jocu) in eastern Brazil

The early life history of Western Atlantic snappers from the Southern hemisphere is largely unknown. Habitat use of different life stages (i.e. size categories) of the dog snapper (Lutjanus jocu) was examined across the largest South Atlantic reef–estuarine complex (Abrolhos Shelf, Brazil, 16–19° S). Visual surveys were conducted in different habitats across the shelf (estuary, inner-shelf reefs and mid-shelf reefs). Lutjanus jocu showed higher densities on inner-shelf habitats, with a clear increase in fish size across the shelf. Individuals <7 cm were associated with both the estuary (mangrove and rocky habitats) and inner-shelf reefs (particularly shallow fore-reefs and tide pools). Individuals ranging 10–30 cm were broadly distributed, but consistently more abundant on inner-shelf reefs. Individuals between 30 and 40 cm were more common on mid-shelf reefs, while individuals >40 cm were recorded only on mid-shelf reefs. Literature data indicate that individuals ranging 70–80 cm are common on deep offshore reefs. This pattern suggests that the dog snapper performs ontogenetic cross-shelf migrations. Protecting portions of the different habitats used by the dog snapper during its post-settlement life cycle is highlighted as an important conservation and management measure.     

2012年南海西北陆架冬季水文特征的观测分析

本文基于2012年12月南海西北部陆架海区的温盐和流速实测资料,分析了粤西和琼东陆架海区冬季三维温、盐结构和流场特征,给出沿陆架和跨陆架方向的水体和热盐通量。结果表明：（1）在50m以浅,粤西和琼东海区温度均由近岸向外海递增,深层则相反;冬季近岸海区混合层较深,外海密度跃层位于60—120m深度且层结较强,浮力频率大于10^–2/s;（2）海流大致沿等深线向西南流动,30m以深流速大小在0.03—0.40m/s之间,且随着深度增加而略有减小;琼东海区100m等深线附近在60m以浅水层观测到水体辐聚并有明显温度锋面存在;（3）沿陆架方向的水体和热盐输送均大于跨陆架方向,其中粤西单位面积沿/跨陆架水体通量平均值为0.13×10^–6/0.03×10^–6Sv/m²,低于琼东海区的0.91×10^–6/0.56×10^–6Sv/m²。     

黑海西北部涡旋与环流对跨陆架水交换的影响

涡旋对海洋中的能量传递和物质交换有重要作用。黑海西北部陆坡边缘是长生命周期涡旋经常发生的海域,但涡旋引起的陆架和海盆之间水交换通量的季节性特征,以及海盆边缘环流对跨陆架水交换的作用等方面的研究还不是很充分。本文对黑海西北部陆架区与深海盆区间的跨陆架水交换进行了研究,利用高分辨率三维原始方程模式模拟的温、盐、流等资料,结合涡旋自动探测方法,统计了黑海西北部海域的涡旋活动,研究了涡致跨陆架水交换的季节性特征,计算对比了2002年到2010年间海盆边缘环流与涡旋对跨陆架水交换通量的各自贡献。结果表明:黑海西北部地区海盆边缘环流强度与跨陆架进、出通量的相关系数分别为0.57和0.67,海盆边缘环流位置与跨陆架交换量的相关系数为0.52;海盆边缘环流强度与位置的季节性变化导致了黑海西北部跨陆架通量的季节性变化。黑海西北部地区表层3月到8月之间涡旋所引起跨陆架交换量约占了跨陆架交换总量的16%~31%;涡致跨陆架通量也具有季节性特征。文中对单个涡旋进行了详细研究:2005年5月5日到2005年7月20日之间在黑海西北部存在一个直径最大值时达到120 km的反气旋式涡旋,涡旋存在期间完成了从陆架区向深海区的水体传输,相当于黑海西北陆架区水体积的30.9%。     

Fluvial incision and coarse gravel redistribution across the modern Dead Sea shelf as a result of base-level fall

Global eustatic lowstands can expose vast areas of continental shelves, and occasionally the shelf edge and the continental slope. The degree of fluvial connectivity to receding shores influences the redistribution of sediments across these emerging landscapes. Shelf and slope emergence in the Dead Sea since the middle of the 20th century, offers a rare opportunity to examine evolution of stream connectivity in response to continuous base-level decline. We characterize the connectivity evolution of two streams, using high-resolution time series of aerial imagery and elevation models, field mapping, and grain-size analyses. Our rich spatiotemporal dataset of evolving channel geomorphology, sediment transport conditions, and sediment redistribution, allows calculating potential coarse sediment mobility in response to base level decline. Following shelf emergence, alluvial fans first prograded onto the low-gradient shelf under unfavourable conditions for transporting coarse sediment to the regressing shoreline. Then, with shelf and slope emergence, the two adjacent streams evolved differently. The smaller, more arid watershed still maintains its highstand delta progradation on the shelf and is practically disconnected from the receding lake. The larger catchment, heading in wetter environments and having a narrower shelf, has incised the shelf and renewed and gradually intensified the sediment transport from the highstand to the lowstand delta. Sediment mobilization to lowstand shorelines is controlled by the evolution of the channel profile and by the average speed of gravel transport (10s-100s m yr^-1). These findings from the Dead Sea are relevant to fluvial processes operating on continental shelves during glacial maxima. Streams would have commonly stored high proportions of their coarse sediment on the continental shelves rather than efficiently connecting with the lowstand level. Additionally, differences in sediment routing patterns should exist among nearby streams, primarily due to continental margin geometry and watershed hydrology. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hyperpycnal plume formation from riverine outflows with small sediment concentrations

A series of laboratory experiments has been conducted in order to elucidate the sediment-induced mixing processes accompanying riverine outflows; specifically, the discharge of a warm, fresh, particle-laden fluid over a relatively dense, cool brine. In a parameter regime analogous to recently acquired field measurements, hypopycnal (surface) plumes were subject to a convective instability driven by some combination of heat diffusing out of the warm, fresh, sediment-laden plume and particle settling within it. Convection was robust in the presence or absence of intense turbulence, at sediment concentrations as low as 1 kg m⁻³, and took the form of millimetre-scale, sediment-laden fingers descending from the base of the surface plume. A consequence of the convective instability of the original hypopycnal plume is the generation of a hyperpycnal (bottom-riding) flow. The experiments presented here indicate that natural river outflows may thus generate hyperpycnal plumes when sediment concentrations are 40 times less than those required to render the outflow heavy relative to the oceanic ambient. The resulting hyperpycnal plumes may play an important role in transporting substantial quantities of sediment to the continental slope and beyond.