Analysis of influencing factors on fine sediment flocculation in the Changjiang Estuary

Based on the test data in dynamic water and static water, the main factors, which influence the fine sediment flocculation, are analyzed with a gray model method of correlation theory. It is shown that the main influencing factors are water temperature, settling time, salinity, grain size, sediment concentration and current velocity according to the correlation coefficients. Among them, the salinity and the sediment grain size are critical type influencing factors (CrTIF); the settling time, the sediment concentration and the velocity are continuous type influencing factors (CoTIF); and the water temperature has the characteristics of both. When the critical values of CrTIF are reached or exceeded, the fine sediments will be flocculated, but values of CrTIF will not influence the settlement strength of floes. The influence of CoTIF is continuous. The values of the CoTIF will not only influence the occurrence of flocculation but also the settlement strength of the floes.     

The rule of sediment transport on the Nanhui tidal flat in the Changjiang Estuary

The Nanhui tidal flat is located in the area of slow current where the ebb currents from the Changjiang Estuaryand the Hangzhou Bay converge and the flood current from the sea diverges into the estuary and the bay. The flat extends seaward in tongue shape and has a wide and gentle surface with a marked difference of tidal levels on its two sides, which results in the sediment longitudinal transport on the flat. The water-sediment conditions are diverse at different locations. The velocity and sediment concentration in intertidal zone are higher during the flood tide than those during the ebb tide. The net sediment transport is landward, resulting in a large amount of deposition of sediments on the shoal. However, the ebb current is the dominant one in deep-water area where the net sediment transport is seaward. There exist two circulation systems in plane view on the shoal and in its adjacent deep-water area, which results in the sediment exchanges between the flat and channel and between the estuary an     

Seasonal variability of the surface chlorophyll “a” in the Drake Passage

The seasonal variability of the surface chlorophyll “a” (Chl-s) was studied for five different hydrological areas in the Drake Passage. The data were collected both in the field (December 2001–March 2002, and November 2007) and by satellite observations. One maximum of Chl-s was registered for the area northward of the Antarctic Polar Front in November 2007. This maximum moves southwards to the Antarctic and Continental Antarctic regions in December and January, respectively. The major factors affecting the phytoplankton growth were analyzed, namely, the decrease of the mixed water layer’s depth due to jogging during the austral late spring and summer and seasonal water temperature increase. The comparison of the field and satellite data allows us to conclude that the standard OC4v4 algorithm usually underreports the Chl-s concentration when it exceed 0.2 mg m⁻³.     

Seasonal variability of δ15N in sinking particles in the Benguela upwelling region

Temporal changes in δ¹⁵N values of sinking particles collected with sediment traps in the Benguela upwelling regime off southwest Africa mirrored variations in the input of inorganic nitrogen to the surface water. Reductions in δ¹⁵N (to as low as 2.5‰) corresponded to low sea surface temperatures during austral spring and late austral autumn/early winter, indicating increased nitrate availability due to the presence of recently upwelled water. High particulate fluxes accompanied the low δ¹⁵N values and sea surface temperatures, reflecting increased productivity, fueled by the upwelled nutrients. High δ¹⁵N values (up to 13.1‰) coincided with high sea surface temperatures and low particle fluxes. In this area, the seaward extension of upwelling filaments, which usually occurs twice yearly, brings nutrient-rich water to the euphotic zone and leads to elevated productivity and relatively lower δ¹⁵N values of the particulate nitrogen. Satellite images of ocean chlorophyll show that productivity variations coincide with δ¹⁵N changes. The observed isotopic pattern does not appear to have been caused by variations in the species composition of the phytoplankton assemblage. Calculations based on δ¹⁵N of the sinking particulate nitrogen show that the surface nitrate pool was more depleted during late austral summer/early fall and mid-winter and that supply exceeded demand during the intense spring bloom and in late austral fall. The main uncertainty associated with these estimates is the effect of diagenesis on δ¹⁵N and possible variability in preservation of the isotope signal between periods of high and low particle flux.     

Seasonal and inter-annual variability in properties of surface water off Santander,Bay of Biscay, 1991–1995

The annual cycle of temperature, salinity and nutrients of surface waters (up to 100 m depth) was studied from June 1991 to December 1995 in a cross-shelf section over the continental shelf waters off Santander (southern Bay of Biscay). The time series showed that the temperature followed the expected seasonal warming and cooling pattern, which determines a seasonal process of stratification and mixing of the water column. The stratification period occurs annually between May and October in a layer of about 50 m depth from the neritic station beyond to the shelf-break. In the period between November and April the water column remained mixed. During spring and summer low salinity values were found in the surface due to continental runoff and advection from oceanic waters. In late autumn and winter, the salinity pattern was governed by an influx of salty water associated with the poleward current. As in other temperate latitudes, nitrates showed the highest values in winter throughout the water column and the lowest values at the surface during the stratified period. Wind-induced upwelling events were observed mainly in summer, which are characterised by low temperatures (< 12°C), high salinity and nutrient concentrations. The inter-annual variability of temperature showed a warming trend in the upper layers but this sign was not found at 100 m depth. In salinity a decreasing trend was observed throughout the water column, and this feature corresponds to the relaxing of the high salinity anomaly detected in the North Atlantic at the beginning of the 1990s. Both trends were coherent in the cross-shelf section from the coast to the slope.     

Bacterioplankton production in dilution zone of the Changjiang(Yangtze) Estuary

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Spatial Distribution of Phytoplankton in the Subarctic Estuary (Kem’ River,the White Sea)

Oceanology - The species composition and biomass of phytoplankton, as well as hydrological characteristics, were estimated during four spatial surveys in the Subarctic tidal Kem’ River...     

Interfacial geochemistry of barium in suspension and sediment from Zhujiang Estuary

Chemical forms of Ba are determined in samples of suspension and sediment from the Zhujiang Estuary. Their interfacial geochemical processes are discussed. Total suspended Ba content is between 2. 4 and 40. 4 μg/L, and mostly exists in the crystalline form (43. 5%), secondly in the Fe-Mn oxidative form (23.1%). Percentages of organic, carbonate and exchangeable forms are 14. 8%, 11. l%and 7.4%, respectively. Total content of Ba in the sediment is between 158. 6 and 48. 0 ug/g. Percentages of crystalline form, Fe-Mn oxidative form and carbonate form are 78. 4% ,13. 5%and 8. 2%, respectively. Organic and exchangeable forms are not detected. The study on the mechanism of interfacial movement suggests that the salinity range of 10 is the turning point for the varied distribution of Ba. The subsidence of crystalline form affects the decrease of Ba content in suspension. The decrease mostly takes place in the salinity range lower than 10, which corresponds to the high value of Ba content in the sediment. The     

Nutrient variability in the mixed layer of the subarctic Pacific Ocean, 1987–2010

Data collected primarily from commercial ships between 1987 and 2010 are used to provide details of seasonal, interannual and bidecadal variability in nutrient supply and removal in the surface ocean mixed layer across the subarctic Pacific. Linear trend analyses are used to look for impacts of climate change in oceanic domains (geographic regions) representing the entire subarctic ocean. Trends are mixed and weak (generally not significant) in both winter and summer despite evidence that the upper ocean is becoming more stratified. Overall, these data suggest little change in the winter resupply of the mixed layer with nutrients over the past 23 years. The few significant trends indicate a winter increase in nitrate (~0.16 μM year⁻¹) in the Bering Sea and in waters off the British Columbia coast, and a decline in summer phosphate (0.018 μM year⁻¹) in the Bering. An oscillation in Bering winter nutrient maxima matches the lunar nodal cycle (18.6 years) suggesting variability in tidal mixing intensity in the Aleutian Islands affects nutrient transport. Nitrate removal from the seasonal mixed layer varies between 6 μM along the subarctic–subtropical boundary and 18 μM off the north coast of Japan, with April to September new production rates in the subarctic Pacific being estimated at 2 and 6 moles C m⁻². Changes in nutrient removal in the Bering and western subarctic Pacific (WSP) suggest either the summer mixed layer is thinning with little change in new production or new production is increasing which would require an increase in iron transport to these high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters. Si/N and N/P removal ratios of 2.1 and 19.7 are sufficient to push waters into Si then N limitation with sufficient iron supply. Because ~3 μM winter nitrate is transferred to reduced N pools in summer, new production calculated from seasonal nutrient drawdown should not be directly equated to export production.     

Short-Term Variability of Hydrological and Hydrochemical Characteristics of the Kyanda Estuary in Onega Bay,the White Sea (July 28–August 15, 2016)

The paper presents information on joint research of the short-term (tidal and synoptic) variability of the hydrological and hydrochemical parameters during the summer 2016 low-water period in mesotidal estuary of the Kyanda River, which flows into Onega Bay, the White Sea. It is demonstrated that semidiurnal, diurnal, and synoptic variations of almost all observed parameters are significant and differ notably along the estuary.     

Modeling of hydrodynamics and transport processes in the Dnieper–Bug Estuary

A numerical model of baroclinic circulation based on the use of a double sigma coordinate system is presented and its application to the simulation of flows and temperature and salinity fields in the Dnieper-Bug Estuary is described. The model reproduces the salinity and temperature fields surveyed in 1998. The results of simulations reveal the existence of a global influence of the relatively narrow and deep ship channel (through which Black-Sea waters can penetrate deep into the estuary) on the transport processes. Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 66–77, November–December, 2008.     

Seasonal and interannual variability in particle fluxes of carbon,nitrogen and silicon from time series of sediment traps at Ocean Station P, 1982–1993: relationship to changes in subarctic primary productivity

An extended time series of particle fluxes at 3800 m was recorded using automated sediment traps moored at Ocean Station Papa (OSP, 50°N, 145°W) in the northeast Pacific Ocean for more than a decade (1982–1993). Time-series observations at 200 and 1000 m, and short-term measurements using surface-tethered free-drifting sediment traps also were made intermittently. We present data for fluxes of total mass (dry weight), particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic nitrogen (PON), biogenic Si (BSi), and particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) in calcium carbonate. Mean monthly fluxes at 3800 m showed distinct seasonality with an annual minimum during winter months (December–March), and maximum during summer and fall (April–November). Fluxes of total mass, POC, PIC and BSi showed 4-, 10-, 7- and 5-fold increases between extreme months, respectively. Mean monthly fluxes of PIC often showed two plateaus, one in May–August dominated by <63 μm particles and one in October–November, which was mainly >63 μm particles. Dominant components of the mass flux throughout the year were CaCO₃ and opal in equal amounts. The mean annual fluxes at 3800 m were 32±9 g dry weight g m⁻² yr⁻¹, 1.1±0.5 g POC m⁻² yr⁻¹, 0.15±0.07 g PON m⁻² yr⁻¹, 5.9±2.0 g BSi m⁻² yr⁻¹ and 1.7±0.6 g PIC m⁻² yr⁻¹. These biogenic fluxes clearly decreased with depth, and increased during “warm” years (1983 and 1987) of the El Niño, Southern Oscillation cycle (ENSO). Enhancement of annual mass flux rates to 3800 m was 49% in 1983 and 36% in 1987 above the decadal average, and was especially rich in biogenic Si. Biological events allowed estimates of sinking rates of detritus that range from 175 to 300 m d⁻¹, and demonstrate that, during periods of high productivity, particles sink quickly to deep ocean with less loss of organic components. Average POC flux into the deep ocean approximated the “canonical” 1% of the surface primary production.     

Interannual variability in the wintertime air–sea flux of carbon dioxide in the northern North Atlantic, 1981–2001

Gridded fields of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure (SLP), and wind speed were used in combination with data for the atmospheric mole fraction of CO₂ and an empirical relationship between measured values of the fugacity of carbon dioxide in surface water and SST, to calculate the air–sea CO₂ flux in the northern North Atlantic. The flux was calculated for each of the months October–March, in the time period 1981 until 2001, allowing for an assessment of the interannual variations in the region. Locally and on a monthly time scale, the interannual variability of the flux could be as high as ±100% in regions seasonally covered by sea ice. However, in open-ocean areas the variability was normally between ±20% and ±40%. The interannual variability was found to be approximately halved when fluxes averaged over each winter season were compared. Summarised over the whole northern North Atlantic, the air to sea carbon flux over winter totalled 0.08 Gton, with an interannual variability of about ±7%. On a monthly basis the interannual variations were slightly higher, about ±8% to ±13%. Changes in wind speed and atmospheric fCO₂ (the latter directly related to SLP variations) accounted for most of the interannual variations of the computed air–sea CO₂ fluxes. A tendency for increasing CO₂ flux into the ocean with increasing values of the NAO index was identified.     

Seasonal and inter-annual variability of air–sea CO2 fluxes and seawater carbonate chemistry in the Southern North Sea

A 3D coupled biogeochemical–hydrodynamic model (MIRO-CO₂&CO) is implemented in the English Channel (ECH) and the Southern Bight of the North Sea (SBNS) to estimate the present-day spatio-temporal distribution of air–sea CO₂ fluxes, surface water partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) and other components of the carbonate system (pH, saturation state of calcite (Ω_ca) and of aragonite (Ω_ar)), and the main drivers of their variability. Over the 1994–2004 period, air–sea CO₂ fluxes show significant inter-annual variability, with oscillations between net annual CO₂ sinks and sources. The inter-annual variability of air–sea CO₂ fluxes simulated in the SBNS is controlled primarily by river loads and changes of biological activities (net autotrophy in spring and early summer, and net heterotrophy in winter and autumn), while in areas less influenced by river inputs such as the ECH, the inter-annual variations of air–sea CO₂ fluxes are mainly due to changes in sea surface temperature and in near-surface wind strength and direction. In the ECH, the decrease of pH, of Ω_ca and of Ω_ar follows the one expected from the increase of atmospheric CO₂ (ocean acidification), but the decrease of these quantities in the SBNS during the considered time period is faster than the one expected from ocean acidification alone. This seems to be related to a general pattern of decreasing nutrient river loads and net ecosystem production (NEP) in the SBNS. Annually, the combined effect of carbon and nutrient loads leads to an increase of the sink of CO₂ in the ECH and the SBNS, but the impact of the river loads varies spatially and is stronger in river plumes and nearshore waters than in offshore waters. The impact of organic and inorganic carbon (C) inputs is mainly confined to the coast and generates a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere and low pH, of Ω_ca and of Ω_ar values in estuarine plumes, while the impact of nutrient loads, highest than the effect of C inputs in coastal nearshore waters, also propagates offshore and, by stimulating primary production, drives a sink of atmospheric CO₂ and higher values of pH, of Ω_ca and of Ω_ar.     

Late Pleistocene–Holocene history of the Golden Horn Estuary,Istanbul

The historical Golden Horn Estuary (GHE), near the confluence of the Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus) and the Sea of Marmara in the European part of Istanbul, has been used as a natural harbor since 330 a.d. The sedimentary infill of the GHE is 15–46 m thick, deposited unconformably above the turbiditic sandstones of the Carboniferous Trakya Formation. Chronostratigraphic and paleontological analyses of the infill sequence indicate that the GHE was a fluvial channel prior to 13,500 cal. a (calibrated to calendar years) B.P. It subsequently became gradually influenced by marine waters, and was a brackish-water environment until 9,500 cal. a B.P. Normal marine salinities prevailed at ca. 9,500−5,600 cal. a B.P., with suboxic/dysoxic bottom-water conditions. The increase in salinity at 9,500 cal. a B.P. was most likely caused by Mediterranean water outflow into the Black Sea through the Istanbul Strait. The estuary was influenced by large fluvial inputs between 5,600 and 1,000 cal. a B.P., possibly during a distinct pluvial period, as shown by coarse siliciclastic sediments deposited on the flanks. It has become a highly polluted environment with marked anthropogenic inputs during the last millennium. The finding that the sediment infill sequence above the Carboniferous basement is not older than about 20 ka strongly suggests that the Golden Horn Estuary acquired its present-day morphology during the late glacial–Holocene period.     

Seasonal distribution of Calanus sinicus (Copepoda, Crustacea) in the East China Sea

On the basis of the four-season investigation in 23°30′~33°N and 118°30′~128°E of the East China Sea from 1997 to 2000, the seasonal distribution of Calanus sinicus was studied with aggregation intensity, regression contribution and other statistical methods. It was inferred that C. sinicus’s predominance presented from winter to summer, especially in spring and summer, because its dominance amounted to 0.62 and 0.29 respectively. The percent of its abundance in copepod abundance was 76.71% in summer, greater than 66.60% in spring, greater than 19.02% in winter, greater than 4.02% in autumn. The occurrence frequency in winter and spring was 83.08% and 93.89%, higher than that in summer and autumn, 76.71% and 73.87%. Compared with other dominant species of copepods, C. sinicus’s contribution to the copepod abundance was obviously greater than that of the other species in winter, summer and spring, but smaller in autumn. C. sinicus tended to have an aggregated distribution. The clumping index peaked in summer (50.19), followed in spring (19.60), declined in autumn (13.18) and was the lowest in winter (3.04). The abundance changed in different seasons and areas, relating to temperature but not salinity in spring and autumn, to salinity but not temperature in summer; to neither temperature nor salinity in winter. In spring and summer, its high abundance area was often located in the mixed water mass formed by the Taiwan Warm Current, the Huanghai Sea Cold Water Mass, the coastal water masses and the Changjiang Dilute Water. In spring and autumn, its abundance was affected by the warm current, as well as the runoff from continental rivers affected it in summer. It can be inferred that C. sinicus was adapted to wide salinity and temperature, as a euryhalinous and eurythermous species in the East China Sea.     

Seasonal variability of turbulent heat fluxes in the tropical Atlantic Ocean based on WHOI flux product

The mean seasonal variability of turbulent heat fluxes in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is examined using the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution(WHOI) flux product.The most turbulent heat fluxes occur during winter seasons in the two hemispheres,whose centers are located at 10°~20°N and 5°～15°S respectively.In climatological ITCZ,the turbulent heat fluxes are the greatest from June to August,and in equatorial cold tongue the turbulent heat fluxes are the greatest from March to May.Seasonal variability of sensible heat flux is smaller than that of latent heat flux and mainly is dominated by the variations of air-sea temperature difference.In the region with larger climatological mean wind speed(air-sea humidity difference),the variations of air-sea humidity difference(wind speed) dominate the variability of latent heat flux.The characteristics of turbulent heat flux yielded from theory analysis and WHOI dataset is consistent in physics which turns out that WHOI's flux data are pretty reliable in the tropical Atlantic Ocean.     

Concentration and Diffusion of Nutrients in the Interpore–Bottom Water System of the Ob River Estuary

Oceanology - On cruise 76 in 2019, the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh completed the Gulf of Ob–Kara Sea slope transect. Samples of bottom water and two sediment layers 1 cm thick were obtained...     

Investigation on Settling Characteristics of Floes in the Changjiang Estuary, China

- Settling characteristics of floes, including relative settling velocity, relative flocculation coefficient and flocculation exponent, are obtained by the suspended load equations for different size fractions. Data of the Changjiang Estuary suggest that level of flocculation changes from river section, river mouth (turbidity maximum) to offshore area in sequence of low, very high and high. The settling characteristics of floes reflected by in situ estimation performs a similar feature as that obtained from still water experiment.     

Climatic variability in the vicinity of Wallis,Futuna, and Samoa islands (13°–15° S, 180°–170° W)

Mean conditions, seasonal, and ENSO-related (El Niño Southern Oscillation) variability in the vicinity of Wallis, Futuna, and Samoa islands (13°–15° S, 180°–170° W) over the 1973–1995 period are analysed for wind pseudo-stress, satellite-derived and in situ precipitation, sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS), sea level, and 0–450 m temperature and geostrophic current. The mean local conditions reflect the presence of the large scale features such as the western Pacific warm pool, the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), and the South Pacific anticyclonic gyre. The seasonal changes are closely related to the meridional migrations of the SPCZ, which passes twice a year over the region of study. During the warm phase of ENSO (El Niño), we generally observe saltier-than-average SSS (of the order of 0.4), consistent with a rainfall deficit (0.4 m yr⁻¹), a hint of colder-than-average surface temperature is also identified in subsurface (0.3°C), a weak tendency for westward geostrophic current anomalies (2 cm s⁻¹ at the surface), a sea level decrease (5–10 cm), together with easterly (5 m²s⁻²) and well marked southerly (10 m²s⁻²) wind pseudo-stress anomalies. Anomalies of similar magnitude, but of opposite sign, are detected during the cold phase of ENSO (La Niña). While these ENSO-related changes apply prior to the 1990s, they were not observed during the 1991–1994 period, which appears atypical.