Spatial and temporal variability in nutrient concentrations in Liverpool Bay,a temperate latitude region of freshwater influence     

Naomi Greenwood  David J. Hydes  Claire Mahaffey  Andrew Wither  Jon Barry  David B. Sivyer  David J. Pearce  Susan E. Hartman  Olga Andres  Helen E. Lees 《Ocean Dynamics》2011,61(12):2181-2199

This paper presents data for the temporal and spatial distribution of nutrients in Liverpool Bay between 2003 and 2009 and an analysis of inputs of nutrients from the major rivers. The spatial distribution of winter nutrient concentrations are controlled by the region of freshwater influence (ROFI) in Liverpool Bay through the mixing of riverine freshwater and Irish Sea water, with strong linear relationships between nutrient concentration and salinity between December and February. The location of highest spring and summer phytoplankton biomass reflects the nutrient distributions as controlled by the ROFI. Analysis of 7 years of data showed that the seasonal cycle of winter maximum nutrient concentrations in February and drawdown in April/May is a recurrent feature of this location, with the timing of the drawdown varying by several weeks between years. A comparison of observed nutrient concentrations in Liverpool Bay with those predicted from inputs from rivers has been presented. Nutrient concentrations in the rivers flowing into Liverpool Bay were highly variable and there was reasonable agreement between predicted freshwater nutrient concentrations using data from this study and riverine nutrient concentrations weighted on the basis of river flow, although the exact nature of mixing between the rivers could not be determined. Predicted Irish Sea nutrient concentrations in the winter were lower than those reported for the input waters of the North Atlantic, supporting findings from previous work that nitrogen is lost through denitrification in the Irish Sea.  相似文献   

Poroelasticity: Finite element modelling of anomalous tilt and pore pressure caused by pumping in a sedimentary half space with fault     

Morelia Urlaub  Marcus Fabian 《Journal of Geodynamics》2011

Extraction of groundwater or hydrocarbons causes pore pressure gradients and soil deformation due to poroelastic coupling. Recent studies show that high-resolution engineering tiltmeters installed at shallow depth between 2 and 10 m resolve this deformation. Models using poroelasticity can describe the relationship between fluid extraction, pore pressure gradients and induced tilt for homogeneous and layered sedimentary half spaces. Faults intersecting a stack of sedimentary layers, for example in the Lower-Rhine-Embayment, are of fundamental impact to the groundwater flow system of an area. However, the fault’s hydromechanical effect on pump induced tilt and the pore pressure regime is still poorly investigated. We chose a comparatively simple approach to quantify anomalous pump induced tilt and pore pressure observed near a fault and close to the surface in a sedimentary subsoil. A PC-based Finite Element software is used to model poroelastic deformation, i.e. modelling vertical tilt and excess pore pressure in response to fluid extraction through a singular well. We compare numerical solutions for models with and without faults and show that a fault can modify symmetry and amplitude of the deformation field by more than a magnitude. We conclude that tilt and pore pressure measurements also at shallow depth can thus be biased by large subsurface structures like faults. Vice versa, these measurements may provide means to quantify hydromechanical effects caused by subsurface structures. However, depending on the geological setting, i.e. if pathways are established by a fault, the anomaly caused by the fault can also be small and hard to detect. Therefore, faults and geological structures like material boundaries have to be considered in poroelastic models carefully. For tilt surveys with a limited number of instruments in geologically well constrained areas these models allow the preselection of potential positions for tiltmeters where prominent field anomalies are expected.  相似文献   

Iron and manganese diagenesis in deep sea volcanogenic sediments and the origins of pore water colloids     

W.B. Homoky  D.J. Hembury  R.A. Mills  G.R. Fones 《Geochimica et cosmochimica acta》2011,75(17):5032-5048

Volcanogenic sediments are typically rich in Fe and Mn-bearing minerals that undergo substantial alteration during early marine diagenesis, however their impact on the global biogeochemical cycling of Fe and Mn has not been widely addressed. This study compares the near surface (0-20 cm below sea floor [cmbsf]) aqueous (<0.02 μm) and aqueous + colloidal here in after ‘dissolved’ (<0.2 μm) pore water Fe and Mn distributions, and ancillary O_2(aq), and solid-phase reactive Fe distributions, between two volcanogenic sediment settings: [1] a deep sea tephra-rich deposit neighbouring the volcanically active island of Montserrat and [2] mixed biosiliceous-volcanogenic sediments from abyssal depths near the volcanically inactive Crozet Islands archipelago. Shallow penetration of O_2(aq) into Montserrat sediments was observed (<1 cmbsf), and inferred to partially reflect oxidation of fine grained Fe(II) minerals, whereas penetration of O_2(aq) into abyssal Crozet sediments was >5 cmbsf and largely controlled by the oxidation of organic matter. Dissolved Fe and Mn distributions in Montserrat pore waters were lowest in the surface oxic-layer (0.3 μM Fe; 32 μM Mn), with maxima (20 μM Fe; 200 μM Mn) in the upper 1-15 cmbsf. Unlike Montserrat, Fe and Mn in Crozet pore waters were ubiquitously partitioned between 0.2 μm and 0.02 μm filtrations, indicating that the pore water distributions of Fe and Mn in the (traditionally termed) ‘dissolved’ size fraction are dominated by colloids, with respective mean abundances of 80% and 61%. Plausible mechanisms for the origin and composition of pore water colloids are discussed, and include prolonged exposure of Crozet surface sediments to early diagenesis compared to Montserrat, favouring nano-particulate goethite formation, and the elevated dissolved Si concentrations, which are shown to encourage fine-grained smectite formation. In addition, organic matter may stabilise authigenic Fe and Mn in the Crozet pore waters. We conclude that volcanogenic sediment diagenesis leads to a flux of colloidal material to the overlying bottom water, which may impact significantly on deep ocean biogeochemistry. Diffusive flux estimates from Montserrat suggest that diagenesis within tephra deposits of active island volcanism may also be an important source of dissolved Mn to the bottom waters, and therefore a source for the widespread hydrogenous MnO_x deposits found in the Caribbean region.  相似文献   

Deep-sea benthic foraminifera,carbonate dissolution and species diversity in Hardangerfjord,Norway: An initial assessment     

Elisabeth Alve  John W. Murray  Jens Skei 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2011

This is the first record of live (stained) deep-sea benthic foraminifera in the 850 m deep silled Hardangerfjord, the second deepest fjord in Western Norway. Estimates of organic carbon flux (∼2.5 g Cm⁻² y⁻¹) show that the fjord-values are comparable to similar depths on the continental slope. Accordingly, although these first samples only provide relative abundance data, the low proportion of live to dead individuals in the top cm of the sediment suggests a low foraminifera biomass. Another similarity with the deep sea is that the abiotic environment of the deep basins is stable even though the deepest basins are isolated from the open deep sea by the continental shelf and sills in the outer parts of the fjord suggesting that the deep-sea species are introduced as propagules during deep-water renewals. There is evidence of an increase in dissolution of fragile calcareous tests (e.g., Nonionella iridea) especially in the innermost part of Hardangerfjord since the 1960s and this has led to a relative increase in dead agglutinated assemblages. The presence of larger forms with tests >1 mm provides substrata for the attachment of smaller forms and therefore an increase in species diversity. Indeed, the diversity is comparable both to that of the open deep sea and that of reported macrofauna from the same sites, reflecting similar ecological status. Holtedahl (1965) suggested that there may be some down-slope transport of sediment into the deep basins with the deposition of turbidites. Despite some evidence of transport, no major recent disturbance due to turbidite deposition seems to have occurred and hence Hardangerfjord presents a unique environment with elements of deep-sea faunas in a land-locked setting.  相似文献   

A comparison of estimators for the generalised Pareto distribution     

Edward B.L. Mackay  Peter G. Challenor  AbuBakr S. Bahaj 《Ocean Engineering》2011,38(11-12):1338-1346

The generalised Pareto distribution (GPD) is often used to model the distribution of storm peak wave heights exceeding a high threshold, from which return values can be calculated. There are large differences in the performance of various parameter and quantile estimators for the GPD. Commonly used estimation methods such as maximum likelihood or probability weighted moments are not optimal, especially for smaller sample sizes. The performance of several estimators for the GPD is compared by the Monte Carlo simulation and the implications for estimating return values of significant wave height are discussed. Of the estimators compared, the likelihood-moment (LM) estimator has close to the lowest bias and variance over a wide range of sample sizes and GPD shape parameters. The LM estimator always exists, is simple to compute and has a low sensitivity to choice of threshold. It is recommended that the LM estimator is used for calculating return values of significant wave height when the sample size is less than 500. For sample sizes above 500 the NEW estimator of Zhang and Stephens (2009) can give accurate results for low computational cost.  相似文献   

Dissolved and particulate organic carbon in hydrothermal plumes from the East Pacific Rise, 9°50′N     

Sarah A. Bennett  Peter J. StathamDarryl R.H. Green  Nadine Le BrisJill M. McDermott  Florencia PradoOlivier J. Rouxel  Karen Von Damm  Christopher R. German 《Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers》2011,58(9):922-931

Chemoautotrophic production in seafloor hydrothermal systems has the potential to provide an important source of organic carbon that is exported to the surrounding deep-ocean. While hydrothermal plumes may export carbon, entrained from chimney walls and biologically rich diffuse flow areas, away from sites of venting they also have the potential to provide an environment for in-situ carbon fixation. In this study, we have followed the fate of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) as it is dispersed through and settles beneath a hydrothermal plume system at 9°50′N on the East Pacific Rise. Concentrations of both DOC and POC are elevated in buoyant plume samples that were collected directly above sites of active venting using both DSV Alvin and a CTD-rosette. Similar levels of POC enrichment are also observed in the dispersing non-buoyant plume, ∼500 m downstream from the vent-site. Further, sediment-trap samples collected beneath the same dispersing plume system, show evidence for a close coupling between organic carbon and Fe oxyhydroxide fluxes. We propose, therefore, a process that concentrates POC into hydrothermal plumes as they disperse through the deep-ocean. This is most probably the result of some combination of preferential adsorption of organic carbon onto Fe-oxyhydroxides and/or microbial activity that preferentially concentrates organic carbon in association with Fe-oxyhydroxides (e.g. through the microbial oxidation of Fe(II) and Fe sulfides). This potential for biological production and consumption within hydrothermal plumes highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the role of the carbon cycle in deep-sea hydrothermal systems as well as the role that hydrothermal systems may play in regulating global deep-ocean carbon budgets.  相似文献   

Intracellular mineral grains in the xenophyophore Nazareammina tenera (Rhizaria, Foraminifera) from the Nazaré Canyon (Portuguese margin, NE Atlantic)     

N. Rothe  A.J. GoodayR.B. Pearce 《Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers》2011,58(12):1189-1195

Xenophyophores, a group of large agglutinated foraminifera, are characterized by the presence of numerous intracellular barite grains, termed granellae, the function and origin of which is unclear. The recently described xenophyophore Nazareammina tenera (Gooday et al., in press), from abyssal depth (4300 m) in the Nazaré Canyon contains an unusually dense concentration of mineral grains in its cytoplasm. Uniquely among known xenophyophores, the intracellular grains in this species comprise a variety of different mineral types in addition to barite. They exhibit a wide range of morphologies and energy dispersive X-ray analysis indicated that they include Ti-bearing minerals, many of them rod-shaped (probably rutile), as well as those containing Fe and Ti (possibly ilmenite and anatase), and Al and Si (probably clay minerals). While the function of intracellular particles in xenophyophores remains unclear, the presence of numerous particles of various types in the cytoplasm suggests that they originate from the sediment. This suite of intracellular mineral grains is completely different from that used to construct the agglutinated test of N. tenera, suggesting that this species is able to discriminate between different kinds of particles. A second xenophyophore species, Reticulammina cerebreformis (Gooday et al., in press), which is abundant at the same site as N. tenera, is devoid of intracellular particles, suggesting that their presence in N. tenera is a species-specific characteristic.  相似文献   

Propagation and reflection of long equatorial waves in the Indian Ocean from TOPEX/POSEIDON data during the 1993–1998 period     

J.-L. Le Blanc  J.-P. Boulanger 《Climate Dynamics》2001,17(7):547-557

  相似文献   

Analysis of simrad EM12 multibeam bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data for seafloor mapping,exemplified at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N     

Jane A. Keeton  Roger C. Searle 《Marine Geophysical Researches》1996,18(6):663-688

The EM12 multibeam echosounder can record acoustic backscatter information as well as high resolution bathymetry. The dataset presented, from the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N, was the first EM12 survey of a mid-ocean ridge. This paper presents methods for utilising the backscatter information. Data processing enables the production of a mosaic of acoustic backscatter, and visualisation techniques are investigated to provide initial qualitative views of the combined backscatter and bathymetry datasets. The co-registration of the backscatter and bathymetry data enables quantitative analysis of their relationships. Various sites of different geological type have been selected and their angular acoustic backscattering relationships estimated, including the effect on backscatter of incidence angle, its regional variability with bottom type and the influence of bottom slope. Incidence angles and bottom type are shown to affect backscatter to a similar degree, while slopes appear to contribute little. The geometry of hull-mounted systems, such as the EM12, is significantly different from that of conventional sidescan sonars, such as GLORIA, and the backscatter images from the two types differ in various respects. Because of the wide variations in incidence angle that are common with hull-mounted systems, and the importance of incidence angle in determining backscatter strength, it is vital to consider the effect of incidence angle during interpretation.  相似文献   

“Grey swan” storm surges pose a greater coastal flood hazard than climate change     

Horsburgh  Kevin  Haigh  Ivan D.  Williams  Jane  De Dominicis  Michela  Wolf  Judith  Inayatillah  Addina  Byrne  David 《Ocean Dynamics》2021,71(6-7):715-730

Ocean Dynamics - In this paper, we show that over the next few decades, the natural variability of mid-latitude storm systems is likely to be a more important driver of coastal extreme sea levels...  相似文献