Long-term changes in some benthic species in the Firth of Clyde, with particular reference to Tellina tenuis da Costa

Author(s):  
P. R. O. Barnett ◽  
J. Watson

SynopisPresent knowledge of long-term changes in benthic species in the Firth of Clyde is reviewed.Recent work on the annual variations in seasonal cycles of the sand-dwelling bivalve Tellina tenuis da Costa shows some correlations with natural and man-made variations in seawater temperature. Between 1973 and 1984 inclusive good settlements of young occurred on the two beaches examined in the autumns of years when higher mean seawater temperatures occurred in June and July. The implications are discussed in relation to cycles of climatic change. In general, settlements at Hunterston, a thermally enriched area, were considerably greater than at Kames Bay, a site affected only by natural temperature changes. However, T. tenuis at Kames Bay grew to much larger maximum sizes than at Hunterston, except in 1979, when Hunterston animals were larger. The possible interactions of food availability and the modifying effects of heated discharges are discussed.Earlier results by Dr A. C. Stephen between 1926 and 1951 are reassessed in the light of present knowledge.

1964 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. W. Gold

Observations over a 5-year period at a site at Ottawa showed that the ground temperature had significant Fourier components with period [Formula: see text]and 2 years. The average annual ground temperature and amplitudes of the Fourier components of period 1 year and [Formula: see text] year underwent non-periodic fluctuations of almost 1 C degree at a depth of 10 cm. The amplitude of this fluctuation decreased with depth, and its maximum occurred later in time. There was evidence of a gradual increase in average annual ground temperature amounting to about 0.2 C degree over the 5-year period at the 610-cm depth. The significance of such small temperature changes in areas where the ground temperature is close to 0 °C is pointed out.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Parrish ◽  
Richard G. Derwent ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Peter G. Simmonds

Abstract. We present an approach to derive a systematic mathematical representation of the statistically significant features of the average long-term changes and seasonal cycle of concentrations of trace tropospheric species. The results for two illustrative data sets (time series of baseline concentrations of ozone and N2O at Mace Head, Ireland) indicate that a limited set of seven or eight parameter values provides this mathematical representation for both example species. This method utilizes a power series expansion to extract more information regarding the long-term changes than can be provided by oft-employed linear trend analyses. In contrast, the quantification of average seasonal cycles utilizes a Fourier series analysis that provides less detailed seasonal cycles than are sometimes represented as twelve monthly means; including that many parameters in the seasonal cycle representation is not usually statistically justified, and thereby adds unnecessary noise to the representation and prevents a clear analysis of the statistical uncertainty of the results. The approach presented here is intended to maximize the statistically significant information extracted from analyses of time series of concentrations of tropospheric species regarding their mean long-term changes and seasonal cycles, including non-linear aspects of the long-term trends. Additional implications, advantages and limitations of this approach are discussed.


Climate ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Dubois ◽  
Marie Larocque ◽  
Sylvain Gagné ◽  
Marco Braun

Long-term changes in precipitation and temperature indirectly impact aquifers through groundwater recharge (GWR). Although estimates of future GWR are needed for water resource management, they are uncertain in cold and humid climates due to the wide range in possible future climatic conditions. This work aims to (1) simulate the impacts of climate change on regional GWR for a cold and humid climate and (2) identify precipitation and temperature changes leading to significant long-term changes in GWR. Spatially distributed GWR is simulated in a case study for the southern Province of Quebec (Canada, 36,000 km2) using a water budget model. Climate scenarios from global climate models indicate warming temperatures and wetter conditions (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5; 1951–2100). The results show that annual precipitation increases of >+150 mm/yr or winter precipitation increases of >+25 mm will lead to significantly higher GWR. GWR is expected to decrease if the precipitation changes are lower than these thresholds. Significant GWR changes are produced only when the temperature change exceeds +2 °C. Temperature changes of >+4.5 °C limit the GWR increase to +30 mm/yr. This work provides useful insights into the regional assessment of future GWR in cold and humid climates, thus helping in planning decisions as climate change unfolds. The results are expected to be comparable to those in other regions with similar climates in post-glacial geological environments and future climate change conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Parrish ◽  
Richard G. Derwent ◽  
Wolfgang Steinbrecht ◽  
René Stübi ◽  
Roeland Van Malderen ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R.G. Wilson

This study looks for evidence of a correlation between long-term changes in the lunar tidal forces and the interannual to decadal variability of the peak latitude anomaly of the summer (DJF) subtropical high pressure ridge over Eastern Australia (L) between 1860 and 2010. A simple “resonance” model is proposed that assumes that if lunar tides play a role in influencing L, it is most likely one where the tidal forces act in “resonance” with the changes caused by the far more dominant solar-driven seasonal cycles. With this type of model, it is not so much in what years do the lunar tides reach their maximum strength, but whether or not there are peaks in the strength of the lunar tides that re-occur at the same time within the annual seasonal cycle. The “resonance” model predicts that if the seasonal peak lunar tides have a measurable effect upon L then there should be significant oscillatory signals in L that vary in-phase with the 9.31 year draconic spring tides, the 8.85 year perigean spring tides, and the 3.80 year peak spring tides. This study identifies significant peaks in the spectrum of L at 9.4 (+0.4/-0.3) and 3.78 (± 0.06) tropical years. In addition, it shows that the 9.4 year signal is in-phase with the draconic spring tidal cycle, while the phase of the 3.8 year signal is retarded by one year compared to the 3.8 year peak spring tidal cycle. Thus, this paper supports the conclusion that long-term changes in the lunar tides, in combination with the more dominant solar-driven seasonal cycles, play an important role in determining the observed inter-annual to decadal variations of L.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 3383-3394 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Parrish ◽  
Richard G. Derwent ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Peter G. Simmonds

Abstract. We present an approach for deriving a systematic mathematical representation of the statistically significant features of the average long-term changes and seasonal cycle of concentrations of trace tropospheric species. The results for two illustrative data sets (time series of baseline concentrations of ozone and N2O at Mace Head, Ireland) indicate that a limited set of seven or eight parameter values provides this mathematical representation for both example species. This method utilizes a power series expansion to extract more information regarding the long-term changes than can be provided by oft-employed linear trend analyses. In contrast, the quantification of average seasonal cycles utilizes a Fourier series analysis that provides less detailed seasonal cycles than are sometimes represented as 12 monthly means; including that many parameters in the seasonal cycle representation is not usually statistically justified, and thereby adds unnecessary “noise” to the representation and prevents a clear analysis of the statistical uncertainty of the results. The approach presented here is intended to maximize the statistically significant information extracted from analyses of time series of concentrations of tropospheric species, regarding their mean long-term changes and seasonal cycles, including nonlinear aspects of the long-term trends. Additional implications, advantages and limitations of this approach are discussed.


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