Evidence that increased nitrogen efflux from wave-influenced marine sediment enhances pelagic phytoplankton production on the inner continental shelf of Western Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Greenwood
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Surface Waves ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Wave Height ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
Phytoplankton Production ◽  
Biogeochemical Model

Increased biological and chemical reaction rates within permeable continental-shelf sediment can result from the action of passing surface waves, especially when the seabed is rippled. The effect of this on the exchange of nitrogen between the sediment and water column is the focus of the present paper. The continental shelf of Western Australia is used as an example. A time series of chlorophyll a is compared with surface-wave height revealing seasonal and sub-seasonal correlation between the two variables. At the same time, results from a coupled pelagic–benthic biogeochemical model show that temperature-controlled changes in sedimentary nitrogen efflux cannot account for the observed seasonal changes in chlorophyll a in the overlying water column. It is proposed that enhanced pore-water circulation within the sediment, caused by the action of passing surface waves, results in an increase in the efflux of nitrogen from the sediment during winter, supporting higher pelagic phytoplankton production. The parameterisation of sedimentary nitrogen mineralisation as a function of the square of wave height is suggested for the inclusion of this effect in regional-scale continental shelf models.

Controls on oxygen response to climate change on the Northwest European Continental Shelf

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Wakelin ◽  
Yuri Artioli ◽  
Momme Butenschön ◽  
Jason Holt ◽  
Jeremy Blackford
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Ecosystem Processes ◽  
Phytoplankton Production ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Biological Cycling ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Oxygen Concentrations

<p>Dissolved oxygen in the ocean is an indicator of water quality and low concentrations can threaten ecosystem health. The main sources of marine oxygen are diffusion from the atmosphere and phytoplankton photosynthesis. Biological respiration and decomposition act to reduce oxygen concentrations. Under conditions of vertical stratification, the water column below the pycnocline is isolated from oxygen exchange with the atmosphere, photosynthesis may be limited by light availability and oxygen concentrations decrease. Climate change influences the oxygen cycle in two ways: 1) changing the hydrodynamic climate and 2) affecting rates of biogeochemical processes. The hydrodynamic climate affects the nutrient supply and so controls phytoplankton production while changes to water column stratification affects vertical mixing. Gas solubility decreases with increasing temperature so that oxygen uptake from the atmosphere is expected to decrease under increasing oceanic temperatures. Biological cycling rates increase with increasing temperature affecting photosynthesis, respiration and bacterial decomposition. It is not obvious whether changes in oxygen concentrations due to changing ecosystem processes will mitigate or reinforce the projected reduction from solubility changes.</p><p>The Northwest European Continental shelf (NWES) is a region of the northeast Atlantic that experiences seasonal stratification. We use the physics-biogeochemical model NEMO-ERSEM to study near-bed oxygen concentrations on the NWES under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario (Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5). We show that much of the NWES could experience low oxygen concentrations by 2100 and assess the relative impacts of changing temperature and ecosystem processes. Until about 2040 the impact of solubility dominates the oxygen change. The mean near-bed oxygen concentration is projected to decrease by 6.3% by 2100, of which 73% is due to solubility changes and the remainder to changes in the ecosystem. In the oxygen-depleted region in the eastern North Sea, 77% of the near-bed oxygen reduction is due to ecosystem processes.</p>

scholarly journals The Effect of Cold and Warm Anomalies on Phytoplankton Pigment Composition in Waters off the Northern Baja California Peninsula (México): 2007–2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana González-Silvera ◽  
Eduardo Santamaría-del-Ángel ◽  
Víctor Camacho-Ibar ◽  
Jorge López-Calderón ◽  
Jonatan Santander-Cruz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Baja California ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Baja California Peninsula ◽  
Phytoplankton Pigments ◽  
Entire Water Column ◽  
Satellite Chlorophyll

In this study, we report the response of phytoplankton community composition to cold and warm interannual events affecting the waters off the Baja California Peninsula from 2007 to 2016 based on data obtained from a single marine station (31.75° N/116.96° W). Included variables were satellite chlorophyll a, sea surface temperature (MODIS/Aqua), upwelling intensity, and field data (phytoplankton pigments, inorganic nutrients, light penetration). Phytoplankton pigments were determined by high performance liquid chromatography, and CHEMTAX software was used to determine the relative contributions of the main taxonomic groups to chlorophyll a. Our results confirm the decrease in phytoplankton biomass due to the influence of the recent Pacific Warm Anomaly (2014) and El Niño 2015–2016. However, this decrease was especially marked at the surface. When data from the entire water column was considered, this decrease was not significant, because at the subsurface Chla did not decrease as much. Nevertheless, significant changes in community composition occurred in the entire water column with Cyanobacteria (including Prochlorococcus) and Prymnesiophytes being dominant at the surface, while Chlorophytes and Prasinophytes made a strong contribution at the subsurface. Analysis of the spatial distribution of SST and satellite chlorophyll a made it possible to infer the spatial extension of these anomalies at a regional scale.

The influence of physical stability on spring, summer and autumn phytoplankton blooms in the Celtic Sea

1976 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Pingree ◽  
P. M. Holligan ◽  
G. T. Mardell ◽  
R. N. Head
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Physical Stability ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Inorganic Nutrients ◽  
Tidal Mixing ◽  
Phytoplankton Production ◽  
North West ◽  
Water Column Stability ◽  
Celtic Sea

The Celtic Sea extends from the south of Ireland and the St Georges Channel across the continental shelf, with the Bristol and English Channels as its eastern limits (Fig. 1) (Cooper, 1967). Although various investigations of the physical oceanography (Matthews, 1914; Cooper, 1967) and zooplankton (Russell, 1934, a, b, 1936; Corbin, 1947; and more recently Southward, 1962; Bary, 1963) of this area have been carried out, there is little or no information on seasonal changes in levels of chlorophyll ‘a’ and inorganic nutrients, and on the importance of tidal mixing in determining these distributions. Since the speeds of the tidal streams range from weak (∼ 0.5 knot) in the northern part of the Celtic Sea to strong (∼ 3 knots) around the Scilly Isles and Ushant (Fig. 2), the vertical stability of the water column as well as the duration of the seasonal thermocline (Pingree, 1975) are likely to be important factors in determining spatial and temporal variations of phytoplankton production. In this paper the influence of water-column stability on phytoplankton distributions (in spring, summer and autumn) in the Celtic Sea is described, using data for temperature, salinity, chlorophyll ‘a’ and inorganic nutrients obtained during seven cruises in 1975. An account of the red tide conditions that occurred in late July to the north-west of Ushant has already been published (Pingree, Pugh, HoUigan & Forster, 1975).

Eutrophication study of Lake Daylesford, Victoria

1980 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 573 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL Bales ◽  
GK Curtin ◽  
IC Campbell ◽  
BT Hart
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Algal Community ◽  
Phosphorus Loading ◽  
Phytoplankton Production ◽  
Early Autumn

The occurrence of algal blooms in Lake Daylesford (area 11.6 ha; maximum depth 9 m) each summer in recent years was investigated. Surface water temperature of the lake varied from 7 to 25�C. The lake which is fed by Wombat Creek, a small permanent stream, was cheimomictic with stratification occurring between summer and early autumn. In most years classical 'turnover' would be unlikely; rather, epilimnetic water would be flushed from the lake by inflowing creek waters approximately 12 times per year. Surface waters were always well oxygenated but the hypolimnion was anoxic between December 1976 and March 1977. Transparency was greatest in winter and early spring and least in summer and early autumn, this reduction being caused by autochthonously produced algal matter and allochthonously derived suspended material. Incommon withmany other Australian lakes, Lake Daylesford had ashallow euphoticzone 1-2 m deep that would limit phytoplankton production. In March and June 1977, over 99% of the incident visible light was absorbed in the top 1 m of the water column. The lake was classified as eutrophic on the basis of chlorophyll a levels. productivity, total phosphorus loadings and algal species. Chlorophyll a levels ranged from < 1 �g 1-1 in June 1977 to 79 �g 1-1 in February 1977; the productivity maximum was 210 mg C m-3 day-1 (560 mg O2, m-3 day-1) in March 1977 and the estimated total phosphorus loading was 2.8 g P m-2 year-1. The algal community was dominated by three genera: the blue-green alga Anabaena, the euglenoid Trachelomonas and the diatom Asterionella. Evidence suggests that reduction of the phosphorus loading to the lake will do much to eliminate the annual algal blooms. Provision of sewerage facilities for the township of Daylesford may achieve the required reduction. The lake sediments contain elevated levels of phosphorus, mainly a result of past discharges of waste material from a potato-processing factory; the contribution of this sediment phosphorus to the water column is unknown but should be investigated.

scholarly journals How Accurate Is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data-Based Model Applied on Satellite Imagery for Chlorophyll-a Estimation in Freshwater Bodies?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1134
Author(s):  
Anas El-Alem ◽  
Karem Chokmani ◽  
Aarthi Venkatesan ◽  
Lhissou Rachid ◽  
Hachem Agili ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Optical Sensors ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Turbid Waters ◽  
Vehicle Data ◽  
Freshwater Bodies ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Leave One Out ◽  
Semi Empirical

Optical sensors are increasingly sought to estimate the amount of chlorophyll a (chl_a) in freshwater bodies. Most, whether empirical or semi-empirical, are data-oriented. Two main limitations are often encountered in the development of such models. The availability of data needed for model calibration, validation, and testing and the locality of the model developed—the majority need a re-parameterization from lake to lake. An Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data-based model for chl_a estimation is developed in this work and tested on Sentinel-2 imagery without any re-parametrization. The Ensemble-based system (EBS) algorithm was used to train the model. The leave-one-out cross validation technique was applied to evaluate the EBS, at a local scale, where results were satisfactory (R2 = Nash = 0.94 and RMSE = 5.6 µg chl_a L−1). A blind database (collected over 89 lakes) was used to challenge the EBS’ Sentine-2-derived chl_a estimates at a regional scale. Results were relatively less good, yet satisfactory (R2 = 0.85, RMSE= 2.4 µg chl_a L−1, and Nash = 0.79). However, the EBS has shown some failure to correctly retrieve chl_a concentration in highly turbid waterbodies. This particularity nonetheless does not affect EBS performance, since turbid waters can easily be pre-recognized and masked before the chl_a modeling.

scholarly journals Response of Total Suspended Sediment and Chlorophyll-a Concentration to Late Autumn Typhoon Events in the Northwestern South China Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2863
Author(s):  
Junyi Li ◽  
Huiyuan Zheng ◽  
Lingling Xie ◽  
Quanan Zheng ◽  
Zheng Ling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
South China ◽  
Total Suspended Sediment ◽  
Offshore Area ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Late Autumn ◽  
China Sea

Strong typhoon winds enhance turbulent mixing, which induces sediment to resuspend and to promote chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) blooms in the continental shelf areas. In this study, we find limited Chl-a responses to three late autumn typhoons (typhoon Nesat, Mujigae and Khanun) in the northwestern South China Sea (NWSCS) using satellite observations. In climatology, the Chl-a and total suspended sediment (TSS) concentrations are high all year round with higher value in autumn in the offshore area of the NWSCS. After the typhoon passage, the Chl-a concentration increases slightly (23%), while even TSS enhances by 280% on the wide continental shelf of the NWSCS. However, in the southern area, located approximately 100 km from the typhoon tracks, both TSS and Chl-a concentrations increase 160% and 150% after typhoon passage, respectively. In the deeper area, the increased TSS concentration is responsible for the considerable increase of the Chl-a. An empirical analysis is applied to the data, which reveals the TSS and Chl-a processes during typhoon events. The results of this study suggest a different mechanism for Chl-a concentration increase and thus contribute toward further evaluation of typhoon-induced biological responses.

scholarly journals Nutrient behavior in a highly-eutrophicated tropical estuarine system

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilva Brandini ◽  
◽  
Ana Paula de Castro Rodrigues ◽  
Ilene Matanó Abreu ◽  
Luiz Carlos Cotovicz Junior ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
River Mouth ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Phytoplankton Production ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Estuarine System ◽  
Temperature Conductivity ◽  
Se Brazil ◽  
Iguaçu River

Abstract Aim: There are few studies dealing with the biogeochemical processes occurring in small estuaries receiving high sewage loading in tropical regions. The aim of this investigation was to characterize the biogeochemical behavior of nutrients in superficial waters collected at the Iguaçu estuarine system, during specific conditions (neap tide), located at the inner sector of a heavily eutrophicated embayment (Guanabara Bay, SE Brazil). Methods Physical and chemical variables were measured in situ (pH, temperature, conductivity, salinity, total dissolved solids, transparency, dissolved oxygen), whereas suspended particulate matter, chlorophyll a, phaepigments and nutrients (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus forms) were measured in laboratory across the mesohaline estuarine gradient. Results The Iguaçu River mouth is in a high stage of eutrophication, considering nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll a and transparency of water column. Results indicate a transition from heterotrophic conditions to autotrophic conditions, since the nutrients concentrations showed a decreasing pattern along the saline gradient, while the chlorophyll an increased over the transects. The pH values and chlorophyll : phaeopigments ratios are significantly related to the amount and quality of organic matter contents, especially at transects under strong marine influence. More than 95% of the dissolved and total nitrogen concentrations are represented by NH4+ contributions, which are related to the ammonification of organic matter contents in this region, indicating the existence of untreated sewage loads in this area. Conclusion In this study, the Iguaçu River seemed to contribute with high inputs of nutrients that support important phytoplankton production at the inner regions of the bay related to the CO2 sink and autotrophic metabolism, showing the importance of verifying the biogeochemical behaviors of nutrients in estuarine areas, even in small scale.

scholarly journals Modeling Nickel Leaching from Abandoned Mine Tailing Deposits in Jøssingfjorden

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 967
Author(s):  
Svetlana Pakhomova ◽  
Evgeniy Yakushev ◽  
Morten Thorne Schaanning
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Mine Tailing ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Sediment Reworking ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Best Available Technology ◽  
Available Technology ◽  
Nickel Leaching

Underwater disposal of mine tailings in lakes and seas has been considered favorable due to the geochemical stability obtained during long-term storage in anoxic sediments. Sulfides are stable in the ore; however, oxidation and transformation of some substances into more soluble forms may impact bioavailability processes and enhance the risk of toxic effects in the aquatic environment. The goal of this work was to construct a model for simulating the nickel (Ni) cycle in the water column and upper sediments and apply it to the mine tailing sea deposit in the Jøssingfjord, SouthWest Norway. A one-dimensional (1D) benthic–pelagic coupled biogeochemical model, BROM, supplemented with a Ni module specifically developed for the study was used. The model was optimized using field data collected from the fjord. The model predicted that the current high Ni concentrations in the sediment can be a potential source of Ni leaching to the water column until about 2040. The top 10 cm of sediments were classified as being of “poor” environmental state according to the Norwegian Quality Standards. A numerical experiment predicted that with complete cessation of the discharges there would be an improvement in the environmental state of sediment to “good” in about 20 years. On the other hand, doubling of discharge would lead to an increase in the Ni content in the sediment, approaching the boundary of the “very poor” environmental state. The model results demonstrated that Ni leaching from the sea deposits may be increased due to sediment reworking by bioturbation at the sediment–water interface. The model can be an instrument for analysis of different scenarios for mine tailing activities from point of view of reduction of environmental impact as a component of the best available technology.

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