Tidally Driven Dispersion of a Deep-Sea Sediment Plume Originating from Seafloor Disturbance in the DISCOL Area (SE-Pacific Ocean)

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Matthias Baeye ◽  
Kaveh Purkiani ◽  
Henko de de Stigter ◽  
Benjamin Gillard ◽  
Michael Fettweis ◽  
...  

The purpose of the study was to measure in situ the background suspended particulate matter concentration (SPMC) in the DISCOL area (SE Pacific) and its increase due to mechanical mobilization of the seabed. The disturbance experiment imitated future manganese nodule exploitations and was designed to measure the sediment plume generated by such activities. In the direct vicinity of the disturbance, landers equipped with acoustic and optical sensors measured the current velocities and the SPMC. The SPMC at the disturbance was easily up to 10 mg/L and thus about 200 times higher than the background concentration. The downstream sediment plume, measured by the lander, had a SPMC of about 1 mg/L. After tide reversal, the sediment plume was recorded a second time. A sediment transport model reproduced the plume dispersion. After rapid settling of the coarser fraction, a plume of hardly settling fine particles remained in suspension (and no deposition–resuspension cycles). The transport was controlled by the tides and by the vertical velocity component that resulted from bathymetrical differences. The plume may continue to disperse up to 100+ days (up to hundreds of km) depending on the particle size and until background concentration is reached.

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 467
Author(s):  
Rocío Baró ◽  
Christian Maurer ◽  
Jerome Brioude ◽  
Delia Arnold ◽  
Marcus Hirtl

This paper demonstrates the environmental impacts of the wildfires occurring at the beginning of April 2020 in and around the highly contaminated Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). Due to the critical fire location, concerns arose about secondary radioactive contamination potentially spreading over Europe. The impact of the fire was assessed through the evaluation of fire plume dispersion and re-suspension of the radionuclide Cs-137, whereas, to assess the smoke plume effect, a WRF-Chem simulation was performed and compared to Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite columns. The results show agreement of the simulated black carbon and carbon monoxide plumes with the plumes as observed by TROPOMI, where pollutants were also transported to Belarus. From an air quality and health perspective, the wildfires caused extremely bad air quality over Kiev, where the WRF-Chem model simulated mean values of PM2.5 up to 300 µg/m3 (during the first fire outbreak) over CEZ. The re-suspension of Cs-137 was assessed by a Bayesian inverse modelling approach using FLEXPART as the atmospheric transport model and Ukraine observations, yielding a total release of 600 ± 200 GBq. The increase in both smoke and Cs-137 emissions was only well correlated on the 9 April, likely related to a shift of the focus area of the fires. From a radiological point of view even the highest Cs-137 values (average measured or modelled air concentrations and modelled deposition) at the measurement site closest to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, i.e., Kiev, posed no health risk.


Author(s):  
Kaja Karczewska ◽  
Leszek Kolendowicz ◽  
Marek Półrolniczak ◽  
Hanna Forycka–Ławniczak

The subject of the paper is the influence of atmospheric circulation on the content of suspended PM10 in the air in Konin. For this purpose dust concentrations from the period 2012–2016 were generally characterized. PM10 particulate matter concentration average hourly data were obtained from the Main Inspectorate of Environmental Protection website. Based on these data, long-term, seasonal and daily changes in the PM10 concentration in the atmosphere were investigated. The study analysed the daily variability of the PM10 suspended particulate matter concentration to present seasonal differences (in hot and cold seasons). In order to determine the influence of atmospheric circulation on the PM10 particulate matter concentration, the concentration levels data were compared with the types of circulation prevailing on the same day. In this study according to synoptic maps the days with maximum and minimum concentrations PM levels were analysed. It was found which type of meteorological circulation is conducive to higher levels concentrations of particulate matter PM10, and which has a positive effect on the quality of the air in Konin.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaveh Purkiani ◽  
Benjamin Gillard ◽  
André Paul ◽  
Matthias Haeckel ◽  
Sabine Haalboom ◽  
...  

Predictability of the dispersion of sediment plumes induced by potential deep-sea mining activities is still very limited due to operational limitations on in-situ observations required for a thorough validation and calibration of numerical models. Here we report on a plume dispersion experiment carried out in the German license area for the exploration of polymetallic nodules in the northeastern tropical Pacific Ocean in 4,200 m water depth. The dispersion of a sediment plume induced by a small-scale dredge experiment in April 2019 was investigated numerically by employing a sediment transport module coupled to a high-resolution hydrodynamic regional ocean model. Various aspects including sediment characteristics and ocean hydrodynamics were examined to obtain the best statistical agreement between sensor-based observations and model results. Results show that the model is capable of reproducing suspended sediment concentration and redeposition patterns observed during the dredge experiment. Due to a strong southward current during the dredging, the model predicts no sediment deposition and plume dispersion north of the dredging tracks. The sediment redeposition thickness reaches up to 9 mm directly next to the dredging tracks and 0.07 mm in about 320 m away from the dredging center. The model results suggest that seabed topography and variable sediment release heights above the seafloor cause significant changes especially for the low sedimentation pattern in the far-field area. Near-bottom mixing is expected to strongly influence vertical transport of suspended sediment.


1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1209-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Kranck

Total suspended particulate matter concentration and grain size spectra, total and living particulate carbon, and dissolved nitrogen and carbon were measured at stations along the length of Petpeswick Inlet and over several tidal cycles. Distinct particle populations were associated with the water at the head and at the mouth of the inlet. Mixing of water masses and temporal periodicities cause variance in particle concentration and spectral shape which correspond to seasonal, tidal, and seiche variations. To explain the last, a process of transformation of organic matter between dissolved and particulate states by aggregate formation and breakup in response to turbulent changes is proposed.Key words: Petpeswick Inlet, Nova Scotia, particulates


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