Rectified tidal transport in Lofoten–Vesterålen, northern Norway

Vestfjorden in northern Norway, a major spawning ground for the northeast Arctic cod, is sheltered from the continental shelf and open ocean by the Lofoten–Vesterålen archipelago. The archipelago, however, is well known for hosting strong and vigorous tidal currents in its many straits, currents that can produce significant time-mean tracer transport from Vestfjorden to the shelf outside. We use a purely tidally driven unstructured-grid ocean model to look into non-linear tidal dynamics and the associated tracer transport through the archipelago. Of particular interest are two processes: tidal pumping through the straits and tidal rectification around islands. The most prominent tracer transport is caused by tidal pumping through the short and strongly non-linear straits Nordlandsflaget and Moskstraumen near the southern tip of the archipelago. Here, tracers from Vestfjorden are transported tens of kilometers westward out on the outer shelf. Further north, weaker yet notable tidal pumping also takes place through the longer straits Nappstraumen and Gimsøystraumen. The other main transport route out of Vestfjorden is south of the island of Røst. Here, the transport is primarily due to tracer advection by rectified anticyclonic currents around the island. There is also an anticyclonic circulation cell around the island group Mosken–Værøy, and both cells have flow speeds up to 0.2 m s−1, magnitudes similar to the observed background currents in the region. These high-resolution simulations thus emphasize the importance of non-linear tidal dynamics for transport of floating particles, like cod eggs and larvae, in the region.

Rectified tidal transport in Lofoten-Vesterålen, Northern Norway

Vestfjorden in Northern Norway, a major spawning ground for the Northeast Arctic cod, is sheltered from the continental shelf and open ocean by the Lofoten-Vesterålen archipelago. The archipelago, however, is well known for hosting strong and vigorous tidal currents in its many straits, currents that can produce significant time-mean tracer transport from Vestfjorden to the shelf outside. We use a purely tidally-driven unstructured-grid ocean model to look into the nonlinear tidal dynamics and the associated tracer transport through the archipelago. Of particular interest are two processes: tidal pumping through the straits and tidal rectification around islands. The most prominent tracer transport is caused by tidal pumping through the short and strongly nonlinear straits Nordlandsflaget and Moskstraumen near the southern tip of the archipelago. Here tracers from Vestfjorden are transported tens of kilometers westward out on the outer shelf. Further north, weaker yet notable tidal pumping also takes place through the longer straits Nappstraumen and Gimsøystraumen. The other main transport route out of Vestfjorden is south of the island of Røst. Here the transport is primarily due to tracer advection by rectified anticyclonic currents around the island. There is also an anticyclonic circulation cell around the islands of Mosken-Værøy, and both cells have have flow speeds up to 0.2 m/s, magnitudes similar to the observed background currents in the region. These high-resolution simulations thus emphasize the importance of nonlinear tidal dynamics for transport of cod eggs and larvae in the region.

Transport Mechanism of Suspended Sediments and Migration Trends of Sediments in the Central Hangzhou Bay

Based on the 2013 field survey data of hydrology, suspended sediments and bottom sediments in the Central Hangzhou Bay, this paper explores the dynamic mechanism of suspended sediments in Hangzhou Bay by employing material flux decomposition. Meanwhile, the migration trends of bed sediments are also investigated by analyzing grain size trends. The results show that during an ebb or flood tide, the hydrograph of suspended sediment concentration of Hangzhou Bay is dominated by an M shape (bimodal), which is attributed primarily to the generation of a soft mud layer and a separate fluid mud layer. Laterally, the distribution of suspended sediment concentration is high in the south and low in the north. From a macroscopic perspective, the net sediment transport in the study area displays a “north-landward and south-seaward” trend, presenting a “C”-shaped transport mode. That is, the sediments are transported from the bay mouth to the bay head on the north side and from the bay head to the bay mouth on the south side. The sediment transports by advection and tidal pumping are predominant, while the sediment transport by vertical circulation makes little contribution to the total sediment transport. Moreover, the sediment transport in the center of the reach area is dominated by advection, whereas that near both sides of the banks is controlled by tidal pumping. The asymmetry of the tides, i.e., flood-dominance in the north and ebb-dominance in the south, is the primary cause of the dynamic mechanism for the overall “C”-shaped transport mode in Hangzhou Bay. Additionally, coupled with the narrow-head wide-mouth geomorphology, Hangzhou Bay remains evolving by south shore silting and north shore scouring.

High-frequency variability of CO₂ in Grand Passage, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

Assessing changes in the marine carbon cycle arising from anthropogenic CO2 emissions requires a detailed understanding of the carbonate system's natural variability. Coastal ecosystems vary over short spatial and temporal scales, so their dynamics are not well described by long-term and broad regional averages. A year-long time series of pCO2, temperature, salinity, and currents is used to quantify the high-frequency variability of the carbonate system at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. The seasonal cycle of pCO2 is modulated by a diel cycle that is larger in summer than in winter and a tidal contribution that is primarily M2, with amplitude roughly half that of the diel cycle throughout the year. The interaction between tidal currents and carbonate system variables leads to lateral transport by tidal pumping, which moves alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) out of the bay, opposite to the mean flow in the region, and constitutes a new feature of how this strongly tidal region connects to the larger Gulf of Maine and northwest Atlantic carbon system. These results suggest that tidal pumping could substantially modulate the coastal ocean's response to global ocean acidification in any region with large tides and spatial variation in biological activity, requiring that high-frequency variability be accounted for in assessments of carbon budgets of coastal regions.

High-frequency variability of CO₂ in Grand Passage, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

Assessing changes in the marine carbon cycle arising from anthropogenic CO2 emissions requires a detailed understanding of the carbonate system's natural variability. Coastal ecosystems vary over short spatial and temporal scales, so their dynamics are not well-described by long-term and broad regional averages. A year-long time series of pCO2, temperature, salinity, and currents is used to quantify the high-frequency variability of the carbonate system at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. The seasonal cycle of pCO2 is modulated by a diel cycle that is larger in summer than in winter, and a tidal contribution that is primarily M2, with amplitude roughly half that of the diel cycle throughout the year. The interaction between tidal currents and carbonate system variables leads to lateral transport by tidal pumping, which moves alkalinity and DIC out of the bay, opposite to the mean flow in the region, and constitutes a new feature of how this strongly tidal region connects to the larger Gulf of Maine and Northwest Atlantic carbon system. These results suggest that tidal pumping could substantially modulate the coastal ocean's response to global ocean acidification in any region with large tides and spatial variation in biological activity, requiring that high-frequency variability be accounted for in assessments of carbon budgets of coastal regions.