Benthic habitat quality assessment of an oxygen stressed fjord by surface and sediment profile images

In May and October 1994 the benthic habitats in Havstensfjord (26 km²), a seasonally oxygen stressed stratified fjord, were classified by taking sediment surface and sediment profile images (SPI) at 90 stations, randomized into nine strata. Qualitative grab samples for faunal inspection were taken at about of the stations in both May and October to help to identify objects in the images. The images give information on sediment characteristics (texture, oxic/anoxic conditions, lamination) which often can be related to functional properties of the macrofauna (burrows, tubes, feeding voids, reworked sediment) or to observations on benthic epifauna. In combination, such variables mirror the quality of the benthic habitat. Analysis of sediment profile images was done with multivariate methods [Benthic Habitat Quality (BHQ) index] and univariate statistical methods to describe differences between areas and depths. Variance analysis of BHQ indices indicated a significant interaction between area and depth. In both the northeast and northwest strata the oxygen stress had induced a habitat degradation at depths deeper than 25 m compared to shallower northwest and northeast strata and all south depth strata. No significant difference in mean BHQ index was found between May and October. We discuss the potential application of the SPI technique for efficient monitoring oxygen stressed marine coastal areas.     

Ground truthing sediment profile imagery with traditional benthic survey data along an established disturbance gradient

Macrobenthic surveys are an expensive, slow and labour intensive means to establish the health of benthic communities. Sediment profile imagery (SPI) is a means of rapid reconnaissance for monitoring large areas of the benthos. SPI has often been used to monitor gross anthropogenic disturbance. The aim of this study is to determine if SPI can be used as a tool to reliably map change in communities along natural estuarine gradients. Macrobenthic sampling was carried out at five stations along an established estuarine gradient. This faunal data was analysed using standard multivariate techniques and to ground truth a concurrent SPI survey. Faunal analysis showed that habitat quality in Inner Galway Bay was generally good, with some localised disturbance from the River Corrib and the sewage out flow exterior to the city dock. Four distinct groups were identified with a degree of overlap occurring between stations 3 and 4. While existing SPI indices mapped habitat quality in the same manner as the faunal data for end member stations, the level of distinction between the habitats of an intermediate staging was found to be poor. This lack of distinction amongst the stage 2 and 3 stations was overcome by developing a tailored index, the Galway Bay index of habitat quality (GBHQ). This index was derived from the 5 observed variables in the SPI data that were determined to best match the faunal distribution by permutative mantel testing. The 5 observed variables from the SPI data were the depth of the apparent redox potential discontinuity (aRPD), the depth of penetration by the prism, and the presence/absence of infauna, surface faecal pellet layer and biogenic mounding. The GBHQ was able to distinguish between the 5 stations to a greater extent than previously described indices, showing clearly the separate groupings defined by the faunal data. The index was tested on a follow up SPI survey and shown to be applicable in mapping a broader range of habitats in Galway Bay. Indices generated for localised mapping of estuarine gradients should be derived from observed features and be ground truthed using faunal data. Some aspects of the GBHQ should be generally applicable to fine grained boreal estuarine sediments (aRPD/penetration), while others may be of limited utility in other locations depending on the digging characteristics of the particular SPI camera, and local factors influencing the persistence of biogenic features in the profile. This derivation technique provides a simple way to optimise SPI to particular studies and localities.     

Sediment profile imaging (SPI) and micro-electrode technologies in impact assessment studies: Example from two fjords in Southern Chile used for fish farming

Two state-of-the-art techniques were used to assess the impact of organic loading from fish farming in two fjords of Southern Chile, Pillan and Reñihue Fjords. A sediment profile imaging (SPI) camera was deployed and sediment microprofiles (oxygen, H₂S, redox and pH) were measured in undisturbed sediment cores collected using a HAPS corer. Four out of seven stations in Pillan Fjord were found to be severely disturbed: SPI images showed azoic conditions (no apparent Redox Potential Discontinuity layer, no evidence of aerobic life form, presence of an uneaten fish food layer, negative OSI scores). These findings were corroborated by very high oxygen consumption rates (700–1200 mmol m^− 2 day^− 1), H₂S concentrations increasing quickly within the sediment column and redox potential decreasing towards negative values within a few mm down core. Results for Reñihue Fjord were not so straightforward. SPI images indicated that most of the stations (R3 to R7) presented well-mixed conditions (high apparent RPD layers, presence of infauna, burrows, etc.), but oxygen profiles yielded consumption rates of 230 to 490 mmol m^− 2 day^− 1 and organic carbon mineralization of 2.16 to 4.53 g C m^− 2 day^− 1. These latter values were close to the limit of aerobic degradation of organic matter although no visible changes were recorded within the sediment column. In view of our findings, the importance of integrating multidisciplinary methodologies in impact assessment studies was discussed.     

Initial results from long-term measurements of atmospheric humidity and related parameters in the marine boundary layer at two locations in the Gulf of Mexico

Measurements of boundary layer moisture have been acquired from Rotronic MP-100 sensors deployed on two NDBC buoys in the northern Gulf of Mexico from June through November 1993. For one sensor, which was retrieved approximately 8 months after deployment, the post- and precalibrations agreed closely and fell well within WMO specifications for accuracy. The second sensor operated continuously from June 1993 to February 1997 (3.5 years). Buoy observations of relative humidity and supporting data were used to calculate specific humidity and the surface fluxes of latent and sensible heat. Specific humidities from the buoys were compared with observations of moisture obtained from nearby ship reports, and the correlations were generally high (0.7–0.9). Surface gravity wave spectra were also acquired. The time series of specific humidity and the other buoy parameters revealed three primary scales of variability, small (h), synoptic (days), and seasonal (months). The synoptic variability was clearly dominant and occurred primarily during September, October, and November. Most of the synoptic variability was due to frontal systems that dropped down into the Gulf of Mexico from the continental US followed by air masses which were cold and dry. Cross-correlation analyses of the buoy data indicated that: (1) the moisture field was highly coherent over distances of 800 km or more in the northern Gulf of Mexico; and (2) both specific humidity and air temperature served as tracers of the motion associated with propagating atmospheric disturbances. These correlation analyses also revealed that the prevailing weather systems generally entered the buoy domain from the South prior to September, but primarily from the North thereafter. Spectra of the various buoy parameters indicated strong diurnal and semidiurnal variability for barometric pressure and sea surface temperature (SST) and lesser variability for air temperature, wind speed and significant wave height. The surface fluxes of latent and sensible heat were dominated by the synoptic events which took place from September through November with the transfer of latent heat being primarily from the ocean to the atmosphere. Finally, an analysis of the surface wave observations from each buoy, which included calculations of wave age and estimates of surface roughness, indicate that major heat and moisture flux events coincide with periods of active wave growth, although the data were insufficient to identify any causal relationships.     

Suspended sediment and erosion dynamics in Kugmallit Bay and Beaufort Sea during ice-free conditions

The Mackenzie River is the largest river on the North American side of the Arctic and its huge freshwater and sediment load impacts the Canadian Beaufort Shelf. Huge quantities of sediment and associated organic carbon are transported in the Mackenzie plume into the interior of the Arctic Ocean mainly during the freshet (May to September). Changing climate scenarios portend increased coastal erosion and resuspension that lead to altered river-shelf-slope particle budgets. We measured sedimentation rates, suspended particulate matter (SPM), particle size and settling rates during ice-free conditions in Kugmallit Bay (3–5 m depth). Additionally, measurements of erosion rate, critical shear stress, particle size distribution and resuspension threshold of bottom sediments were examined at four regionally contrasting sites (33–523 m depth) on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf using a new method for assessing sediment erosion. Wind induced resuspension was evidenced by a strong relationship between SPM and wind speed in Kugmallit Bay. Deployment of sediment traps showed decreasing sedimentation rates at sites along an inshore–offshore transect ranging from 5400 to 3700 g m^− 2 day^− 1. Particle settling rates and size distributions measured using a Perspex settling chamber showed strong relationships between equivalent spherical diameter (ESD) and particle settling rates (r² = 0.91). Mean settling rates were 0.72 cm s^− 1 with corresponding ESD values of 0.9 mm. Undisturbed sediment cores were exposed to shear stress in an attempt to compare differences in sediment stability across the shelf during September to October 2003. Shear was generated by vertically oscillating a perforated disc at controlled frequencies corresponding to calibrated shear velocity using a piston grid erosion device. Critical (Type I) erosion thresholds (u) varied between 1.1 and 1.3 cm s^− 1 with no obvious differences in location. Sediments at the deepest site Amundsen Gulf displayed the highest erosion rates (22–54 g m^− 2 min^− 1) with resuspended particle sizes ranging from 100 to 930 µm for all sites. There was no indication of biotic influence on sediment stability, although our cores did not display a fluff layer of unconsolidated sediment. Concurrent studies in the delta and shelf region suggest the importance of a nepheloid layer which transports suspended particles to the slope. Continuous cycles of resuspension, deposition, and horizontal advection may intensify with reduction of sea ice in this region. Our measurements coupled with studies of circulation and cross-shelf exchange allow parameterization and modeling of particle dynamics and carbon fluxes under various climate change scenarios.     

洋山港及邻近海域悬沙输运特征研究*

基于SWEM2D数值模型,建立了一个范围包括洋山港、长江口及杭州湾的二维水流泥沙数学模型。根据2004年5月洋山港实测水文泥沙资料,认为洋山港区域悬沙垂向切变输运较小,可忽略该项对悬沙输运的影响,采用二维泥沙数学模型能基本反映出该区域悬沙输运特点。利用2004年5月洋山港及邻近海域实测水文泥沙资料对模型计算结果进行验证,验证结果表明模型计算结果与实际情况吻合良好。在此基础上,根据模型计算结果计算了洋山港及邻近海域大、中、小潮期间悬沙输运速度。结果表明,洋山港区域悬沙主要以欧拉输运为主,斯托克斯漂移、潮泵输运为辅。该区域西口门高含沙量主要是受到长江口及杭州湾悬沙输运富集的影响。其邻近海域主要的悬沙输运在近南汇边滩以东区域分成两股,一股向北,一股沿着南汇南岸的水下泥沙通道,径直流向杭州湾,并在杭州湾的悬沙输运的带动下,向洋山港流去。     

Measurements of threshold values for incipient motion of sediment particles with two different erosion devices

For studies on sediment transport processes experimental data on the erosion behaviour of sediments are necessary. Because of significant differences in experimental setups and subsequently in resulting values comparisons and, where possible, correlations between methods are required. This study presents measurements with two different erosion devices (straight flume and microcosm erosion chamber), which were used for the determination of critical shear stress velocities for sandy submarine sediments and sieved sediment fractions. An approach is presented to convert measured current velocities into shear stress velocities via roughness length values and drag coefficients under hydrodynamically smooth and transitional turbulent flow conditions. The results from both devices show a good agreement and the measured erosion threshold values fit to established correlations between critical shear stress velocity and grain size. In the grain size range below 200 µm results for naturally composed sediments are influenced by effects caused by the silt- and clay fraction. Sieved sediment fractions in this grain size range tend to show lowered erosion thresholds in relation to the Shields' curve.     

洋山港区域挟沙力公式研究*

利用基于能量平衡观点推导的挟沙力公式,考虑到洋山港海域涨落潮期间悬沙浓度存在一定差异,分别建立了 该区域涨潮时期及落潮时期挟沙力公式。利用计算底部通量切引力公式与挟沙力公式相等方法,估算了实测期间水体挟沙 力值,并以洋山港2003年10月实测的水沙资料进行率定。最后,采用洋山港2005年7月实测含沙量资料对公式计算结果进行 验证。验证结果表明,所建立的挟沙力公式具有较高精度,其计算的含沙量变化与洋山港实际情况较为符合。     

Estimating salinity to complement observed temperature: 2.Northwestern Atlantic

This paper addresses the problem of estimating salinity for a large region in the Atlantic Ocean containing the Gulf Stream and its recirculation. Together with Part 1 [Thacker, W.C., 2007-this issue. Estimating salinity to complement observed temperature: 1. Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Marine Systems. doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2005.06.008.] dealing with the Gulf of Mexico, this reports on the first efforts of a project for developing world-wide capability for estimating salinity to complement expendable-bathythermograph (XBT) data. Such estimates are particularly important for this region, where the strong frontal contrasts render the task of assimilating XBT data into numerical models more sensitive to the treatment of salinity.Differences in salinity's co-variability with temperature and with longitude, latitude, and day-of-year from the northwestern part of the region with the Gulf Stream to the southeastern part more characteristic of the Sargasso sea suggested that the region be partitioned to achieve more accurate salinity estimates. In general, accuracies were better in the southeastern sub-region than in the more highly variable northwestern sub-region with root-mean-square estimation errors of 0.15 psu at 25 dbar and 0.02 psu at 300 dbar as compared with 0.35 psu and 0.50 psu, respectively, but in the southeast there was an unexpected error maximum around 1000 dbar where estimates were slightly less accurate than in the northwest. For pressures greater than 1400 dbar root-mean-square errors in both sub-regions were less than 0.02 psu.     

Diatom stratigraphy and long-term dissolved silica concentrations in the Baltic Sea

In many parts of the world coastal waters with anthropogenic eutrophication have experienced a gradual depletion of dissolved silica (DSi) stocks. This could put pressure on spring bloom diatom populations, e.g. by limiting the intensity of blooms or by causing shifts in species composition. In addition, eutrophication driven enhanced diatom growth is responsible for the redistribution of DSi from the water phase to the sediments, and changes in the growth conditions may be reflected in the sediment diatom stratigraphy.To test for changes in diatom communities we have analyzed four sediment cores from the Baltic Sea covering approximately the last 100 years. The sediment cores originate from the western Gulf of Finland, the Kattegat, the Baltic Proper and the Gulf of Riga. Three out of the four cores reveal only minor changes in composition of diatom assemblages, while the Gulf of Riga core contains major changes, occurring after the second World War. This area is set apart from the other Baltic Sea basins by a high frequency of low after spring bloom DSi concentrations (< 2 µmol L^− 1) during a relatively well defined time period from 1991–1998. In 1991 to 1993 a rapid decline of DSi spring concentrations and winter stocks (down to 5 µmol L^− 1) in the Gulf was preceded by exceptionally intense diatom spring blooms dominated by the heavily silicified species Thalassiosira baltica (1991–1992; up to 5.5 mg ww L^− 1). T. baltica has been the principal spring bloom diatom in the Gulf of Riga since records began in 1975. DSi consumption and biomass yield experiments with cultured T. baltica suggest that intense blooms can potentially exhaust the DSi stock of the water column and exceed the annual Si dissolution in the Gulf of Riga. The phytoplankton time series reveals another exceptional T. baltica bloom period in 1981–1983 (up to 8 mg L^− 1), which, however, took place before the regular DSi measurements. These periods may be reflected in the conspicuous accumulation of T. baltica frustules in the sediment core corresponding to ca. 1975–1985.     

长江口北槽悬沙垂线分布经验公式研究*

利用Rouse公式对长江口多次实测资料进行整理分析,得出了长江口北槽纵向悬沙垂线分布的特征,验证了描 述悬浮泥沙垂线分布的Rouse公式的适用性,阐明了利用Rouse公式推算得到的不平衡条件下泥沙沉速与实际泥沙沉速的差 异,并利用不平衡条件下的垂线分布公式和北槽悬沙垂线分布实测资料,率定和验证了不平衡输沙系数和垂线平均含沙量 的经验关系式,在此基础上,建立了适用描述长江口北槽悬沙垂线分布的经验公式,并通过实测资料得到了验证。     

Pb and Pu in the Northeast Water Polynya, Greenland: particle dynamics and sediment mixing rates

Distributions of the radionuclides ²¹⁰Pb and ^239,240Pu in sediment cores from the Northeast Water Polynya, Greenland, showed that these nuclides reached depths of 5–15 cm by particle mixing and sediment accumulation. End-member average values of the particle mixing coefficient and sediment accumulation rate were 0.13 cm² y⁻¹ and 0.06 cm y⁻¹, obtained from the ²¹⁰Pb profiles by assuming that each process is dominant relative to the other. Both ²¹⁰Pb and ^239,240Pu were measured on four cores; using the Pu data to constrain mixing rates produced corrected sediment accumulation rates that were 20–80% of the values calculated by neglecting mixing. Organic carbon burial in the polynya sediments was ≤0.4 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹, based on measured POC values at depth in the sediments and sediment accumulation rates corrected for mixing. This value is about 1% of the independently measured POC flux leaving the euphotic zone and compares with benthic carbon remineralization rates of 7% calculated by others from O₂ uptake in the sediments.The inventories of excess ²¹⁰Pb in the sediments ranged from 6 to 28 dpm cm⁻². Relative to the atmospheric input of ²¹⁰Pb and in situ production from decay of ²²⁶Ra, approximately 5 dpm cm⁻² of ²¹⁰Pb was being removed from the water column. The difference between the removal from the water column and sediment inventories suggests a net import of ²¹⁰Pb to the polynya. This may occur by input of dissolved ²¹⁰Pb from offshore waters or by input of ²¹⁰Pb carried by sea ice. Particulate matter in land-derived fast ice adjacent to the polynya contained 330 ± 14 dpm of excess ²¹⁰Pb g⁻¹. If particles transported in sea ice are comparable to those extracted from fast ice, then sea ice transport into the polynya followed by melting may be an important source of excess ²¹⁰Pb to the area. Fast ice also may contribute ²¹⁰Pb if portions break off and melt within the polynya, as occurred in 1993.     

瓯江南口外浅滩含沙浓度特征

基于2010年10月瓯江南口外浅滩的泥沙实测资料,对含沙浓度的时空变化进行了分析研究。利用非线性最小二乘法拟合出了新的含沙量公式,并与刘家驹公式在不考虑波浪作用下的简式作比较,对新公式的适用性进行了探讨。分析结果表明:(1)含沙浓度从瓯江南口门向外海逐渐减小,沿岸方向的变化则存在大、中、小潮差异;(2)垂向上,含沙浓度由表层向底层逐渐增大;(3)含沙浓度具有大潮最大、中潮次之、小潮最小的特点,涨潮含沙浓度基本大于落潮含沙浓度;(4)与刘家驹公式相比,新公式的拟合结果与实测含沙量的相对误差较小,相关性较高。     

Impact of macrozoobenthic structures on near-bed sediment fluxes

Sandy sediments in shallow coastal waters of the Baltic Sea are often characterised by large numbers of biogenic structures which are produced by macrozoobenthos species. A series of experiments was devised to quantify how the interaction of such structures with the near-bed flow regime affects the sediment flux. Most experiments were done with simplified replicates of structures generated by typical species commonly found in the Mecklenburg Bight, starting with solitary structures and regularly-spaced arrays in a range of characteristic population densities, followed by a complex benthic macrofauna community, both artificial and alive. A laboratory flume channel, equipped with an acoustic Doppler flow sensor and a topography scanning laser, was used for high-resolution measurements (2 mm horizontal step size and 0.3 mm vertical resolution) of sand erosion (220 µm median grain size, at 20 cm s^− 1) and fine particle deposition (8 µm grain size, at 5 cm s^− 1). Sediment transport threshold values were measured for each layout. As a rule-of-thumb, both the erosion fluxes and the deposition of suspended matter increased considerably at low population densities (below 2%, expressed as percent of the sediment surface covered, i.e. roughness density RD). Above densities of 4%, erosion almost stopped inside the test arrays, and deposition remained well below the level of unpopulated areas. An attempt to extrapolate these findings to field conditions (using field current velocity data from 2001) showed that the net flux switched from erosion to deposition for densities above 5%. These parameters can now be integrated into a numerical sediment transport model coupling waves, currents, sediment dynamics and biological processes, which is currently under construction at the Baltic Sea Research Institute (IOW), Rostock, Germany.     

Effect of seaweed proliferation on benthic habitat quality assessed by Sediment Profile Imaging

Changes in sediment quality, with special reference to benthic habitat conditions resulting from macroalgae overgrowth, were studied in the Venice Lagoon, Italy. Data were collected biweekly in spring and summer from 1993 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2002, as part of the macroalgae growth control strategies managed by the Venice Water Authority-Consorzio Venezia Nuova. Benthic habitat conditions were studied by means of Sediment Profile Imaging, which allowed the collection of several variables: aRPD (apparent redox potential discontinuity), prism penetration depth, presence of anoxia on the surface of the sediment, presence of reduced gas bubbles, stage of benthic colonization. All these variables led to the calculation of an environmental index (Organism–Sediment Index, OSI), which was then related to physical variables and macroalgae abundance. Until 1996, the overall benthic habitat of the Venice Lagoon showed almost stressed conditions; from 1997, the seaweed biomass rapidly declined and the OSI increased significantly. The OSI seemed to be affected by seaweed biomass, sediment compactness and water depth. Macroalgae biomass greater than 4.5 kg/m² led to the complete disappearance of stage III of benthic colonization; values as low as 0.70 kg m² already had a severe impact on recolonization. SPI attributes indicated the main mechanisms that could have contributed to the benthic quality: seaweed proliferation is often followed by rapid decay of macroalgae biomass, especially when present in large amounts. The decrease in seaweed biomass often results in oxygen depletion in the water column and thus in the sediment, preventing complete benthic colonization. This research confirms the importance of in situ rapid reconnaissance surveys to assess the impact of eutrophication on the benthic habitat.     

河口悬沙浓度变化与多因子响应模式

从河口近岸悬沙浓度的影响因素入手,在收集现场实测资料的基础上,对悬沙浓度的变化规律进行分析。通过分析研究,建立了悬沙浓度变化与多因子响应高精度三维数值模型。以黄茅海水域1992年11月15日—19日实测水流、泥沙、风等资料为基础,对模型进行验证。结果表明:模型能较好地模拟河口水流泥沙运动,且计算稳定性好、精度较高。水流、泥沙运动验证成果基本能达到规范要求的精度。     

南黄海辐射沙脊群悬沙特征研究

为了探明南黄海海域悬沙场的特征,以指导港口建设,通过人工神经网络,将平面二维潮流数值模型、天气图和水文测验数据联系起来,构建了平面二维悬浮泥沙模型。首先运用人工神经网络求出实测含沙量与水动力之间的函数关系,再把潮流模型和风场计算值代入此关系式,最后求出该海域含沙量平面分布。模型的计算结果表明:波浪掀沙和水流输沙是整个海域宏观水动力特征;西洋潮流水道处于冲刷状态,有利于深槽的维持;含沙量等值线与等水深线形状大体一致。     

Relationships between near-bottom dissolved oxygen and sediment profile camera measures

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and other environmental authorities regulate concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) as a measure of nutrient-related eutrophication in estuarine and coastal waters. However, in situ DO concentrations are extremely variable, and their characterization requires an extensive sampling program to provide data over meaningful scales of time and space. In contrast, benthic faunal communities integrate the impacts of low DO over time, and can be rapidly assessed using benthic imaging. The goal of this study was to quantify the relationships between near-bottom dissolved oxygen and measures derived from benthic imaging with a sediment profile camera. We monitored three stations in Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island, USA) for DO and other water quality parameters 15–20 cm above the sediment surface on 15-minute intervals between July and November 2002, and regularly sampled these stations with a sediment profile camera throughout this time period. These soft-sediment stations encompassed several DO environments. We tested for relationships between near-bottom DO and several camera measures, including Nilsson and Rosenberg's Benthic Habitat Quality (BHQ) index, the apparent Redox Potential Discontinuity (aRPD) depth, and various faunal features that can be identified in sediment profile images. Camera measures were examined against a variety of methods of characterizing DO (including mean DO, and the percent of time under various DO thresholds), over a span of time scales from 1 day to 49 days. The best relationship (highest r²) between near-bottom DO and BHQ was found when DO was evaluated as the percent of time under a hypoxic threshold of 2.6 mg l^− 1 over a 28-day time scale (by examining DO records over the 28 days preceding each camera deployment). We found that, over several benthic settings, the BHQ index was successful at identifying environments that had experienced relatively high or low DO over the preceding four weeks. Our sediment profile data showed more variability with DO in the intermediate values of BHQ. We conclude that sediment profile camera measures correlate to DO in areas where low DO is the primary stressor, integrate DO over ecologically relevant time scales, and enable sampling over spatial scales that are meaningful for mapping by virtue of rapid deployment and analysis. We submit that sediment profile camera imagery is a useful assessment and mapping tool for environmental managers interested in benthic condition and in first-order quantitative estimates of near-bottom DO regimes in areas where low DO is the primary benthic stressor.     

瓯江口水文泥沙特征分析

在大量实测资料的基础上,对瓯江口海区的地貌特征、河道径流特征、河道输沙特征、潮汐特征、潮流特征、余流特征、波浪特征、含沙量特征、泥沙来源、盐度特征、悬沙粒径和底质粒径特征、瓯江南北口的分流和分沙特征、中水道和北水道的分流和分沙特征进行了分析,根据实测资料分析得到了瓯江口挟沙力公式,得到了平衡水深公式,为瓯江河口的工程开发建设和科学研究提供了基础资料。主要研究成果表明:(1)瓯江口的潮汐属正规半日潮类型,平均潮差在4 m以上,属强潮河口;(2)潮流属正规浅海半日潮流类型,呈往复流动,潮流动力强;(3)瓯江为少沙河流,多年平均年悬移质输沙量为205.1万t;(4)瓯江南北口的平均涨潮分流比为21%和79%,落潮平均分流比为26%和74%;(5)瓯江南北口的平均涨潮分沙比为20%和80%,落潮平均分流沙比为22%和78%。     

鸭绿江河口潮流泥沙数值模拟

在分析鸭绿江河口实测水文泥沙资料的基础上,采用MIKE21 FM模块建立了基于多重嵌套网格模式的河口潮流场和泥沙场数学模型,模型范围为上游丹东市的江桥至河口江海分界线以外6~7 m等深线附近,并对2个潮位站、15个流速流向和含沙量测站进行了验证,对现状条件下的河口水域流场和泥沙场进行了数值模拟与分析。研究结果表明:落潮流速一般大于涨潮,沿程变化上浪头港以下2 km附近及斗流浦航槽内平均流速较大,至河口段水面逐渐放宽,致使落潮水流流速有减小趋势;含沙量沿程呈递增趋势,最大含沙量出现在各分汊水道的上口,即斗流浦水域。