Nitrates in eastern Australian coastal waters

1984 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Rochford

Mean monthly temperature, salinity and nitrate concentration of eastern Australian coastal waters, at 0 and 50 m depth, for periods of up to 36 years have been determined. Using the seasonal changes in the mean properties it has been shown that the prime source of nitrates in coastal waters of eastern Australia between Evans Head and Eden is the intrusion, at various times in the spring-summer seasons, of subsurface slope waters, which are relatively rich in nitrates. Once present in the bottom layers of these coastal waters, these nitrates form a reservoir from which local processes of mixing in the autumn-winter seasons create a surface nitrate maximum, which persists for several months into the following spring. Off Evans Head and particularly off Laurieton, upwelling later in the spring creates a secondary nitrate maximum but these are of a transient time scale and little residual surface nitrate remains after the upwelling ceases. In summer, thermal capping, aided, particularly in the north, by surface salinity dilution, greatly limits the vertical mixing of nitrates to the surface, resulting in very low surface nitrate concentrations in summer. Off Eden, the spring introduction of nitrates by slope-water intrusions is impeded by a northward flow of Bass Strait waters which, because of their low nitrate content, act as a nutrient diluent. It is only when this northward flow ceases in early summer that these slope-water intrusions occur off Eden and provide the nitrate reservoir for the winter turnover. Off Maria I., slope-water intrusions are not an important contribution to the nitrate economy. The winter maximum in nitrate concentration at the Maria I. site is attributed to an onshore drift of nitrate-richer offshore waters, containing Sub-Antarctic elements. In spring, snow-melt waters mix with these winter waters off Maria I. and decrease both the salinity and nitrate content of these waters. In summer, subtropical waters of low nitrate content occur off Maria I.

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. SIPPOLA

The performance of SOILN model, which simulates soil nitrogen dynamics, was evaluated in respect to its ability to predict nitrate content in soil in spring when growing barley. The data obtained in three year nitrogen fertiliser experiments on different soil types was used. Model was parametrised using the data of the first experimental year and validation results obtained in following years are presented. The results of the simulations of the springtime nitrate in the root zone showed a reasonably small deviation from the measured values. The coefficient of determination, R2 = 0.56 was significant. The regression equation was y = 4 + 0.66x where the constant term was not significantly different from zero and the slope deviated from zero. The mean value of measured nitrate in the root zone in spring was 16 kg/ha and that from the simulation was 15 kg/ha showing that the mean values were close to each other. The mean of deviations between measured and simulated values was 4 kg/ha and the maximum deviation 9 kg/ha. It is concluded that simulation estimated springtime soil nitrate concentration with reasonable confidence that further testing of estimating soil nitrate concentration in spring for adjustment of nitrogen fertilisation using SOILN model should be continued.;


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 2477-2501 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Shafer Smith ◽  
Raffaele Ferrari

Abstract Temperature–salinity profiles from the region studied in the North Atlantic Tracer Release Experiment (NATRE) show large isopycnal excursions at depths just below the thermocline. It is proposed here that these thermohaline filaments result from the mesoscale stirring of large-scale temperature and salinity gradients by geostrophic turbulence, resulting in a direct cascade of thermohaline variance to small scales. This hypothesis is investigated as follows: Measurements from NATRE are used to generate mean temperature, salinity, and shear profiles. The mean stratification and shear are used as the background state in a high-resolution horizontally homogeneous quasigeostrophic model. The mean state is baroclinically unstable, and the model produces a vigorous eddy field. Temperature and salinity are stirred laterally in each density layer by the geostrophic velocity and vertical advection is by the ageostrophic velocity. The simulated temperature–salinity diagram exhibits fluctuations at depths just below the thermocline of similar magnitude to those found in the NATRE data. It is shown that vertical diffusion is sufficient to absorb the laterally driven cascade of tracer variance through an amplification of filamentary slopes by small-scale shear. These results suggest that there is a strong coupling between vertical mixing and horizontal stirring in the ocean at scales below the deformation radius.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1901-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tangdong Qu ◽  
Linlin Zhang ◽  
Niklas Schneider

AbstractSubtropical underwater (STUW) and its year-to-year variability in annual subduction rate are investigated using recently available Argo data in the North Atlantic. For the period of observation (2002–14), the mean annual subduction rate of the STUW is 7.3 ± 1.2 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s−1) within the density range between 25.0 and 26.0 kg m−3. Once subducted, the STUW spreads in the subtropical gyre as a vertical salinity maximum. In the mean, the spatial changes in temperature and salinity of the STUW tend to compensate each other, and the density of the water mass remains rather stable near 25.5 kg m−3 in the southwestern part of the subtropical gyre. The annual subduction rate of the STUW varies from year to year, and most of this variability is due to lateral induction, which in turn is directly linked to the variability of the winter mixed layer depth. Through modulation of surface buoyancy, wind anomalies associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation are primarily responsible for this variability. Sea surface salinity anomalies in the formation region of the STUW are conveyed into the thermocline, but their westward propagation cannot be detected by the present data.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaoyu Yang ◽  
Haibin Ye

AbstractA coastal front was detected in the eastern Guangdong (EGD) coastal waters during a downwelling-favorable wind period by using the diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm (Kd(490)). Long-term satellite data, meteorological data and hydrographic data collected from 2003 to 2017 were jointly utilized to analyze the environmental factors affecting coastal fronts. The intensities of the coastal fronts were found to be associated with the downwelling intensity. The monthly mean Kd(490) anomalies in shallow coastal waters less than 25 m deep along the EGD coast and the monthly mean Ekman pumping velocities retrieved by the ERA5 dataset were negatively correlated, with a Pearson correlation of − 0.71. The fronts started in October, became weaker and gradually disappeared after January, extending southwestward from the southeastern coast of Guangdong Province to the Wanshan Archipelago in the South China Sea (SCS). The cross-frontal differences in the mean Kd(490) values could reach 3.7 m−1. Noticeable peaks were found in the meridional distribution of the mean Kd(490) values at 22.5°N and 22.2°N and in the zonal distribution of the mean Kd(490) values at 114.7°E and 114.4°E. The peaks tended to narrow as the latitude increased. The average coastal surface currents obtained from the global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) showed that waters with high nutrient and sediment contents in the Fujian and Zhejiang coastal areas in the southern part of the East China Sea could flow into the SCS. The directions and lengths of the fronts were found to be associated with the flow advection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 1381-1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Candela ◽  
J. Ochoa ◽  
J. Sheinbaum ◽  
M. López ◽  
P. Pérez-Brunius ◽  
...  

AbstractFour years (September 2012 to August 2016) of simultaneous current observations across the Yucatan Channel (~21.5°N) and the Straits of Florida (~81°W) have permitted us to investigate the characteristics of the flow through the Gulf of Mexico. The average transport in both channels is 27.6 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s−1), in accordance with previous estimates. At the Straits of Florida section, the transport related to the astronomical tide explains 55% of the observed variance with a mixed semidiurnal/diurnal character, while in the Yucatan Channel tides contribute 82% of the total variance and present a dominant diurnal character. At periods longer than a week the transports in the Yucatan and Florida sections have a correlation of 0.83 without any appreciable lag. The yearly running means of the transport time series in both channels are well correlated (0.98) and present a 3-Sv range variation in the 4 years analyzed. This long-term variability is well related to the convergence of the Sverdrup transport in the North Atlantic between 14.25° and 18.75°N. Using 2 years (July 2014–July 2016) of simultaneous currents observations in the Florida section, the Florida Cable section (~26.7°N), and a section across the Old Bahama Channel (~78.4°W), a mean northward transport of 28.4, 31.1, and 1.6 Sv, respectively, is obtained, implying that only 1.1 Sv is contributed by the Northwest Providence Channel to the mean transport observed at the Cable section during this 2-yr period.


2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (spe3) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Igawa Martinez ◽  
Ana Júlia Fernandes Cardoso de Oliveira

Urban development in coastal areas is intense and leads to the increase of sewage outfall and other negative impacts as consequences. Thus, stringent regulations establishing limits to the microbiological contamination of water and seafood are needed. The objective of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of Enterococci and Thermotolerant Coliform densities in the flesh of mussels Perna perna as an alternative tool for monitoring the microbiological quality of coastal waters. The study also considers allometric relations applied to clearance rates to understand rates of bacterial concentration. Bacterial loads obtained in mussels' flesh were from 50 to 4,300 times greater than in the water sampled in the vicinity of the mussels and some were considered inappropriate for consumption even when the water presented no restrictions. The mean clearance rate obtained for Enterococci retention was 317.7 ml h-1 and this rate (CR) is related to the mussels' size (L) by the equation CR = 28.3229L1.6421. The results showed that bacterial densities in the mussels' tissues may reflect chronic contamination of the environment and that clearance rates are important for taking the best decision in situations where, for example, it is desired to introduce mussels for aquaculture and the evaluation of the water concerned is required.


1963 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 789-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. McK. Bary

Monthly temperature-salinity diagrams for 1957 have demonstrated that three surface oceanic "water bodies" were consistently present in the eastern North Atlantic; two are regarded as modified North Atlantic Central water which give rise to the third by mixing. As well in the oceanic areas, large and small, high or low salinity patches of water were common. Effects of seasonal climatic fluctuations differed in the several oceanic water bodies. In coastal waters, differences in properties and in seasonal and annual cycles of the properties distinguish the waters from the North Sea, English Channel and the western entrance to the Channel.The geographic distributions of the oceanic waters are consistent with "northern" and "southern" water bodies mixing to form a "transitional" water. Within this distribution there are short-term changes in boundaries and long-term (seasonal) changes in size of the water bodies.Water in the western approaches to the English Channel appeared to be influenced chiefly by the mixed, oceanic transitional water; oceanic influences in the North Sea appear to have been from northern and transitional waters.


Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Pérez-Castro ◽  
Miguel Ángel Montero-Alonso ◽  
Akram Abderrahman-Azaar

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the situation of the financial system in the Spanish-governed cities of Melilla and Ceuta, Christian and Muslim cities located on the north coast of Africa, and compared it with the mean bankarization level in the rest of Spain in 2000-2015. Design/methodology/approach Although different calculation methods have been proposed, most authors agree that the bankarization level of a country or a territory reflects the development of the society as a whole and has a positive correlation with economic growth. The indicators of financial depth proposed by these researchers are not only the ratio between variables such as loans, deposits, etc., but also the ratios of these variables to the population and the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country or territory. Findings The results obtained revealed that there are differences between these two North African Spanish cities. Furthermore, the financing gap between the mean bankarization levels of these cities and those of mainland Spain was found to be even larger than most of the other economic indicators (GDP per capita and the unemployment rate). Practical implications The authors are convinced that the manuscript is a contribution of great interest for serving pilot experience in cities wishing to offer a development of traditional banking and Islamic banking. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of finance systems and commercial banks where two different cultures coexist. Originality/value This is the first research study on the financial framework of European cities whose populations have an approximately equal percentage of Christians and Muslims. The data reflected the existence of savings and loan methods parallel to conventional banking. The conclusion was that in the near future, it would be advisable for European banks to take into account the cultural customs and religious practices of potential Muslim clients.


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