Polished and Striated Mud Surfaces in the St. Lawrence Tidal Flats, Quebec

1974 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 860-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Dionne
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Tidal Flats ◽  
Tidal Currents ◽  
Cold Environment ◽  
Current Direction ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Drift ice polishes and striates the surface of mud tidal flats along the St. Lawrence Estuary. Drag marks are due to tidal currents dragging ice cakes on the bottom. Striated and polished mud surfaces can be fossilized and preserved. If found in consolidated sedimentary rocks, they would be indicators of: the top of a bed, current direction, shallow water, and a cold environment.

scholarly journals OIL SLICK FATE IN A REGION OF STRONG TIDAL CURRENTS

1974 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
G. Drapeau ◽  
W. Harrison ◽  
W. Bien ◽  
P. Leinonen
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Tidal Currents ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
Scale Models ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Made In

This study examines the drifting, spreading and aging of small slicks of crude oil in the middle St. Lawrence Estuary. This region was chosen because it is well documented with field measurements, hydraulic scale models, and mathematical models; and also because it is becoming a strategic area for the development of supertanker ports for 300,000 and possibly 500,000 ton tankers. Two controlled releases of Venezuelan crude (370 and 800 litres) were made in November 1972, as ice began to form in the St. Lawrence Estuary. The experiments were supported by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing which carried out extensive airborne monitoring. The results indicate that it is impossible either to recover or to disperse small spills of oil in this region of strong tidal currents. Models also predict slick motion poorly. The alternative is to construct slick-drift roses that will indicate areas of expected beaching and assist in deployment of oil-spill clean-up technology.

Caractéristiques hydrodynamiques d'un estran à forte sédimentation

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Troude ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Sérodes
Keyword(s):  
Tidal Marsh ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Tidal Flats ◽  
Tidal Creeks ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Strong Winds ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Mathematical Model

In the St. Lawrence estuary (Canada), tidal flats localized in the area of saline intrusion are covered with up to 30 cm of fine sedimentation during July, August, and September. This sedimentation is the result of waters coming from the turbidity zone. The upper half of the tidal flats are covered with a tidal marsh. This vegetation is very important in preventing the sediments from eroding. In the tidal marsh, measurements with automatic current meters were taken during periods longer than a month. These showed that, among the vegetation, currents are weak and steady during spring tides and neap tides, whereas next to the drainage systems, currents are heavily dependant on the range of the tide. Close to the shore, currents decrease significantly, thus helping fine sedimentation to occur. A mathematical simulation of the currents made on a line perpendicular to the shore shows the impact of the vegetation on the formation of the drainage system in the tidal flats. Water entrapment by the vegetation at the end of the flood initiates the creation of creeks and insures their continuity throughout the summer. As soon as the vegetation is destroyed, creeks fill up with sediments and disappear from the surface of the tidal marsh. Contrary to what could be assumed, the mathematical model also shows that spring tides, even though associated with strong currents, promote a very active sedimentation on the tidal marsh. In the St. Lawrence estuary, erosion of the mud flats deposits is observed during short periods of strong winds in summer. This high energy and high variability do explain the strong year to year variation in sedimentation observed in the tidal flats. Key words: currents, intertidal sedimentation, tidal creeks, tidal flats.

Mud Cracks and Polygons on Ice Push Ridges, in Tidal Flats of the St. Lawrence Estuary

1974 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Dionne
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Tidal Flats ◽  
The South ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Waves And Currents ◽  
South Shore ◽  
Break Up ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Mud cracks and polygons form during summer in tidal flats of the south shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary. They occur near mean low water level at the top surface of ice push mud ridges formed during winter and break-up. They are a source of mud clasts which settle in the surroundings when carried away by waves and currents.

scholarly journals Influence of Environmental Variables on the Diel Movements of the Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus) in the St. Lawrence Estuary

2016 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Gallant ◽  
Marco A. Rodriguez ◽  
Michael J.W. Stokesbury ◽  
Chris Harvey-Clark
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Thermal Structure ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Greenland Shark ◽  
Greenland Halibut ◽  
Vertical Movements ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Somniosus Microcephalus ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

The geographic distribution of the Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus) extends from the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic Ocean. However, little is known about the habitat of this species, as it is generally found at great depths or in the High Arctic. In the St. Lawrence Estuary, Greenland Sharks undertake diel vertical movements into shallow water (≤ 30 m), but the reasons for these movements are unknown. To test the hypothesis that environmental variables drive the movements of this shark in the St. Lawrence Estuary, eight Greenland Sharks were tagged with acoustic telemetry transmitters during the summer of 2005. Three environmental factors, temperature, light, and tides, were associated with their movements. Movement patterns indicate a preference for deep, cold water during daylight hours and shallow, warmer water during the night. Ascending into shallow water mostly coincided with darkness and high tide. This improved understanding of the spatio-temporal distributionof the Greenland Shark will allow for assessment of the risk to these sharks from commercial fisheries, as occurs in the Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) longline fishery. In addition, temperature-driven behavioural patterns may change as the thermal structure of the water column shifts due to global warming.

MAPPING TIDAL CURRENTS AND RESIDUAL CURRENTS BY USE OF COASTAL ACOUSTIC TOMOGRAPHY

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Hua Zhu ◽  
Xiao-Hua Zhu ◽  
Ze-Nan Zhu ◽  
Ze-Nan Zhu ◽  
Xinyu Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Shallow Water Equations ◽  
Mean Amplitude ◽  
Momentum Equation ◽  
Tidal Currents ◽  
Acoustic Tomography ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Residual Currents ◽  
Water Depths ◽  
Deep Area

A coastal acoustic tomography (CAT) experiment for mapping the tidal currents in the Zhitouyang Bay was successfully carried out with seven acoustic stations during July 12 to 13, 2009. The horizontal distributions of tidal current in the tomography domain are calculated by the inverse analysis in which the travel time differences for sound traveling reciprocally are used as data. Spatial mean amplitude ratios M2 : M4 : M6 are 1.00 : 0.15 : 0.11. The shallow-water equations are used to analyze the generation mechanisms of M4 and M6. In the deep area, velocity amplitudes of M4 measured by CAT agree well with those of M4 predicted by the advection terms in the shallow water equations, indicating that M4 in the deep area where water depths are larger than 60 m is predominantly generated by the advection terms. M6 measured by CAT and M6 predicted by the nonlinear quadratic bottom friction terms agree well in the area where water depths are less than 20 m, indicating that friction mechanisms are predominant for generating M6 in the shallow area. Dynamic analysis of the residual currents using the tidally averaged momentum equation shows that spatial mean values of the horizontal pressure gradient due to residual sea level and of the advection of residual currents together contribute about 75% of the spatial mean values of the advection by the tidal currents, indicating that residual currents in this bay are induced mainly by the nonlinear effects of tidal currents.

scholarly journals Benthic fluxes of dissolved organic nitrogen in the lower St. Lawrence estuary and implications for selective organic matter degradation

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 7609-7622 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Alkhatib ◽  
P. A. del Giorgio ◽  
Y. Gelinas ◽  
M. F. Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Nitrogen ◽  
Organic Nitrogen ◽  
Bottom Water ◽  
Estuarine Sediments ◽  
Internal Source ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Element Partitioning ◽  
Sediment Porewaters ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Abstract. The distribution of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and carbon (DOC) in sediment porewaters was determined at nine locations along the St. Lawrence estuary and in the gulf of St. Lawrence. In a previous manuscript (Alkhatib et al., 2012a), we have shown that this study area is characterized by gradients in the sedimentary particulate organic matter (POM) reactivity, bottom water oxygen concentrations, and benthic respiration rates. Based on the porewater profiles, we estimated the benthic diffusive fluxes of DON and DOC in the same area. Our results show that DON fluxed out of the sediments at significant rates (110 to 430 μmol m−2 d−1). DON fluxes were positively correlated with sedimentary POM reactivity and varied inversely with sediment oxygen exposure time (OET), suggesting direct links between POM quality, aerobic remineralization and the release of DON to the water column. DON fluxes were on the order of 30 to 64% of the total benthic inorganic fixed N loss due to denitrification, and often exceeded the diffusive nitrate fluxes into the sediments. Hence they represented a large fraction of the total benthic N exchange, a result that is particularly important in light of the fact that DON fluxes are usually not accounted for in estuarine and coastal zone nutrient budgets. In contrast to DON, DOC fluxes out of the sediments did not show any significant spatial variation along the Laurentian Channel (LC) between the estuary and the gulf (2100 ± 100 μmol m−2 d−1). The molar C / N ratio of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in porewater and the overlying bottom water varied significantly along the transect, with lowest C / N in the lower estuary (5–6) and highest C / N (> 10) in the gulf. Large differences between the C / N ratios of porewater DOM and POM are mainly attributed to a combination of selective POM hydrolysis and elemental fractionation during subsequent DOM mineralization, but selective adsorption of DOM to mineral phases could not be excluded as a potential C / N fractionating process. The extent of this C- versus N- element partitioning seems to be linked to POM reactivity and redox conditions in the sediment porewaters. Our results thus highlight the variable effects selective organic matter (OM) preservation can have on bulk sedimentary C / N ratios, decoupling the primary source C / N signatures from those in sedimentary paleoenvironmental archives. Our study further underscores that the role of estuarine sediments as efficient sinks of bioavailable nitrogen is strongly influenced by the release of DON during early diagenetic reactions, and that DON fluxes from continental margin sediments represent an important internal source of N to the ocean.

Pre-exposure to Cu2+ and CuO NPs leads to infection of caged blue mussels, Mytilus edulis L., by pathogenic microalga: Pilot study in the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (Québec, Canada)

2021 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 112180
Author(s):  
Michael Zuykov ◽  
Galina Kolyuchkina ◽  
Graeme Spiers ◽  
Michel Gosselin ◽  
Philippe Archambault ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Blue Mussels ◽  
Cuo Nps ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary
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