Towed vehicles: undulating platforms as tools for maping coastal processes and water quality assessment, Seaside, California, February 5-7,2007. Workshop proceedings

The Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) Workshop on Towed Vehicles: Undulating Platforms As Tools for Mapping Coastal Processes and Water Quality Assessment was convened February 5-7,2007 at The Embassy Suites Hotel, Seaside, California and sponsored by the ACT-Pacific Coast partnership at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML). The TUV workshop was co-chaired by Richard Burt (Chelsea Technology Group) and Stewart Lamerdin (MLML Marine Operations). Invited participants were selected to provide a uniform representation of the academic researchers, private sector product developers, and existing and potential data product users from the resource management community to enable development of broad consensus opinions on the application of TUV platforms in coastal resource assessment and management. The workshop was organized to address recognized limitations of point-based monitoring programs, which, while providing valuable data, are incapable of describing the spatial heterogeneity and the extent of features distributed in the bulk solution. This is particularly true as surveys approach the coastal zone where tidal and estuarine influences result in spatially and temporally heterogeneous water masses and entrained biological components. Aerial or satellite based remote sensing can provide an assessment of the aerial extent of plumes and blooms, yet provide no information regarding the third dimension of these features. Towed vehicles offer a cost-effective solution to this problem by providing platforms, which can sample in the horizontal, vertical, and time-based domains. Towed undulating vehicles (henceforth TUVs) represent useful platforms for event-response characterization. This workshop reviewed the current status of towed vehicle technology focusing on limitations of depth, data telemetry, instrument power demands, and ship requirements in an attempt to identify means to incorporate such technology more routinely in monitoring and event-response programs. Specifically, the participants were charged to address the following: (1) Summarize the state of the art in TUV technologies; (2) Identify how TUV platforms are used and how they can assist coastal managers in fulfilling their regulatory and management responsibilities; (3) Identify barriers and challenges to the application of TUV technologies in management and research activities, and (4) Recommend a series of community actions to overcome identified barriers and challenges. A series of plenary presentation were provided to enhance subsequent breakout discussions by the participants. Dave Nelson (University of Rhode Island) provided extensive summaries and real-world assessment of the operational features of a variety of TUV platforms available in the UNOLs scientific fleet. Dr. Burke Hales (Oregon State University) described the modification of TUV to provide a novel sampling platform for high resolution mapping of chemical distributions in near real time. Dr. Sonia Batten (Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Sciences) provided an overview on the deployment of specialized towed vehicles equipped with rugged continuous plankton recorders on ships of opportunity to obtain long-term, basin wide surveys of zooplankton community structure, enhancing our understanding of trends in secondary production in the upper ocean. [PDF contains 32 pages]

Distribution and potential bioeffects of atrazine in coastal waters

Estuaries provide critical nursery habitat for many commercially and recreationally important fish and shellfish species. These productive, diverse ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to pollution because they serve as repositories for non–point-source contaminants from upland sources, such as pesticide runoff. Atrazine, among the most widely used pesticides in the United States, has also been one of the most extensively studied. There has not, however, been a specific assessment of atrazine in marine and estuarine ecosystems. This document characterizes the presence and transformation of atrazine in coastal waters, and the effects of atrazine on marine organisms. Review of marine and estuarine monitoring data indicate that atrazine is chronically present in U.S. coastal waters at relatively low concentrations. The concentrations detected have typically been below acute biological effects levels, and below the U.S. EPA proposed water quality criteria for atrazine. While direct risk of atrazine impacts are low, uncertainty remains regarding the effects of long-term low levels of atrazine in mixture with other contaminants. It is recommended that best management practices, such as the use of vegetative buffers and public education about pesticide use, be encouraged in the coastal zone to minimize runoff of atrazine into marine and estuarine waters.

Integrated conceptual ecosystem model development for the Florida Keys/Dry Tortugas coastal marine ecosystem: MARine Estuarine goal Setting (MARES) for South Florida

The overall goal of the MARine and Estuarine goal Setting (MARES) project for South Florida is “to reach a science-based consensus about the defining characteristics and fundamental regulating processes of a South Florida coastal marine ecosystem that is both sustainable and capable of providing the diverse ecosystem services upon which our society depends.” Through participation in a systematic process of reaching such a consensus, science can contribute more directly and effectively to the critical decisions being made by both policy makers and by natural resource and environmental management agencies. The document that follows briefly describes the MARES project and this systematic process. It then describes in considerable detail the resulting output from the first two steps in the process, the development of conceptual diagrams and an Integrated Conceptual Ecosystem Model (ICEM) for the first subregion to be addressed by MARES, the Florida Keys/Dry Tortugas (FK/DT). What follows with regard to the FK/DT is the input received from more than 60 scientists, agency resource managers, and representatives of environmental organizations beginning with a workshop held December 9-10, 2009 at Florida International University in Miami, Florida.

Integrated conceptual ecosystem model development for the southeast Florida coastal marine ecosystem: MARine Estuarine goal Setting (MARES) for South Florida

The overall goal of the MARES (MARine and Estuarine goal Setting) project for South Florida is “to reach a science-based consensus about the defining characteristics and fundamental regulating processes of a South Florida coastal marine ecosystem that is both sustainable and capable of providing the diverse ecosystem services upon which our society depends.” Through participation in a systematic process of reaching such a consensus, science can contribute more directly and effectively to the critical decisions being made both by policy makers and by natural resource and environmental management agencies. The document that follows briefly describes MARES overall and this systematic process. It then describes in considerable detail the resulting output from the first step in the process, the development of an Integrated Conceptual Ecosystem Model (ICEM) for the third subregion to be addressed by MARES, the Southeast Florida Coast (SEFC). What follows with regard to the SEFC relies upon the input received from more than 60 scientists, agency resource managers, and representatives of environmental organizations during workshops held throughout 2009–2012 in South Florida.

Integrated conceptual ecosystem model development for the southwest Florida shelf coastal marine ecosystem: MARine Estuarine goal Setting (MARES) for South Florida

The overall goal of the MARine and Estuarine goal Setting (MARES) project for South Florida is “to reach a science-based consensus about the defining characteristics and fundamental regulating processes of a South Florida coastal marine ecosystem that is both sustainable and capable of providing the diverse ecosystem services upon which our society depends.” Through participation in a systematic process of reaching such a consensus, science can contribute more directly and effectively to the critical decisions being made by both policy makers and by natural resource and environmental management agencies. The document that follows briefly describes the MARES project and this systematic process. It then describes in considerable detail the resulting output from the first two steps in the process, the development of conceptual diagrams and an Integrated Conceptual Ecosystem Model (ICEM) for the second subregion to be addressed by MARES, the Southwest Florida Shelf (SWFS). What follows with regard to the SWFS is the input received from more than 60 scientists, agency resource managers, and representatives of environmental organizations beginning with a workshop held August 19-20, 2010 at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.

Ecological imbalances in the coastal areas of Pakistan and Karachi Harbour

The marine environment of Pakistan has been described in the context of three main regions : the Indus delta and its creek system, the Karachi coastal region, and the Balochistan coast. The creeks, contrary to concerns, do receive adequate discharges of freshwater. On site observations indicate that freshwater continues flowing into them during the lean water periods and dilutes the seawater there. A major factor for the loss of mangrove forests as well as ecological disturbances in the Indus delta is loss of the silt load resulting in erosion of its mudflats. The ecological disturbance has been aggravated by allowing camels to browse the mangroves. The tree branches and trunks, having been denuded of leaves are felled for firewood. Evidence is presented to show that while indiscriminate removal of its mangrove trees is responsible for the loss of large tracts of mangrove forests, overharvesting of fisheries resources has depleted the river of some valuable fishes that were available from the delta area. Municipal and industrial effluents discharged into the Lyari and Malir rivers and responsible for land-based pollution at the Karachi coast and the harbour. The following are the three major areas receiving land-based pollution and whose environmental conditions have been examined in detail: (l) the Manora channel, located on the estuary of the Lyari river and serving as the main harbour, has vast areas forming its western and eastern backwaters characterized by mud flats and mangroves. The discharge of industrial wastewater from the S.I.T.E. and municipal effluents from the northern and central districts into the Lyari has turned this river into an open drain. This, in turn, has caused a negative impact on the environment of the port, fish harbour, and the adjacent beaches. (2) The Gizri creek receives industrial and municipal effluents from the Malir river as well as from several industries and power stations. The highly degraded discharges from the Malir have negatively impacted the environment in this creek. (3) The coastline between the Manora channel and Gizri creek where the untreated municipal effluents are discharged by the southern districts of Karachi, is responsible for the degraded environment of the Chinna creek, and also of the beaches and the harbour. The Balochistan coast is relatively safe from land-based pollution, mainly because of the lack of industrial, urban or agricultural activity, except the Hingol river system where some agricultural activities have been initiated.

Changes in nutrient structure of river-dominated coastal waters: stoichiometric nutrient balance and its consequences

We present an analysis of extensive nutrient data sets from two river-dominated coastal ecosystems, the northern Adriatic Sea and the northern Gulf of Mexico, demonstrating significant changes in surface nutrient ratios over a period of 30 years. The silicon:nitrogen ratios have decreased, indicating increased potential for silicon limitation. The nitrogen:phosphorus and the silicon:phosphorus ratios have also changed substantially, and the coastal nutrient structures have become more balanced and potentially less limiting for phytoplankton growth. It is likely that net phytoplankton productivity increased under these conditions and was accompanied by increasing bottom water hypoxia and major changes in community species composition. These findings support the hypothesis that increasing coastal eutrophication to date may be associated with stoichiometric nutrient balance, due to increasing potential for silicon limitation and decreasing potential for nitrogen and phosphorus limitation. On a worldwide basis, coastal ecosystems adjacent to rivers influenced by anthropogenic nutrient loads may experience similar alterations.

Diversity and Distribution of Sediment NirS-Encoding Bacterial Assemblages in Response to Environmental Gradients in the Eutrophied Jiaozhou Bay, China

A gene-clone-library-based molecular approach was used to study the nirS-encoding bacteria-environment relationship in the sediments of the eutrophic Jiaozhou Bay. Diverse nirS sequences were recovered and most of them were related to the marine cluster I group, ubiquitous in estuarine, coastal, and marine environments. Some NirS sequences were unique to the Jiaozhou Bay, such as the marine subcluster VIIg sequences. Most of the Jiaozhou Bay NirS sequences had their closest matches originally detected in estuarine and marine sediments, especially from the Chesapeake Bay, indicating similarity of the denitrifying bacterial communities in similar coastal environments in spite of geographical distance. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that the spatial distribution of the nirS-encoding bacterial assemblages is highly correlated with environmental factors, such as sediment silt content, NH4+ concentration, and OrgC/OrgN. The nirS-encoding bacterial assemblages in the most hypernutrified stations could be easily distinguished from that of the least eutrophic station. For the first time, the sedimentological condition was found to influence the structure and distribution of the sediment denitrifying bacterial community.

Summertime ciliate and copepod nauplii distributions and micro-zooplankton herbivorous activity in the Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea, China

The abundance and biomass of ciliated protozoa and copepod nauplii were investigated at 21 grid stations and two anchored stations in the Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea, China in June 1998. Dilution incubations were carried out to investigate micro-zooplankton grazing pressure at the anchored stations during spring tide and neap tide. The dominant species were Tintinnopsis amoyensis, T. chinglanensis, T. pallida and aloricate ciliates. A total of 13 species of tintinnids were found. The total abundance of ciliates and nauplii ranged from 30 to 2390 ind l(-1) at grid stations. Tintinnopsis amoyensis was the only ciliate found at the anchored stations and in concentrations which varied from 0 to 6700 ind l(-1). The spatial distribution of ciliates was patchy. Tintinnopsis amoyensis and T. pallida were distributed in the Weihe River mouth and Xiaoqinghe River mouth respectively. The aloricate ciliates, T. chinglanensis and Codonellopsis ostenfeldi dominated offshore in sequence. The water mixing process may affect the spatial pattern of the dominant ciliate species. The abundance and biomass of copepod nauplii were in the range of 0-140 ind l(-1) and 0-7 mu g C l(-1) respectively, with the peak appearing at grid station 15. The total biomass of ciliates and copepod nauplii was in the range of 1(.)5-25 mu g C l(-1). Water column biomass of ciliates and nauplii varied from 2(.)37 to 52(.)3 mg C m(-2). At the anchored stations, the phytoplankton growth rates ranged from undetectable to 0 21 d(-1) and micro-zooplankton grazing rates from 0 13 to 0(.)57 d(-1). The grazing pressure of micro-zooplankton were 12 to 43% of the chlorophyll standing stock and 84 to 267% of the chlorophyll (C) 2000 Academic Press.

Seasonal and spatial variation in abundance and egg production of Paracalanus parvus (Copepoda: Calanoida) in/out Jiaozhou Bay, China

The spatial distribution of stage-specific abundance and reproduction of the copepod Paracalanus parvus were studied from October 2005 to September 2006 in the Jiaozhou Bay. This copepod occurred continuously in this bay throughout the year. The species reached the lowest abundance in April and peaked in June. From October to December, distribution center mainly occurred in offshore water and at the mouth of the bay. In winter, early copepodites and adults gradually decreased and till February, most of the population was only comprised of CIV-CV stages. Overwintering copepodites matured in March and males tended to mature before female. From May to September, each stage occurred in the population and gradually reached high abundance. Temperature and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration in the three stations can't clearly explain the seasonal variation in stage-specific abundance, so we surmised the important effect of the Yellow Sea. Egg production rate (EPR) reached its lowest in winter and peaked in June at 60.8 eggs female(-1) day(-1) in nearshore water. In the warming period, EPR in nearshore water was statistically higher and EPR > 10 eggs female(-1) day(-1) lasted longer than that in offshore water, showing the importance of nearshore water for recruitment of R parvus. Our study showed that EPR was positively related to temperature and total chlorophyll a in offshore water and mouth of the bay. In nearshore water, the relationships between EPR and temperature and Chl-a in three size fractions were not the same as those in offshore water, suggesting complicated ecosystem in such a eutrophic area in warming period. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laboratory Simulation Of Chemical Processes Induced By Estuarine Mixing - The Behavior Of Iron And Phosphate In Estuaries

A series of well stirred tank reactors has been shown to provide an adaptable laboratory analogue of a one-dimensional estuarine mixing profile which can be applied dynamically to the study of the chemistry of estuarine mixing. Simulations of the behaviour of iron and phosphate in the low salinity region of an estuary have been achieved with this system. The well documented general features of iron removal, involving rapid aggregation of river-borne colloids, were reproduced. Phosphate removal is attributable in part to the coagulation process, although specific adsorption of phosphate by colloids also appears to be significant.