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River Plume (river + plume)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Earth and Environmental Science	50%

Selected Abstracts

Growth and movement patterns of early juvenile European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) in the Bay of Biscay based on otolith microstructure and chemistry

FISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2010
NAROA ALDANONDO
Abstract Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain the mechanisms in the Bay of Biscay that result in a good recruitment of European anchovy. Anchovy larvae from the spawning area in the Gironde River plume are advected towards off-shelf waters, where juveniles are commonly observed. Otolith microstructural and chemical analysis were combined to assess the importance of this off-shelf transport and to determine the relative contribution of these areas for anchovy survival. Chemical analysis of otoliths showed that anchovy juveniles in the Bay of Biscay can be divided into two groups: a group that drifts towards off-shelf waters early in their life and returns later, and a group that remains in the low salinity waters of the coastal area. The first group presents significantly faster growth rates (0.88 mm day,1) than those remaining in the coastal waters (0.32 mm day,1). This may be due to off-shelf waters being warmer in spring/summer, and to the fact that the lower food concentration is compensated for by higher prey visibility. Furthermore, the group of juveniles that drifted off the spawning area and had faster growth rates represents 99% of the juvenile population. These findings support the hypothesis that anchovy in the Bay of Biscay may use off-shelf waters as a spatio-temporal loophole, suggesting that transport off the shelf may be favourable for recruitment. [source]

The dispersal processes within the tide-modulated Changjiang River plume, China

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 12 2007
Li-Feng Lu
Abstract The dispersal processes of the tide-modulated Changjiang River plume, China, are studied by using a three-dimensional hydrodynamical module of the COHERENS (A COupled Hydrodynamical,Ecological model for REgional and Shelf Seas). The model is driven by the river discharge and the M2 tidal constituent. Modelled results show: (1) the fresh water, which forms the Changjiang River plume expanding southeastwards, is discharged mostly into the North Channel, the North Passage, and the South Passage; (2) the larger horizontal gradient outside the North Channel and the North Passage forms a strong plume front; (3) the Changjiang River plume is homogeneous vertically, and dispersing gradually within the computational domain, with an averaged propagating rate of 3.38,km/day, while the plume front is surface-to-bottom type, and trapped between ,10 and ,18m isobaths; and (4) both the plume length and the plume front intensity vary periodically. The maximum plume length occurs about 2,h after low slack water and the minimum plume length during high slack water. The maximum plume front intensity occurs during high slack water and the minimum plume front intensity during low slack water. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Late Holocene dispersal and accumulation of terrigenous sediment on Poverty Shelf, New Zealand

BASIN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009
A. J. Kettner
ABSTRACT We use coupled numerical models (HydroTrend and SedFlux) to investigate the dispersal and accumulation of sediment on Poverty Shelf, North Island, New Zealand, during the past 3 kyr. In this timeframe, we estimate that the Waipaoa River system delivered ,10 Gt of sediment to Poverty Shelf, 5,10% of which was transported to the outer shelf and continental slope. The domain of the two-dimensional model (SedFlux) is representative of a 30 km traverse across the shelf. Comparing the model output with seismic reflection data and a core obtained from the middle shelf shows that, without extensively modifying the governing equations or imposing unrealistic conditions on the model domain, it is possible to replicate the geometry, grain size and accumulation rate of the late Holocene mud deposit. The replicate depositional record responds to naturally and anthropogenically induced vegetation disturbance, as well as to storms forced by long-period climatic events simulated entirely within the model domain. The model output also suggests that long-term fluctuations in the amount and caliber of river sediment discharge, promoted by wholesale changes in the catchment environment, may be translated directly to the shelf depositional record, whereas short-term fluctuations conditioned by event magnitude and frequency are not. Thus on Poverty Shelf, as well as in depocenters on other active continental margins which retain a much smaller proportion of the terrigeneous sediment delivered to them, flood-generated event beds are not commonplace features in the high-resolution sedimentary record. This is because the shelf sedimentary record is influenced more by the energy available to the coastal ocean which helps keep the sediment in suspension and facilitates its dispersal, than by basin hydrometeorology which determines the turbidity and velocity of the river plume. [source]