Tetrabromobisphenol A and hexabromocyclododecane in sediments from the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary and South China Sea

Marine sediments collected from the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary(ZRE) and South China Sea(SCS) were utilized to study the occurrence and spatial distribution of tetrabromobisphenol A(TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecane(HBCDD).The levels of TBBPA and HBCDD in sediments ranged from not detected(nd) to 6.14 ng/g dry weight(dw) and nd to 0.42 ng/g dw.TBBPA concentrations in marine sediments were substantially higher than HBCDD.The concentrations of TBBPA and HBCDD in the ZRE sediments were significantly greater than those in the SCS.α-HBCDD(48.7%) and γ-HBCDD(46.2%) were the two main diastereoisomers of HBCDD in sediments from the ZRE,with minor contribution of β-HBCDD(5.1%).HBCDD were only found in one sample from the northern SCS.The enantiomeric fraction of α-HBCDD in sediments from the ZRE was obviously greater than 0.5,indicating an accumulation of(+)-α-HBCDD.The enantiomers of HBCDD were not measured in sediments from the SCS.This work highlighted the environmental behaviors of TBBPA and HBCDD in marine sediments.

Dynamics of Coastal Land Use Patterns of Inner Lingdingyang Bay in the Zhujiang River Estuary

To satisfy the growing of land demand from economic development,a large scale of land reclamation from sea has been carried out in Inner Lingdingyang Bay in the Zhujiang(Pearl)River estuary in recent years.As a result,the tidal flat and the water channels became narrow,the frequency of floods increased,and the environment was un-dermined.Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey(GMGS)conducted an integrated project for marine geo-environ-ment and geo-hazards survey in 2003.With the integration of multi-temporal remote sensing images of 1977,1978,1988,1996,and 2003,GIS spatial analyzing approach and GPS technique,as well as field data and other background data of the region,this research investigated the comprehensive characteristics and the drivers of coastal land use dy-namics and shoreline changes in Inner Lingdingyang Bay.The results reveal that the reclaimed coastal land was mainly for agriculture and aquaculture in early years,but now they are used for construction sites of harbors and in-dustries,especially high-tech industry.

Migration patterns and habitat use of the tapertail anchovy Coilia mystus in the Oujiang River Estuary and the Zhujiang River Estuary, China

Habitat use of the tapertail anchovy(Coilia mystus Linnaeus, 1758) from the Oujiang River Estuary and the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary was studied by examining the environmental signatures of Sr and Ca in otoliths using electron probe microanalysis. Individuals from the Oujiang River had higher and varied Sr:Ca ratios(expressed as(Sr:Ca)×1 000, 3.83–13.0 average) in the otolith core regions, suggesting that they were born in brackish or sea waters, and that a freshwater habitat might not be necessary for egg hatching and larval growth.While, individuals from the Zhujiang River had lower Sr:Ca ratios(0.39–2.51 average) in the core regions,suggesting a freshwater origin. After hatching, anchovies from the Zhujiang River migrate downstream to the river estuary close to brackish water. Our results demonstrated varied habitat use for spawning during stages of early life history between the two populations, and suggested that such variations are promoting diversity of life history strategies of this species.

Chemometric study of spatial variations of environmental and ecological characteristics in the Zhujiang River (Pearl River) Estuary and adjacent waters

Chemometric approach based on principal component analysis（PCA） was utilized to examine the spatial variances of environmental and ecological characteristics in the Zhujiang River（Pearl River） Estuary and adjacent waters（ZREAW） in the South China Sea. The PCA result shows that the ZREAW can be divided into different zones according to the principal components and geographical locations of the study stations,and indicates that there are distinct regional variances on environmental features and the corresponding phytoplankton biomass and community structures among different areas. The spatial distribution of ecological features was implied to be influenced by various degrees of the different water resources,such as the Pearl River discharges,the coastal current and the oceanic water from the South China Sea. The variation of the biomass maximum zone and the complex impacts on the spatial distributions of phytoplankton biomass and production were also evaluated.

Modeling of suspended sediment by coupled wave-current model in the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary

A three-dimensional wave-current-sediment coupled numerical model is developed to understand the sediment transport dynamics in the Zhujiang(Pearl)River Estuary(ZRE),China.The model results are in good agreement with observed data,and statistics show good model skill scores.Numerical studies are conducted to assess the scenarios of suspended sediment in the ZRE under the effects of different forcing(river discharges,waves,and winds).The model results indicate that the estuarine gravitational circulation plays an important role in the development of estuarine turbidity maximum in the ZRE,particularly during neap tides.The increased river discharge can result in a seaward sediment transport.The suspended sediment concentration(SSC)in the bottom increases with both wave bottom orbital velocity and wave height.Because of the shallow water depth,the effect of waves on sediment in the west shoal is greater than that in the east channel.The southwesterly wind-induced wave affects the SSC more than those resulting from the northeasterly wind,while the northeasterly wind-driven circulation has a slightly greater influence on the SSC than that of the southwesterly wind.However,a steady southwesterly wind condition favors the increase of the SSC in the Lingding Bay more so than a steady northeasterly wind condition.If the other forcings are same,the averaged SSC under a steady southwesterly wind condition is about 1.1 times that resulting from a steady northeasterly wind.

A model study of influence of circulation on the pollutant transport in the Zhujiang River Estuary and adjacent coastal waters

A tracer model with random diffusion coupled to the hydrodynamic model for the Zhujiang River Estuary (Pearl River Estuary, PRE) is to examine the effect of circulations on the transport of completely conservative pollutants. It is focused on answering the following questions: (1) What role does the estuarine plume front in the winter play in affecting the pollutants transport and its distribution in the PRE ? (2) What effect do the coastal currents driven by the monsoon have on the pollutants transport? The tracer experiment results show that: (1) the pollutant transport paths strongly depend on the circulation structures and plume frontal dynamics of the PRE and coastal waters; (2) during the summer when a southwesterly monsoon prevails, the pollutants from the four easterly river inlets and those from the bottom layer of offshore stations will greatly influence the water quality in Hong Kong waters, however, the pollutants released from the four westerly river-inlets will seldom affect the water qual

Nitrous oxide concentration and nitrification and denitrification in Zhujiang River Estuary,China

The concentrations of nitrous oxide varies between 57 and 329 nmol/dm3, saturation is 674%～4 134% in the Zhujiang River Estuary. This suggests that the area is an emissive source of nitrous oxide. The acetylene inhibition technique is employed to evaluate the rates of nitrification, denitrification and nitrate reduction by bacterial activities in the sediments at three sites. The average of nitrification, denitrification and nitrate reduction rates ranges from 0.32 to 2.43, 0.03 to 0.84 and 4.17 to 13.06 mmol/(m2·h), respectively. The ver- tical profiles of the sediments show that the nitrification and denitrification processes mainly take place in the depth from 0 to 4 cm and depend on regional conditions. The rates of nitrification, denitrification and nitrate reduction are dominated by Eh, nitrate and ammoni- um concentrations in sediments and DO in overlay water. There is a coupling between nitrification and denitrification.

Variation of reactivity of particulate and sedimentary organic matter along the Zhujiang River Estuary

To investigate organic matter source and reactivity in the Zhujiang River (Pearl River) Estuary and its adjacent areas, particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate hydrolysable amino acids (PHAA), and Chl a during two cruises in July 1999 and July 2000 were measured. The highest POC and PHAA concentration was observed in the waters with maximum Chl a. The spectra distribution, relative content (dry weight in milligram per gram), PHAA-C% POC and other indicators such as the ratios of amino acids vs. amino sugars (AA/AS) and glucosamine vs. galactosamine (Glum/Gal) suggested that particulate amino acids in the water column and sediments in the Zhujiang River Estuary were mainly derived from biogenic processes rather than transported from terrestrial erosion. In inner estuary where high turbidity was often observable, organic matter was mainly contributed by re-suspension of bottom sediments with revealed zooplankton, microbial reworked characteristics, which suggest that these organic matters were relatively 'old'. In the estuarine brackish region, organic matter in water column is mainly contributed by relatively fresh, easily degradable phytoplankton derived organic matter. During physical - biological processes within the eastuary, organic matter derived from phytoplankton was subjected to alteration by zooplankton grazing and bacterial reworking.

Effect of river plume on phytoplankton community structure in Zhujiang River estuary

To examine the phytoplankton assemblages and the effect of diluted waters on them,a research cruise was conducted from July 19 to August 7,2015 in the Zhujiang(Pearl)River estuary in the northern South China Sea(21°N–23.5°N,111°E–117°E).Samples were collected from 65 stations including one for time-series sampling.A total of 212 phytoplankton taxa were identified from 61 genera belonging to 4 phyla.Among them,122 species identified from 42 genera of Bacillariophyta and 83 species from 15 genera of Pyrrophyta.Chain-forming diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community where Pseudonitzschia delicatissima,Guinardia striata,Thalassionema nitzschioides,and P.pungens comprised about 52%of the total abundance.However,higher cell abundances concentrated on both sides of the estuary,because of low salinity and high nutrients brought by diluted water.In addition,Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed that salinity and dissolved inorganic nitrogen shaped the species composition in the study area.Furthermore,the Jaccard similarity index showed prevailing high similarity in the distribution of species in low-salinity diluted waters,and the Bray-Curtis similarity depicted distinguished grouping for phytoplankton assemblages along the salinity gradient.However,phytoplankton diel vertical cycles showed maximum abundance occurred at 2:00 am,which was mainly contributed by benthic phytoplankton species Pseudo-nitzschia spp.and T.nitzschioides.

Estimation of total suspended matter in the Zhujiang (Pearl) River estuary from Hyperion imagery

Although remote sensing data have been used to estimate total suspended matter （TSM） in coastal waters, it has limitations when applied to estuary waters in low spatial resolution situations. The spatial resolution of ocean color satellites such as SeaWiFS and MODIS is usually -1 km, and therefore is not adequate for small, local-scale areas such as the Zhujiang （Pearl） River estuary. In contrast, 30 m-resolution EO-1 Hyperion imagery has potential for studying TSM in localized areas. We measured the surface spectral radiance reflectance of the river estuary water in the visible and near infra-red spectral range. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the ratio of remote sensing reflectance at 813 nm （Rrs（813）） to reflectance at 559 nm （Rrs（559）） could be used to estimate TSM concentration, and a linear relationship was established between the ratio and in-situ TSM concentration. We applied the linear relationship to Hyperion imagery to map TSM concentration in the estuary. The Hyperion imagery provided sufficient spatial resolution to detect spatiotemporal changes in TSM concentrations in the estuary small estuary area. This study demonstrated the usefulness of Hyperion imagery for mapping the distribution of TSM in estuary waters. Keyword： Hyperion; total suspended matter （TSM）; Zhujiang （Pearl） River estuary

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE DISSOLVED AND COLLOIDAL ORGANIC CARBON IN THE ZHUJIANG RIVER ESTUARY

This paper reports data on the dissolved and colloidal organic carbon in the Zhujiang (Pearl) River estuary. DOC concentration was 142 to 239 μmol/L in the freshwater taken in March 1997 from the four Zhujiang River tributaries flowing into the Lingdingyang estuary. High concentration was observed in the Humen tributary located near Guangzhou. The rapidly increased DOC concentration at low salinities (～5) may be attributed to the exchange between macroparticulate and dissolved organic matter during the early stage of estuarine mixing. DOC concentration overall followed the mixing line until salinity 25, where the Deep Bay is located and where DOC was elevated. This elevated DOC may suggest a local organic matter source from Shenzhen. Using a cross-flow ultrafiltration (CFF) system equipped with a Millipore Prep-scale CFF 1 kD regenerated cellulose membrane, we also separated the colloidal organic matter from the truly dissolved fraction (<1 kD). CFF membranes were carefully evaluated for their applicability (retention characteristics, blank level and mass balance) to separate colloidal organic matter. COC in the study area ranged from 5 to 85 μmol/L, representing 3%–32% of DOC. The highest COC percentage was found at low salinities (<5) in both winter and summer. Evidence suggests in-situ production of colloidal material at this salinity range. Beyond this point, a very modest removal was observable until high salinities. Again, an increase in COC concentration was shown in the samples taken from the Deep Bay. Key words dissolved organic carbon - colloidal organic carbon - Zhujiang River estuary This work was supported by European Commission under contract CI1*-CT94-0136.

The influence of runoff and wind on the dispersion patterns of suspended sediment in the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary based on MODIS data

Cloud-free moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS) images of the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary(ZRE) taken between 2002 and 2012 are retrieved and used to study the spatial and temporal patterns of suspended sediment concentrations(SSCs) across the estuary under runoff, wind, and tropical storm conditions.Five typical dispersal patterns of suspended sediments in the estuary are defined: Case I shows generally low SSCs under low dynamics; Case Ⅱ shows a river-dominant dispersal pattern of suspended sediments from the outlets,particularly from Modaomen, Jiaomen, Hengmen, and others; Case Ⅲ shows wind-dominant dispersal of high SSCs derived from the west shoal and southwesterly transport under a strong NE wind; Case IV is the combination of relatively large runoff and wind; and Case V is caused by a strong tropical storm with high river discharge and wind, which is characterized by the high SSCs across the entire estuary that are transported eastward by winddriven and buoyancy currents outside the estuary. Runoff is a dominant factor that controls seasonal and annual SSC variations in the ZRE, with the area of high SSCs being largest in the summer and smallest in the spring. The correlation coefficients between the monthly averaged river-suspended sediment discharge and the area of the high SSCs are approximately 0.6. The wind power over the west shoal increases with a wind speed, which induces more sediment resuspension and shows a close relationship between the wind speed and high SSC area.

Modeling transportation of suspended solids in Zhujiang River estuary, South China

A three-dimensional transportation model for suspended solids (SS) in Zhujiang (Pearl) River estuary, South China, was developed by coupling with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The model was validated using hourly measured data of sediment contents during 25–26, July 1999. The results showed that modeled contents matched well with measured ones and that the modeled top layer distribution agreed with the remotely sensed image of suspended solids in summer. The modeled results showed clearly the layers of sus- pended solids in depth, with larger sediment contents in lower layers though in the interface between salt water and freshwater the lowest contents appeared in middle layer. In overall, the suspended solids inflow from 8 rivers, transport southwestward, and carried by strong coastal flow in Zhujiang River estuary. Contours of sediment contents in the estuary spread further to the open sea during ebb tide rather than flood tide which reflects that the suspended solids in the estuary are land sourced.

Turbidity maximum formation and its seasonal variations in the Zhujiang(Pearl River)Estuary,southern China

Real-time observations in the field and numerical simulations（with Delft3D） were combined to study the formation, distribution and the relevant influencing factors of turbidity maximum（TM） in the Zhujiang（Pearl River） Estuary（ZE）. The spatial distribution pattern of the TM varies with the longitudinal distributions of salinity and suspended sediment concentration（SSC）. The SSC is enhanced and the TM is intensified during dry seasons,whereas the center of the TM moves upstream by a distance of 10 km during wet seasons. The formation of the TM is influenced by a complex combination of numerous factors, including tides, river discharges and topography, wherein sediment resuspension and vertical circulation dominate the formations and variability of the TM.

A dinoflagellate Cochlodinium geminatum bloom in the Zhujiang (Pearl) River estuary in autumn 2009

A severe Cochlodinium geminatum red tide (>300 km2) was observed in the Zhujiang (Pearl) River estuary, South China Sea in autumn 2009. We evaluated the environmental conditions and phytoplankton community structure during the outbreak. The red tide water mass had significantly higher dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP), ammonia, and temperature, but significantly lower nitrite, nitrate, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and DIN/DIP relative to the non-red-tide zones. The phytoplankton assemblage was dominated by dinoflagellates and diatoms during the red tide. C. geminatum was the most abundant species, with a peak density of 4.13×107 cell/L, accounting for >65% of the total phytoplankton density. The DIN/DIP ratio was the most important predictor of species, accounting for 12.45% of the total variation in the phytoplankton community. Heavy phosphorus loading, low precipitation, and severe saline intrusion were likely responsible for the bloom of C. geminatum.

Analysis of temperature inversion in the Zhujiang River Estuaryin July 2015

This study investigates the temperature inversion phenomenon in the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary(ZRE) using hydrological data collected in a summer cruise during July 6–17, 2015. The results suggest that temperature inversion occurred primarily near the salinity front, with an average temperature difference(ΔT) of 0.42°C between the inversion layer and the underlying water. The inversion layer was approximately 4 m thick on average, with an upper boundary at a depth of 1–6 m and a lower boundary at a depth of 3–10 m. Different mechanisms and dynamic processes were responsible for temperature inversion in different parts of the study area.(1) At the salinity front in the west of the ZRE, the measurements collected by CTD(conductivity,temperature, and depth) showed that the low-salinity water mass on the inner side of the front was approximately2°C cooler than the high-salinity water mass on the outer side. Temperature inversion occurred when the cooler low-salinity water overlapped the warmer high-salinity water near the front due to the driving force of the background flow.(2) Inversion layers occurred at the mouth of the Taiping waterway as a result of varying horizontal flow between two different water masses under the effects of tides and runoff.(3) To the southwest of Hong Kong, temperature inversion occurred due to the interaction of upwelling and the salinity front.

Fluxes of riverine nutrient to the Zhujiang River Estuary and its potential eutrophication effect

The Zhujiang River Estuary is becoming eutrophic due to the impact of anthropogenic activities in the past decades.To understand nutrient dynamics and fluxes to the Lingdingyang water via four outlets(Humen,Jiaomen,Hongqimen and Hengmen),we investigated the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of dissolved nutrients in the Zhujiang River Estuary,based on fourteen cruises conducted from March 2015 to October 2017,covering both wet(April to September)and dry(October to March next year)seasons.Our results showed that riverine fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN)and dissolved silicate(DSi)into the Lingdingyang water through four outlets varied seasonally due to the influence of river discharge,with the highest in spring and the lowest in winter.However,riverine flux of phosphate exhibited little significant seasonal variability.Riverine nutrients into the Lingdingyang water most resulted through Humen Outlet.The estuarine export fluxes of DIN out of the Zhujiang River Estuary derived from a box model were higher than fluxes of riverine nutrients in May,likely due to the influence of local sewage,while lower than riverine flux in August.The export fluxes of phosphate were higher than the fluxes of riverine phosphate in May and August.In contrast,large amounts of DSi were buried in the estuary in May and August.Although excess DIN was delivered into the Zhujiang River Estuary,eutrophication effect was not as severe as expected in the Zhujiang River Estuary,since the light limitation restricted the utilization of nutrients by phytoplankton.

Comparison of copper speciation in the Zhujiang River Estuary between summer and winter: implication for upwelling current

The contents of total copper, total dissolved copper, particulate copper, and free ion copper in the Zhujiang River Estuary were investigated in July 2002 and January 2003 respectively, and the spatial distribution trend of these species of copper were compared in two cruises. It was found that, in summer, the total copper content in the Zhujiang River Estuary increased with salinity, while the content office ion copper decreased with salinity. However, in winter, the contents of total copper and free ion copper both decreased with salinity. So, it could be concluded that, copper content and speciation in the Zhujiang River Estuary were regulated by other factors than runoffdiffusion such as upwelling current. In order to prove the spatial trend of rice ion copper content in the Zhujiang River Estuary, the cultivation of Dunaliella tertiolecta in waters obtained from sampling stations with different salinities was carried out, and the copper uptake by algae cells was measured then. It was found that, the cells＇ uptake of copper increased with rice ion copper, not the content of total copper.

The dynamic observation of dissolved organic matter in the Zhujiang(Pearl River)Estuary in China from space

The distributions of estuarine colored dissolved organic matter（CDOM）are the combined results of physicalbiogeochemical processes.Remote sensing is needed to monitor highly dynamically estuarine CDOM.Using in situ data from four seasonal cruises,an algorithm is developed to estimate CDOM absorption coefficient at 400nm（aCDOM（400））in the Zhujiang（Pearl River）Estuary（ZJE）.The algorithm uses band ratios of Rrs（667）/Rrs（443）and Rrs（748）/Rrs（412）.By applying it to moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer onboard Aqua satellite（MODIS/Aqua）data from 2002 to 2014,seasonal climatology aCDOM（400）in the ZJE is calculated.CDOM distributions are majorly influenced by water discharge from the Zhujiang River and underwater topography.Along the section vertical to a water depth gradient,the seasonal aCDOM（400）exponentially decreased（y=aebx,b〈0）,but with great differences among seasons.Riverine fresh water is the primary source of CDOM in the ZJE.Fulvic acid fraction decreases with increasing salinity.Using developed algorithms,conservative CDOM mixing equation,and river discharge,effective riverine end-member concentration and flux of dissolved organic carbon（DOC）in summer and winter from 2002 to 2014 are first estimated from the MODIS/Aqua data.Both effective riverine end-member DOC concentration and flux are positively related to the river discharge,significantly in summer with R-2 of 0.698 for concentration and 0.965 7 for flux.

Radium isotopes assess water mixing processes and its application in the Zhujiang River estuary

Radium （Ra） isotopes are useful for tracing water mass transport and examining estuarine hydrological dynamics. In this study, several hydrological parameters, nutrients, ehlorophyll-a （ehl-a）, suspended particulate matter （SPM） and Ra isotopes （223Ra, 224Ra and 226Ra） of surface waters of the Zhujiang （Pearl） River estuary （ZRE） were measured. This was done for both winter （December） and summer （July） seasons, to quantitatively understand the seasonal characteristics of river plume flow rate and trajectories, as well as the ecological response. The results show that Ra concentrations in summer were higher than in winter, especially Z24Ra （about 2-5 times higher）. The spatial distribution of three Ra isotopes and relative Ra water ages indicated that river water mainly flushed out of ZRE through the western side in winter, where the water transport was about 5 days faster than in the eastern zone. In summer, diluted river water expended to the east side, resulting in fairly similar water ages for both sides of the river mouth. Although nutrients were higher during the summer season, lower chl-a concentrations indicated that reduced primary production might be caused by high SPM （low light penetration）. The results obtained from this study will provide knowledge needed for effectively developing and managing the ZRE.