Analysis of characteristics of time-frequency correlations between runoff,tidal range and salinity in the Changjiang Estuary

Power spectrum and cross-wavelet transform analysis was adopted to study the time-frequency characteristics and multiscale correlations between runoff,tidal range and salinity in the Changjiang Estuary based on the runoff data collected at the Datong Station,the tidal range measured at the Baozhen Station,and the salinity at the Baogang Station from 2008 to 2009.The variations of the salinity showed significant periodicity at scales of 2-3,7-8,14-15 and 26-30 d.The correlation between the salinity and the runoff and the tidal range were found to be significantly related to shock at scales of 5-7,14-15,26-30 d and 0.5 a.The correlation between the runoff and the salinity was mainly in the same phase,while the correlation between the tidal range and the salinity was in the antiphase.Different frequency bands were related to different degrees,and their relevance increased as the resonance frequency decreased.In addition,changes of the seasonal runoff were obvious.Specifically,a point of discontinuity was reached in early June with a cycle of 7-8 d,which coincided with the periodicity of plum rains in the Changjiang-Huaihe region.High-frequency changes （8-16 d period） of the salinity corresponded to the time domain in January-April 2008,February-April 2009 and October-December 2009 and exhibited an approximately 0.5 a （184 d） long frequency oscillation.Short-period changes were found to be stronger than long-period changes.Cross-wavelet transforms for the salinity,the runoff and the tidal range revealed local features in the time domain,while the significant levels of different periodic oscillations were observed in the frequency domain.The correlation characteristics of the salinity and the runoff were significant in the 80-90 d frequency domain,indicating that the major impact of the runoff on the salinity was reflected in seasonal changes.The tidal range on the small scale of 14-15 and 30-32 d was more obvious than the runoff.

The Influence of Key Environmental Variables on Phytoplankton Community Structure in the Estuary of Tidal Rivers Around Luoyuan Bay,China

A total of 348 species belonging to 8 phyla and 125 genera were observed in seasonally sampled phytoplankton of tidal rivers from 13 sampling sites around Luoyuan Bay, and all field samplings were carried out in productive period(March/June/August/December) at ebb tide. Bacillariophyta species were the most abundant species, followed by Chlorophyta, Cyanophytes, Euglenophyta, Cryptophyta, Dinophyta, Xanthophyta and Chrysophytas. Seasonal distribution index(SDI) value ranged from 0.63 to 0.86, which meant that species found at those sites in 4 seasons tended to be largely different. Phytoplankton individuals ranged from 5.939×10~4 ind L^(-1) in winter to 75.31×10~4 ind L^(-1) in autumn. Phytoplankton biomass ranged from 0.620 mg L^(-1) in summer to 2.373 mg L^(-1) in autumn. The grey correlation analysis(GCA) showed that the nutrient variables played an important role in the influence on phytoplankton community in every season. The canonical correspondence analysis(CCA) revealed impact of environmental variables on the different species, most of Bacillariophyta species were negative correlation with nutrients(TP and NH_3-N) in the four seasons, Chlorophyta species and Cyanophyta species did not show obvious correlation with environment variables in every season. The combination of GRA analysis and CCA analysis provided a method to quantitatively reveal the correlation between phytoplankton community and environmental variables in water body of tidal rivers at this region.

Marine Renewable Energy Seascape

Energy production based on fossil fuel reserves is largely responsible for carbon emissions, and hence global warming. The planet needs concerted action to reduce fossil fuel usage and to implement carbon mitigation measures. Ocean energy has huge potential, but there are major interdisciplinary problems to be overcome regarding technology, cost reduction, investment, environmental impact, governance, and so forth. This article briefly reviews ocean energy production from offshore wind, tidal stream, ocean current, tidal range, wave, thermal, salinity gradients, and biomass sources. Future areas of research and development are outlined that could make exploitation of the marine renewable energy （MRE） seascape a viable proposition; these areas include energy storage, advanced materials, robotics, and informatics. The article concludes with a sustainability perspective on the MRE seascape encompassing ethics, leg- islation, the regulatory environment, governance and consenting, economic, social, and environmental constraints. A new generation of engineers is needed with the ingenuity and spirit of adventure to meet the global challenge posed by MRE.

Impact of seasonal tide variation on saltwater intrusion in the Changjiang River estuary

An improved 3-D ECOM-si model was used to study the impact of seasonal tide variation on saltwater intrusion into the Changjiang River estuary, especially at the bifurcation of the North Branch （NB） and the South Branch （SB）. The study assumes that the fiver discharge and wind are constant. The model successfully reproduced the saltwater intrusion. During spring tide, there is water and salt spillover （WSO and SSO） from the NB into the SB, and tidally averaged （net） water and salt fluxes are 985 m3/s and 24.8 ton/s, respectively. During neap tide, the WSO disappears and its net water flux is 122 m3/s. Meanwhile, the SSO continues, with net salt flux of 1.01 ton/s, much smaller than during spring tide. Because the tidal range during spring tide is smaller in June than in March, overall saltwater intrusion is weaker in June than in March during that tidal period. However, the WSO and SSO still exist in June. Net water and salt fluxes in that month are 622 m3/s and 15.35 ton/s, respectively, decreasing by 363 m3/s and 9.45 ton/s over those in March. Because tidal range during neap tide is greater in June than in March, saltwater intrusion in June is stronger than in March during that tidal period. The WSO and SSO appear in June, with net water and salt fluxes of 280 m3/s and 8.55 ton/s, respectively, increasing by 402 m3/s and 7.54 ton/s over those in March. Saltwater intrusion in the estuary is controlled by the fiver discharge, semi-diurnal flood-ebb tide, semi-monthly spring or neap tide, and seasonal tide variation.

Beach morphodynamic characteristics and classifications on the straight coastal sectors in the west Guangdong

Currently beach morphodynamic classification is the most important foundation to conduct associated coastal geomorphological studies.This paper carried out beach morphodynamic classifications for 12 straight beaches on headland-bay coasts based on field survey and evaluated the applicability of the most widely used dimensional fall velocity parameter(Ω)and relative tidal range parameter(RTR).One reflective,five intermediate and six non-barred dissipative beaches were visually classified and sand size seemed to be a key factor to differentiate these beaches.The studied beaches were in relatively low wave energy environments(Hs<1 m)and the absolute deep-water wave energy level of P0=3 KWm-1 was supposed to a critical threshold to characterize the applicability of theΩand RTR parameters.These two morphodynamic parameters were applicable for the beaches with P0>3 KWm-1 and MSR<2 m.It was found that the model of the traditional winter-and-summer profiles was not applicable in the study area in despite of distinct wave seasonality.The studied beaches were more possible to hover around a limited range due to relatively low background wave environments and variability without considering typhoon impacts,which needs further research on actual breaker wave conditions and beach morphodynamic type responses to typhoon events.