Spartina alterniflora Loisel, a species vegetating in intertidal flats along the eastern coast of the United States, was introduced in China almost 30 years ago and has become an urgent topic due to its invasiveness i...Spartina alterniflora Loisel, a species vegetating in intertidal flats along the eastern coast of the United States, was introduced in China almost 30 years ago and has become an urgent topic due to its invasiveness in the coastal zone of China. The impacts of this alien species S. alterniflora on intertidal ecosystem processes in the Jiangsu coastland were investigated by comparing the sediment nutrient availability and trace element concentration characteristics in a mud flat and those of a four-year old Spartina salt marsh that had earlier been a mudflat. At each study site, fifteen plots were sampled in different seasons to determine the sediment characteristics along the tidal flats. The results suggested that Spartina salt marsh sediments had significantly higher total N, available P, and water content, but lower pH and bulk density than mudflat sediments. Sediment salinity, water content, total N, organic C, and available P decreased along a seaward gradient in the Spartina salt marsh and increased with vegetation biomass. Furthermore, the concentrations of trace elements and some metal elements in the sediment were higher under Spartina although these increases were not significant. Also, in the Spartina marsh, some heavy metals were concentrated in the surface layer of the sediment. The Spartina salt marsh in this study was only four years old; therefore, it is suggested that further study of this allen species on a longer time frame in the Jiangsu coastland should be carried out.展开更多
In situ observations and numerical simulations of turbulence are essential to understanding vertical mixing processes and their dynamical controls on both physical and biogeochemical processes in coastal embayments. U...In situ observations and numerical simulations of turbulence are essential to understanding vertical mixing processes and their dynamical controls on both physical and biogeochemical processes in coastal embayments. Using in situ data collected by bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers(ADCPs) and a free-falling microstructure profiler, as well as numerical simulations with a second-moment turbulence closure model, we studied turbulence and mixing in the Xiamen Bay, a freshwater-influenced tidal bay located at the west coast of the Taiwan Strait. Dynamically, the bay is driven predominantly by the M2 tide, and it is under a significant influence of the freshwater discharged from the Jiulong River. It is found that turbulence quantities such as the production and dissipation rates of the turbulent kinetic energy(TKE) were all subject to significant tidal variations, with a pronounced ebb-flood asymmetry. Turbulence was stronger during flood than ebb. During the flooding period, the whole water column was nearly well mixed with the depth-averaged TKE production rate and vertical eddy viscosity being up to 5?10?6 W kg?1 and 2?10?2 m2 s?1, respectively. In contrast, during the ebb strong turbulence was confined only to a 5?8 m thick bottom boundary layer, where turbulence intensity generally decreases with distance from the seafloor. Diagnosis of the potential energy anomaly showed that the ebb-flood asymmetry in turbulent dissipation and mixing was due mainly to tidal straining process as a result of the interaction between vertically shared tidal currents and horizontal density gradients. The role of vertical mixing in generating the asymmetry was secondary. A direct comparison of the modeled and observed turbulence quantities confirmed the applicability of the second-moment turbulence closure scheme in modeling turbulent processes in this weakly stratified tidally energetic environment, but also pointed out the necessity of further refinements of the model.展开更多
基金Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No.JSNSF 20050307)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.NSFC 30470326).
文摘Spartina alterniflora Loisel, a species vegetating in intertidal flats along the eastern coast of the United States, was introduced in China almost 30 years ago and has become an urgent topic due to its invasiveness in the coastal zone of China. The impacts of this alien species S. alterniflora on intertidal ecosystem processes in the Jiangsu coastland were investigated by comparing the sediment nutrient availability and trace element concentration characteristics in a mud flat and those of a four-year old Spartina salt marsh that had earlier been a mudflat. At each study site, fifteen plots were sampled in different seasons to determine the sediment characteristics along the tidal flats. The results suggested that Spartina salt marsh sediments had significantly higher total N, available P, and water content, but lower pH and bulk density than mudflat sediments. Sediment salinity, water content, total N, organic C, and available P decreased along a seaward gradient in the Spartina salt marsh and increased with vegetation biomass. Furthermore, the concentrations of trace elements and some metal elements in the sediment were higher under Spartina although these increases were not significant. Also, in the Spartina marsh, some heavy metals were concentrated in the surface layer of the sediment. The Spartina salt marsh in this study was only four years old; therefore, it is suggested that further study of this allen species on a longer time frame in the Jiangsu coastland should be carried out.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41006017,41476006)the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China(Grant No.2015J06010)
文摘In situ observations and numerical simulations of turbulence are essential to understanding vertical mixing processes and their dynamical controls on both physical and biogeochemical processes in coastal embayments. Using in situ data collected by bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers(ADCPs) and a free-falling microstructure profiler, as well as numerical simulations with a second-moment turbulence closure model, we studied turbulence and mixing in the Xiamen Bay, a freshwater-influenced tidal bay located at the west coast of the Taiwan Strait. Dynamically, the bay is driven predominantly by the M2 tide, and it is under a significant influence of the freshwater discharged from the Jiulong River. It is found that turbulence quantities such as the production and dissipation rates of the turbulent kinetic energy(TKE) were all subject to significant tidal variations, with a pronounced ebb-flood asymmetry. Turbulence was stronger during flood than ebb. During the flooding period, the whole water column was nearly well mixed with the depth-averaged TKE production rate and vertical eddy viscosity being up to 5?10?6 W kg?1 and 2?10?2 m2 s?1, respectively. In contrast, during the ebb strong turbulence was confined only to a 5?8 m thick bottom boundary layer, where turbulence intensity generally decreases with distance from the seafloor. Diagnosis of the potential energy anomaly showed that the ebb-flood asymmetry in turbulent dissipation and mixing was due mainly to tidal straining process as a result of the interaction between vertically shared tidal currents and horizontal density gradients. The role of vertical mixing in generating the asymmetry was secondary. A direct comparison of the modeled and observed turbulence quantities confirmed the applicability of the second-moment turbulence closure scheme in modeling turbulent processes in this weakly stratified tidally energetic environment, but also pointed out the necessity of further refinements of the model.
