Oceanography Commons^™

Seasonal Controls On Nearshore Hypoxia In A Small Coastal Embayment, Stephen Alexander Huie

Physics

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important biogeochemical factor that strongly influences nearshore coastal ecosystems. Low DO (hypoxic) events can cause physiological stressful environments for ecological and economically important species, potentially leading to mass mortalities. In order to better assess drivers of coastal hypoxia, we collected data from monthly cruises on the inner shelf and nearshore moorings inside and outside a small coastal embayment (San Luis Obispo Bay on the Central California Coast) across the full upwelling season (March to August). During the late spring and early summer, we found that the nearshore near-bottom temperature-DO (T-DO) relationship aligned with the shelf …

A Regional, Early Spring Bloom Of Phaeocystis Pouchetii On The New England Continental Shelf, Walker O. Smith Jr., Weifeng G. Zhang, Andrew Hirzel, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The genus Phaeocystis is distributed globally and has considerable ecological, biogeochemical, and societal impacts. Understanding its distribution, growth and ecological impacts has been limited by lack of extensive observations on appropriate scales. In 2018, we investigated the biological dynamics of the New England continental shelf and encountered a substantial bloom of Phaeocystis pouchetii. Based on satellite imagery during January through April, the bloom extended over broad expanses of the shelf; furthermore, our observations demonstrated that it reached high biomass levels, with maximum chlorophyll concentrations exceeding 16 μg L−1 and particulate organic carbon levels > 95 μmol L−1. Initially, the bloom was …

Developing A Method To Track Marine Snow Aggregation Through Individual Collisions Using Stereoscopic Imaging, Riley Henning

Theses

The aggregation of individual phytoplankton into marine snow allows particles to sink more quickly, thus resulting in the transport of particulate organic carbon from surface waters to the deep ocean. Aggregate formation has previously been measured in experiments indirectly by quantifying how particle size or particle concentration changes over time. Here, I present my thesis in which I applied high-resolution imaging to quantify aggregate formation using two different methodologies.

We conducted experiments to investigate aggregate formation using stereoscopic imaging, tracking individual particles directly in a 3D volume. Phytoplankton cultures were rolled in cylindrical tanks and imaged by two cameras illuminated …

Atlantic Sailfish (Istiophorus Albicans) Distribution Off The East Coast Of Florida From 2003 To 2018 In Response To Sea Surface Temperature, Meredith M. Pratt

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) ranges from 40°N to 40°S in the Western Atlantic Ocean and has great economic and recreational value for sport fishers. Off the east coast of Florida, recreational fishing boats often target this species due to its size, speed and strength. This project aimed to determine the relationship between sea surface temperature (SST) and the distribution of Atlantic sailfish caught and released over a fifteen-year period (2003 to 2018). Tagging information was collected from The Billfish Foundation and NOAA who have the most extensive programs for billfish. Using the time and location of each …

Niche Partitioning Of Low-Light Adapted Prochlorococcus Subecotypes Across Oceanographic Gradients Of The North Pacific Subtropical Front, Anne W. Thompson, Kathleen Kouba, Nathan A. Ahlgren

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is the most abundant photosynthetic cell on Earth and contributes to global ocean carbon cycling and food webs. Prochlorococcus is known for its extensive diversity that falls into two groups of ecotypes, the low‐light (LL) and high‐light (HL) adapted ecotypes. Previous work has shown niche partitioning of the very abundant HL adapted ecotypes and subecotypes across oceanographic gradients including temperature, nutrients, and day length. However, niche partitioning of subecotypes within the LL adapted ecotypes has not been studied as well because they are less abundant and less accessible than surface, HL populations. Through high‐throughput, cyanobacterial‐specific, sequencing of …

Effects Of Reduced Shoreline Erosion On Chesapeake Bay Water Clarity, Jessica S. Turner, Pierre St-Laurent, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Carl T. Friedrichs

VIMS Articles

Shoreline erosion supplies sediments to estuaries and coastal waters, influencing water clarity and primary production. Globally, shoreline erosion sediment inputs are changing with anthropogenic alteration of coastlines in populated regions. Chesapeake Bay, a prime example of such a system where shoreline erosion accounts for a large proportion of sediments entering the estuary, serves here as a case study for investigating the effects of changing sediment inputs on water clarity. Long-term increases in shoreline armoring have contributed to decreased erosional sediment inputs to the estuary, changing the composition of suspended particles in surface waters. This study examined the impact of shoreline …

Relationship Between Individual Chamber And Whole Shell Mg/Ca Ratios In Trilobatus Sacculifer And Implications For Individual Foraminifera Palaeoceanographic Reconstructions, Gerald T. Rustic, Pratigya J. Polissar, Ana Christina Ravelo, Peter Demenocal

School of Earth & Environment Faculty Scholarship

Precisely targeted measurements of trace elements using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) reveal inter-chamber heterogeneities in specimens of the planktic foraminifer Trilobatus (Globigerinoides) sacculifer. We find that Mg/Ca ratios in the final growth chamber are generally lower compared to previous growth chambers, but final chamber Mg/Ca is elevated in one of thirteen sample intervals. Differences in distributions of Mg/Ca values from separate growth chambers are observed, occurring most often at lower Mg/Ca values, suggesting that single-chamber measurements may not be reflective of the specimen’s integrated Mg/Ca. We compared LA-ICPMS Mg/Ca values to paired, same-individual Mg/Ca measured via …

Bioscatter Transport By Tropical Cyclones: Insights From 10 Years In The Atlantic Basin, Matthew S. Van Den Broeke

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Tropical cyclones (TCs) can transport birds and insects near their center of circulation. In this study, we examined the maximum altitude, area and density of the radar-derived bioscatter signature across a set of 42 TC centers of circulation sampled from 2011 to 2020. All TC events contained at least one time when a bioscatter signature was present. More intense hurricanes with closed eyes typically had taller and denser bioscatter signatures, and sometimes larger areas dominated by bioscatter. This indicated a larger number of organisms within the circulation of more intense hurricanes, supporting the speculation that those storms were most likely …

Riverine Carbon Cycling Over The Past Century In The Mid‐Atlantic Region Of The United States, Yuanzi Yao, Hanqin Tian, Shufen Pan, Raymond G. Najjar, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Zihao Bian, Hong-Yi Li, Eileen E. Hofmann

CCPO Publications

The lateral transport and degassing of carbon in riverine ecosystems is difficult to quantify on large spatial and long temporal scales due to the relatively poor representation of carbon processes in many models. Here, we coupled a scale‐adaptive hydrological model with the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model to simulate key riverine carbon processes across the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds from 1900 to 2015. Our results suggest that throughout this time period riverine CO₂ degassing and lateral dissolved inorganic carbon fluxes to the coastal ocean contribute nearly equally to the total riverine carbon outputs (mean ± standard deviation: 886 ± …

Impacts Of Multiple Environmental Changes On Long‐Term Nitrogen Loading From The Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Shufen Pan, Zihao Bian, Hanqin Tian, Yuanzhi Yao, Raymond G. Najjar, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Eileen E. Hofmann, Rongting Xu, Bowen Zhang

CCPO Publications

Excessive nutrient inputs from land, particularly nitrogen (N), have been found to increase the occurrence of hypoxia and harmful algal blooms in coastal ecosystems. To identify the main contributors of increased N loading and evaluate the efficacy of water pollution control policies, it is essential to quantify and attribute the long‐term changes in riverine N export. Here, we use a state‐of‐the‐art terrestrial–aquatic interface model to examine how multiple environmental factors may have affected N export from the Chesapeake Bay watershed since 1900. These factors include changes in climate, carbon dioxide, land use, and N inputs (i.e., atmospheric N deposition, animal …

Surficial Geology Of The Continental Shelf Off New Hampshire: Morphologic Features And Surficial Sediment, Larry G. Ward, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Maxlimer Coromoto Vallee-Anziani, Rachel C. Morrison

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The continental shelf off New Hampshire (NH) in the Western Gulf of Maine (WGOM) is extremely complex and includes extensive bedrock outcrops, marine-modified glacial deposits, marine-formed shoals, seafloor plains, and associated features that are composed of a range of sediment types from mud to gravel. Furthermore, the physiography and composition of the seafloor frequently changes dramatically over relatively short distances (tens of meters). The complexity of the WGOM seafloor results from the interplay of glaciations, sea-level fluctuations, and marine processes (waves and currents). High-resolution multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter surveys, along with ground truth consisting of archived seismic reflection …

2021 Wachapreague Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

2021 Hampton Roads Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

2021 Gloucester Point Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

2021 Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Station Tide Prediction Calendars, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

No abstract provided.

Coral Oxygen Isotopic Records Capture The 2015/2016 El Niño Event In The Central Equatorial Pacific, Gemma K. O'Connor, Kim M. Cobb, Hussein R. Sayani, Alyssa R. Atwood, Pamela R. Grothe, Samantha Stevenson, Et. Al.

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Coral oxygen isotopes (δ18O) from the central equatorial Pacific provide monthly resolved records of El Niño-Southern Oscillation activity over past centuries to millennia. However, calibration studies using in situ data to assess the relative contributions of warming and freshening to coral δ18O records are exceedingly rare. Furthermore, the fidelity of coral δ18O records under the most severe thermal stress events is difficult to assess. Here, we present six coral δ18O records and in situ temperature, salinity, and seawater δ18O data from Kiritimati Island (2°N, 157°W) spanning the very strong 2015/16 El Niño event. Local sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2002-2005 Jeffreys Ledge Field Campaign – Seafloor Photographs And Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Raymond E. Grizzle, Rachel C. Morrison

Data Catalog

Jeffreys Ledge is a major physiographic feature in the western Gulf of Maine (WGOM) located ~50 km off the coast of New Hampshire, although coming within ~10 km of shore by Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Jeffreys Ledge rises up as much as ~150 m from the seafloor of the adjacent basins (i.e., Scantum Basin or Wilkinson Basin) to depths less than 50 m on the ridge surface. The ridge extends over 100 km along its north-northeast to south-southwest axes while generally only being 5 to 10 km in width (~20 km maximum). Jeffreys Ledge and the surrounding region, like many features …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2012-2013 Newbex Field Campaign – Seafloor Photographs And Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Rachel C. Morrison

Data Catalog

An approximately 4.5 km transect running from lower Portsmouth Harbor seaward onto the inner continental shelf was established to serve as the field site for the Newcastle Backscatter Experiment (NEWBEX). Acoustic backscatter measurements were made along the transect to examine relationships between backscatter and seafloor properties. This transect takes advantage of the diversity and heterogeneity of bottom types in lower Portsmouth Harbor and approach. In support of NEWBEX, a field campaign was undertaken to describe the sedimentologic characteristics of the seafloor along the transect. A total of five cruises were carried out approximately seasonally on November 26, 2012 and June …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign – Seafloor Photographs, Larry G. Ward, Rachel C. Morrison, Zachary S. Mcavoy

Data Catalog

The "New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign – Seafloor Photographs” was developed by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center (CCOM/JHC). The field campaign was conducted to provide ground truth for surficial geology maps for the continental shelf off New Hampshire (NH) and focused on the inner shelf between the coast and the Isles of Shoals. Station locations were chosen where high-resolution bathymetry was available, including multibeam echosounder (MBES) surveys conducted by the UNH CCOM/JHC Hydrographic Field Course (Ocean Engineering 972), MBES surveys by the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS), …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign – Seafloor And Sample Photographs And Sediment Data, Larry G. Ward, Rachel C. Morrison, Zachary S. Mcavoy

Data Catalog

The "New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geophysical Database: 2016-2017 Field Campaign - Seafloor and Sample Photographs and Sediment Data " contains photographs of the seafloor from sampling locations, photographs of the sediment samples, and grain size data from a major field campaign conducted in 2016- 2017 and from the UNH Ocean Engineering 972 Hydrographic Field Course classes in 2012, 2014, and 2018. In total, sixteen one-day cruises provided 150 samples for grain size analysis. The database provides complete descriptions for each sample including identification, station and sample characteristics, sediment classifications, grain size statistics, and grain size distribution. Presented here are tables …