Diapycnal mixing and internal waves in the Saint John River Estuary, New Brunswick, Canada with a discussion relative to the Baltic Sea

Delpeche, Nicole; Soomere, Tarmo; Lilover, Madis‐Jaak

doi:10.3176/eng.2010.2.05

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 26 publications

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“…Saint John Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada, is situated at the mouth of the Saint John River, which drains 55,400 km 2 (Marsh 2015 ). The harbour has a tidal range of 8 m and strong tidal currents (Delpeche 2006 ; Toodesh 2012 ), with seabed habitats ranging from muddy sediments to gravel and rock. The Port of Saint John is the largest in Atlantic Canada, with growing shipping traffic including bulk carriers, container ships, fishing vessels, LNG tankers, and cruise ships (Port Saint John 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and Spatial Trends in Benthic Infauna and Potential Drivers, in a Highly Tidal Estuary in Atlantic Canada

Guerin

Kidd

Maltais

et al. 2023

Estuaries and Coasts

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Infaunal invertebrate communities of coastal marine sediments are often impacted by human activities, particularly in harbours and estuaries. However, while many studies have attempted to identify the key factors affecting benthic infauna, few have done so for highly energetic tidal estuaries. Samples were collected over a decade (2011–2020) from a series of reference sites in Saint John Harbour (45.25° N, 66.05° W), a highly tidal estuary in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. These data were used to examine spatial and temporal trends in infaunal invertebrate communities and sediment properties and to determine the extent to which the biological patterns were driven by measured physical and chemical variables. There were substantial differences among sites in infaunal invertebrate abundance (median ranging from 688 to 13,700 individuals per square meter), infaunal species richness (median ranging from 8 to 22), and Shannon diversity (median ranging from 1.26 to 2.34); multivariate analysis also revealed variation in species composition among sites. Sediment contaminant concentrations also varied among sites, but differences tended to be smaller (e.g. median chromium concentrations ranging from 21.6 to 27.6 mg/kg). Sample contaminant concentrations were all below probable effect levels, and almost all below threshold effect levels (Canadian interim sediment quality guidelines), but relationships with biological data were still detectable. However, physical variables (depth, sediment characteristics) were better predictors of biological variables and community composition. These results confirm the importance of physical factors in shaping infaunal communities in soft-sediment habitats in tidally influenced coastal waters.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and Spatial Trends in Benthic Infauna and Potential Drivers, in a Highly Tidal Estuary in Atlantic Canada

Guerin

Kidd

Maltais

et al. 2023

Estuaries and Coasts

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Observations of surface drift and effects induced by wind and surface waves in the Baltic Sea for the period 2011–2018

Delpeche-Ellmann

Giudici

Rätsep

et al. 2021

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Velocity perturbations and Reynolds stresses in Holmboe instabilities

et al. 2022

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The velocity perturbations and Reynolds stresses associated with finite-amplitude Holmboe instabilities are investigated using linear stability analysis, numerical simulations, and a laboratory experiment. The rightward and leftward propagating Holmboe instabilities are separated, allowing for a direct comparison of the perturbation fields between the numerical simulations and the linear stability analysis. The decomposition and superposition of the perturbation fields provide insights into the structure and origin of Reynolds stresses in Holmboe instabilities. Shear instabilities in stratified flows introduce a directional preference (anisotropy) in velocity perturbation fields, thereby generating Reynolds stresses. Here, we investigate this anisotropy by comparing pairs of horizontal and vertical velocity perturbations (u',w'), obtained from the simulations and the laboratory experiment, with predictions from linear stability analysis. For an individual Holmboe mode, both the simulations and linear theory yield elliptical (u',w')-pairs that are oriented towards the 2nd and 4th quadrants (u'w'<0), corresponding to the tilted elliptical trajectories of particle movement. Combining the leftward and rightward Holmboe modes yields (u',w') ellipses whose orientation and aspect ratio are phase-dependent. When averaged over a full cycle, the joint probability density functions of (u',w') in the linear theory and single wavelength simulations exhibit `steering wheel' structures. This `steering wheel' is smeared out in multiple wavelength simulations and the laboratory experiment due to varying wavelengths, resulting in an elliptical cloud. All of the approaches adopted in the present study yield Reynolds stresses that are comparable to those reported in previous laboratory and field investigations.

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Diapycnal mixing and internal waves in the Saint John River Estuary, New Brunswick, Canada with a discussion relative to the Baltic Sea

Cited by 6 publications

References 26 publications

Temporal and Spatial Trends in Benthic Infauna and Potential Drivers, in a Highly Tidal Estuary in Atlantic Canada

Temporal and Spatial Trends in Benthic Infauna and Potential Drivers, in a Highly Tidal Estuary in Atlantic Canada

Observations of surface drift and effects induced by wind and surface waves in the Baltic Sea for the period 2011–2018

Velocity perturbations and Reynolds stresses in Holmboe instabilities

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