Measured and modelled effects of temperature,dissolved oxygen and nutrient concentration on sediment-water nutrient exchange

Empirical models of sediment-water fluxes of NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^– were and PO₄ ^3– were formed based on published reports. The models were revised and parameters evaluated based on laboratory incubations of sediments collected from Gunston Cove, VA. Observed fluxes ranged from — 18 (sediments uptake) to 276 (sediment release) mg NH₄ ⁺ m^–2 day^–1, –17 to –509 mg NO₃ ^– m^–2 day^–1, and –16.4 to 8.9 mg PO₄ ^3– m^–2 day^–1. The model and observations indicated release of NH₄ ⁺ was enhanced by high temperature and by low DO. Uptake of NO₃ ^– was enhanced primarily by high NO₃ ^– concentration and to a lesser extent by high temperature and by low DO. Direction of PO₄ ^3– flux depended on concentration in the water. Release was enhanced by low DO. No effect of temperature on PO₄ ^3– flux was observed.     

水体泥沙对苦草生长发育和叶片光合生理特性的影响

用粒径小于100μm的泥沙分别配置浊度为30、60、90NTU和120NTU的浑浊水体,将苦草(Vallisneria asiatica)幼苗分别种植于上述水体中,水深约60cm,定期统计植株的叶长、叶宽、叶片数和株数,利用水下饱和脉冲荧光仪(DIVING～PAM)测定泥沙附着苦草叶片在光化光下的荧光参数,并测定其超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化物酶活性.结果表明,随着水体中泥沙含量的增加苦草植株的叶宽、叶片数和植株数呈显著的降低趋势,在浊度30NTU的水体中,植株叶长增长速度显著大于对照;随着实验时间的延长,在泥沙含量较高的水体(浊度≥60NTU)中,植株逐渐死亡,而在浊度30NTU的水体中,幼苗能进行正常的生长发育.秋季植株开花时,叶片上的泥沙附着量逐渐增大,在30NTU水体中泥沙附着叶片的实际光化学效率、光化学荧光淬灭系数和电子传递速率均显著高于对照,而且附着叶片的超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化物酶活性与对照的差异不显著.表明在低浓度泥沙水体中泥沙附着有利于苦草叶片PSⅡ免受秋季高光照的伤害,从而减缓苦草叶片光合功能的衰减.因此,在泥沙含量较低的浅水体(浊度≤30 NTU)中可以适当引种苦草幼苗(最好由冬芽和根状茎萌发得到),植株能正常生长发育和繁殖.     

Chesapeake Bay nutrient budgets — a reassessment

Recently published annual mass balances or budgets for nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon in Chesapeake Bay have pictured the estuary as retaining a very large fraction, perhaps all, of the nutrients that enter from land drainage, the atmosphere, and anthropogenic discharges. However, these budgets have been based on estimates of the net exchanges of nutrients at the mouth of the bay or on the rates of accumulation of nutrients and sediments calculated from the distributions of various geochemical tracers in the sediments. While conceptually straightforward, the first approach is subject to large errors because it requires the determination of a small "signal" against a large background of tidal "noise". The second approach has led to overestimates of the nutrient trapping efficiency of the bay because tracer-derived sediment deposition rates have been multiplied by the surface area of the whole bay or various parts of the bay rather than by the smaller area of active sediment deposition. This approach is also incorrect because the average, long-term rates of sediment deposition measured by the geochemical tracers, including major floods, have been compared to shorter-term records of nutrient input.The more appropriate calculation of nutrient retention based on contemporaneous measurements of nutrient and sediment input and the chemical compositon of sediments accumulated in the estuary shows that Chesapeake Bay retains only some 3–6% of the nitrogen, 11–17% of the phosphorus and 33–83% of the silicon brought into its waters during a year in which no major flood occurred.This behavior suggests that current problems of estuarine eutrophication are more a consequence of present nutrient inputs than an inevitable or inescapable legacy of past enrichment. It also follows that the management or manipulation of nutrient loadings to esturies may lead to a more rapid response in environmental quality than previously predicted.