[1] The effects of changing ice and atmospheric conditions on the upwelling of deep nutrient‐laden waters and biological productivity in the coastal Beaufort Sea were quantified using a unique combination of in situ and remote‐sensing approaches. Repeated instances of ice ablation and upwelling during fall 2007 and summer 2008 multiplied the production of ice algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton a...

We are developing an integrated rapid environmental assessment capability that will be used to feed an ocean nowcast/forecast system. The goal is to develop a capacity for predicting the dynamics in inherent optical properties in coastal waters. This is being accomplished by developing an integrated observation system that is coupled to a data assimilative hydrodynamic bio-optical ecosystem mod...

The distribution of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus and bioassay experiments both show that nitrogen is the critical limiting factor to algal growth and eutrophication in coastal marine waters. About twice the amount of phosphate as can be used by the algae is normally present. This surplus results from the low nitrogen to phosphorus ratio in terrigenous contributions, including human waste, ...

Fluxes of total mercury (Hg(T)) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) associated with submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) at two sites onthe central California coast were estimated by combining measurements of Hg(T) and MMHg in groundwater with the use of short-lived, naturally occurring radium isotopes as tracers of groundwater inputs. Concentrations of Hg(T) were relatively low, ranging from 1.2 to ...

Pectinariids are a family of polychaetes commonly found in shallow coastal waters around the world, but their diversity is poorly known along the coasts of Asia. Here we describe Amphictene alata sp. n. (Pectinariidae), based on 15 specimens collected from the coastal waters of Guangdong in the northern South China Sea. This new species can be distinguished from all other 13 described species a...

There is increasing interest and concern over the impacts of mercury (Hg) inputs to marine ecosystems. One of the challenges in assessing these effects is that the cycling and trophic transfer of Hg are strongly linked to other contaminants and disturbances. In addition to Hg, a major problem facing coastal waters is the impacts of elevated nutrient, particularly nitrogen (N), inputs. Increases...

Remote-sensing reflectance is easier to interpret for the open ocean than for coastal regions because the optical signals are highly coupled to the phytoplankton (e.g., chlorophyll) concentrations. For estuarine or coastal waters, variable terrigenous colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), suspended sediments, and bottom reflectance, all factors that do not covary with the pigment concentrati...

The concentration of total mercury [Hg] in waters, sediments and biota (carp and crabs) as well as the concentration of methyl mercury [MeHg] in biota from upstream (surface water systems) and downstream (coastal and estuarine systems) areas within coastal watersheds along the Chinese Northern Bohai and Yellow Seas were investigated. In most waters tested, the [Hg] could have adverse effects on...

We discuss the problems with and the real possibilities of determining oil pollution in situ in coastal marine waters with fluorescence spectroscopy and of using artificial neural networks for data interpretation. In general, the fluorescence bands of oil and aquatic humic substance overlap. At oil concentrations in water from a few to tens of micrograms per liter, the intensity of oil fluoresc...

Measured spectral absorption coefficients were inverted to infer phytoplankton concentration in three size classes (picoplankton, nanoplankton, and microplankton), chlorophyll concentration [Chl], and both magnitude and spectral shape of absorption by colored detrital matter (CDM). Our algorithm allowed us to solve for the nonlinear factor of CDM absorption slope separately from the other linea...