Jean-Pierre Vanderborght

Diatom growth response to physical forcing in a macrotidal estuary: Coupling hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and biogeochemistry

[1] A two-dimensional, nested grid, hydrodynamic, and reactive-transport model of the macrotidal Scheldt estuary (B/NL) and its tributaries has been developed to identify the driving forces controlling the temporal and spatial dynamics of primary production during a summer diatom bloom. The hydrodynamic model indicates that energy dissipation reaches its maximum 90 km upstream from the mouth, closely followed by a minimum farther upstream. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) dynamics is simulated to provide the transient light conditions in the water column. Results show that the spatial distribution of SPM mirrors closely the profile of energy dissipation. The temporal SPM dynamics is highly sensitive to fluctuations in river discharge, whose influence decreases downstream. Peaks in SPM are triggered by high discharges and can be recorded as far as 50 km seaward of the upstream model boundary. Results from the phytoplankton model demonstrate the fast response of diatom growth to changes in the physical environment, especially those due to daily variations in river discharge which continuously modify the SPM concentrations and residence times. Episodes of persistent low flow conditions lead to a progressive depletion of dissolved silica. Simulated diatom growth becomes increasingly controlled by silica availability, until primary production collapses. The spatiotemporal evolution of primary production is explored over the entire domain of forcing conditions. The distribution of the daily maximum of net primary production and its location reveal that four different system states can be identified in the forcing planes. The transition from one state to the other characterizes the diatom growth response in the estuary.

Application of a transport-reaction model to the estimation of biogas fluxes in the Scheldt Estuary

AbstractIn the frame of the BIOGEST project, the fulltransient, one-dimensional, reactive-transportmodel CONTRASTE has been extended for thecomputation of biogases in the Scheldt estuary. The CONTRASTE model (Coupled, Networked, Transport-Reaction Algorithm for Strong T> idal Estuaries) provides a satisfactorydescription of the estuarine residualcirculation (including daily freshwaterdischarge and a complete description of thetide) and a flexible implementation of thevarious physico-chemical and biologicaltransformations, including bothkinetically-controlled and equilibriumreactions. The model allows resolution of thecomplex, nonlinear collective behaviour of thistype of system and investigation of thenon-steady-state phenomena which governestuarine dynamics. Variables currentlyimplemented in the model include salinity,suspended matter, oxygen, inorganic carbonspecies, degradable organic carbon andnitrogen, inorganic nitrogen species,freshwater and marine phytoplankton. Biologicalprocesses described are heterotrophicrespiration, primary production, nitrificationand denitrification. Equilibrium formulationsallow for DIC and NH4+/NH3speciation. Physical processes include gastransfer at the water/air interface, dependingon both wind speed and current velocity. pHprofiles are explicitly computed and constitutea very sensitive check of the overall modelconsistency. Results of the CONTRASTE model arein very good agreement with the measuredlongitudinal distribution of the variablesconsidered, in particular O2, pH,pCO2 and N2O concentrations. However,discrepancies are observed between thecalculated fluxes of CO2 and thoseestimated using an in situ floatingchamber. It is shown that the evaluation of gastransfer can be affected by serious errors ifthe variations due to changes in currentvelocity and water depth during one tidal cycleare not taken into consideration. The modelalso shows that the fluxes of biogases inestuaries are greatly influenced by thequasi-exponential increase of the exchangesurface area with decreasing distance to thesea. Our estimation of the total daily flux ofO2, CO2 and N2O is equal to+28500, −19000 and −17 kmoles.day−1respectively for the Scheldt estuary in July 1996.

Diatoms, silicic acid and biogenic silica dynamics along the salinity gradient of the Scheldt estuary (Belgium/The Netherlands)

The Scheldt estuary (Belgium/The Netherlands) was sampled along the entire salinity gradient from 2003 to 2005 for silicic acid (DSi), biogenic silica (BSi), suspended particulate matter (SPM) and pigments. Net DSi consumption and/or release within the estuary were investigated by comparing measured DSi concentrations with (fully-transient) model simulations of the concentrations that would have been obtained in case of conservative transport. The DSi consumption was at maximum in May due to diatoms of presumably marine origin blooming in the lower estuary. DSi consumption decreased rapidly in July, probably because of the grazing pressure of copepods also of marine origin, and DSi was released from late summer onwards. Multiple regression analyses showed that most of the BSi did not follow the dynamics of the living diatoms but rather that of the SPM. They also suggested that diatoms were more silicified in the upper estuary than in the lower estuary. Phytoliths were not expected to contribute significantly to the BSi pool. As BSi dynamics strongly differed from those of diatoms and DSi, this study highlighted the importance of taking BSi into account when investigating estuarine silica dynamics. This study also revealed the fundamental role of the coupling between the biogeochemical and ecological functioning of the lower estuary and that of the adjacent coastal zone. This contrasts with the classical consideration that estuaries act as one-way filters for dissolved and particulate material of riverine origin.

Mass Transfer Properties in Sediments Near the Benthic Boundary Layer

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the vertical concentration profiles in cores taken in the shallow area of the southern bight of the North Sea. The chapter describes the mixing of the upper sedimentary layer provoked by momentum transfer in that layer. It is well known that chemical and biochemical reactions between interstitial water and sediments have a major effect on the composition of the pore water. Production or consumption of various compounds during these reactions is responsible for vertical concentration gradients in the interstitial water with consecutive upwards or downwards fluxes of the dissolved species. When the rates of reaction are known, the modeling of vertical concentration profiles provides an indirect estimation of the mass transfer coefficients in the sedimentary column and of the exchange of dissolved substances through the benthic boundary layer. The chapter also presents experimental results. Vertical profiles of nutrients concentration were obtained for sandy and muddy sediments of the southern bight of the North Sea. These cores were carefully taken by divers, deep-frozen and sliced in very close vertical spacings, so that the structure of the sediment was preserved to the most possible extend.