Churchill James H.

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Churchill

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James H.

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The dynamics of weather-band sea level variations in the Red Sea

(Elsevier, 2018-09-27) Churchill, James H. ; Abualnaja, Yasser ; Limeburner, Richard ; Nellayaputhenpeedika, Mohammedali

The variations of sea level over the Red Sea may be divided into three broad categories: tidal, seasonal and weather-band. Our study employs a variety of in situ and satellite-derived data in the first comprehensive examination of the Red Sea water level variations in the weather-band (covering periods of 4–30 days). In the central Red Sea, the range of the weather-band sea level signal is of order 0.7 m, which exceeds the tidal and seasonal sea level ranges. From EOF and correlation analysis, we find that a large fraction of the weather-band sea level variation is due to a single mode of motion that extends over the entire Red Sea. In this mode, the water level rises and falls in unison with an amplitude that declines going southward over the southern Red Sea. The temporal signal of this mode is highly correlated with the along-axis surface wind stress over the southern Red Sea, and is closely reproduced by a simple one-dimensional barotropic model with forcing by the along-axis wind stress. Although this model does not account for the full suite of dynamics affecting weather-band sea level variations in the Red Sea, it may serve as a useful predictive tool. Sea level changes associated with the development and movement of sub-mesoscale features (e.g., eddies and boundary currents) are also shown to contribute to weather-band sea level motions in the Red Sea.
A crab swarm at an ecological hotspot : patchiness and population density from AUV observations at a coastal, tropical seamount

(PeerJ, 2016-04-12) Pineda, Jesus ; Cho, Walter W. ; Starczak, Victoria R. ; Govindarajan, Annette F. ; Guzman, Hector M. ; Girdhar, Yogesh ; Holleman, Rusty C. ; Churchill, James H. ; Singh, Hanumant ; Ralston, David K.

A research cruise to Hannibal Bank, a seamount and an ecological hotspot in the coastal eastern tropical Pacific Ocean off Panama, explored the zonation, biodiversity, and the ecological processes that contribute to the seamount’s elevated biomass. Here we describe the spatial structure of a benthic anomuran red crab population, using submarine video and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) photographs. High density aggregations and a swarm of red crabs were associated with a dense turbid layer 4–10 m above the bottom. The high density aggregations were constrained to 355–385 m water depth over the Northwest flank of the seamount, although the crabs also occurred at lower densities in shallower waters (∼280 m) and in another location of the seamount. The crab aggregations occurred in hypoxic water, with oxygen levels of 0.04 ml/l. Barcoding of Hannibal red crabs, and pelagic red crabs sampled in a mass stranding event in 2015 at a beach in San Diego, California, USA, revealed that the Panamanian and the Californian crabs are likely the same species, Pleuroncodes planipes, and these findings represent an extension of the southern endrange of this species. Measurements along a 1.6 km transect revealed three high density aggregations, with the highest density up to 78 crabs/m2, and that the crabs were patchily distributed. Crab density peaked in the middle of the patch, a density structure similar to that of swarming insects.
Estimates of dispersion from clustered-drifter deployments on the southern flank of Georges Bank

( 2006-03-21) Manning, James P. ; Churchill, James H.

Data from 16 clustered-drifter deployments are used to examine horizontal dispersion on the southern flank of Georges Bank. The spreading rates of all clusters have an average of 1.6 km d-1 with a standard deviation of 1.8 km d-1. Both "effective" and "apparent" diffusivities are calculated for each cluster. Their ranges (i.e., -54 to 757 m2 s-1 for effective diffusivity) are related to differences in cluster size and proximity to the tidal mixing front. Cross-bank convergence is documented for nearly 40% of the clusters. This occurs especially for clusters with centroids within 10 km of the tidal mixing front location, as deduced from conductivity, temperature, and depth transects (CTD) conducted concurrently with the cluster deployments. Estimates of turbulent dispersion (distinct from shear effects) are derived by the method of Okubo and Ebbysmeyer (Okubo, A. and Ebbesmeyer, C.C., 1976. Determination of vorticity, divergence, and deformation rates from analysis of drogue observations. Deep-Sea Res., 23, 349-352). The results reveal that the effects of horizontal shear are important in spreading of larger drifter clusters. Often the impact of shear is evidenced by the track of a lone drifter that separates from a cluster as it is entrained into the current of the shelf-edge front or the tidal mixing front. Cluster dispersion is time dependent as evidenced by a significant modulation of cluster size at the M2 tidal frequency. This modulation is due to the spatial variation of tidal currents over the southern flank of Georges Bank and is closely reproduced by immersing drifter clusters into the flow field of a Georges Bank tidal model.
The 1995 Georges Bank Stratification Study and moored array measurements

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2001-08) Alessi, Carol A. ; Beardsley, Robert C. ; Caruso, Michael J. ; Churchill, James H. ; Irish, James D. ; Lentz, Steven J. ; Limeburner, Richard ; Werner, R. ; Weller, Robert A. ; Williams, Albert J. ; Williams, William J. ; Manning, James P. ; Smith, P.

The 1995 Geoges Bank Stratification Study (GBSS) was the first intensive process study conducted as part of the U.S. GLOBEC Northwest Atlantic/Georges Bank field program. The GBSS was designed to investigate the physical processes which control the seasonal development of stratification along the southern flank of Georges Bank during spring and summer. Past work suggested that during this period, larval cod and haddock tended to aggregate to the thermocline on the southern flank where higher concentrations of their copepod prey were found. A moored array was deployed as part of GBSS to observe the onset and evolution of sesonal stratification over the southern flank with sufficient vertical and horizontal resolution that key physical processes could be identified and quantified. Moored current, temperature, and conductivity (salinity) measurements were made at three sites along the southern flank, one on the crest, and one on the northeast peak of the bank. Moored surface meteorological measurements were also made at one southern flank site to determine the surface wind stress and heat and moisture fluxes. The oceanographic and meteorological data collected with the GBSS array during January-August 1995 are presented in this report. Meteorological data collected on National Data Buoy Center environmental buoys 44011 (Georges Bank), 44008 (Nantucket Shoals), and 44005 (Gulf of Maine) are included in this report for completeness and comparison with the GBSS southern flank meteorological measurements.
Surface gravity wave transformation across a platform coral reef in the Red Sea

(John Wiley & Sons, 2016-01-22) Lentz, Steven J. ; Churchill, James H. ; Davis, Kristen A. ; Farrar, J. Thomas

The transformation of surface gravity waves across a platform reef in the Red Sea is examined using 18 months of observations and a wave transformation model developed for beaches. The platform reef is 200 m across, 700 m long, and the water depth varies from 0.3 to 1.2 m. Assuming changes in wave energy flux are due to wave breaking and bottom drag dissipation, the wave transformation model with optimal parameters characterizing the wave breaking (γm = 0.25) and bottom drag (hydrodynamic roughness zo = 0.08 m) accounts for 75%–90% of the observed wave-height variance at four sites. The observations and model indicate that wave breaking dominates the dissipation in a 20–30 m wide surf zone while bottom drag dominates the dissipation over the rest of the reef. Friction factors (drag coefficients) estimated from the observed wave energy balance range from fw = 0.5 to fw = 5 and increase as wave-orbital displacements decrease. The observed dependence on wave-orbital displacement is roughly consistent with extrapolation of an empirical relationship based on numerous laboratory studies of oscillatory flow. As a consequence of the dependence on wave-orbital displacement, wave friction factors vary temporally due to changes in water depth and incident wave heights, and spatially across the reef as the waves decay.
Extracting wind sea and swell from directional wave spectra derived from a bottom-mounted ADCP

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2006-07) Churchill, James H. ; Plueddemann, Albert J. ; Faluotico, Stephen M.

Recent advances in processing velocity data from bottom-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) offer the capability of partitioning directional wave specctra of surface wave height in order to separate locally generated wind waves from swell. In the study described here, we have partitioned directional wavee spectra, derived from bottom-mounted ADCP measurements at the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) south of Martha’s Vineyard, MA, into dominant swell and locally generated wind-wave components. The partitioning was carried out following the method of Hanson and Phillips (2001) using an exploratory approach. As part of tthis approach, we assessed the validity of the ADCP-derived wave spectra by comparing them with one-dimensional wavee spectra derived from laser altimeter measurements. This comparison identified a frequency range over which the ADCP-derived wave field may be suspeect. We also carried out a series of sensitivity tests in which we evaluated how the results of wave partitioning according to the Hanson and Phillips (2001) method is influenced by varying the parameters required to implement the method. In this report, we describe and assess the data sources used in our study, outline the methods employed for wave spectra partitioning and describe partitioning results.
Analysis of flow within the coastal boundary layer off Long Island, New York

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1984-04) Churchill, James H.

From 1974 through 1978 a series of intensive measurements were made in the coastal waters within 12 km of Long Island. The data were derived from two sources: a mooring array from which time series of temperature, salinity and water velocity were measured at four depths at each of four offshore distances; and high resolution, daily hydrographic surveys. Analysis of subtidal cross-shore velocity fluctuations has indicated a two-layer response to wind forcing, with near-surface flow to the right of the longshore wind and opposing flow below. The magnitude of these fluctuations increased in the seaward direction on a scale nearly equal to the internal deformation radius. The phase between longshore velocity fluctuations and longshore wind stress approached zero with decreasing bottom depth, probably the result of bottom stress. The vertical structure of longshore fluctuations during stratified conditions markedly differed from that during unstratified conditions, and resembled the structure derived from a simple two-layer coastal flow model. Significant mean offshore flow was measured during experiments in August and September, despite negligible mean wind stress during the same periods. This flow was most likely due to persistent longshore density gradients, as are consistently inferred from hydrographic data taken in the vicinity.
Bottom stress generation and sediment transport over the shelf and slope off of Lake Superior's Keweenaw peninsula

(American Geophysical Union, 2004-10-30) Churchill, James H. ; Williams, Albert J. ; Ralph, Elise A.

Data from near-bottom instruments reveal that the mechanisms responsible for generating bottom stresses and resuspending sediment over the shelf and slope off of Lake Superior's Keweenaw peninsula exhibit distinct seasonal variations. Notably, near-bottom flows over the slope are persistently weak (<10 cm s−1) during summer but frequently attain high speeds, in excess of 20 cm s−1, in autumn and winter. During the intense storms of autumn and winter the generation of bottom stress is enhanced by the action of near-bottom orbital velocities due to surface waves. Even at 90-m depth, orbital velocities can increase bottom stress by a factor of up to 20% during storms. Where the seasonal thermocline intersects the lake floor, bottom stress is also considerably enhanced, often by more than a factor of 2, by high-frequency motions in the internal wave band. Over the Keweenaw slope, sediment resuspension is largely confined to autumn and winter episodes of high bottom stress. Our analysis indicates that this resuspended material tends to be carried offshore, a phenomenon that is partly due to the coincidence of the direction of the buoyancy-driven component of the Keweenaw Current with downwelling favorable alongshore winds. As a result of this coincidence, currents and bottom stresses tend to be greater during periods of downwelling, as opposed to upwelling, circulation. A potential challenge to modeling storm-driven resuspension in the study region is indicated by observations that the minimum stress required for resuspension may vary significantly with time over the autumn and winter.
Coral reef drag coefficients—surface gravity wave enhancement

(American Meteorological Society, 2018-07-13) Lentz, Steven J. ; Churchill, James H. ; Davis, Kristen A.

A primary challenge in modeling flow over shallow coral reefs is accurately characterizing the bottom drag. Previous studies over continental shelves and sandy beaches suggest surface gravity waves should enhance the drag on the circulation over coral reefs. The influence of surface gravity waves on drag over four platform reefs in the Red Sea is examined using observations from 6-month deployments of current and pressure sensors burst sampling at 1Hz for 4–5min. Depth-average current fluctuations U0 within each burst are dominated by wave orbital velocities uw that account for 80%–90%of the burst variance and have a magnitude of order 10 cm s21, similar to the lower-frequency depth-average current Uavg. Previous studies have shown that the cross-reef bottom stress balances the pressure gradient over these reefs. A bottom stress estimate that neglects the waves (rCdaUavgjUavgj, where r is water density and Cda is a drag coefficient) balances the observed pressure gradient when uw is smaller than Uavg but underestimates the pressure gradient when uw is larger than Uavg (by a factor of 3–5 when uw 5 2Uavg), indicating the neglected waves enhance the bottom stress. In contrast, a bottom stress estimate that includes the waves [rCda(Uavg 1 U0)jUavg 1 U0j)] balances the observed pressure gradient independent of the relative size of uw and Uavg, indicating that this estimate accounts for the wave enhancement of the bottom stress. A parameterization proposed by Wright and Thompson provides a reasonable estimate of the total bottom stress (including the waves) given the burst-averaged current and the wave orbital velocity.
Water velocity measurement from near surface to 110 m depth at deepwater dumpsite #106 using acoustically tracked drogues and conventional current meters

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1981-02) Churchill, James H. ; Pade, Bert H.-G. ; Peal, Kenneth R.

A system has been developed recently at W.H.O.I. for tracking nearsurface drogues equipped with sonobuoys using an acoustic navigation system. Surface and submerged drogues of mean depths ranging from 0.15 m to 4.88 m were tracked in the vicinity of deepwater dumpsite #106 . A least squares linear regression technique was used to determine drogue velocities over 2 hour periods. Water velocities at depths from 8 - 110 m were measured using a ship-deployed current meter coupled with acoustic tracking of the ship. The results indicated very little velocity shear in the surface mixed layer. There were two regions of _strong shear at greater depths, one associated with the main thermocline and the other presumably associated with a halocline .
Calculation of mean seasonal sea surface elevation fields over the North Atlantic continental shelf and slope using historical hydrostation data

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1980-02) Churchill, James H.

This report details the calculation and results of a simple coastal elevation field model which was presented in a recent paper (Csanady, 1979). Seasonal mean sea surface elevation fields were calculated over the shelf-slope region off the east coast of North America north of Cape Hatteras by applying the model to a grid of averaged sigma-t's at standard depths. The sigma-t grid was calculated utilizing a data base of approximately 30,000 hydrographic stations from NODC archives. Difficulties involved with the numerical implementation of the model and economizing adaptations to the WHOI NODC data processing program, OCCOMP, are discussed.
Slope water intrusions within the nearshore waters off Long Island, New York

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1984-04) Churchill, James H.

From 1974 through 1978 intensive measurements were made of the salinity, temperature and current structure of the waters within 12 km of the Southern Long Island coastline. The data were derived from two sources: a mooring array from which time series of temperature, salinity and water velocity were measured at four depths at each of four offshore distances; and high resolution, daily STD and current meter surveys. During August and September intrusions of slope or outer shelf water were often observed by the STD surveys. Three intrusions have been studied in detail. Two were observed at mid-depth following periods of upwelling favorable winds. Concurrent hydrographic and current meter data suggest that these water masses were transported shoreward by a combination of wind forcing and longshore density gradients. The third intrusion, initially observed near the surface, had coinciding salinity and temperature maxima. This water mass appears to have entered the shelf as a result of a shelf/slope water exchange, possibly induced by a warm-core ring near the shelf break. Such intrusions may commonly occur during the summer and fall and may be related to the appearance of tropical fish in the Long Island vicinity during these seasons.
Pathways of shelf water export from the Hatteras shelf and slope

(American Geophysical Union, 2012-08-21) Churchill, James H. ; Gawarkiewicz, Glen G.

It has long been recognized that a massive flow of Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) shelf water is exported to the deep ocean in the region near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. We examine the details of this export using data from an extensive array of 26 moorings, deployed over the shelf and slope between Cape Hatteras and the Chesapeake Bay mouth (from 35° 27′ to 36° 40′ N) as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ocean Margins Program. Our analysis indicates that the flow of the MAB shelf-edge frontal jet, which typically extends over the MAB slope, falls victim to export over the length of the mooring array, essentially vanishing by the southern extreme of the array. By contrast, the flow of MAB shelf water entering the study region over the inner and middle shelf (to roughly the 40-m isobath) tends to experience very little loss over the extent of the OMP array. Based on our findings and those of previous studies, we hypothesize that this inner and middle shelf flow is diverted seaward upon encountering the Hatteras Front, which separates MAB and South Atlantic Bight shelf waters. Some fraction of this flow appears to return to the OMP array, moving northeastward over the upper slope en route to the deep ocean. Our analysis also suggests that the export of MAB shelf water is enhanced as the Gulf Stream approaches the shelf-edge near Diamond Shoals, a process we deem to be a high priority for future study.
Evaluation and recommendations for improving the accuracy of an inexpensive water temperature logger

(American Meteorological Society, 2013-07) Lentz, Steven J. ; Churchill, James H. ; Marquette, Craig D. ; Smith, Jason C.

Onset's HOBO U22 Water Temp Pros are small, reliable, relatively inexpensive, self-contained temperature loggers that are widely used in studies of oceans, lakes, and streams. An in-house temperature bath calibration of 158 Temp Pros indicated root-mean-square (RMS) errors ranging from 0.01° to 0.14°C, with one value of 0.23°C, consistent with the factory specifications. Application of a quadratic calibration correction substantially reduced the RMS error to less than 0.009°C in all cases. The primary correction was a bias error typically between −0.1° and 0.15°C. Comparison of water temperature measurements from Temp Pros and more accurate temperature loggers during two oceanographic studies indicates that calibrated Temp Pros have an RMS error of ~0.02°C throughout the water column at night and beneath the surface layer influenced by penetrating solar radiation during the day. Larger RMS errors (up to 0.08°C) are observed near the surface during the day due to solar heating of the black Temp Pro housing. Errors due to solar heating are significantly reduced by wrapping the housing with white electrical tape.
Advancing observation of ocean biogeochemistry, biology, and ecosystems with cost-effective in situ sensing technologies

(Frontiers Media, 2019-09-12) Wang, Zhaohui Aleck ; Moustahfid, Hassan ; Mueller, Amy V. ; Michel, Anna P. M. ; Mowlem, Matthew ; Glazer, Brian T. ; Mooney, T. Aran ; Michaels, William ; McQuillan, Jonathan S. ; Robidart, Julie ; Churchill, James H. ; Sourisseau, Marc ; Daniel, Anne ; Schaap, Allison ; Monk, Sam ; Friedman, Kim ; Brehmer, Patrice

Advancing our understanding of ocean biogeochemistry, biology, and ecosystems relies on the ability to make observations both in the ocean and at the critical boundaries between the ocean and other earth systems at relevant spatial and temporal scales. After decades of advancement in ocean observing technologies, one of the key remaining challenges is how to cost-effectively make measurements at the increased resolution necessary for illuminating complex system processes and rapidly evolving changes. In recent years, biogeochemical in situ sensors have been emerging that are threefold or more lower in cost than established technologies; the cost reduction for many biological in situ sensors has also been significant, although the absolute costs are still relatively high. Cost savings in these advancements has been driven by miniaturization, new methods of packaging, and lower-cost mass-produced components such as electronics and materials. Recently, field projects have demonstrated the potential for science-quality data collection via large-scale deployments using cost-effective sensors and deployment strategies. In the coming decade, it is envisioned that ocean biogeochemistry and biology observations will be revolutionized by continued innovation in sensors with increasingly low price points and the scale-up of deployments of these in situ sensor technologies. The goal of this study is therefore to: (1) provide a review of existing sensor technologies that are already achieving cost-effectiveness compared with traditional instrumentation, (2) present case studies of cost-effective in situ deployments that can provide insight into methods for bridging observational gaps, (3) identify key challenge areas where progress in cost reduction is lagging, and (4) present a number of potentially transformative directions for future ocean biogeochemical and biological studies using cost-effective technologies and deployment strategies.
Particle triggered reactions as an important mechanism of alkalinity and inorganic carbon removal in river plumes

(American Geophysical Union, 2021-05-20) Wurgaft, Eyal ; Wang, Zhaohui Aleck ; Churchill, James H. ; Dellapenna, Timothy M. ; Song, Shuzhen ; Du, Jiabi ; Ringham, Mallory C. ; Rivlin, Tanya ; Lazar, Boaz

The effects of heterogeneous reactions between river-borne particles and the carbonate system were studied in the plumes of the Mississippi and Brazos rivers. Measurements within these plumes revealed significant removal of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA). After accounting for all known DIC and TA sinks and sources, heterogeneous reactions (i.e., heterogeneous CaCO3 precipitation and cation exchange between adsorbed and dissolved ions) were found to be responsible for a significant fraction of DIC and TA removal, exceeding 10% and 90%, respectively, in the Mississippi and Brazos plume waters. This finding was corroborated by laboratory experiments, in which the seeding of seawater with the riverine particles induced the removal of the DIC and TA. The combined results demonstrate that heterogeneous reactions may represent an important controlling mechanism of the seawater carbonate system in particle-rich coastal areas and may significantly impact the coastal carbon cycle.
Effects of typhoons on surface seawater pCO(2) and air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Northern South China Sea

(American Geophysical Union, 2020-08-03) Yu, Peisong ; Wang, Zhaohui Aleck ; Churchill, James H. ; Zheng, Minhui ; Pan, Jianming ; Bai, Yan ; Liang, Chujin

This study assessed the effects of typhoons on sea surface pCO2 and CO2 flux in the northern South China Sea (SCS). During the passage of three major typhoons from May to August 2013, sea surface pCO2, surface seawater temperature (SST), and other meteorological parameters were continuously measured on a moored buoy. Surface water in the region was a source of CO2 to the atmosphere with large variations ranging from hours to months. SST was the primary factor controlling the variation of surface pCO2 through most of the time period. Typhoons are seen to impact surface pCO2 in three steps: first by cooling, thus decreasing surface pCO2, and then by causing vertical mixing that brings up deep, high‐CO2 water, and lastly triggering net uptake of CO2 due to the nutrients brought up in this deep water. The typhoons of this study primarily impacted air‐sea CO2 flux via increasing wind speeds. The mean CO2 flux during a typhoon ranged from 3.6 to 5.4 times the pretyphoon mean flux. The magnitude of the CO2 flux during typhoons was strongly inversely correlated with the typhoon center distance. The effect of typhoons accounted for 22% of the total CO2 flux in the study period, during which typhoons occurred only 9% of the time. It was estimated that typhoons enhanced annual CO2 efflux by 23–56% in the northern SCS during the last decade. As such, tropical cyclones may play a large and increasingly important role in controlling CO2 fluxes in a warmer and stormier ocean of the future.
Re-evaluating the effect of wind on recruitment in Gulf of Maine Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) using an environmentally-explicit stock recruitment model

( 2013-10) Hare, Jonathan A. ; Brooks, Elizabeth N. ; Palmer, Michael C. ; Churchill, James H.

A previous study documented a correlation between Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) recruitment in the Gulf of Maine and an annual index of the north component of May winds. This correlation was supported by modeling studies that indicated unusually strong recruitment of Gulf of Maine Atlantic Cod results from high retention of spring-spawned larvae in years when winds were predominately out of the north, which favor downwelling. We re-evaluated this relationship using updated recruitment estimates and found that the correlation decreased between recruitment and wind. The original relationship was largely driven by two recruitment estimates, one of which (2005 year class) was highly uncertain because it was near the terminal year of the assessment. With additional data, the updated assessment estimated lower recruitment for the 2005 year class, which consequently lowered the correlation between recruitment and wind. We then investigated whether an environmentally-explicit stock recruit function that incorporated an annual wind index was supported by either the original or updated assessment output. Although incorporation of the annual wind index produced a better fitting model, the uncertainty in the estimated parameters and the implied unexploited conditions were not appropriate for providing management advice. These results suggest the need for caution in the development of environmentally-explicit stock recruitment relationships, in particular when basing relationships and hypotheses on recruitment estimates from the terminal years of stock assessment models. More broadly, this study highlights a number of sources of uncertainty that should be considered when analyses are performed on the output of stock assessment models.
Temperature, recreational fishing and diapause egg connections : dispersal of spiny water fleas (Bythotrephes longimanus)

(Springer, 2011-09-04) Kerfoot, W. Charles ; Yousef, Foad ; Hobmeier, Martin M. ; Maki, Ryan P. ; Jarnagin, S. Taylor ; Churchill, James H.

The spiny water flea (Bythotrephes longimanus) is spreading from Great Lakes coastal waters into northern inland lakes within a northern temperature-defined latitudinal band. Colonization of Great Lakes coastal embayments is assisted by winds and seiche surges, yet rapid inland expansion across the northern states comes through an overland process. The lack of invasions at Isle Royale National Park contrasts with rapid expansion on the nearby Keweenaw Peninsula. Both regions have comparable geology, lake density, and fauna, but differ in recreational fishing boat access, visitation, and containment measures. Tail spines protect Bythotrephes against young of the year, but not larger fish, yet the unusual thick-shelled diapausing eggs can pass through fish guts in viable condition. Sediment traps illustrate how fish spread diapausing eggs across lakes in fecal pellets. Trillions of diapausing eggs are produced per year in Lake Michigan and billions per year in Lake Michigamme, a large inland lake. Dispersal by recreational fishing is linked to use of baitfish, diapausing eggs defecated into live wells and bait buckets, and Bythothephes snagged on fishing line, anchor ropes, and minnow seines. Relatively simple measures, such as on-site rinsing of live wells, restricting transfer of certain baitfish species, or holding baitfish for 24 h (defecation period), should greatly reduce dispersal.
Seasonal variations of hydrographic parameters off the Sudanese coast of the Red Sea, 2009–2015

(Elsevier, 2017-12-21) Ali, Elsheikh B. ; Churchill, James H. ; Barthel, Knut ; Skjelvan, Ingunn ; Omar, Abdirahman M. ; de Lange, Tor E. ; Eltaib, Elfatih B. A.

The variations of temperature and salinity in the Sudanese coastal zone of the Red Sea are studied for the first time using measurements acquired from survey cruises during 2009–2013 and from a mooring during 2014–2015. The measurements show that temperature and salinity variability above the permanent pycnocline is dominated by seasonal signals, similar in character to seasonal temperature and salinity oscillations observed further north on the eastern side of the Red Sea. Using estimates of heat flux, circulation and horizontal temperature/salinity gradients derived from a number of sources, we determined that the observed seasonal signals of temperature and salinity are not the product of local heat and mass flux alone, but are also due to alongshore advection of waters with spatially varying temperature and salinity. As the temperature and salinity gradients, characterized by warmer and less saline water to the south, exhibit little seasonal variation, the seasonal salinity and temperature variations are closely linked to an observed seasonal oscillation in the along-shore flow, which also has a mean northward component. We find that the inclusion of the advection terms in the heat and mass balance has two principal effects on the computed temperature and salinity series. One is that the steady influx of warmer and less saline water from the south counteracts the long-term trend of declining temperatures and rising salinities computed with only the local surface flux terms, and produces a long-term steady state in temperature and salinity. The second effect is produced by the seasonal alongshore velocity oscillation and most profoundly affects the computed salinity, which shows no seasonal signal without the inclusion of the advective term. In both the observations and computed results, the seasonal salinity signal lags that of temperature by roughly 3 months.

Churchill James H.

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