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This letter presents new classification methods that effectively fuse the spectral mixing metrics and joint sparse representation (JSR) (SMMR) for hyperspectral image (HSI), in which SMMR combines ...

The typhoon process has a significant influence on the distribution of heavy metals in sediments. Based on the heavy metal (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Mn) contents in surface sediments collected under normal conditions and post-typhoon Matmo in Quanzhou Bay in 2014, the distributions, sources, and impacts of typhoon processes on heavy metals and pollution conditions were studied and discussed. The results showed that the heavy metals can be divided into two categories: Class I metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Mn) were mainly distributed in the estuary and significantly increased after the typhoon, and Class II metals (V, Cr, Co, and Ni) were distributed in the coastal intertidal zone and estuary and remained unchanged or decreased after the typhoon. The heavy metal assessment showed that heavy metal pollution in Quanzhou Bay was serious and tended to increase after the typhoon. The increased metal supply and enhanced riverine and tidal hydrodynamics after the typhoon may be the main factors influencing the variations in heavy metal content and distribution. This study provided a basis for the accurate evaluation and scientific management of heavy metal pollution caused by typhoon processes in Quanzhou Bay.

The concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, and Al in suspended particles were measured, and temperature, salinity, flow velocity and direction during a tidal cycle were observed before and after Typhoon Fung-wong at six stations in Quanzhou Bay, respectively. The comparison results show that, after the typhoon, the salinity in Quanzhou Bay decreased, whereas the concentrations of heavy metals increased by a factor of between 2 and 10, and the high heavy metal concentration corresponded to the low value of ratio between heavy metals and Al (HMs/Al), suggesting that these increased heavy metals were mainly from natural sources. Instantaneous unit width flux calculations for heavy metals at different stations indicate that sediments are an important source of heavy metals in suspended particles under the influence of typhoon, which has significantly contribution to understanding the impact of typhoons on the heavy metal pollution in the coastal area.

An upwelling system exists in the coastal waters of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), a region that is frequently affected by tropical cyclones in summer. This study investigates the evolution of the NSCS monsoon-driven upwelling system and the effects of the Talim and Doksuri tropical cyclones on the system using in situ observational data obtained at three mooring stations, one land-based meteorological station, and concurrent satellite remote sensing data for the NSCS coastal waters from May to July 2012. The results show that the occurrence and evolution of the upwelling system were mainly controlled by the Asian southwest monsoon, while the eastward current also made important contributions to the upwelling intensity. A decrease in the bottom water temperature and shifts in the along-shore and cross-shore currents were direct evidence of the establishment, existence, and recovery of this upwelling. Tropical cyclones have significant impacts on hydrodynamics and can thus influence the evolution of the NSCS upwelling system by changing the local wind and current fields. Variations in water level and local current systems impeded the development of upwelling during tropical cyclones Talim and Doksuri in the study area, which have low-frequency fluctuations of approximately 2–10 days. These variations were the results of the coupled interactions between local wind fields, coastal trapped waves, and other factors. The hydrodynamic environment of the marine water (including coastal upwelling system) rapidly recovered to normal sea conditions after each cyclone passed due to the relatively short duration of the impact of a tropical cyclone on the dynamic environment of the waters.

Tong’an Bay (TAB) is a semienclosed embayment in the north of Xiamen Island. The sea area of TAB was mainly used for aquaculture in enclosed areas before 2003. Since 2003, the districts surrounding TAB have been undergoing a rapid urbanization process, and the scale of land used for urban construction in these districts has been continuously increasing. Under the backdrop of rapid urbanization, the coastline of TAB has largely been transformed into an artificial coastline. Due to the large scale of land reclamation and, dredging activities and the opening of the Gaoqi-Jimei (GJ) Seawall, there have been relatively significant changes in the coastal and submarine geomorphology in central northern, western, and southern TAB and Wuyuan Bay as well as a significant increase in the area where artificial submarine geomorphologies are distributed; the number of surface sediment types in the TAB has increased, and sediments in the sea area surrounding engineering projects have been coarsening; the sedimen...

Typhoons play a significant role in the marine sedimentary dynamic process and thus could significantly change the submarine geomorphology in their influence area. In this study, a high-resolution sub-bottom profiler and a side-scan sonar were used to detect the submarine geomorphology of the southeast coastal area of Nanri Island in the Taiwan Strait before and after Typhoon Soudelor&mdash, three times in 2015. The results show that the typhoon induced seaward movement of the sand dunes up to several tens of meters, resulting in significant changes in both the shape of the sand dunes and the scale of the exposed bedrocks. The typhoon also changed the submarine geomorphology, including the smoothing of anchor traces of fishing boats and the formation of relatively small sand dunes (groups). A comparison of the results of different surveys shows that the submarine geomorphology that was changed by Typhoon Soudelor could not recover within a short period of time. The wind field simulations of the typhoon process showed that the storm wave caused by the strong wind stress of the typhoon was a key dynamic factor for changing the submarine geomorphology.

Extreme weather events occur frequently under global warming scenarios and have an important impact on the global carbon cycle. Compared to large rivers, small rivers are more sensitive to extreme weather events (such as typhoons). This paper reports the results of a study carried out in the Quanzhou Bay to explore the evolution of small river estuarine sedimentary organic matter after typhoon process using measurements of the grain-size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and δ13C of surface sediment samples collected 2–3 days and a month, respectively, after typhoon Matmo landing in 2014. The results show that the contents of TOC and TN in the sediments, which gradually decrease from the estuary to the outer sea of Quanzhou Bay, decreased approximately 13% and 16%, respectively, a month later compared with 2–3 days after typhoon landing. The significant decrease occurred in the Jinjiang River estuary and along the South Channel of Quanzhou Bay, while the North Channel and Luoyangjiang River estuary retained high levels of TOC and TN. The results of δ13C values and TOC/TN ratios show that the organic matter in the sediment of the Quanzhou Bay was a mixture derived from C3 terrestrial plants and marine algae. The terrestrial organic matter was mainly deposited in the Jinjiang River estuary 2–3 days after typhoon landing and then spread along the tidal channel to the outer sea a month later. It indicates that the hydrodynamic forces stirred sedimentary organic matters that were input and settled during typhoon, and transported later along the North and South Channel to the outer sea. Some of those organic matters were accumulated in the North Channel during the transport process. The results provide significant meaning for the carbon cycle and material flux study on the coastal and margin seas.

To understand the variations of vertical settling flux in a spring-neap tidal cycle in strong tidal environments, an anchored vessel with a Hydro-Bios Multi-Sediment Trap and a Nortek Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was deployed in the sub-tidal flat in Luoyuan Bay, a typical semi-enclosed embayment, from January 16 to 31, 2010 (from spring to neap to spring again). The observed results reveal that there is a strong relationship between the Signal-Noise Ratio (SNR) recorded by the ADV and the synchronous suspended sediment concentration (SSC) obtained by the filtrated method. The time-series of SSC and settling velocity were then estimated. The measured results indicated that the maximum tidal range during the observation was 7.03 m, which occurred during the spring tide, and the minimum value during the neap tide was 3.58 m. The near-bottom (1.1 m above the bed) current speed, SSC, bed shear stress, and settling velocity decreased from spring to neap tide, and the maximum values were 0.556 m/s, 53.40 mg/L, 0.806 N/m2 and 0.26 mm/s, respectively. The horizontal flux varied from 0.04 g/m2 s to 21.77 g/m2 s; the horizontal fluxes over a tidal cycle decreased from spring to neap tide, and the net horizontal flux of suspended sediment was 880.66 kg/m2 with a net transport direction of 292° during the entire observation time. The daily vertical settling fluxes, calculated based on mass balance, varied from 17.03 g/m2 d to 56.86 g/m2 d, which were lower than those obtained by the sediment trap (18.50–332.80 g/m2 d). According to the analyzed results of the hydrodynamic data, when the current speed exceeds 0.20 m/s, the flow can penetrate the whole sediment trap and the bottom quiescent layer no longer exists. The horizontal flux plays an important role in the trap collection efficiency in strong tidal environments, which can lead to overestimation and a maximum value of 585% during the spring tide. A constant settling velocity (mean value during the observation) may underestimate the daily settling fluxes by approximately 22.28–51.80% during the neap tide and overestimate the fluxes by approximately 19.61–30.86% during the spring tide.

To study cohesive sediment behaviors and their time-variability in the near-bottom layer in the muddy area of the northern Taiwan Strait (TS), a short-term bottom-mounted tripod, which was equipped with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV), an upward acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and a CTD with a Seapoint turbidity sensor, was deployed at the northern TS over seven days between July 22 and 29, 2012. The near-bed current velocity, wave orbital velocity, bottom shear stress induced by wave and current, near-bed suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and variations in the bed elevation were resolved. The observation results indicate that the most important semidiurnal constituent at the northwest TS is M2 and that the near-bed (0.7 mab) current speed showed spring-neap cyclic characteristics, with a maximum value of 0.453 m/s. Additionally, the water flowed in acounter-clockwise rotary current pattern. The weather was fair during the observation, and the significant wave height ranged from 0.60 m to 1.81 m, which generated an extremely low wave orbital velocity (the maximum value was 0.128 m/s). The near-bed SSC estimated from the signal-noise ratio recorded by the ADV ranged from 1.48 mg/L to 74.95 mg/L. The relation between the bottom shear stress and the SSC suggested that the local sediment resuspension is primarily controlled by a tidal current and that the wave action was practically negligible during the observation. The resulting net near-bed horizontal transport flux was 1387.59 kg/m2 during the observations, dominated by the along-shelf flux (approximately 3.74 times than cross-shelf flux) and directed toward the NNE. The bed elevation revealed that the mean value of the erosion and deposition depth during a tidal cycle could reach 14.8 mm in an intermediate tide, with a maximum value of 17.9 mm; the net effect during the observation was erosion, with a depth of 0.4 mm.

The thermal discharge from coastal nuclear power plants and thermal power plants (CNATPP) not only increases the water temperature, but it also stratifies the seawater. Comprehending the characteristics of stratification that is caused by thermal discharge constitutes the basis for developing a comprehensive understanding of how thermal discharge affects marine organisms. The spatial and temporal characteristics of seawater stratification induced by thermal discharge were analyzed on the basis of measured data while using two study areas with different tidal dynamics as examples. The results showed the following. (1) Thermal discharge influenced the area within 3 km of the outlet. (2) In the East China Sea (which has strong tidal dynamics), the most significant stratification occurred 0.5 km&ndash, 1.0 km from the outlet, however, in the South China Sea (which has weak tidal dynamics), the degree of stratification decreased with increasing distance from the outlet. (3) In the East China Sea (i.e., strong tidal dynamics), the depth of the thermocline during ebb tide gradually moved upward, while that during flood tide gradually moved downward, and the opposite was observed in the South China Sea (i.e., weak tidal dynamics). Finally, (4) the thermocline that was caused by thermal discharge mostly occurred at water depths above 7 m.