| > Oceanography > Issues > Archive > Volume 21, Number 4 |
2008, Oceanography 21(4):179–184, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2008.16
Forcing and Dynamics of Seafloor-Water Column Exchange
on a Broad Continental Shelf
Authors | First Paragraph | Full Article | Citation
Authors
William B. Savidge | Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA, USA
Ann Gargett | Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
Richard A. Jahnke | Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA, USA
James R. Nelson | Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA, USA
Dana K. Savidge | Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, GA, USA
R. Timothy Short | Marine Technology Program, SRI International, Saint Petersburg, FL, USA
George Voulgaris | University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
First Paragraph
Relict sediments of elevated permeability characterize the majority of continental shelves globally (Emery, 1968). In these settings, interactions between benthic boundary layer (BBL) flows and seabed topography generate pressure fluctuations that drive advective and dispersive porewater transport, dramatically increasing the magnitude and variability of porewater solute and particulate exchange across the sediment-water interface (Huettel et al., 1996; Huettel and Rusch, 2000). On broad shallow shelves with a relatively large area-to-volume ratio, the seafloor's role is magnified. Energetic events may reorganize bedforms across a significant fraction of the shelf, leading to altered exchange dynamics that may persist long after the organizing event. Ecosystem-based management of both resources and environmental status requires improved fundamental understanding of dynamic benthic exchange processes. Scattered, short-time-scale observations are unlikely to capture the full spectrum of events that affect sediment-water exchanges; a persistent observational presence on the seafloor is required.
Full Article
Citation
Savidge, W.B., A. Gargett, R.A. Jahnke, J.R. Nelson, D.K. Savidge, R.T. Short, and G. Voulgaris. 2008. Forcing and dynamics of seafloor-water column exchange on a broad continental shelf. Oceanography 21(4):179–184, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2008.16.