Physical Processes and Biogeochemical Engineering
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Keppel Bay: physical processes and biogeochemical engineering L.C. Radke1, P.W. Ford2, I.T. Webster2, I. Atkinson1, K.Oubelkheir2 1 Geoscience Australia, Canberra, ACT 2 CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, ACT 2006 Keppel Bay: physical processes and biogeochemical functioning Keppel Bay: physical processes and biogeochemical functioning Copyright © 2006: Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management Written by: L.C. Radke P.W. Ford I,T, Webster I. Atkinson K. Oubelkheir Published by the Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Coastal CRC) Indooroopilly Sciences Centre 80 Meiers Road Indooroopilly Qld 4068 Australia www.coastal.crc.org.au The text of this publication may be copied and distributed for research and educational purposes with proper acknowledgement. Disclaimer: The information contained in this report was current at the time of publication. While the report was prepared with care by the authors, the Coastal CRC and its partner organisations accept no liability for any matters arising from its contents. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data Keppel Bay: physical processes and biogeochemical functioning QNRM06356 ISBN 1 921017759 (print and online) Keppel Bay: physical processes and biogeochemical functioning Acknowledgements The work described in this report was funded by the CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management and relied on extensive inputs of data and ideas from members of other components of the Fitzroy Contaminants subproject (described in CRC Reports 34 to 37). We acknowledge and thank the following other people for their various contributions to this work: Kirrod Broadhurst, Graham Wassell, Paul Ridett and David Munro, the captain and deckhands of the Rum Rambler, managed navigation, shared local knowledge and provided assistance during the sampling. Lesley Clementson of CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research undertook the phytoplankton pigment analyses. Ray Degraaf, Stan Rucinski, Andrew Hislop, Tim Johnson and Craig Wintle of the Field and Engineering Support Group at Geoscience Australia developed and produced equipment used on the survey (sediment grab, continuous flow apparatus and filtering apparatus). Miles Furnas (AIMS) and David Haynes (GBRMPA) for access to data and helpful advice. Nicky Grigg saved our bacon in formatting Word. Ralf Haese engaged in helpful discussions pertaining to science and methods, and provided constructive criticism to an earlier version of this report. Alan Hinde (Geoscience Australia) wrote a macro that calculates PSUs. Danny Hunt provided advice on preparing samples for surface area analysis and Adrian Beech (CSIRO) undertook these analyses. Angie Jaensch, Veronika Galinec and Heinz Buettikofer drafted the figures. Algis Juoldvalkis (Geoscience Australia) prepared and analysed samples by XRD/SiroQuant. Tan Kok Piang (Geoscience Australia) provided some advice on the methods. John Pyke, Liz Webber and Bill Pappas (Geoscience Australia) prepared and analysed the XRF and LECO-TOC samples. Liz Webber conducted FeO analyses. Richard Phillips (CSIRO PI) carried out the C and N isotopic analyses. Andy Longmore (MAFRI) undertook analysis of the different types of sediment P. Alex McLachlan and Neil Ramsay (Geoscience Australia) conducted the grain size analyses. Luis Neumann and David Page (The University of Queensland) provided advice on quality control measures for grain size analysis. Bob Noble, Bob Packett and Peter Verwey (DNRMW Queensland) assisted with logistics and provided local knowledge. Keppel Bay: physical processes and biogeochemical functioning Rachel Davenport and Carolyn Sandison (Geoscience Australia) ran the mass spectrometer, and provided advice on the analysis of carbon isotopes in sediments with low TOC contents. Darren Skene, Brendan Brooke, David Ryan and the crew of the Pacific Conquest collected box core and vibro-cores. Peter Taylor (Geoscience Australia) milled the sediment samples. Colin Tindall provided support in the field and with the survey logistics. I.T. Webster and P.W. Ford led the design of this study, with contributions from I. Atkinson, K. Oubelkheir and L.C. Radke. The report was written and compiled by P.W. Ford, L.C. Radke and I.T. Webster: P.W. Ford led Chapters 6 and 7; L.C. Radke led Chapter 5 and I.T. Webster led Chapters 3 and 4. All authors contributed to the final synthesis (Conceptual Models) in Chapter 8. I. Atkinson was a key participant and organiser of the field work. K. Oubelkheir contributed to the pigment analysis and provided a link to the remote sensing activity. Keppel Bay: physical processes and biogeochemical functioning Table of contents Table of contents ....................................................................................................................... V Table of figures........................................................................................................................ VII Table of tables ........................................................................................................................... X Non-technical summary............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 Project origins and aims........................................................................................................7 Relationship of the contents of this report to the scientific questions ................................... 8 Structure of this report........................................................................................................... 9 Background.............................................................................................................................. 11 Fitzroy River catchment and hydrological behaviour .......................................................... 11 Geology of the Fitzroy catchment ....................................................................................... 14 The Fitzroy Estuary .............................................................................................................15 Keppel Bay .......................................................................................................................... 16 Sampling strategy................................................................................................................ 17 Physical oceanography ...........................................................................................................21 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 21 Meteorology......................................................................................................................... 22 Tides.................................................................................................................................... 25 Waves.................................................................................................................................. 30 Salinity and temperature in Keppel Bay .............................................................................. 32 Regional oceanography ...................................................................................................... 40 Fine-sediment dynamics..........................................................................................................45 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 45 Spatial distribution ............................................................................................................... 45 Relationship between TSS concentration and turbidity ...................................................... 47 Time series of turbidity and TSS concentrations................................................................. 49 TSS flux............................................................................................................................... 52 A simple resuspension model ............................................................................................. 54 Keppel Bay biogeochemistry ................................................................................................... 59 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 59 Bottom sediments: spatial distribution, geochemical character & nutrient accumulation ... 60 Biogeochemical processes.................................................................................................. 70 Water column nutrient dynamics: mixing diagrams, maps, nutrient-TSM relationships and pool sizes............................................................................................................................. 78 Zonation of Keppel Bay based on biogeochemical data: a low-flow perspective ............... 91 Conclusions....................................................................................................................... 100 Tidal creek biogeochemistry.................................................................................................. 103 Introduction.......................................................................................................................