In:
Fisheries Oceanography, Wiley, Vol. 26, No. 2 ( 2017-03), p. 114-127
Abstract:
Oyster and scallop aquaculture has flourished in Ofunato Bay, on the Sanriku Coast of Japan. Between 1967 and 2011, this bay was a highly enclosed area by a bay‐mouth breakwater, and while the breakwater provided calm conditions suitable for aquaculture, there was concern about water quality deterioration. The Tohoku Earthquake off the Pacific coast and the subsequent major tsunami on 11 March 2011 caused extensive damage to the Sanriku Coast, resulting in the collapse of the breakwater of Ofunato Bay. We analyzed the monthly hydrographic observational data that were collected between 1996 and 2015, supplemented with hydrographic observations and direct current measurements that were carried out after the earthquake. The historical hydrographic observational data showed the lowest dissolved oxygen ( DO ) concentrations were observed near the bottom in the bay. The average and standard deviation of the lowest DO concentrations of each monthly observation during the period before and after the earthquake were 5.81 ± 3.72 and 7.22 ± 1.49 mg L −1 , respectively, and are significantly different. The oceanic water inflow and water exchange rate estimated by a box model based on the salt budget under the steady‐state estuarine circulation were also significantly different before and after the earthquake. An increase in the inflow of oceanic water and the more rapid water exchange in the bay after the earthquake induced marked improvements in the bottom DO concentration. These changes are considered to be attributable to the improved circulation of oceanic water in the bay that resulted from the collapse of the bay‐mouth breakwater.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1054-6006
,
1365-2419
DOI:
10.1111/fog.2017.26.issue-2
Language:
English
Publisher:
Wiley
Publication Date:
2017
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1214985-8
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2020300-7
SSG:
21,3
SSG:
12
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