Open AccessHypoxia in the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary: How physics controls spatial patterns
Author(s) -
Lefort S.,
Gratton Y.,
Mucci A.,
Dadou I.,
Gilbert D.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2011jc007751
Subject(s) - water column , advection , biogeochemical cycle , estuary , oceanography , spatial distribution , hypoxia (environmental) , environmental science , deep water , hydrology (agriculture) , oxygen , geology , atmospheric sciences , environmental chemistry , chemistry , physics , remote sensing , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , thermodynamics
A laterally integrated advection‐diffusion two‐dimensional model was implemented to simulate the spatial distribution of dissolved oxygen and the development of hypoxic conditions in the deep waters of the Laurentian Channel (Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, Eastern Canada). Our simulations reveal that the horizontal distribution of dissolved oxygen in the bottom waters of the Laurentian Channel is determined by a combination of physical and biogeochemical processes, whereas its vertical distribution is governed by the deep water circulation. This result strongly suggests that the physics of the system and the source water properties are mostly responsible for the generation of a mid‐water column oxygen minimum and the oxygen distribution pattern in the deep water column.