Abstract
This poster describes some preliminary results of the June 8th-12th 2010 cruise of
the R/V Bellows. The cruise consisted of five separate hydrographic sections,
three of which will be displayed here. Transect A was chosen to overlap the
“NGI Section” so as to augment the consistent, long-term observations made
there. It characterizes the transition from near shore waters to the inner gulf.
Transect B is a continuous line which encloses almost all of Apalachicola Bay
and St. George Sound. It was sited to provide a baseline for a box model of the
bay system and shows the spatial variability of the freshwater outflow from the
bay into the gulf. The final section, Transect C, spans from the interior of the bay
(near Sikes Cut) to the opposite side of East Pass. It appears to show direct
lateral mixing between the shallow inner Apalachicola Bay and the surface water
of the gulf.
Motivation
Franklin County:
Total Catch 5,191,444 / 90,042,345
Oysters 2,695,701 / 2,915,440 ~ 92%
http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/fishstats/commercial-fisheries/landings-in-florida/
The oyster fishery of Apalachicola Bay consistently produces 90% of Florida’s
(and thus 20% of the nation’s) landed stock of oysters (Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission, 2011). Simple chemical changes such as variations
in salinity have been shown to directly affect oyster mortality specifically
(Livingston, et al., 2000). Oysters are only one of the most visible of a multitude
of inhabitants that connect a large portion of the gulf ecosystem to an estuary
that is extremely sensitive to changes in outside forcing. Recent periods of
extended drought have demonstrated the sensitivity of the Apalachicola Bay
system to changes in external forcing (Niu, Edmiston, & Bailey, 1998). Artificial
restrictions in the Apalachicola River have further motivated many biological
studies on this sensitivity (Chanton & Lewis, 2002). But a better understanding
of the physical processes within the bay such as lateral and vertical mixing and
nutrient and chemical budgets are still forthcoming. Thus, the stations on this
cruise were chosen so as to prepare a box model of the bay with the aim of
addressing just such concerns.
Data and Methods
The Cruise of the R/V Bellows of 06/08 - 06/12/2010.
The June 8th-12th 2010 cruise of the R/V Bellows was made as part of the Marine
Field Methods course at the department of Oceanography at Florida State
University.
The main portion of the cruise consisted of 56 hydrographic stations distributed
within and surrounding Apalachicola Bay, Florida. At each of these, a casting
was made with a SeaBird 25 CTD chassis containing a YSI-6600 and CDOM
instrument. Together these redundantly measured temperature, conductivity as
a proxy for salinity, and pressure as a proxy of depth. Separately, the YSI probe
measured pH, organic dissolved oxygen, and turbidity in addition to the 3
channel CDOM.
Measurements of surface water were also made periodically using a YSI 556
handheld unit. All electronic instruments were calibrated at the start of the cruise
using standard solutions.
Bottom sediment samples were also collected at 34 of these stations by means
of a Shipek sediment grab. At each station, water samples were collected
throughout the water column by means of Niskin bottles adjusted to trigger at
various depths. Surface water was also collected during each casting. At 8 of
these stations, extra water samples were collected and analyzed on board for
Chl-α concentration using an Aquaflour handheld fluorometer and turbidimeter.
All water and sediment samples were sealed and frozen by means of an onboard
sample fridge. Analysis of these samples was performed at the National High
Magnetic Field facility using a GC mass spectrometer.
The raw instrument data was then analyzed in MATLAB where it was parsed into
castings, synced in time, and averaged into depth bins.
 56 hydrographic stations distributed within and surrounding Apalachicola
Bay, Florida.
o At each of these, a CTD casting was made with a SeaBird 25
chassis containing a YSI-6600 and CDOM instrument. Together
these redundantly measured temperature, conductivity as a proxy
for salinity, and pressure as a proxy of depth. Separately, the YSI
probe measured pH, organic dissolved oxygen, and turbidity in
addition to the 3 channel CDOM.
o At each station, water samples were collected throughout the
water column by means of Niskin bottles adjusted to trigger at
various depths. Surface water was also collected during each
casting.
 34 sediment samples retrieved by means of a Shipek sediment grab.
 8 stations included extra water sampling followed by on-board analysis for
Chl-α concentration using an Aquaflour handheld fluorometer.
General
The preliminary results from the three transects shown depict lateral mixing in a
complicated, multiple-inlet estuary, and hint at a complex source-sink structure in
the Apalachicola Bay system. This, in conjunction with the consistent NGI
observations made outside of the FSU Marine Laboratory, will be the source of
future work.
Transect A
Note that stations 5 and 9 are on opposite sides of Dog Island Reef. From the
TS plot, notice that Station 5 is strongly stratified
Transect B
The motivation of Transect B was to obtain an inflow/outflow bounding line to
establish a box model for Apalachicola Bay.
The first thing to notice is that
There is a noticeable peak of chlorophyll coinciding with a sharp gradient of
salinity.
Transect C
The hydrographic properties of the bay water appear to have significant local
variation due to topography. Note the large discontinuity in temperature and
salinity of the entire water column between stations 49 and 50, and, to a lesser
extent between stations 50 and 51. Station 50 is surrounded by shallow sand
bars on almost all sides, the largest opening to which appears to be through a
channel located near Station 51.
Looking at stations 51 and 52, Is it safe to say that salt water is intruding
eastward through the relatively deep channel under Station 51, and fresher water
is intruding westward to compensate? Perhaps Station 50 is isolated because of
topography and thus not flushed regularly by tides. In that case, one would
expect the water to be fresher due to its proximity to a riverine source.

Mixing Lines
o Expect to see Surface water mixed between Riverine output and
Gulf water
 From the river measurements, we see that the temperature
increases from the river to the center of App bay for some
reason unknown to science
 One mixing source is INTERIOR OF THE BAY and
not river directly
 From ts plot of transect A, we see that the second mixing
source is hydrographically similar to the surface water at
Station 1 (K Tower)

Actually we see the mixing lines occurring between the
center of the bay (0Sal, 33.4Temp) and Upper Gulf Water
(32.6Sal 29.27Temp)
o Lower water in bay is mixed between river and upper water in gulf
(e.g. Station 1)
o If this interpretation is correct, upper water in bay seems to be
dependent only on the lower water mass and deviates by a specific
amount. This difference could then be used to quantify spatial
differences in vertical mixing throughout the bay
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
National Ocean Service (NOS), Special Projects (SP)
Publication_Date: 19980606
Title:
Apalachicola Bay, FL (G100) Bathymetric Digital Elevation Model (30 meter resolution) Derived
From Source Hydrographic Survey Soundings Collected by NOAA
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster digital data
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Silver Spring, MD
Publisher: NOAA's Ocean Service, Special Projects (SP)
Online_Linkage: <http://estuarinebathymetry.noaa.gov>
(National Ocean Service, 1998)
(United States Geological Survey, 2011)
Citations
Works Cited
United States Geological Survey. (2011, 05 10). USGS 02359170
APALACHICOLA RIVER NR SUMATRA,FLA. / USGS 02330400 NEW
RIVER NEAR SUMATRA, FLA. USGS Real-Time Water Data for USA .
Tallahassee, Florida, USA: Florida Integrated Science Center Tallahassee Water Data Support Team. Retrieved 05 12, 2011, from
USGS Real-Time Water Data for the Nation:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt?
Chanton, J., & Lewis, F. G. (2002). Examination of Coupling between Primary
and Secondary Production in a River-Dominated Estuary: Apalachicola
Bay, Florida, USA. Limnology and Oceanography , 47 (3), 683-697.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (2011, May 3). Commercial
Fisheries Landings in Florida. Retrieved 05 13, 2011, from Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission:
http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/fishstats/commercialfisheries/landings-in-florida/
Livingston, Lewis, Woodsum, Niu, Galperin, Huang, et al. (2000). Modelling
Oyster Population Response to Variation in Freshwater Input. Estuarine,
Coastal and Shelf Science (50), 655-672.
National Ocean Service. (1998, June 06). Apalachicola Bay, FL (G100)
Bathymetric Digital Elevation Model (30 meter resolution). U.S. Estuarine
Bathymetric Data Sets . Silver Spring, MD, USA: NOAA's Ocean Service,
Special Projects.
Niu, X.-F., Edmiston, H., & Bailey, G. O. (1998). Time Series Models for Salinity
and Other Environmental Factors in the Apalachicola Estuarine System.
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (46), 549-563.
Lilly, J.M. (2010), JLAB: Matlab freeware for data analysis, Version 0.91,
http://www.jmlilly.net/software.html.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (2011, May 3). Commercial
Fisheries Landings in Florida. Retrieved 05 13, 2011, from Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission:
http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/fishstats/commercialfisheries/landings-in-florida/
Livingston, Lewis, Woodsum, Niu, Galperin, Huang, et al. (2000). Modelling
Oyster Population Response to Variation in Freshwater Input. Estuarine,
Coastal and Shelf Science (50), 655-672.
National Ocean Service. (1998, June 06). Apalachicola Bay, FL (G100)
Bathymetric Digital Elevation Model (30 meter resolution). U.S. Estuarine
Bathymetric Data Sets . Silver Spring, MD, USA: NOAA's Ocean Service,
Special Projects.
United States Geological Survey. (2011, 05 10). USGS 02359170
APALACHICOLA RIVER NR SUMATRA,FLA. / USGS 02330400 NEW
RIVER NEAR SUMATRA, FLA. USGS Real-Time Water Data for USA .
Tallahassee, Florida, USA: Florida Integrated Science Center Tallahassee Water Data Support Team. Retrieved 05 12, 2011, from
USGS Real-Time Water Data for the Nation:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt?
Large Map made with PolerView software by Polar Navy
(http://www.polarnavy.com/)
We would also like to acknowledge the department of Earth, Ocean, and
Atmospheric Science at Florida State University for its support of the 2010
Marine Field Methods course, as well as the scientific staff and crew of the R/V
Bellows 06/2010 cruise including Chiu Cheng, J.T. Cox, Jay Hooper, Lee Russell,
Eric Mortenson, Christian Salvaterra, Carlowen Smith, Ashley Stroman, Nicolas
Winders, and Stephanie White.