Grain size dependency in the occurrence of sand waves

Sandy shallow seas, like the North Sea, are very dynamic. Several morphological features are present on the bed, from small ripples to sand waves and large tidal sandbanks. The larger patterns induce significant depth variations that have an impact on human activities taking place in this area. Therefore, it is important to know where these large-scale features occur, what their natural behaviour is and how they interact with human activities. Here, we extend earlier research that compares the results of an idealized model of large-scale seabed patterns with data of seabed patterns in the North Sea. The idealized model is extended with a grain size dependency. The adaptations lead to more accurate predictions of the occurrence of large-scale bed forms in the North Sea. Therefore, grain size dependency and, in particular, critical shear stress are important to explain the occurrence of sand waves and sandbanks in the North Sea. Responsible Editor: Alejandro Souza     

Dynamical Control of Pacific Oceanic Low-frequency Variability on Western Boundary and Marginal Seas

The adjustment of sea surface height (SSH) around the coasts of the Japan/East Sea (JES) and the South China Sea (SCS) basins subjected to extratropical Pacific Oceanic low frequency variability is studied using a Kelvin-planetary wave model and a high resolution numerical model. It is found that the modulation of SSH around the coast of Japan is mainly determined by slow adjustment of planetary waves, which radiate from the west coast of Honshu and Hokkaido due to the coastal Kelvin wave. In contrast, the SSH modulation around the cost of the South China Sea basin is mainly determined by the coastal Kelvin wave, which transfers the anomalous SSH into the SCS via the Luzon Strait and out via the Mindoro Strait. The planetary waves radiating from the west coast of Palawan establish a nearly uniform SSH anomaly in the southern part of the SCS, bounded by an eastward jet at the latitude of the Mindoro Strait. Along the western boundary, SSH anomaly decreases almost linearly toward the south, in accordance with the changing local deformation radius. In these two marginal seas, the mean subtropical Pacific gyre circulation enhances SSH modulation induced by extratropical Pacific low frequency variability. Overall, the SSH adjustment in the JES and the SCS predicted by the analytical model agrees well with the numerical model simulation. Application of this model to interaction between these marginal seas and the open ocean is discussed.     

A numerical study on the effects of wave–current–surge interactions on the height and propagation of sea surface waves in Charleston Harbor during Hurricane Hugo 1989

The effects of wave–current interactions on ocean surface waves induced by Hurricane Hugo in and around the Charleston Harbor and its adjacent coastal waters are examined by using a three-dimensional (3D) wave–current coupled modeling system. The 3D storm surge modeling component of the coupled system is based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM), the wave modeling component is based on the third generation wave model, Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN), and the inundation model is adopted from [Xie, L., Pietrafesa, L. J., Peng, M., 2004. Incorporation of a mass-conserving inundation scheme into a three-dimensional storm surge model. J. Coastal Res., 20, 1209–1223]. The results indicate that the change of water level associated with the storm surge is the primary cause for wave height changes due to wave–surge interaction. Meanwhile, waves propagating on top of surge cause a feedback effect on the surge height by modulating the surface wind stress and bottom stress. This effect is significant in shallow coastal waters, but relatively small in offshore deep waters. The influence of wave–current interaction on wave propagation is relatively insignificant, since waves generally propagate in the direction of the surface currents driven by winds. Wave–current interactions also affect the surface waves as a result of inundation and drying induced by the storm. Waves break as waters retreat in regions of drying, whereas waves are generated in flooded regions where no waves would have occurred without the flood water.     

Can the Waves Generated by Fast Ferries be a Physical Model of Tsunami?

The potential of long ship-induced waves to serve as a physical model for tsunami waves (called simply tsunami below) is examined. Such waves (wavelengths more than 200 m at depths down to 10–20 m) are induced by high-speed ferries sailing at near-critical speeds in semisheltered, relatively shallow areas. It is shown based on experience from Tallinn Bay, Baltic Sea, that for many aspects these waves can model nearshore dynamics and runup of tsunami caused by landslides, including processes of wave refraction, diffraction, and sea-bottom interaction in bays and harbors. Many governing nondimensional parameters (such as the nonlinearity, dispersion, Reynolds and Ursell numbers, surf similarity parameter, breaking parameter, etc.) of the largest ship waves and landslide tsunamis have the same order of magnitude. It is especially important that use of ship waves for wave propagation and runup studies allows their spatial structure to be accounted for adequately. Near-critical ship waves can therefore be used as a natural substitute for tsunami, for study under controlled and safe conditions.     

Modelling sand wave migration in shallow shelf seas

Sand waves form a prominent regular pattern in the offshore seabed of sandy shallow seas. The positions of sand-wave crests and troughs slowly change in time. Sand waves are usually assumed to migrate in the direction of the residual current. This paper considers the physical mechanisms that may cause sand waves to migrate and methods to quantify the associated migration rates. We carried out a theoretical study based on the assumption that sand waves evolve as free instabilities of the system. A linear stability analysis was then performed on a 2DV morphological model describing the interaction between the vertically varying water motion and an erodible bed in a shallow sea. Here, we disrupted the basic tidal symmetry by choosing a combination of a steady current (M₀) and a sinusoidal tidal motion (M₂) as the basic flow. We allowed for two different physical mechanisms to generate the steady current: a sea surface wind stress and a pressure gradient. The results show that similar sand waves develop for both flow conditions and that these sand waves migrate slowly in the direction of the residual flow. The rates of migration and wavelengths found in this work agree with theoretical and empirical values reported in the literature.     

A coupled tide-wave model for the NW European shelf seas

Understanding the interaction of tides and waves is essential in many studies, including marine renewable energy, sediment transport, long-term seabed morphodynamics, storm surges and the impacts of climate change. In the present research, a COAWST model of the NW European shelf seas has been developed and applied to a number of physical processes. Although many aspects of wave–current interaction can be investigated by this model, our focus is on the interaction of barotropic tides and waves at shelf scale. While the COWAST model was about five times more computationally expensive than running decoupled ROMS (ocean model) and SWAN (wave model), it provided an integrated modelling system which could incorporate many wave–tide interaction processes, and produce the tide and wave parameters in a unified file system with a convenient post-processing capacity. Some applications of the model such as the effect of tides on quantifying the wave energy resource, which exceeded 10% in parts of the region, and the effect of waves on the calculation of the bottom stress, which was dominant in parts of the North Sea and Scotland, during an energetic wave period are presented, and some challenges are discussed. It was also shown that the model performance in the prediction of the wave parameters can improve by 25% in some places where the wave-tide interaction is significant.     

Sediment transport and resuspension due to combined motion of wave and current in the northern Adriatic Sea during a Bora event in January 2001: A numerical modelling study

The Adriatic Sea general circulation model coupled to a third generation wave model SWAN and a sediment transport model was implemented in the Adriatic Sea to study the dynamics of the sediment transport and resuspension in the northern Adriatic Sea (NAS) during the Bora event in January 2001. The bottom boundary layer (BBL) was resolved by the coupled model with high vertical resolution, and the mechanism of the wave–current interaction in the BBL was also represented in the model. The study found that, during the Bora event of 13–17 January 2001, large waves with significant wave height 2 m and period of 5 s were generated by strong winds in the northwestern shelf of the Adriatic where the direction of wave propagation was orthogonal to the current. The combined motion of the wave and current in the BBL increased the bottom stress over the western Adriatic shelf, resulting in stronger sediment resuspension there. Combining stronger bottom resuspension and strong upward vertical flux of resuspended sediments due to turbulent mixing, the model predicted that sediment concentration near the Po River was much higher than that predicted by the model run without wave forcing. The study also shows that wave–current interaction in the BBL reduced the western Adriatic Coastal Currents (WACCs) in the shallower north. It is concluded that wave forcing significantly changed the sediment distributions and increased the total horizontal fluxes over the western shelf. These results signified wave effect on sediment flux and distribution in the NAS, and suggested that waves cannot be neglected in the study of dynamics of sediment transport and resuspension in the shallow coastal seas. By including the tidal forcing in the coupled model, we also examined the effect of tides on the sediment transport dynamics in the NAS.     

Guided Waves from Sources Outside Faults: An Indication for Shallow Fault Zone Structure?

— Using 3-D numerical modeling of seismic wave propagation we investigate the possibility of generating fault zone (FZ) trapped wave energy from sources well outside a fault. The FZ is represented by a O(200 m) wide vertical low velocity layer in a half space. We find that FZ trapped waves can be excited from sources well outside the fault if (1) the low-velocity structure extemds only to shallow depth and the source is located at greater depth or (2) the structure of the low-velocity zone is such that only the shallow part of the FZ traps energy. FZ trapped waves are not excited from sources well outside a FZ continuous with depth. The results support, in conjunction with recent observational evidence, a model for natural faults with shallow trapping structures rather than ones that span the entire seismogenic zone. This may have implications for fault mechanics as well as for aspects of shaking hazard near faults.     

Climate and extrema of ocean waves in the East China Sea

Wave climate plays an important role in the air-sea interaction over marginal seas. Extreme wave height provides fundamental information for various ocean engineering practices, such as hazard mitigation, coastal structure design, and risk assessment. In this paper, we implement a third generation wave model and conduct a high-resolution wave hindcast over the East China Sea to reconstruct a 15-year wave field from 1988 to 2002 for derivation of monthly mean wave parameters and analysis of extreme wave conditions. The numerical results of the wave field are validated through comparison with satellite altimetry measurements, low-resolution reanalysis, and the ocean wave buoy record. The monthly averaged wave height and wave period show seasonal variation and refined spatial patterns of surface waves in the East China Sea. The climatological significant wave height and mean wave period decrease from the open ocean in the southeast toward the continental area in the northwest, with the pattern generally following the bathymetry. Extreme analysis on the significant wave height at the buoy station indicates the hindcast data underestimate the extreme values relative to the observations. The spatial pattern of extreme wave height shows single peak emerges at the southwest of Ryukyu Island although a wind forcing with multi-core structure at the extreme is applied.     

Numerical Simulation of Fault Zone Guided Waves: Accuracy and 3-D Effects

-- Fault zones are thought to consist of regions with reduced seismic velocity. When sources are located in or close to these low-velocity zones, guided seismic head and trapped waves are generated which may be indicative of the structure of fault zones at depth. Observations above several fault zones suggest that they are common features of near fault radiation, yet their interpretation may be highly ambiguous. Analytical methods have been developed to calculate synthetic seismograms for sources in fault zones as well as at the material discontinuities. These solutions can be used for accurate modeling of wave propagation in plane-parallel layered fault zone structures. However, at present it is not clear how modest deviations from such simplified geometries affect the generation efficiency and observations of trapped wave motion. As more complicated models cannot be solved by analytical means, numerical methods must be employed. In this paper we discuss 3-D finite-difference calculations of waves in modestly irregular fault zone structures. We investigate the accuracy of the numerical solutions for sources at material interfaces and discuss some dominant effects of 3-D structures. We also show that simple mathematical operations on 2-D solutions generated with line sources allow accurate modeling of 3-D wave propagation produced by point sources. The discussed simulations indicate that structural discontinuities of the fault zone (e.g., fault offsets) larger than the fault zone width affect significantly the trapping efficiency, while vertical properly gradients, fault zone narrowing with depth, small-scale structures, and moderate geometrical variations do not. The results also show that sources located with appropriate orientations outside and below a shallow fault zone layer can produce considerable guided wave energy in the overlying fault zone layer.     

南海瑞雷面波群速度层析成像及其地球动力学意义

南海处于欧亚板块、 菲律宾海板块、 太平洋板块和印度-澳大利亚板块的交汇处, 其地质和构造作用十分复杂．通过面波群速度成像, 给出了南海及邻区的三维横波速度分布并分析了其地球动力学意义．南海西部和南部新布设的地震台站使得利用单台法时路径覆盖比过去更好. 特别是在华南地区, 新的台站分布能够弥补该地区地震少且台站少造成的射线密度不够的缺点． 首先运用多重滤波法得到南海周边48个台站周期为14——130 s范围内的基阶瑞雷波频散曲线图; 接着通过子空间反演得到整个区域在不同周期时的群速度分布; 最后通过阻尼最小二乘反演得到不同深度切片上的横波速度分布及不同纵剖面上的横波速度分布． 结果显示: ① 海盆速度较高, 且速度分布很好地勾勒出海盆的轮廓. 浅层较高的横波速度说明海盆都具有洋壳性质, 而深部较高的横波速度则可能对应扩张中心生成洋壳后残留的高速物质． 不同海盆速度上的差异与它们的热流值和年龄大小一致．海盆下的高速异常在60 km以下消失, 且在一定深度范围内由低速区替代． 在低速区下200 km深度, 在南海海盆观测到一条NE-SW走向的高速异常, 可能与古俯冲带有关. ② 环南海出现明显的高速区, 对应俯冲带特征, 且这些高速区速度差异明显且有间断, 说明俯冲带的非均质性和俯冲角度的差异. ③ 在环南海高速区内侧（向南海侧）观测到不连续的低速区． 在浅层, 这些低速区反映了沉积层和地壳的厚度特征. 在地幔, 这些低速区可能对应于古太平洋俯冲带的地幔楔或者也可能反映了南海海盆停止扩张后残留的地幔熔融物质. ④ 南海海盆岩石圈的厚度为60——85 km．      

地震槽波的数学-物理模拟初探

针对地震槽波在低速层的传播特性,开展了煤层内地震槽波勘探的数值模拟和物理模拟研究的初探工作.在数值模拟研究方面,采用交错网格有限差分法对煤层中的地震槽波进行三分量全波场模拟.基于波场快照和人工合成地震记录研究了不同模型中的波场特征和各种波型的传播规律.在物理模拟方面,通过选用不同配比的环氧树脂和硅橡胶类材料构建地震槽波物理模型,利用透射法和反射法观测系统获得了清晰的地震槽波记录以研究槽波的地震学特征.研究表明,在煤层内槽波的地震波场中,Love型槽波的能量小于Rayleigh型槽波的SV分量,大于Rayleigh型槽波的SH分量.相对于Love型槽波和Rayleigh型槽波的SH分量,Rayleigh型槽波的SV分量在围岩中的泄露能量较强.在煤层界面附近的围岩中,地震波仍以槽波形式传播,随着距离的增加能量逐渐衰减.随着煤层变薄,煤层槽波主频向高频方向移动,频散现象增强,传播速度增大.     

Magnetic effects of sea tides

The tidal motion of sea water across the earth's magnetic field is known to induce small electric currents to flow in the oceans and the surrounding land. There has been recently a great deal of interest in this phenomenon. Here we consider a model ocean in the form of an infinitely long channel with a tidal wave passing along it. It is shown that for the lunar tidal frequency of 12.45 hours the solution of this problem for typical ocean depths exhibits characteristics which are essentially due to the high frequency. The solution therefore differs appreciably from low-frequency solutions which are therefore only applicable as models of the shallow seas. In our model we observe concentrations of electric current near the coast and phase changes relative to the oceanic tide. A new “equivalent field exclusion principle” is presented and used to explain some of the results we have obtained. The method used is simple and applies readily to waves of any frequency, and results are given for waves of higher frequencies. The amplitude and phase lag of the magnetic field of a channel simulating the Atlantic Ocean are discussed.     

Seismoelectric numerical simulation in 2D vertical transverse isotropic poroelastic medium

Seismoelectric coupling in an electric isotropic and elastic anisotropic medium is developed using a primary–secondary formulation. The anisotropy is of vertical transverse isotropic type and concerns only the poroelastic parameters. Based on our finite difference time domain algorithm, we solve the seismoelectric response to an explosive source. The seismic wavefields are computed as the primary field. The electric field is then obtained as a secondary field by solving the Poisson equation for the electric potential. To test our numerical algorithm, we compared our seismoelectric numerical results with analytical results obtained from Pride's equation. The comparison shows that the numerical solution gives a good approximation to the analytical solution. We then simulate the seismoelectric wavefields in different models. Simulated results show that four types of seismic waves are generated in anisotropic poroelastic medium. These are the fast and slow longitudinal waves and two separable transverse waves. All of these seismic waves generate coseismic electric fields in a homogenous anisotropic poroelastic medium. The tortuosity has an effect on the propagation of the slow longitudinal wave. The snapshot of the slow longitudinal wave has an oval shape when the tortuosity is anisotropic, whereas it has a circular shape when the tortuosity is isotropic. In terms of the Thomsen parameters, the radiation anisotropy of the fast longitudinal wave is more sensitive to the value of ε, while the radiation anisotropy of the transverse wave is more sensitive to the value of δ.     

海啸波近岸共振响应的数值模拟及分析

应用有限差分方法求解非线性浅水长波方程,建立了海啸波产生和传播的二维数值模型;对太平洋地震引起的夏威夷群岛海啸波进行模拟,并将模拟结果和测站实测值进行比较,验证了模型的正确性。利用快速傅里叶变换对数值模拟结果进行谱分析,得到整个计算区域的能量谱分布,并给出了发生能量聚集的位置及相应的谱峰周期。讨论了海啸波传播到近岸时可能产生的共振响应现象,发现海啸波和近岸的共振响应不仅与近岸复杂地形有关,还与海啸波传播到近岸时的波浪入射方向有关。     

Use of upscaled elevation and surface roughness data in two-dimensional surface water models

In this paper, we present an approach that uses a combination of cell-block- and cell-face-averaging of high-resolution cell elevation and roughness data to upscale hydraulic parameters and accurately simulate surface water flow in relatively low-resolution numerical models. The method developed allows channelized features that preferentially connect large-scale grid cells at cell interfaces to be represented in models where these features are significantly smaller than the selected grid size. The developed upscaling approach has been implemented in a two-dimensional finite difference model that solves a diffusive wave approximation of the depth-integrated shallow surface water equations using preconditioned Newton-Krylov methods. Computational results are presented to show the effectiveness of the mixed cell-block and cell-face averaging upscaling approach in maintaining model accuracy, reducing model run-times, and how decreased grid resolution affects errors. Application examples demonstrate that sub-grid roughness coefficient variations have a larger effect on simulated error than sub-grid elevation variations.     

2015年8月12日天津化学爆炸产生的多模式面波分析及其应用研究

2015年8月12日天津滨海新区发生的强烈化学品爆炸造成了巨大的经济损失和社会影响.天津爆炸产生了清晰的大振幅面波信号,分析结果表明这组信号由基阶和高阶面波组成,可以追踪到约135 km外的远处台站.利用这组面波信号分别开展了以下研究：（1）利用附近三个台站记录的四个单频基阶Rayleigh波信号对爆破事件的绝对位置进行了网格搜索,结果与利用GPS测量的位置相差仅0.498 km;（2）分别利用网格搜索和主事件定位法,对两次子事件的相对位置进行了确定,距离约75 m左右,与前人研究结果吻合;（3）从面波记录中测量到36条基阶Rayleigh波、49条第一高阶Rayleigh波、9条基阶Love波和29条第一高阶Love波的频散曲线,并进一步反演获得研究区域地下4 km内的S波速度结构.反演结果显示地表处S波速度低至0.375 km·s^-1,在小于1 km的浅地表速度梯度较大,符合典型的盆地结构特征.本文的研究结果为类似爆炸等突发事件快速定位提供了新的思路,有助于灾后救援的迅速展开;同时得到天津滨海新区及周边浅层精细的速度结构,对于地震灾害评估有很大帮助.     

Trapped internal waves over undular topography in a partially mixed estuary

The flow of a stratified fluid over small-scale topographic features in an estuary may generate significant internal wave activity. Lee waves and upstream influence generated at isolated topographic features have received considerable attention during the past few decades. Field surveys of a partially mixed estuary, the Rotterdam Waterway, in 1987, also showed a plethora of internal wave activity generated by isolated topography, banks and groynes. Additionally it revealed a spectacular series of resonant internal waves trapped above low-amplitude bed waves. The internal waves reached amplitudes of 3–4 m in an estuary with a mean depth of 16 m. The waves were observed during the decreasing flood tide and are thought to make a significant contribution to turbulence production and mixing. However, while stationary linear and finite amplitude theories can be used to explain the presence of these waves, it is important to further investigate their time-dependent and non-linear behaviour. With the development of advanced non-hydrostatic models it now becomes possible to further investigate these waves through numerical experimentation. This is the focus of the work presented here. The non-hydrostatic finite element numerical model FINEL3D developed by Labeur was used in the experiments presented here. The model has been shown to work well in a number of stratified flow investigations. Here, we first show that the model reproduces the field data and for idealised stationary flow scenarios that the results are in agreement with the resonant response predicted by linear theory. Then we explore the effects of non-linearity and time dependence and consider the importance of resonant internal waves for turbulence production in stratified coastal environments.Responsible Editior: Hans Burchard     

Wave measurement and modeling in Chesapeake Bay

Three recently measured wind and wave data sets in the northern part of Chesapeake Bay (CB) are presented. Two of the three data sets were collected in late 1995. The third one was collected in July of 1998. The analyzed wind and wave data show that waves were dominated by locally generated, fetch limited young wind seas. Significant wave heights were highly correlated to the local driving wind speeds and the response time of the waves to the winds was about 1 h. We also tested two very different numerical wave models, Simulation of WAves Nearshore (SWAN) and Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), to hind-cast the wave conditions against the data sets. Time series model–data comparisons made using SWAN and GLERL showed that both models behaved well in response to a suddenly changing wind. In general, both SWAN and GLERL over-predicted significant wave height; SWAN over-predicted more than GLERL did. SWAN had a larger scatter index and a smaller correlation coefficient for wave height than GLERL had. In addition, both models slightly under-predicted the peak period with a fairly large scatter and low correlation coefficient. SWAN predicted mean wave direction better than GLERL did. Directional wave spectral comparisons between SWAN predictions and the data support these statistical comparisons. The GLERL model was much more computationally efficient for wind wave forecasts in CB. SWAN and GLERL predicted different wave height field distributions for the same winds in deeper water areas of the Bay where data were not available, however. These differences are as yet unresolved.     

Effects of the wave passage and the embedment depth for in-plane building-soil interaction

Building foundation-soil interaction is studied in the frequency domain using a two-dimensional analytical model. The building is represented by an infinitely long shear wall resting on a circular foundation, embedded into an elastic homogeneous half-space. Deep and shallow foundations are considered (with depth-to-half-width ratios of 1 and 0·5). Both the dynamic interaction and the wave passage effects are included. The excitation is a plane P- or SV-wave,or a surface Rayleigh wave. The results show that for incident waves which are long relative to the width of the foundation, the foundation driving forces are larger when the embedment is deeper. For shorter incident waves, the input base rotation is larger for shallow foundations and, therefore, the relative building response may then be larger. It is also shown that the input base rotation may contribute significantly to the building excitation and that neglecting it may cause nonconservative estimates for the forces in the building.