Effects of sediment properties on surface-generated ambient noise in a shallow ocean

Surface-generalized ambient noise in a shallow ocean waveguide with a sediment layer possessing a specific class of density and sound speed distributions capable of describing a realistic seabed environment is considered in this analysis. This class of non-uniform sediment layer has the density and sound speed distributions varying with respect to depth as a generalized-exponential and an inverse-square function, respectively. The study invokes a formulation developed by Kuperman and Ingenito (Kuperman, W. A., Ingenito, F., 1980. Spatial correlation of surface-generated noise in a stratified ocean. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 67, 1988-1996.) for surface noise generation, in conjunction with the analytical solutions for the Helmholtz equation corresponding to the sediment layer, to arrive at an analytical expression convenient for numerical implementation. The intensity and spatial correlation of the noise sound field are analyzed with respect to the variation of the system parameters, including frequency, sediment layer thickness, sound speed gradient, with emphasis on the effects of sediment properties on the ambient noise field. The results have demonstrated that the intensity of the noise field is relatively sensitive to the variation of the parameters, but the spatial correlation is affected to a less extent, suggesting that the energy distribution, rather than the spatial structure, of the noise field is more susceptible to the environmental variations.     

Estimation of Seabed Properties Using Ambient Noise from Shallow Water Sites of the Indian Continental Shelf

In this study an attempt has been made to extract sediment geoacoustic properties using ambient noise measured from a vertical hydrophone array. Time series noise data recorded from three shallow water sites (Chennai, Cuddalore and Cochin) along the Indian continental shelf were used for the analysis. The compressional sound speed of sediment for all the sites was estimated from the vertical directionality of ambient noise. Using the value of the compressional sound speed remaining wave properties and material properties were deduced from the Grain-Shearing (G-S) theory of wave propagation in saturated granular media. The type of sediment extracted from the G-S theory correlates well with the results obtained from sieve and particle size analysis of grab samples, collected from all the sites. The study clearly shows the application of ambient noise in extracting environmental information in shallow water, and further applying it to improve sonar performance modeling.     

Ambient Noise Vertical Directionality and Reflection Loss Estimates for a Shallow Tropical Site with a Fast Sound Speed Bottom

Abstract

For high frequency ocean acoustic modeling applications, seabed reflection loss is a useful alternative input compared to conventional geoacoustic model parameters. Reflection loss can be estimated by comparing the noise intensity of the up and down components of the ambient noise vertical directionality pattern. The potential of this method is demonstrated with experimental data spanning one week, collected off shallow east coast of India using a 21 element vertical hydrophone array. The compact and easily operable vertical array has been designed for high frequency directionality estimation in the band 2–10?kHz. The ambient noise data are beam formed to arrive at the vertical directionality pattern. Further reflection loss values as a function of frequency and grazing angle have been estimated for 1/3 octave bands for a sandy sea bed in warm tropical waters. This has been compared with modeled reflection loss estimates using OASR reflection loss module of OASES. This will serve as inputs to propagation models for applications such as inverse techniques, ambient noise modelling, and sonar system performance prediction.     

Boundary characterization experiment series overview

Ocean acoustic propagation and reverberation in continental shelf regions is often controlled by the seabed and sea surface boundaries. A series of three multi-national and multi-disciplinary experiments was conducted between 2000-2002 to identify and measure key ocean boundary characteristics. The frequency range of interest was nominally 500-5000 Hz with the main focus on the seabed, which is generally considered as the boundary of greatest importance and least understood. Two of the experiments were conducted in the Mediterranean in the Strait of Sicily and one experiment in the North Atlantic with sites on the outer New Jersey Shelf (STRATAFORM area) and on the Scotian Shelf. Measurements included seabed reflection, seabed, surface, and biologic scattering, propagation, reverberation, and ambient noise along with supporting oceanographic, geologic, and geophysical data. This paper is primarily intended to provide an overview of the experiments and the strategies that linked the various measurements together, with detailed experiment results contained in various papers in this volume and other sources.     

强化开发保护洋底矿产资源

陆上资源逐渐匮乏,海洋中蕴含丰富的资源,而且储量巨大,开发海洋资源已是大势所趋。我国虽然海底资源丰富,但海底资源开发和海洋权益工作还未到位,海底资源开发进展相对缓慢,邻国在争议海域开采油气资源,而日、韩等国均已提出自己的划分大陆架的方案,我国的大陆架资源安全受到威胁。因此,必须清醒地认识到海底资源的巨大经济和战略价值潜力,在积极研究海底资源的探测和开发利用的基础上,保护我国的海底资源,加强海洋权益的维护。     

Cascades of dense water around the world ocean

Dense water overflow off continental shelves (cascading) is one of the contributing processes of shelf-deep ocean exchange, and of topical interest to climate studies and nutrient fluxes. Dense water originating from cooling, evaporation, freezing and salinization on a shallow shelf spills over the shelf edge and may develop as near-bottom gravity current or an intermediate-depth intrusion. It is difficult to observe in nature due to its intermittent character.This paper provides an extensive inventory of observed cases of water cascades around the World Ocean, summarises their locations and individual properties, and provides statistics of the identified cases. The search for cascading was carried out using oceanographic databases and a literature review. This study identified 61 confirmed cases world-wide, including 25 cases in the Arctic seas, 12 at mid-latitudes, seven in sub-tropical and tropical regions, and 17 off the Antarctic shelves. Eighteen cascades had not been reported before. We analyze a set of numerical parameters of dense water cascades, allowing us to quantify, compare and contrast the properties of water cascades. The overall average density contrast between the confirmed cascades and ambient water is 0.37 (kg/m³); it can be as much as 2 (kg/m³) on some Arctic shelves. Frequently initiated by strong cooling at the surface, cascades often remain colder through the descent, thus supplying the deep ocean with colder and fresher water. In non-dimensional variables, the data from all climate zones fit well to a unique curve, which represents a relationship between a cascade’s internal structure and the parameters describing its forcing. On average, the down-slope volumetric flux provided by dense water cascades is estimated as 0.05 to 0.08 Sv per 100 km of shelf edge.Regional terms: Arctic, Antarctic, North Atlantic Ocean, Barents Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Skagerrak, Tasman Sea, Sea of Okhotsk     

Frequency of sediment movement on the Washington continental shelf: A note

Several independent sets of field data have been analyzed in order to estimate the frequency of sediment movement on the continental shelf off Washington over an annual period and to identify the major components of the bottom velocity field causing this motion. Sediment motions resulting from: (1) bottom currents caused by surface wind stress and tides, and (2) wave-induced oscillatory bottom currents have been investigated. Analysis of a 260-day current record from 3 m off the seabed at 80 m depth on the continental shelf and a 205-day open-ocean wave record collected on Cobb Seamount 465 km west of the Washington coast suggest that the threshold of sediment motion was exceeded for approximately 22 days per year as a result of mean currents (20 min time averaged) and approximately 53 days per year from wave-induced oscillatory currents. Substantial variations can be expected from year to year, so these values represent order of magnitude estimates.     

次重力波对宽刈幅高度计海表面高度观测的影响

次重力波（Infragravity Wave，IGW）是一种频率较低（0.05~0.005 Hz），波长较长（约10 km）的表面重力波。由IGW引起的海表面高度变化会被宽刈幅干涉高度计SWOT （Surface Water and Ocean Topography，SWOT）卫星观测到，因此在使用SWOT观测的海表面高度来反演中尺度、次中尺度大洋环流时，IGW是一种重要的误差来源。根据数值模型模拟的全球IGW时空分布特征，本文以IGW最为活跃的东北太平洋和欧洲西北陆架附近大西洋为研究海域，估算了上述海域由IGW所引起的海表面高度变化，并将计算结果与SWOT Simulator模拟的轨道噪声（±5 cm）比较，首次定量地估算了IGW在SWOT观测海表面高度时的干扰程度。研究表明，IGW所引起的厘米量级的海表面高度变化在SWOT卫星观测海表面流场时是一种重要的，不可忽略的误差来源。在大西洋欧洲西北陆架海域，冬季IGW对海表面高度的贡献可达到SWOT卫星噪声要求水平的25%；然而，对于大陆架狭窄的美国西岸太平洋而言，由岸线产生的IGW将迅速传入深海海域，在广阔的范围内产生显著的"噪声"影响，在SWOT反演海表面流场时由IGW引起的误差将达到SWOT卫星噪声要求水平的15%。     

Anthropogenic trace metals in sediment and settling particulate matter on a high-energy continental shelf (Sydney,Australia)

The anthropogenic contribution of trace metals to settling particulate matter (SPM) and surficial sediments was determined on the high-energy continental shelf adjacent to Sydney, Australia. Settling particulate matter and surficial sediment was collected in the vicinity of a major sewage outfall and at five control sites on the middle shelf (80-100 m water depth). Sediment traps were deployed on 10 occasions for up to 2 weeks during the summer and winter of 1995 and SPM was analyzed for Ag, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. Cobalt, Fe, Mn and Ni act conservatively in SPM and in sediments regionally and are used as normalizing elements to determine anthropogenic enrichment. Surficial sediments and SPM are enriched in Ag, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn near a major ocean outfall and at four of the five control sites, although sewage particles contribute < 5% of trace metals in the total sample. Silver is the most sensitive trace metal tracer for establishing the presence of sewage particulate matter. Sewage particulate matter flux near the outfall was estimated using a two end-member mixing model and is below 0.5 g m(-2) day(-1) during all deployment periods. The mean sewage particulate matter flux at sampling locations 30 km and 60 km north of the outfall are <0.13 g m(-2) day(-1) and <0.01 g m(-2) day(-1), respectively, indicating an efficient dispersal of anthropogenic material on this high energy continental shelf.     

OBS海洋环境信号分析与应用

为研究海洋环境信号在OBS(Ocean Bottom Seismograph)原始数据中的规律及应用,根据OBS原始数据的波形及频谱特征,将研究区划分为5个时间段,依次为旧涌浪阶段、风浪渐强阶段、风浪全盛阶段、风浪消退阶段和新涌浪阶段。结合海洋天气预报,认为上述现象是由偏南风风浪对海流的影响造成的。参考野外地震数据采集记录班报,得到各阶段的时长和距离,计算风浪渐强、全盛和消退阶段OBS附近海流的平均速度。结果表明:OBS原始资料中浅海海洋环境噪音增强的主要因素是风浪,且风浪引起的噪音信号的波形变化特征是渐进式的;OBS可用于接收某种特殊阶段(如台风、海啸等)的噪音信号,并根据噪音信号的波形特征、频谱变化规律和持续时间估算该阶段的海流速度变化。     

Numerical Simulation of Tsunamis on the Tamil Nadu Coast of India

The State of Tamil Nadu was the most affected region in India during the tsunami of December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean, in terms of loss of life and damage. Numerical simulation was made for three tsunamis, the December 26, 2004, event, the Sumatra tsunami of 1833, and a hypothetical tsunami originating in the Andaman-Nicobar region. Since inundation is not included in these simulations, the tsunami amplitudes were deduced at the 10m depth contour in the ocean, off several locations on the coast of Tamil Nadu. The computed amplitudes appear reasonable as compared to known tsunami amplitudes from past events.     

A technique for measuring in-situ compressional wave speed dispersion in marine sediments

Compressional speed dispersion exists in all marine sediments. If the dispersion is great enough it may play a significant role in acoustic interaction with the seabed. On the other hand if dispersion is weak, seabed models and databases can be substantially simpler. The ocean acoustics community is divided on this issue, in part because of the lack of observations. One of the experimental challenges has been to measure speed over several decades of frequency using a single technique so that observed speed changes cannot be due to different biases in the techniques. A simple in-situ experimental approach was developed that measures the critical angle as a function of frequency and thus infers the speed dispersion. Measurements on the mid to outer continental shelf (Malta Plateau and the New Jersey Shelf STRATAFORM area) show a weak dispersion over the band from /spl sim/10/sup 2/-10/sup 4/ Hz. This implies (via the Kramers-Kronig relations) that the compressional wave attenuation for these sediments is small and/or approximately linear over this band.     

The sources of Antarctic bottom water in a global ice–ocean model

Two mechanisms contribute to the formation of Antarctic bottom water (AABW). The first, and probably the most important, is initiated by the brine released on the Antarctic continental shelf during ice formation which is responsible for an increase in salinity. After mixing with ambient water at the shelf break, this salty and dense water sinks along the shelf slope and invades the deepest part of the global ocean. For the second one, the increase of surface water density is due to strong cooling at the ocean–atmosphere interface, together with a contribution from brine release. This induces deep convection and the renewal of deep waters. The relative importance of these two mechanisms is investigated in a global coupled ice–ocean model. Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) concentrations simulated by the model compare favourably with observations, suggesting a reasonable deep water ventilation in the Southern Ocean, except close to Antarctica where concentrations are too high. Two artificial passive tracers released at surface on the Antarctic continental shelf and in the open-ocean allow to show clearly that the two mechanisms contribute significantly to the renewal of AABW in the model. This indicates that open-ocean convection is overestimated in our simulation. Additional experiments show that the amount of AABW production due to the export of dense shelf waters is quite sensitive to the parameterisation of the effect of downsloping and meso-scale eddies. Nevertheless, shelf waters always contribute significantly to deep water renewal. Besides, increasing the P.R. Gent, J.C. McWilliams [Journal of Physical Oceanography 20 (1990) 150–155] thickness diffusion can nearly suppress the AABW formation by open-ocean convection.     

海洋环境噪声垂直分布测试和分析

采用船舷法对某海域海洋环境噪声垂直分布进行了测量.数据处理与分析结果表明,在6种接收深度下,当地的海面风生破碎波浪噪声对环境噪声有显著贡献.给出了所测海域环境噪声在0.1～20.0kHz频段的宽带声级和接收深度以及多种频率谱级与风速的对数之间的关系.1.0～4.0kHz频段的谱级与风速的对数呈良好的线性关系,且基本上不受接收深度的影响.     

An adaptive-hybrid algorithm for geoacoustic inversion

This paper presents an adaptive hybrid algorithm to invert ocean acoustic field measurements for seabed geoacoustic parameters. The inversion combines a global search (simulated annealing) and a local method (downhill simplex), employing an adaptive approach to control the trade off between random variation and gradient-based information in the inversion. The result is an efficient and effective algorithm that successfully navigates challenging parameter spaces including large numbers of local minima, strongly correlated parameters, and a wide range of parameter sensitivities. The algorithm is applied to a set of benchmark test cases, which includes inversion of simulated measurements with and without noise, and cases where the model parameterization is known and where the parameterization most be determined as part of the inversion. For accurate data, the adaptive inversion often produces a model with a Bartlett mismatch lower than the numerical error of the propagation model used to compute the replica fields. For noisy synthetic data, the inversion produces a model with a mismatch that is lower than that for the true parameters. Comparison with previous inversions indicates that the adaptive hybrid method provides the best results to date for the benchmark cases     

海南岛东部陆架海底地貌

通过二十多条测线的测深、旁测声纳和浅地层连续测量的调查以及底质等资料，概述了海南岛东部陆架海底堆积平原地貌及其上的地貌类型，其中海底沟，坎、岗阜等地貌类型的线性排列和古海岸线的位置相应。     

2002年夏季广东陆架边缘上升流海域的内潮现象及其局地反馈初探

基于2002年夏季开展的"中国近海环流形成变异机理、数值预测方法及对环境的影响"观测项目获得的往复走航温盐流资料,结合同期的卫星观测(风、SST、海表动力高度)数据,初步探讨了粤东陆架边缘上升流区的内潮现象及其局地反馈特征.研究结果表明:粤东陆架边缘海域存在显著的、间歇性的相对低温海水的沿陆坡涌升现象,其中A航段的低温(18～23℃)海水涌升发生在约50～150m深度,B航段的低温(<18℃)海水涌升则主要位于150 m以深.由于观测期间海表风变化很小,而海洋涡旋在几周至几个月内相对稳定,并且研究海域涡旋对流场的影响似乎局限于75 m以浅的上层海洋,因而A、B航段的差异显然不能用海表风或海表动力高度变化来解释.进一步的分析表明粤东陆架边缘上升流区存在显著的内潮现象,尽管资料所限使得我们无法准确判定该内潮性质,往复走航海流剖面的确揭示了1阶和5阶内潮模的存在.内潮的不同模态极大地改变了上层海洋的热力和环流结构;低阶内潮模导致沿最大温度水平梯度处水温的剧烈垂向起伏(>30 m)以及跃层两侧的海流反向现象;高阶内潮模导致垂直陆坡方向水平流速的多次反向,强烈的流剪切可能与增强的混合联系在一起.导致低阶内潮模(A航段)向高阶内潮模(B航段)转变的原因可能是由于内潮特征线倾角与地形坡度比较接近而激发的"临界反射"效应.分析结果还表明,不同内潮模态导致的环流结构变异叠加在背景环流场之上,会显著影响粤东陆架边缘上升流的空间结构及强度.     

大陆坡脚确定原则与方法

大陆坡脚是大陆边缘的一个重要地形特征,是沿海国扩展其大陆架权利和划定其200海里以外大陆架外部界限的基础,也是大陆架界限委员会审议沿海国划界案时特别关注的重要技术参数。《联合国海洋法公约》第76条大陆架制度的制定源于典型的被动大陆边缘。但由于全球大陆边缘的多样性和复杂性,特别是后期构造活动、沉积作用对大陆边缘的改造与影响,海底地形地貌异常复杂多变,导致大陆坡脚的识别非常困难。加上各沿海国为获得最大范围的外大陆架,对大陆坡脚的相关规定进行有利于自己的解释,使得大陆坡脚的确定成了外大陆架划界中一个颇具争议的热点问题。本文基于对《联合国海洋法公约》和《大陆架界限委员会科学和技术准则》对大陆坡脚的规定,结合不同类型大陆边缘的地质特征和各沿海国划界实践,对陆坡基部区的确定、坡度变化最大之点的选取以及相反证明规则的适用性等问题进行了探讨。     

Contributions to atmospheric methane by natural seepages on the U.K. continental shelf [Mar. Geol. 137 (1997) 165–189]

Natural gas seepages occur on the United Kingdom's continental shelf and although published reports suggest that they are very rare, the petroleum industry has identified, but not publicly reported, many more. There is also very little data on the flux of gas from seabed seepages, and even less on the contribution of seepages to atmospheric concentrations of gases such as methane.

Potential gas source rocks include Quaternary and Tertiary peats as well as petroliferous source rocks such as the Carboniferous Coal Measures and the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clays. There are also other organic-rich sediments which are potential source rocks. Together these cover a considerable part of the U.K. continental shelf.

Analogue seismic reflection (pinger) profiles acquired during the British Geological Survey's regional mapping programme have been reviewed to identify water column targets including fish and plumes of gas bubbles. The ability to distinguish targets is critical to an assessment of the distribution of gas seepages. Both theoretical predictions of target identity and the habits of shoaling fish have been investigated in order to identify a method of distinction.

Data from seabed seepages and measurements of seepage rates have been used to establish likely ranges of gas flux rates and the sizes of gas bubbles. The likelihood that a rising bubble will survive and escape into the atmosphere is determined primarily by bubble size and water depth; methane, the principal constituent of seepage gas, is relatively unreactive and sparingly soluble.

The studies have enabled a new estimate of the distribution of gas seepages on the U.K. continental shelf, and of the contribution to atmospheric methane levels. The results suggest that natural gas seepages are significantly more important as a source of methane than had hitherto been established. It is estimated that between 120,000 and 3.5 mtonnes of methane per year come from a continental shelf area of about 600,000 km². This represents between 2% and 40% of the total United Kingdom methane emission. It is suggested that similar contributions arise from other continental shelf areas worldwide, and that geological sources of atmospheric methane are more significant than is generally acknowledged.     

A Portable Matched-Field Processing System Using Passive Acoustic Time Synchronization

A portable matched-field processing (MFP) system for tracking marine mammals is presented, constructed by attaching a set of autonomous flash-memory acoustic recorders to a rope to form a four-element vertical array, or "insta-array." The acoustic data are initially time-synchronized by performing a matched-field global inversion using acoustic data from an opportunistic source, and then by exploiting the spatial coherence of the ocean ambient noise background to measure and correct for the relative clock drift between the autonomous recorders. The technique is illustrated by using humpback whale song collected off the eastern Australian coast to synchronize the array, which is then used to track the dive profile of the whale using MFP methods. The ability to deploy autonomous instruments into arbitrary "insta-array" geometries with conventional fishing gear may permit nonintrusive array measurements in regions currently too isolated, expensive, or environmentally hostile for standard acoustic equipment