WATER MASS FORMATION IN THE SOUTH INDIAN OCEAN BY AIR-SEA FLUXES

1Introduction　TheIndianCentralWater (ICW) ,formedandsubductedintheSubtropicalConvergenceintheSouthIndianOcean ,occupiesasignificantportionofthethermoclineintheIndianOcean[1,2 ]　 (Fig .1 ) .TheSubantarcticModeWater(SAMW)isformedinthe 2 6.5-2 7.1σθrangenorthoftheSub antarcticFront—thesouthernboundaryofthesubtropicalgyres[3]　 .InthesoutheastIndianO cean ,theSAMWisthethickest,ventilatedasathicklayerofhighoxygenextendingtothetropicalIndianOcean[4 ,5 ]　 .　Watermasstransformation…     

Ice Sheet-Thermohaline Circulation Interactions in a Climate Model of Intermediate Complexity

A vertically integrated dynamic ice sheet model is coupled to the atmosphere-ocean-sea ice-land surface climate model recently developed by Wang and Mysak (2000). The background lateral (east-west) ice sheet discharge rate used by Gallee et al. (1992) is reduced and the planetary emissivity is increased (to parameterize the cooling effect of a decrease of the atmospheric CO₂ concentration), in order to build up substantial ice sheets during a glacial period and hence set the stage for ice sheet-thermohaline circulation (THC) interactions. The following iceberg calving scheme is then introduced: when the maximum model height of the North American ice sheet reaches a critical value (2400 m), a prescribed lateral discharged rate is imposed on top of the background discharge rate for a finite time. Per a small prescribed discharge rate, repeated small iceberg calving events occur, which lead to millennial-scale climate cycles with small amplitudes. These are a crude representation of Dansgaard-Oeschger oscillations. Over one such cycle, the zonally averaged January surface air temperature (SAT) drops about 1.5°C at 72.5°N. However, a large prescribed lateral discharge rate leads to the shut down of the THC. In this case, the January SAT drops about 5°C at 72.5°N, the sea ice extent advances equatorward from 57.5° to 47.5°N and the net ice accumulation rate at the grid of maximum ice sheet height is reduced from 0.24 to 0.15 m/y. Since data strongly suggest that a collapsed THC was not a steady state during the last glacial, we restore the THC by increasing the vertical diffusivity in the North Atlantic Ocean for a finite time. The resulting climate cycles associated with conveyor-on and conveyor-off phases have much larger amplitudes; furthermore, the strong iceberg calving events lead to a larger loss of ice sheet mass and hence the period of the oscillations is longer (several thousand years). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Harmonic generation past a submerged porous step

Experiments were conducted in a wave flume to study the differences between harmonic evolution of monochromatic waves as they propagate over a submerged impermeable or porous step under non-breaking conditions. Results are used as a preliminary analysis to establish some engineering design criteria on harmonic generation on submerged porous structures. The root-mean-squared wave height evolution is also studied and compared to linear models as a first approximation. It is shown that porous structure increases the effective relative depth and decreases the relative wave height, resulting in a lower Ursell number and a lower chance to generate harmonics. The effective water depth over a step as defined in the paper, provides information to evaluate the potential harmonic generation.     

Impact of Sea-Land Interaction on Evolution of Taihu Lake

1 .IntroductionFor Lakes near the middle andlower reaches of the Yangtze River ,theformationof lake basinsisgreatly affected by geological structures ,andthe interaction betweenrivers and seas .The Taihu Lakeis locatedinthelow-lying plain nearthe east coa…     

Nonlinear Static Finite Element Stress Analysis of Pipe-in-Pipe Risers

Owing to the complexity of the pipe-in-pipe (PIP) riser system in structure, load and restraint, many problems arise in the structural analysis of the system. This paper presents a new method for nonlinear static finite element stress analysis of the PIP riser system. The finite element (FE) model of the PIP riser system is built via software AutoPIPE 6.1. According to the specialties of a variety of components in the PIP riser system, different elements are used so as to model the system accurately. Allowing for the complication in modeling the effects of seabed restraint, a technique based on the bilinear spring concept is developed to calculate the soil properties. Then, based on a pipeline project, the entire procedure of stress analysis is discussed in detail, including creation of an FE model, processing of input data and analysis of results. A wide range of loading schemes is investigated to ascertain that the stresses remain within the acceptable range of the pipe material strength. Finally, the effects of the location of flanges, the thermal expansion of submarine pipelines and the seabed restraint on stress distribution in the riser and expansion loop are studied, which are valuable for pipeline designers.     

Internal wave eigenmodes and their weak nonlinear resonant interaction in a nonlinearly stratified fluid—A preliminary theoretical and experimental study

A preliminary theoretical and experimental study was conducted on internal wave modes and their weak nonlinear resonant interaction in a nonlinearly stratified fluid. An asymptotical solution of the modes and a dispersion relation of internal waves in a stratified fluid with density profile similar to that in our experiment were obtained theoretically. The resonant-interaction mechanism to 2nd order approximation is also discussed. The resonant interaction of the 3rd and 4th mode internal waves excited by the unstable 1st mode wave is analyzed on the basis of data obtained by conductivity probes. The resonant-interaction condition, i.e., ,k ₁+k ₃+k ₄=0, is examined. It is shown that the resonant instability increases with pycnocline thickness and wave maker driving frequency. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

青海共和盆地多石在沟河道沙丘现代风水交互过程

选择青海共和盆地多石在沟河道中6道新月形沙丘链作为研究对象,采用Trimble4700DGPS与常规测量手段,结合野外风沙观测与自动气象站数据,初步观测分析了2006年多石在沟河道沙丘在不同季节的形态变化过程,计算出2006年风季前比雨季后多石在沟河道沙丘体积减小了548.3m³,风积量为2351m³,流水的蚀平量为2899m³,2006年风水两相营力对河道沙丘的侵蚀贡献率约为45%∶55%,流水的搬运作用强于风力的堆积作用。但从较长的时间尺度来看,研究区的风力侵蚀作用强于流水侵蚀作用,河道沙丘不断增大。多石在沟河道沙丘是一个典型的风水交互作用系统,河道成为风力与流水交互作用的"中转站",在风水的交替作用下,沉积物由风积环境进入流水环境中。     

区域成矿与壳幔作用初探

区域成矿研究从简单到复杂,从地表到地壳深部,现在已经向众多学科,纵深领域渗透。壳幔作用是现代地球动力学研究的一个关注点。本文对壳幔动力作用与区域成矿关系进行探讨,分别讨论了俯冲、底侵、拆沉和地幔柱对区域成矿作用的影响和作用。初步建立了深部动力作用与区域成矿之间的关系,为研究区域成矿的深部机理和规律提供依据。     

基于GIS和VRML技术的东圳水库3维仿真建模

以福建省莆田市东圳水库为例,讨论了基于VRML的水库及其周围地理环境、流域状况仿真建模过程,以及所采用的技术和方法。通过仿真系统可以直观分析水库的环境情况,水库管理者可在场景中漫游,从不同位置进行观察分析,进而提出相应解决措施。同时该系统作为对水库进行研究的人机交互平台,可进行实时完善和扩展。