A New Retracking Technique for Brown Peaky Altimetric Waveforms

A new Brown-Peaky (BP) retracker has been developed for peaky waveforms that usually appear within ～10 km to the coastline. The main feature of the BP is that it fits peaky waveforms using the Brown model without introducing a peak function. The retracking strategy first detects the peak location and width of a waveform using an adaptive peak detection method, and then estimates retracking parameters using a weighted least squares (WLS) estimator. The WLS assigns a downsized weight to corrupted waveform gates, but an equal weight to other normal waveform gates. The BP retracker has been applied to 4-year Jason-1 waveform (2002–2006) in two Australian coastal zones. The results retracked by BP, MLE4 and ALES retrackers have been validated against tide-gauge observations located at Burnie, Lorne and Broome. The comparison results show that three retrackers have similar performance over open oceans with the correlation coefficient (～0.7) and RMSE (～13 cm) between altimetric and tide-gauge sea levels for distance >7 km offshore. The main improvement of BP retracker occurs for distance ≤7 km to the coastline, where validation results indicate that data retracked by BP are more accurate (15–21 cm) than those by ALES (16–24 cm) and MLE4 (19–37 cm).     

珠江口淇澳岛滨海湿地沉积环境演化及其对人类活动的响应

滨海湿地作为人类活动和全球变化反应最为敏感的区域，其沉积记录可以反映出周边地区环境变化及人类活动信息。珠江口淇澳岛滨海湿地钻孔分析结果表明，在中全新世期间淇澳岛附近海域为河口湾环境，在风化层以上开始出现淤积，但在4 200 a BP前后受极冷气候的影响，沉积物粗化；自2 500 a BP以来，沉积环境相对稳定，在小冰期期间略有变化。沉积速率计算结果显示:淇澳岛附近海域自中全新世高海面以来的平均沉积速率为0.29 cm/a，4 160~2 500 a BP、2 500 a BP-1488年、1488-1893年、1893-1986年、1990-2007年期间的平均沉积速率分别为:0.17 cm/a、0.23 cm/a、0.35 cm/a、1.37 cm/a和5.94 cm/a，沉积速率逐渐增大，反映了珠江三角洲演化过程中沉积相与沉积环境的变化；1986-1990年期间的海堤建造极大地扰动了该钻孔上部的沉积过程，在工程施工期间共沉积了厚度约112 cm的沉积层，而在海堤建成后，沉积速率也显著增大。沉积物总有机碳、总氮和C/N值的垂向分布表明，在4 160~2 500 a BP期间受海洋环境影响较大，沉积物中有机碳以海源为主，2 500 a BP以来沉积物中碳、氮含量明显增大，C/N也相应变大，有机碳主要来源于陆源输入，但在小冰期期间海源有机碳贡献略有所增大；近百年来由于受人类活动影响显著，陆源有机碳的贡献快速增加。     

浙南近海虾类群落结构及其多样性分析

作者根据2015年11月(秋季)、2016年2月(冬季)、2016年5月(春季)和2016年8月(夏季)对浙南近海进行的渔业资源调查数据,用生物量作为虾类资源分布的数量指标,对该海域虾类的组成、数量分布以及季节变化进行分析。结果显示:该区域共鉴定出虾类30种,隶属于10科21属,以对虾科(Penaeidae)虾类最多,其次为管鞭虾科(Solenoceridae),长臂虾科(Palaemonida)位居第3位。按季节来看,秋季共鉴定虾类27种,各站位平均生物量为6.97 kg/km2,优势种为凹陷管鞭虾(Solenocera koelbeli)、中国毛虾(Acetes chinensis)和中华管鞭虾(Solenocera crassicornis)等3种;冬季鉴定出虾类25种,平均生物量为1.65 kg/km2,优势种为凹陷管鞭虾、扁足异对虾(Atypopenaeus stenodactylus)、日本鼓虾(Alpheus japonicus)、鲜明鼓虾(Alpheus digitalis)、中国毛虾、中华管鞭虾和周氏新对虾(Metapenaeus joyneri)等7种;春季20种,平均生物量为2.22 kg/km2,优势种为戴氏赤虾(Metapenaeopsis dalei)、东海红虾(Metapenaeopsis dalei)和中华管鞭虾等3种;夏季16种,平均生物量为10.36 kg/km2,优势种有鹰爪虾(Trachysalambria curvirostris)和中华管鞭虾等2种。Margalef丰富度指数(D)、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H′)和Pielou均匀度指数(J′)秋季均低于冬季。秋冬季受到浙闽沿岸流影响,温度、盐度相对较低,夏季受到台湾暖流外侧影响,温度、盐度相对较高,且各季节间由于瓯江、椒江、飞云江、鳌江等陆源性冲淡水的影响,盐度、温度变化相对较大,使得该区域的物种不得不适应一个跨度较大的温盐范围,广温广盐性种类为主。     

利用短期静态PPP结果反演海潮负荷位移

采用香港11个GPS测站的观测资料进行1 h、2 h、3 h和4h静态PPP解算，获得4组PPP坐标序列，利用调和分析求取11个测站处8个主要分潮的负荷位移参数（振幅和相位），将其与海潮模型计算的负荷位移参数进行对比，并比较分析PPP反演值与海潮模型值改正海潮负荷信号的效果。结果表明，垂直和水平方向上，不同PPP结果反演8个分潮的负荷位移分别具有约5 mm和7 mm的差异；PPP反演8个分潮垂向负荷位移优于全球海潮模型，但水平方向上的反演效果稍弱。     

滨海城市竖向避难场所选址可靠性评价与若干问题探讨

关注滨海城市竖向避难场所的选址可靠性问题，首先深化确立“竖向避难场所”概念；然后构建竖向避难场所选址可靠性评价模型，综合自然地理要素和建成环境要素，从与灾害直接作用相关的选址暴露性、与应急交通相关的选址敏感性、与应急服务相关的选址适应性3个维度展开，搭建3级评价指标体系；再以天津滨海新区为例、聚焦滨海城市潮洪灾害和人口安全矛盾的集核——临港城区展开实证研究，借助ArcGIS分类与可视化发现：高低可靠性选址之间具有明显的空间分异，可以分解为灾害暴露性的“近岸高?远岸低”分异、交通敏感性的“外围高?中心低”分异、服务适应性的“中心与沿河高?外围低”兼“近港高?远港低”分异。同时发现：商业设施用地选址价值较高，在高可靠性选址中占比第一；中小学和社会福利设施用地选址价值最高，在高可靠性选址中占比第二；文化科研和娱乐康体设施用地在高可靠性选址中占比最小。针对临港城区实证研究结果，提出滨海城市竖向避难场所选址及可靠性提升对策。     

Axial convergence in a well-mixed estuary

Transverse secondary circulations involving surface convergence, observed in a well-mixed estuary in North Wales, are made visible by the collection of surface material along an axial line which extends continuously for many kilometres through the estuary. The circulation and axial convergence, however, are seen only during the flood phase of the tide and no similar behaviour has been observed during the ebb phase.Convergent circulations in the estuary are associated with small but steady transverse density gradients in the cross-section, produced by non-uniform advection of the longitudinal gradient through the channel. A diagnostic model, using measured mean distributions of cross-sectional density, indicates surface transverse velocities (～0.1 ms^?1) similar to those observed in the estuary. The model further predicts appreciable transverse divergent currents at a fractional depth of 0.75: a prediction which has been tested in the estuary using a vertical array of accurately resolving current direction indicators.     

Multiple longshore sand bars in the upper Chesapeake Bay

In the upper Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, U.S.A.) field surveys were conducted at 18 multiple longshore sand bar sites. The multiple bar systems were found in water depths less than approximately 2 m (mean sea level), and exhibited mild bottom slopes of 0·0052 or less. The number of bars composing each system ranged from four to 17 and the spacing between the crests typically increased in the offshore direction, ranging from 12 to 70 m. Bar height also typically increased with distance offshore and ranged from 0·03 to 0·61 m. A grain size analysis of crest and trough sediment did not reveal any significant differences and the sediment was categorized as ‘fine sand’. A review of the literature data indicated that the Chesapeake Bay multiple bars possessed similar characteristics to those found in Gelding Bay (Baltic Sea); similarities in fetch, wave height and tidal range between the two bays may account for this finding. The surf-scaling parameter indicated that the multiple bar systems were extremely dissipative with regard to wave energy, and wave height appeared to be an important factor in controlling bar spacing and bar height. A multiple wave break point hypothesis was discussed as a possible mechanism for the formation of Chesapeake Bay multiple longshore bars, and limited observational evidence appeared to support such a mechanism.     

Particulate organic matter in the coastal and estuarine waters of Goa and its relationship with phytoplankton production

In the coastal and estuarine waters of Goa, particulate organic carbon (POC) varied from 0.52 to 2.51 mg l^?1 and from 0.28 to 5.24 mg l^?1 and particulate phosphorus (PP) varied from 0.71 to 5.18 μg l^?1 and from 0.78 to 20.34 μg l^?1, respectively. The mean values of chlorophyll and primary productivity were 1.94 mg m^?3 and 938.1 mg C m^?2 day^?1 in the coastal waters and 4.3 mg m^?3 and 636.5 mg C m^?1 day^?1 in the estuarine waters, respectively.$\text{POC}\text{chl}$ ratios were low in June and October even when POC values were quite high. The POC in surface waters was linearly correlated with the chlorophyll content. Also PP increased when chlorophyll and primary productivity remained high. The results suggest that the phytoplankton was sharply increasing and contributed to POC and PP content. The percentage of detritus calculated from the intercept values of chlorophyll on POC varied from 46 to 76% depending on season. Results indicate that the major portion of POC and PP during postmonsoon (October–January) is derived from phytoplankton production while the allochthonous matter predominate during monsoon (June–September).     

Investigating the mechanisms leading to the deglaciation of past continental northern hemisphere ice sheets with the CLIMBER–GREMLINS coupled model

A coupling procedure between a climate model of intermediate complexity (CLIMBER-2.3) and a 3-dimensional thermo-mechanical ice-sheet model (GREMLINS) has been elaborated. The resulting coupled model describes the evolution of atmosphere, ocean, biosphere, cryosphere and their mutual interactions. It is used to perform several simulations of the Last Deglaciation period to identify the physical mechanisms at the origin of the deglaciation process. Our baseline experiment, forced by insolation and atmospheric CO₂, produces almost complete deglaciation of past northern hemisphere continental ice sheets, although ice remains over the Cordilleran region at the end of the simulation and also in Alaska and Eastern Siberia. Results clearly demonstrate that, in this study, the melting of the North American ice sheet is critically dependent on the deglaciation of Fennoscandia through processes involving switches of the thermohaline circulation from a glacial mode to a modern one and associated warming of the northern hemisphere. A set of sensitivity experiments has been carried out to test the relative importance of both forcing factors and internal processes in the deglaciation mechanism. It appears that the deglaciation is primarily driven by insolation. However, the atmospheric CO₂ modulates the timing of the melting of the Fennoscandian ice sheet, and results relative to Laurentide illustrate the existence of threshold CO₂ values, that can be translated in terms of critical temperature, below which the deglaciation is impeded. Finally, we show that the beginning of the deglaciation process of the Laurentide ice sheet may be influenced by the time at which the shift of the thermohaline circulation from one mode to the other occurs.     

On salinity regimes and the vertical structure of residual flows in narrow tidal estuaries

An examination is made of the circulation in narrow estuaries subject to a predominant tidal forcing. Velocity structures are derived separately for residual flow components associated with (a) river flow, (b) wind stress, (c) a well-mixed longitudinal density gradient and (d) a fully stratified saline wedge. Dimensionless parameters are introduced to indicate the magnitude of each component and these parameters are evaluated for 9 major estuaries, thereby revealing their sensitivity to each component.For a channel of constant breadth and depth, formulae are deduced for the length of saline intrusion, L. Comparisons with observed data show that such formulae may be used with confidence to predict changes in L arising from variations in river flow, tidal range or channel depths.The level of stratification is shown to be related to a product of two parameters, one associated with velocity structure and a second involving the square of the ‘flow ratio’ $\text{u}\text{u}\text{?}$ (i.e. residual velocity/amplitude of the tidal velocity). This relationship provides a simple classification system for estuarine stratification which can be used to indicate the sensitivity of any particular estuary to changing conditions.