Modeling of the propagation of transient waves of moderate steepness

A theoretical approach is applied to predict the propagation and transformation of nonlinear water waves. A semi-analytical solution was derived by applying an eigenfunction expansion method. The solution is applied to analyze the effect of wave frequencies and wave steepness on the propagation of nonlinear waves. The main attention is paid to the wave profile, the wave energy spectrum, and the changes of wave profile and energy spectrum due to the interaction of wave components in a wave train. The results show that for waves of low steepness the nonlinear wave effects and effects associated with the interaction of water waves in a wave train are of secondary importance. For waves of moderate steepness and steep waves the effects associated with the interactions between waves in a wave train are becoming significant and a train of initially sinusoidal waves may drastically change its form within a short distance from its original position. The evolution of wave components has substantial effects on the wave spectrum. A train of initially very narrow-banded waves changes its one-peak spectrum to a multi-peak one in a fairly short period of time. Laboratory experiments were conducted in a wave flume to verify theoretical approaches. The free-surface elevation recorded by a system of wave gauges was compared with the results provided by the semi-analytical solution. Theoretical results are in a fairly good agreement with experimental data. A reasonable agreement between theoretical results and experimental data is observed often even for relatively steep waves.     

Generation of long waves in a basin of variable depth in the process of formation of a region of perturbations of atmospheric pressure

We perform the numerical analysis of the long-wave response of the free surface of a fluid in a basin of variable depth to the formation of an anomaly of the baric field for a finite period of time. In numerical experiments, we use the distribution of depths typical of the south coast of the Crimea. We also study the dependence of the dynamics of the sea level in the zone of the baric anomaly and in the shelf zone on the space and time scales of local changes in the field of atmospheric pressure in the open part of the basin. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Introduction of accumulation-dispersal coefficient of marine organisms

Avoiding the subject for fish accumulation, the traditional view in fish population dynamics has ascribed immigration and emigration of fish to dispersal of fish. The main purpose of this paper is to find a quantity that represents the time rate of accumulation-dispersal of marine organisms, and also has some relation to the horizontal convergence of current velocity of the surrounding water. For this, the accumulation-dispersal coefficient is introduced not in the form of diffusion, but in the same form as the convergence. Since the accumulation-dispersal of organisms is a factor that changes its distribution density, all factors causing the change are first classified to locate the position occupied by the accumulation dispersal. Each factor corresponds to each coefficient appearing in a linearized equation describing the rate of change in the density, averaged over a region or a group. The immigration-emigration coefficient is divided into three coefficients of passage, accumulation dispersal and diffusion velocity. For the organisms ranging in a nearly horizontal layer, the accumulation-dispersal coefficient is shown to equal the area-averaged horizontal convergence of organismal velocity relative to land, which is the sum of the area-averaged horizontal convergences of swimming velocity relative to water and of current velocity. However, the area-averaged convergence of current velocity associated with the accumulation-dispersal coefficient for a region is shown to be somewhat different from the usual one.     

Analysis of the variability of hydrological characteristics of the north subpolar front using the model of frontal-trapped baroclinic Rossby waves

Solutions, termed frontal-trapped Rossby waves, have been found for the long-wave equation in a model of a two-layer fluid with the frontal boundary given in the form of an exponential function. Data from a hydrological survey of a subpolar hydrological front in the vicinity of Newfoundland are analysed. A frontal-trapped wave model is shown to describe about 40% of the dispersion of the initial seawater density field. Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Influence of a spatial structure of precipitates on polarization characteristics of the outgoing microwave radiation of the atmosphere

Issues of the formation and recording of the spatial and angular distributions of thermal radio radiation of rainfall in the microwave range are discussed. The thermal radio-frequency radiative transfer in a threedimensional rain cell is simulated numerically with a different rainfall rate, taking into account the nonspherical shape of falling raindrops and their size distribution. The role of the three-dimensional inhomogeneity of rainfall fields in the formation of a field of their inherent thermal radio radiation in the microwave range is revealed.     

Diagnostics of the mesoscale water exchange on the basis of statistical characteristics of the distribution of normalized radiance

A new approach is suggested for the diagnostics of manifestations of water exchange in the field of normalized radiance and automation of the analysis of digital images of the water surface. The approach is based on the application of a set of statistical characteristics of a radiance relief as an integral indication of local inhomogeneities in the water medium and provides for the estimate of these characteristics over small regions (frames) of the basin studied using multispectral information. Using the example of the SeaWiFS scanner data on the evolution of an eddy dipole in August 1998 in a study region with a size of 160 × 160 km in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, it was shown that the estimates of a number of statistical characteristics of spectrally different radiance reliefs found in the frames with a size of 40 × 40 km significantly depended on the presence of fragments of an eddy dipole or other structures in these frames. A set of such characteristics made possible reliable differentiation of radiance reliefs by the degree of randomness, by the orientation of the inhomogeneities that form the relief, and by other properties caused by the variability of the light scattering and light absorbing admixtures in the sea medium in the course of the water exchange. The approach does not require any preliminary information about the object of observations. It is promising in the basins with moderate water transparency and vertical inhomogeneity of the upper layer available for remote profiling.     

Generation of geostrophic vortices caused by displacements of a part of the bottom of a basin

Within the framework of the general linear statement of the problem, we determine the conditions of generation of a geostrophic current in a layer of uniform rotating fluid for small displacements of the bottom of a basin. We deduce an equation relating the equilibrium shape of the surface of the fluid with residual deformations of the bottom and find its general solution. It is shown that the geostrophic current is generated only in the presence of residual deformations. We present numerical estimates of the intensity of the generated geostrophic formation for a model of motion of the bottom. The investigated mechanism of generation of geostrophic vortex fields is especially efficient in the shelf zone of the ocean. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

The effects of reflection coefficient of the harbour sidewall on the performance of floating breakwaters

This paper studies the interaction of linear water waves with a moored floating breakwater with a leeward boundary composed from a vertical wall. This describes a real modelling for the case of ports in contrary to the problems of unbounded domains. It involves the application of a partial reflection boundary condition for this sidewall. In fact, the partial reflection problem in practical application is of great importance in the design of a harbour or breakwater and mainly for short waves. The reflection coefficient of the harbour boundary (sidewall) plays an important role in modifying the performance of the floating breakwater. Moreover, it reduces the resonant peaks appearing inside the ports due to the energy accumulation in an enclosed domain. The effects of the variation of structural parameters of the breakwater on the transmitted wave height are discussed in details for various values of partial reflection.     

Laboratory investigation of damping of gravity-capillary waves on the surface of turbulized liquid

Investigation of damping of gravity-capillary waves (GCWs) in the presence of turbulence is a classical hydrodynamic problem which has important geophysical applications, one of which is related with the problem of forming a radar and optical image of a ship wake on wavy water surface. In this work a new method for the laboratory study of surface wave damping in turbulized liquid is described and the results are presented. The damping of standing GCWs by turbulence on the water surface in a tank mounted on a vibration table is studied. GCWs and turbulence are excited using a two-frequency mode of vibration table oscillations. A high-frequency small amplitude signal is used for parametric GCW excitation; a low-frequency large amplitude signal is used for generating turbulence due to water flowing through a fixed perforated grid submerged into the tank. The coefficient of GCW damping is determined by measured threshold of parametric excitation of the waves; turbulence characteristics are determined by the PIV and PTV techniques. Dependences of GCW damping coefficients on their frequency at different turbulence intensities are obtained, estimates for turbulent viscosity are presented, and a comparison with empirical models proposed earlier is performed.     

台湾浅滩南部叶绿素a多周日的变化

１９９７年８月,在台湾浅滩南部的９７０１和９７０４测站对叶绿素ａ的多周日变化进行了研究,结果表明,叶绿素ａ的垂直分布结构可分为三部分：上均匀层,下均匀层,高含量层,一均匀层和下均匀层的叶绿素ａ含量低,且无明显的周日变化,在高含量层中,叶绿素ａ含量最高,其平均值具有明显周日变化,峰值均出现在每天的１２：００或１５：００,而夜间则最低,叶绿素ａ的这一周日 变化与潮汐现象不密切,认为与浮游动物的摄食有关,另一个可能的原因是浮游植物细胞内叶绿素ａ浓度的变化,而高含量层中各层叶绿素ａ的周日变化与叶绿素ａ最大值的垂直移动有关,叶绿素ａ高含量层存在的周期性上下移动现象,是潮汐作用的结果,叶绿素ａ高含量层厚度与温跃层强度呈密切反相关关系。     

台湾近海的温、盐垂直结构与t－S图解类型

本文根据我国台湾海洋工作者的调查分析资料，对台湾近海的温、盐垂直分布及ｔ－Ｓ图解特征进行分析，按其相似性特点进行归类和分型，并探讨它们的特点和异同之处。主要结果如下：１．冬、夏季台湾近海的温、盐垂直分布类型有５种，ｔ－Ｓ图解类型为９种。２．冬季台湾近海的水温垂直分布存在着一层、二层、三层结构，夏季多为三层结构；冬、夏季的盐度垂直分布为二层和三层结构。３．台湾西南、南和东北近海，ｔ－Ｓ图解类型复杂，出现多种类型交错。４．夏季台湾南端的猫鼻头、鹅銮鼻沿岸附近，其温、盐垂直分布皆出现上均匀层，此现象实属少见。     

海洋地基土的随机场特性

对随机场理论应用于海洋土地基可靠度研究中的必要性及其理论意义进行了深入的分析和探讨，提出了检验土性指标的平稳性和各态历经性的方法，结合渤海油田在开发和建设中积累的大量工程地质勘察资料，对海洋土竖直和水平向土性剖面建立齐次正态随机场模型。并在此基础上，以渤海某油田海洋平台的地基可靠度分析为例，说明随机场理论在海洋土地基可靠度分析中的具体应用及其所发挥的重要作用。     

Satellite Radiothermovision Analysis of the Evolution of a System of Interacting Typhoons

In this paper we develop further the satellite radiothermovision methods for analyzing the evolution of tropical cyclones. The complicated case of Goni and Atsani interacting typhoons is considered. It has been shown that, although their interaction does not explicitly influence the features of the typhoon trajectories, indications of the formation of complex advective fluxes in the lower troposphere can be revealed from both a qualitative analysis of miscellaneous satellite data and a quantitative estimation of latent heat advection. At the same time, in contrast to the previous works, we had to introduce the integration contours of a complex form (differing from a circular one) into the analysis, so that the energy balance of the typhoon system is correctly described. In a general way, defining such contours is a separate problem whose solution is probably related to the invocation of a large volume of additional satellite information. Due to the peculiarity of the considered case of Goni and Atsani twin typhoons, we demonstrated the effectiveness of a simplified approach that uses a composite contour formed by overlapping two circular ones. Generally, as in the cases previously considered, we found the interrelation between the intensification and dissipation of typhoons (tropical cyclones) and the modes of convergent and divergent advection of latent heat with amplitudes sufficient to support the total power of the system.     

Studies of temperature effects of dust storms

We studied the temperature variations of the lower air layer caused by dust content using a dust storm in Dushanbe in November 2007 as an example. Quantitative estimates of air cooling and a decrease in the diurnal temperature difference due to a diminishing horizontal visibility range are given. Observations of air temperature variations due to the dust content of the atmosphere in an arid zone are presented. The critical value of aerosol concentration for toggling between the greenhouse and antigreenhouse effects is determined. The long-term effect of dust aerosol on climate is analyzed.     

Mechanisms of the southward translation of meddies

Meddies are warm and saline anticyclonic eddies found at the mid-depth of the Mediterranean Outflow in the Eastern North Atlantic. They are observed to move almost southward at average speeds as high as 1.3±0.2 cm s⁻¹. This paper examines a mechanism which accelerates this curious translation to a reasonable speed when combined with nonlinearity and a suitable vertical eddy structure. This mechanism is thepseudo-topographic β effect due to the westward decrease in the thickness of the mid-layer induced by the surface southward mean current. The linear dispersion relation including this effect is shown to account for a quarter of the surface southward mean current or a fifth of the observed southward translation of meddies. Three-layer quasi-geostrophic experiments reveal that the surface southward mean current certainly enhances the southward translation velocity of meddies to a speed in agreement with observation, if the meddy has a current structure of plausible intensity and vertical coherence. In the light of the current-induced pseudo-topographic β effect, previous hypotheses are also re-examined through dynamic arguments together with numerical experiments; they are suggested to have some difficulty either in dynamics or in correspondence with observation. Thus the nonlinear effect due to secondary eddies combined with thecurrent-induced pseudo-topographic β effect is the most likely mechanism responsible for the rapid southward translation of meddies among those examined in the paper.     

Statistical analysis of series of dendrochronological indices

We analyze series of tree-ring indices to understand whether they can be indicators of long-term climate changes. We calculated the synchronous cross-correlation coefficients (CCs) for all possible pairs composed of nine series, of which only one CC (for a pair of the longest series) proved to be sufficiently high (0.72). We revealed a time interval for which this CC is equal to 0.88. We failed to locate sufficiently larger time intervals with a higher CC for other pairs of series. Similar calculations for a series using a low-frequency filter (with allowance for periods of 100 or more years) led to a noticeable decrease in almost all CCs. This confirms the statements circulating in the literature that tree-ring chronologies include climate signals with characteristic times of several decades and that the secular and supersecular oscillations are significantly distorted as a result of standardization and cross-linking. The results presented in this paper show that the complex of series being considered cannot be used as a climate-change indicator without an additional analysis. Here, we describe a possible procedure for such analysis. As a result, we found that only two time series at some time subinterval can provide useful information about climate changes.     

南黄海秋季叶绿素a的分布特征与浮游植物的固碳强度

依据2005年10月中下旬对南黄海的调查结果,系统阐述了2005年秋季南黄海叶绿素a的分布特征,并估算了南黄海和东中国近海初级生产力水平及浮游植物固碳强度,分析了控制其变化的生物地球化学机制.结果表明,南黄海表层叶绿素a含量的变化范围为0.11~2.38 mg/m3,平均浓度为0.66 mg/m3,明显高于50 m层的含量.南黄海表层和次表层叶绿素a分布趋势基本一致,均显现出西北高、东南低的趋势,在近岸海域出现显著的高值带,这主要是由于受到陆源输入和沿岸流带来的高营养盐的影响;中部海域的低值区则主要受控于来自东海低营养盐海流的“冲淡”作用.在垂直分布上,叶绿素a最高值基本出现在次表层,与以往发现的该海域次表层溶解氧最大值一致,这显然与南黄海浮游植物及区域水团特性有关.2005年秋季南黄海初级生产力(C)变化在95~1 634 mg/(m2·d),平均为586 mg/(m2·d),其分布趋势显示了海洋初级生产力与海水磷浓度以及水团、海流的关系.应用初级生产力估算的浮游植物固碳强度的结果表明,我国东部近海浮游植物年总固碳量约为222Mt,约占全球近海浮游植物的年固碳量的2.0%,为我国东部近海通过海-气界面总表观碳汇强度每年1 369万t的16.2倍,在不同的海域,浮游植物固碳量是其通过海-气界面总表观碳汇强度的倍数不同(渤海为3.0倍,黄海为6.7倍,东海为81.6倍).     

Process-based modeling of the overflow-induced growth of erosional channels

A new process-based approach is introduced for a more efficient computation of the overflow-induced growth of an erosional channel in a non-cohesive homogeneous narrow landmass such as the breach growth in a sand-dike. The approach is easy to incorporate in a 1D/2DV morphodynamic model to compute the channel growth both vertically and laterally.     

Resonant interaction of waves of continuous and discrete spectra in the simplest model of a stratified shear flow

The equations of dynamics of eddy—wave disturbances of two-dimensional stratified flows in an ideal incompressible fluid that are written in a Hamiltonian form are used to study the resonant interaction of waves of discrete and continuous spectra. A gravity—shear wave generated at a jump of the density and vorticity of the undisturbed flow and a wave generated at a weak vorticity jump, which is similar to a wave of a continuous spectrum, participate in the interaction. The equations are written in terms of normal variables to obtain the system of evolution equations for the amplitudes of the interacting waves. The stability condition for eddy—wave disturbances is derived within the framework of the linear theory. It is shown that a cubic nonlinearity may lead to the stabilization of unstable disturbances if the coefficient of the nonlinear term is positive.     

Coherence of long-term variations of zooplankton in two sectors of the California Current System

We analyzed long-term (56-year) variations in springtime biomass of the zooplankton of the California Current System from two primary regions sampled by CalCOFI: Southern California (SC) and Central California (CC) waters. All organisms were enumerated from the plankton samples and converted to organic carbon biomass using length-carbon relationships, then aggregated into 19 major taxa. Planktonic copepods dominate the carbon biomass in both SC (59%) and CC (46%), followed by euphausiids (18% and 25% of mean biomass in SC and CC, respectively). Pelagic tunicates, especially salps and doliolids, constituted a higher fraction of the biomass in CC (13%) than in SC (5%). There was no long-term trend detectable in total zooplankton carbon biomass, in marked contrast to a decline in zooplankton displacement volume in both regions. The difference between these biomass metrics is accounted for by a long-term decline in pelagic tunicates (particularly salps), which have a relatively high ratio of biovolume:carbon. The decline in pelagic tunicates was accompanied by a long-term increase in water column density stratification. No other taxa showed a decline over the duration of the study, apart from salps and pyrosomes in SC and doliolids in CC. Some zooplankton taxa showed compensatory increases over the same time period (ostracods, large decapods, and calycophoran siphonophores in both SC and CC; appendicularians and polychaetes in SC). Two tests for ecosystem shifts, a sequential algorithm and the cumulative sum of anomalies (CuSum) approach, failed to detect changes in 1976-1977 in total carbon biomass, displacement volume, or most individual major taxa, suggesting that aggregated biomass is an insensitive indicator of climate forcing. In contrast, both techniques revealed a cluster of step-like changes associated with the La Niña of 1999. The major El Niño’s in the past half century have consistently depressed total zooplankton biomass and biomass of many major taxa in both SC and CC, although such effects are transitory. Much, but not all, of the interannual variability in zooplankton is shared between the Southern and Central California sectors of the California Current System.