A stochastic method for the prediction of icebreaker bow extreme stresses

It is well established that the ship-ice interaction process is quite complex and associated ice loads on the icebreaker hull is a stochastic process. Obviously, novel accurate statistical methods and models should be developed and applied to estimate extreme bow stresses.This paper studies icebreaker bow stresses based on measured distribution of ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean on the way to and from the North Pole. Since the vessel route was carefully selected searching for easier ice conditions, the Arctic Ocean crossing was not a straight linear but a meandering path. Thus, the specific ship route data was biased with respect to general ice statistics in the region, but true with respect to the route specific ice data encountered by a ship navigating in that region. Therefore the route specific ice thickness data is directly needed for ship design and navigation analysis. It is assumed that captains are competent and knowledgeable, and therefore will select a route that provides the most favourable ice conditions.This paper contributes to study of the newest Chinese self-designed polar icebreaker, serving the purpose of enhancing icebreaker operational reliability. Finite Element Method software package ANSYS/LS-DYNA has been employed to simulate bow stress pattern for a particular icebreaker operating in the Arctic Ocean. Extreme bow stresses were estimated using Naess-Gaidai method. The latter is a first application of Naess-Gaidai method to a distribution with lower bound. Thus this paper aims at introducing an efficient method of estimating route-specific icebreaker extreme bow stresses.     

A suspended-particle rosette multi-sampler for discrete biogeochemical sampling in low-particle-density waters

To enable detailed investigations of early stage hydrothermal plume formation and abiotic and biotic plume processes we developed a new oceanographic tool. The Suspended Particulate Rosette sampling system has been designed to collect geochemical and microbial samples from the rising portion of deep-sea hydrothermal plumes. It can be deployed on a remotely operated vehicle for sampling rising plumes, on a wire-deployed water rosette for spatially discrete sampling of non-buoyant hydrothermal plumes, or on a fixed mooring in a hydrothermal vent field for time series sampling. It has performed successfully during both its first mooring deployment at the East Pacific Rise and its first remotely-operated vehicle deployments along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is currently capable of rapidly filtering 24 discrete large-water-volume samples (30–100 L per sample) for suspended particles during a single deployment (e.g. >90 L per sample at 4–7 L per minute through 1 μm pore diameter polycarbonate filters). The Suspended Particulate Rosette sampler has been designed with a long-term goal of seafloor observatory deployments, where it can be used to collect samples in response to tectonic or other events. It is compatible with in situ optical sensors, such as laser Raman or visible reflectance spectroscopy systems, enabling in situ particle analysis immediately after sample collection and before the particles alter or degrade.     

Enhanced concentrations of dissolved gaseous mercury in the surface waters of the Arctic Ocean

During an almost three months long expedition in the Arctic Ocean, the Beringia 2005, dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) was measured continuously in the surface water. The DGM concentration was measured using an equilibrium system, i.e. the DGM in the water phase equilibrated with a stream of gas and the gas was thereafter analysed with respect to its mercury content. The DGM concentrations were calculated using the following equation, DGM = Hg_eq / k_H' where Hg_eq is the equilibrated concentration of elemental mercury in the gas phase and k_H' is the dimensionless Henry's law constant at desired temperature and salinity. During the expedition several features were observed. For example, enhanced DGM concentration was measured underneath the ice which may indicate that the sea ice acted as a barrier for evasion of mercury from the Arctic Ocean to the atmosphere. Furthermore, elevated DGM concentrations were observed in water that might have originated from river discharge. The gas-exchange of mercury between the ocean and the atmosphere was calculated in the open water and both deposition and evasion were observed. The measurements showed significantly enhanced DGM concentrations, compared to more southern latitudes.     

Persistently declining oxygen levels in the interior waters of the eastern subarctic Pacific

Fifty years of measurements at Ocean Station Papa (OSP, 50°N, 145°W) show trends in the interior waters of the subarctic Pacific that are both impacted by short term (few years to bi-decadal) atmospheric or ocean circulation oscillations and by persistent climate trends. Between 1956 and 2006, waters below the ocean mixed layer to a depth of at least 1000 m have been warming and losing oxygen. On density surfaces found in the depth range 100-400 m (σ_θ = 26.3-27.0), the ocean is warming at 0.005-0.012 °C y⁻¹, whereas oxygen is declining at 0.39-0.70 μmol kg⁻¹ y⁻¹ or at an integrated rate of 123 mmol m⁻² y⁻¹ (decrease of 22% over 50 years). During this time, the hypoxic boundary (defined as 60 μmol O₂ kg⁻¹) has shoaled from ∼400 to 300 m. In the Alaska Gyre, the 26.2 isopycnal occasionally ventilates, whereas at OSP 26.0σ_θ has not been seen at the ocean surface since 1971 as the upper ocean continues to stratify. To interpret the 50 year record at OSP, the isopycnal transport of oxygenated waters within the interior of the subarctic Pacific is assessed by using a slightly modified “NO” parameter [Broecker, W., 1974. “NO” a conservative water-mass tracer. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 23, 100-107]. The highest nitrate-oxygen signature in interior waters of the North Pacific is found in the Bering Sea Gyre, Western Subarctic Gyre and East Kamchatka Current region as a consequence of winter mixing to the ∼26.6 isopycnal. By mixing with low NO waters found in the subtropics and Okhotsk Sea, this signature is diluted as waters flow eastward across the Pacific. Evidence of low NO waters flowing north from California is seen along the coasts of British Columbia and SE Alaska. Oxygen in the subsurface waters of the Alaskan Gyre was supplied ∼60% by subarctic and 40% by subtropical waters during WOCE surveys, whereas such estimates are shown to periodically vary by 20% at OSP. Other features discernable in the OSP data include periods of increased ventilation of deeper isopycnals on an ∼18 year cycle and strong, short term (few month) variability caused by passing mesoscale eddies. The potential impacts of declining oxygen on coastal ecosystems are discussed.     

Bathymetric variations in vertical distribution patterns of meiofauna in the surface sediments of the deep Arctic ocean (HAUSGARTEN,Fram strait)

Deep-sea benthic communities and their structural and functional characteristics are regulated by surface water processes. Our study focused on the impact of changes in water depth and food supplies on small-sized metazoan bottom-fauna (meiobenthos) along a bathymetric transect (1200–5500 m) in the western Fram Strait. The samples were collected every summer season from 2005 to 2009 within the scope of the HAUSGARTEN monitoring program. In comparison to other polar regions, the large inflow of organic matter to the sea floor translates into relatively high meiofaunal densities in this region. Densities along the bathymetric gradient range from approximately 2400 ind. 10 cm^-2 at 1200 m to approximately 300 ind. 10 cm^-2 at 4000 m. Differences in meiofaunal distribution among sediment layers (i.e., vertical profile) were stronger than among stations (i.e., bathymetric gradient). At all the stations meiofaunal densities and number of taxa were the highest in the surface sediment layer (0–1 cm), and these decreased with increasing sediment depth (down to 4–5 cm). However, the shape of the decreasing pattern differed significantly among stations. Meiofaunal densities and taxonomic richness decreased gradually with increasing sediment depth at the shallower stations with higher food availability. At deeper stations, where the availability of organic matter is generally lower, meiofaunal densities decreased sharply to minor proportions at sediment depths already at 2–3 cm. Nematodes were the most abundant organisms (60–98%) in all the sediment layers. The environmental factors best correlated to the vertical patterns of the meiofaunal community were sediment-bound chloroplastic pigments that indicate phytodetrital matter.     

Variation of diffuse attenuation coefficient of downwelling irradiance in the Arctic Ocean

The diffuse attenuation coefficient(Kd) for downwelling irradiance is calculated from solar irradiance data measured in the Arctic Ocean during 3rd and 4th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition(CHINARE), including 18 stations and nine stations selected for irradiance profiles in sea water respectively. In this study, the variation of attenuation coefficient in the Arctic Ocean was studied, and the following results were obtained. First, the relationship between attenuation coefficient and chlorophyll concentration in the Arctic Ocean has the form of a power function. The best fit is at 443 nm, and its determination coefficient is more than 0.7. With increasing wavelength, the determination coefficient decreases abruptly. At 550 nm, it even reaches a value lower than 0.2. However, the exponent fitted is only half of that adapted in low-latitude ocean because of the lower chlorophyll-specific absorption in the Arctic Ocean. The upshot was that, in the case of the same chlorophyll concentration, the attenuation caused by phytoplankton chlorophyll in the Arctic Ocean is lower than in low-latitude ocean. Second, the spectral model, which exhibits the relationship of attenuation coefficients between 490 nm and other wavelength, was built and provided a new method to estimate the attenuation coefficient at other wavelength, if the attenuation coefficient at 490 nm was known. Third, the impact factors on attenuation coefficient, including sea ice and sea water mass, were discussed. The influence of sea ice on attenuation coefficient is indirect and is determined through the control of entering solar radiation. The linear relationship between averaging sea ice concentration(ASIC, from 158 Julian day to observation day) and the depth of maximum chlorophyll is fitted by a simple linear equation. In addition, the sea water mass, such as the ACW(Alaskan Coastal Water), directly affects the amount of chlorophyll through taking more nutrient, and results in the higher attenuation coefficient in the layer of 30–60 m. Consequently, the spectral model of diffuse attenuation coefficient, the relationship between attenuation coefficient and chlorophyll and the linear relationship between the ASIC and the depth of maximum chlorophyll, together provide probability for simulating the process of diffuse attenuation coefficient during summer in the Arctic Ocean.     

A Coupled Ice-Ocean Model in the Pan-Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean: Simulation of Seasonal Cycles

A coupled ice-ocean model is configured for the pan-Arctic and northern North Atlantic Ocean with a 27.5 km resolution. The model is driven by the daily atmospheric climatology averaged from the 40-year NCEP reanalysis (1958–1997). The ocean model is the Princeton Ocean Model (POM), while the sea ice model is based on a full thermodynamical and dynamical model with plastic-viscous rheology. A sea ice model with multiple categories of thickness is utilized. A systematic model-data comparison was conducted. This model reasonably reproduces seasonal cycles of both the sea ice and the ocean. Climatological sea ice areas derived from historical data are used to validate the ice model performance. The simulated sea ice cover reaches a maximum of 14 × 10⁶ km² in winter and a minimum of 6.7 × 10⁶ km² in summer. This is close to the 95-year climatology with a maximum of 13.3 × 10⁶ km² in winter and a minimum of 7 × 10⁶ km² in summer. The simulated general circulation in the Arctic Ocean, the GIN (Greenland, Iceland, and Norwegian) seas, and northern North Atlantic Ocean are qualitatively consistent with historical mapping. It is found that the low winter salinity or freshwater in the Canada Basin tends to converge due to the strong anticyclonic atmospheric circulation that drives the anticyclonic ocean surface current, while low summer salinity or freshwater tends to spread inside the Arctic and exports out of the Arctic due to the relaxing wind field. It is also found that the warm, saline Atlantic Water has little seasonal variation, based on both simulation and observations. Seasonal cycles of temperature and salinity at several representative locations reveals regional features that characterize different water mass properties.     

融冰季节北极破碎冰区热通量的初步研究

利用航空遥感数字影像的解析结果和实测气象，海洋和海冰资料，定量研究了夏季融冰期北极破碎冰区的热通量，计算了海洋对大气的热贡献，结果表明，在北极夏季海冰融化时，短波辐射远远大于感热和潜热通量，是表面热通量的决定因素，海洋对大气的热贡献主要由长波辐射决定，在观测期间，海洋对大气的热贡献为38～104Wm^-2，这部分热量的大小与海冰的密集度有关，当海冰密集度小于0.8时，海洋对大气的热贡献随海冰密度度的增大而减小，而当海冰密集度超过0.8以后，该热通量将随海冰密集度的增大而增大。     

北冰洋西部沉积物黏土的Sm-Nd同位素特征及物源指示意义

通过对北冰洋西部(楚科奇海及北部边缘地带、加拿大海盆)34个表层沉积物样品中黏土组分的Sm-Nd同位素分析,结果表明:(1)黏土组分的Sm-Nd同位素分异明显,可将沉积物划分为北部、西部、南部和东部等多个同位素物源区;(2)在楚科奇海,太平洋入流的向北输运自西向东形成了3个不同的同位素物源区,沉积物的c(147Sm)/c(144Nd)比值、ε_Nd(0)值和T_DM年龄自西向东呈递减趋势;(3)在研究区北部,顺时针方向流动的波弗特涡流将马更些河物质向西搬运至加拿大海盆和楚科奇高地,使该区沉积物ε_Nd(0)值明显偏低,T_DM偏大;(4)在楚科奇海北部外陆架、海台和陆坡区,太平洋水、大西洋水和波弗特涡流的相互作用使该区沉积物T_DM年龄的标准偏差大,同时出现了南-北源和西-南源等同位素混合类型。     

北冰洋西部沉积物有机碳、氮同位素特征及其环境指示意义

通过对楚科奇海及邻近的北冰洋深水区表层沉积物中有机碳同位素含量(δ13C)、氮同位素含量(δ15N)及生物成因SiO₂(BSiO₂)含量分析,结果表明海源和陆源有机质的分布受海区环流结构和营养盐结构所制约.楚科奇海中西部和楚科奇海台受太平洋富营养盐海水的影响,海洋生产力高,沉积物中海源有机质和BSiO₂含量高;靠阿拉斯加一侧海域海水的营养盐含量和生产力都偏低,沉积物中陆源有机质比重增加;在研究区北部和东北部的楚科奇高地和加拿大海盆,冰封时间较长,营养盐供应少,海洋生产力低,但来自马更些河和阿拉斯加北部的陆源有机质增多,沉积物中BSiO₂含量小于5%,海源有机质百分含量小于40%.由于亚北极太平洋水通过楚科奇海向北冰洋海盆输送,研究区营养盐池表现为开放系统,营养盐的利用率与它的供应成反比,与海洋生产力成反比.     

东印度洋细菌类群水平与垂直分布初探

作为海洋食物网的重要组成部分,微生物在海洋的生物化学循环以及能量和元素流动中起着重要的作用。目前对东印度洋中微生物的种群结构和分布知之甚少。本研究运用分子生物学手段,包括多聚酶链式反应-变形梯度凝胶电泳(PCR-DGGE)技术和高通量测序技术,对东印度洋的赤道区域以及邻近的孟加拉湾区域水体中细菌的16S rRNA基因进行了探索。结果表明,Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria (Alpha和Gamma类群), Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria和Planctomycetes为研究区域微生物的主要类群。通过PCR-DGGE,发现微生物类群具有显著的水平分布模式;进一步的高通量测序的结果更加清晰的显示出细菌类群的垂直分布模式:相对其他两层,Cyanobacteria和Actinobacteria在25米水层出现更多;Bacteroidetes在25m和150m为主要类群,而在75m水层相对较少;Proteobacteria (主要为Alphaproteobacteria)类群在75m水层为优势类群。随着水层的加深,不同站位的细菌类群组成趋于一致。结果表明高通量测序能够把占据微小部分的微生物类群区分出来。本研究是针对东印度洋水体中细菌的水平和垂直分布以及多样性信息的首次报道,研究结果对于进一步发现潜在微生物功能类群以及探索这些微生物在东印度洋中的能量和物质循环中的作用有所帮助。     

The Indian Ocean HydroBase: A high-quality climatological dataset for the Indian Ocean

The present study developed a high-quality climatological dataset for the Indian Ocean - the Indian Ocean HydroBase (IOHB) - from a combined dataset including the World Ocean Database 1998 version 2 (WOD98v2). Methods are similar to those used by previous studies for other oceans. Japanese data for the IOHB originated from the Japanese datasets MIRC (Marine Information Research Center) Ocean Dataset 2001 and Far Seas Collection; these datasets contain more Japanese observations than WOD98v2. Water mass properties in the IOHB climatology are consistent with previous studies. Seasonal patterns of properties near the sea surface are well reproduced, and deep-layer properties are consistent with the Reid-Mantyla climatology that is derived from high-quality observations. The isopycnal climatology of the IOHB differs from the World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) along the fronts associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The WOA01 shows a warm and saline intermediate water intrusion from South Africa to the east along the northern edge of the front. Such an intrusion is absent in IOHB where less saline intermediate water extends continuously northward from the southern ocean. The WOA01 shows a continuous belt of low potential vorticity along the ACC. This feature is less distinct in the IOHB climatology and in the Reid-Mantyla climatology. The IOHB consists of a 1° × 1° gridded climatology and the datasets of raw and quality-controlled hydrographic stations. The latter is valuable for quality control of the Argo float salinity data as climatological reference. These datasets are available freely via the Internet.     

Organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes in surface sediments from the western Arctic Ocean and their implications for sedimentary environments

1 IntroductionFor several reasons, the Arctic Ocean and itsmarginal seas are key areas for understanding ocean-ic circulation and global climate system ( Clark,1982; Hansen et al., 1983; Walsh et al., 1996;Overpeck et al., 1997). First, the Arctic Ocean i…     

A contemporary sediment and organic carbon budget for the Kara Sea shelf (Siberia)

It has recently been realized that the Arctic undergoes drastic changes, probably resulting from global change induced processes. This acts on the cycling of matter and on biogenic elements in the Arctic Ocean having feedback mechanisms with the global climate, for example by interacting with atmospheric trace gas concentration. A contemporary budget for biogenic elements as well as suspended matter for the Arctic Ocean as a baseline for comparison with effects of further global change is, thus, needed. Available budgets are based on the late Holocene sedimentary record and are therefore quiet different from the present which has already been affected by the intense anthropogenic activity of the last centuries.

We calculated a contemporary suspended matter and organic carbon budget for the Kara Sea utilizing the numerous available data from the recent literature as well as our own data from Russian-German SIRRO (Siberian River Run-off) expeditions. For calculation of the budgets we used a multi-box model to simplify the Kara Sea shelf and estuary system: input was assumed to comprise riverine and eolian input as well as coastal erosion, output was assumed to consist of sedimentation and export to the Arctic Ocean. Exchange with the adjacent seas was considered in our budget, and primary production as well as recycling of organic material was taken into account. According to our calculations, about 18.5 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 of sediments and 0.37 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 of organic carbon are buried in the estuaries, whereas 20.9 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 sediment and 0.31 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 organic carbon are buried on the shelf. Most sources and sinks of our organic carbon budget of the Kara Sea are in the same order of magnitude, making it a region very sensitive to further changes.     

Trajectory model for vertical sphere water-entry in presence of deep-seal cavity

This study presents a piecewise model for determining the vertical distance and velocity evolution with time for a sphere impacting a water surface and submerging to depths beyond deep-seal cavity pinch-off. Experimental data taken with a high-speed camera are presented for varying sphere mass ratios and impact velocities. The semi-empirical model incorporates results from previously published research and is shown to be in good agreement with experiments for heavier spheres but deviates when the sphere is only slightly denser than water. Two causes for the deviation are presented which relate to the dynamics of the cavity pinch-off event and the inception of a trailing vortex ring after the trailing cavity sloughs from the sphere. A model for predicting cavity pinch-off time and sphere position and velocity at the moment of cavity pinch-off is shown to agree well with experimental results for varying sphere mass ratios and impact velocities. The key experimental values are provided for comparison with current and future modeling efforts.     

北冰洋西部表层沉积物粘土矿物分布及环境指示意义

楚科奇海及邻近的北冰洋深水区表层沉积物中粘土矿物的分布受源区母岩和海区环流结构所制约。来自加拿大马更些河的物质富含高岭石和伊利石,对研究区东北部和北部沉积物的影响较大;来自阿拉斯加西北部的河流和海岸带物质富含绿泥石,高岭石含量变化较大,对阿拉斯加西北部近海沉积物的影响明显;来自西伯利亚的物质富含绿泥石,对研究区西部沉积物的影响较为明显。自白令海峡进入的太平洋水携带富含蒙皂石的育空河物质横穿楚科奇海陆架向北扩散,导致楚科奇海中部沉积物中的蒙皂石含量高;同时,粘土矿物自身的粒度分异在某种程度上也促使蒙脱石在离岸距离较远的中部海区富集。     

应用实时定量PCR技术检测秦皇岛近岸海域褐潮原因种——抑食金球藻(Aureococcus anophagefferens)

Aureococcus anophagefferens, a small pelagophyte algae, has caused brown tide blooms in coastal waters of Qinhuangdao in recent years, presenting significant negative impacts on the shellfish mariculture industry. Under standard light microscopy, it is visually indistinguishable from other small algae in field samples due to its extremely small size. In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction(q PCR) based on 18 S r DNA sequences was developed and used to detect and enumerate A. anophagefferens. A linear regression(R2 = 0.91) was generated based on cycle thresholds value(Ct) versus known concentrations of A. anophagefferens. Twenty-two field samples collected in coastal waters of Qinhuangdao were subjected to DNA extraction and then analyzed using q PCR. Results showed that A. anophagefferens had a wide distribution in coastal waters along Qinhuangdao. Elevated A. anophagefferens abundance, category 3 brown tide blooms(200 000 cells/m L) occurred at Dongshan Beach and Tiger-stone Beach in August in 2013. In shellfish mariculture areas along coastal waters of Qinhuangdao, 4 stations had category 3 blooms, and 6 stations had category 2 blooms(35 000–200 000 cells/m L) in August and all stations had category 1 blooms(0 to ≤35 000 cells/m L) in October. Quantitative PCR allows for detection of A. anophagefferens cells at low levels in filed samples, which is essential to effective management and prediction of brown tide blooms.     

Using the Mellor–Yamada mixing scheme in seasonally ice-covered seas—Corrigendum to: Parameterization of vertical mixing in the Weddell Sea [Ocean Modelling 6 (2004) 83–100]

A coding error in the s-Coordinate Primitive Equation Model (SPEM) has led to misleading statements about the behaviour of the Mellor–Yamada level 2 parameterization of vertical mixing. It has been claimed that the scheme removes static instability only very slowly and preserves statically unstable stratifications for an unrealistic long time. This note corrects this statement by demonstrating that the Mellor–Yamada mixing scheme, if implemented correctly, tends to overestimate rather than underestimate vertical mixing in seasonally ice-covered seas. Similar to other mixing schemes with the same behaviour, this leads to spurious open ocean deep convection, an unrealistic homogenization of the water column, and a significant reduction of sea ice volume.     

陆架海区温跃层特征量的一种计算方法--拟阶梯函数逼近法

在中国陆架海区调查获得的CDT资料表明，陆架区的水文要素垂直结构大都可以理想化为三层垂直结构模式：上均匀层、跃层和下均匀层。提出了一种用3条线段构成的拟阶梯函数拟合水文要素垂直剖面的方法，利用最小二乘法求出2个拐点的位置，即温跃层的上界和下界，取2个拐点的联线的斜率作为温跃层强度。对陆架海区各种不同的温度要素垂直结构形态整理归纳，分为正跃层、逆跃层、单方向多跃层和正逆跃层混合4种类型。各种类型均可按照一个或多个拟阶梯函数进行最小二乘拟合来获得温跃层的特征量。     

Optimizing alginate beads for the immobilisation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum in estuarine waters

This study addresses the influence of calcium as hardening agent, on alginate gel bead stability and suitability for the growth of Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin (Bacillariophyceae) in estuarine waters. Alginate beads produced with 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6% of CaCl₂ solutions were investigated for stability and suitability for growth of P. tricornutum cells, under mean salinity 27, at 220 and 440 rpm stirring laboratory conditions, and in devices placed under in situ estuarine conditions. Gel stability and suitability for cell growth were evaluated through bead diameter, bead disruption, dissolution and loss of spherical shape, cell viability and specific growth rates. Beads gelled with 5% CaCl₂ were found the most suitable to sustain gel stability and cell growth in the estuarine waters. These beads were surveyed during dredging operations in the Tagus estuary, both in situ and in estuarine water under laboratory conditions, showing significantly lowered growth rates possibly due to Mn, Co and As accumulated in the cells. Results confirmed that the monitoring tool presented is reliable and effective for the assessment of anthropogenic impacts.