Initial phase of the West Scotia mid-oceanic ridge opening

The first map illustrating the position of anomaly C12 extending in the NE-SW direction (25°) in the eastern peripheral part of the West Scotia Ridge is presented. Calculations of the paleomagnetic anomalies show that the spreading initiated in the period corresponding to Chron C12r (31.116?C33.266 Ma ago). Chron C11r (30.217?C30.627 Ma ago) was marked by a 200 km northwestward jump of the spreading axis. The calculation of the Euler poles and the rotation angles made it possible to reconstruct the zone of the initial breakup between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula along the western periphery of the continental Terror Rise.     

Assessing the west ridge of Luzon Strait as an internal wave mediator

The Luzon Strait is blocked by two meridional ridges at depths, with the east ridge somewhat higher than the west ridge in the middle reaches of the Strait. Previous numerical models identified the Luzon Strait as the primary generation site of internal M₂ tides entering the northern South China Sea (Niwa and Hibiya, 2004), but the role of the west-versus-east ridge was uncertain. We used a hydrostatic model for the northern South China Sea and a nonhydrostatic, process-oriented model to evaluate how the west ridge of Luzon Strait modifies westward propagation of internal tides, internal bores and internal solitary waves. The dynamic role of the west ridge depends strongly on the characteristics of internal waves and is spatially inhomogeneous. For M₂ tides, both models identify the west ridge in the middle reaches of Luzon Strait as a dampener of incoming internal waves from the east ridge. In the northern Luzon Strait, the west ridge is quite imposing in height and becomes a secondary generation site for M₂ internal tides. If the incoming wave is an internal tide, previous models suggested that wave attenuation depends crucially on how supercritical the west ridge slope is. If the incoming wave is an internal bore or internal solitary wave, our investigation suggests a loss of sensitivity to the supercritical slope for internal tides, leaving ridge height as the dominant factor regulating the wave attenuation. Mechanisms responsible for the ridge-induced attenuation are discussed.     

Peculiarities of slick formation on the sea surface

This paper deals with surface slicks, their nature, and causes of formation in context of the development of remote detection methods and investigation of dynamic processes in the ocean and at the air–ocean interface. A simplified formalism is introduced for slick–sea surface contrast formation which takes into account the upward sea radiation and qualitatively explains in situ measurement results. The results of a detection of slicks on the coastal water surface are also described, which, together with the simplified formalism suggested, provide optimal experimental conditions for slick–sea surface contrast measurements; i.e., the contrast of the P component of reflected radiation is measured at viewing angles close to the horizon.     

Peculiarities of the magmatism and tectonics of the Knipovich Ridge

Petrological-geochemical data were obtained for intrusive rocks (gabbroids) recovered on the eastern flank of the Knipovich Ridge by deep-sea site 344 (DSDP, Leg 238). It was found that these rocks are similar to basalts and basaltic glasses studied in the adjacent sections of the ridge rift zone [7, 8]. This indicates that the intrusive rocks and erupted lavas are comagmatic. The gabbroids, basalts, and their quenched glasses were derived by differentiation in different-depth chambers and feeder channels. The petrochemical features of the gabbros and basalts (low Fe content, oxidized magnetic minerals) caused their weak magnetic properties. Owing to the multidirectional movements of the oceanic blocks, the bodies of the intrusive and effusive rocks their lost strict linearity and produced the mosaic anomalous magnetic field of the Knipovich Ridge.     

Peculiarities of Water Circulation in the Southern Tatar Strait

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Satellite altimetry data have been used to study water circulation in the Tatar Strait region (the northern part of the Sea of Japan) for the time...     

Peculiarities of oceanographic processes in the north-western Black Sea

The paper examines how various factors affect the intensity of photosynthesis and oxidation reaction in the north-western part of the Black Sea. In the course of the evolution of the basin, natural aspects were widely changing; therefore their role is evaluated by the content of organic matter and diatoms in the bottom sediments. The influence of anthropogenic factors is determined by the current tendencies in the variation of physico-chemical and biological characteristics of the basin. The main factor upsetting steady functioning of the north-western Black Sea ecosystem is the large biogenic influx to the sea. The possible changing of the ecosystem during the nearest few decades is assessed. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Peculiarities of water circulation in the south-western Indian Ocean

In this paper observational data are used to compute drift and geostrophic current components and to evaluate water transport in the upper 0–800 m ocean layer. Water circulation in the south-western Indian Ocean has been shown to differ from the circulation in similar areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The West Australian current, closing the anticyclonic gyre, is an intervening flow. On the other hand, within the upper 200 m layer, the current flows southward along the West Australian coast, thereby producing specific hydrological conditions in that region. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

极限波浪运动特性的非线性数值模拟

利用时域高阶边界元方法建立了模拟极限波浪运动的完全非线性数值模型,其中自由水面满足完全非线性自由水面条件.采用半混合欧拉-拉格朗日方法追踪流体瞬时水面,运用四阶Runge-Kutta方法更新下一时间步的波面和速度势,同时应用镜像格林函数消除水槽两个侧面和底面上的积分.研究中利用波浪聚焦的方法产生极限波浪,并且在水槽中开展了物理模型实验,将测点试验数据与数值结果进行了对比,两者吻合得很好.对极限波浪运动的非线性和流域内速度分布进行了研究.     

Peculiarities of the Black Sea rim current near the Crimean coast

This paper discusses the quasi-stationary Black Sea rim current velocity field observed at seven points of the shelf area and continental slope in the vicinity of South Crimea from 6 June to 15 July, 1991. Current velocity fluctuations conditioned by the difference in atmospheric pressures over the eastern part of the sea and the western one, with the wind speed being 5 cm s⁻¹, have been studied. Inertial and seiche flows are described numerically. The peculiarities of the kinematics of the Black Sea rim current’s regular component have been scrutinized. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Present-day kinematics around the Indian Ocean plate

The kinematic situation around the Indian Ocean plate depends on the total northward motion of the plate (relative to Eurasia) with the formation of spreading zones at the southern boundary and frontal compression structures at the northern boundary. The time and scales of the manifestation of ancient and recent phenomena are quite comparable. In addition to the detachment faults at different levels of the lithosphere and disharmonic dislocations (especially in the conjugation zones between the continental and oceanic crusts), a wide region of gentle warping exists in the central part of the plate. This region is most probably independent of horizontal motions.     

头足类的分布特点及其区系特征

本文以世界海域头足类的28个科及其重要种类的分布为依据,结合生境、生态和捕获状况,探讨了头足类的分布特点、分布趋向和区系特征。     

Peculiarities of backscattering in multifrequency nadir probing of the sea surface

Backscattering of centimeter electromagnetic waves during nadir probing of the sea surface is considered in an approximation of the Kirchoff method and a two-scale model of the scattering surface. A model of the effective reflection coefficient is developed under the assumption of the specified roughness spectrum model, and the coefficients for Ku (0.021 m), C (0.055 m), and S (0.09 m) bands are calculated. The dependence of the backscattering cross section on the wind speed, wind fetch, and the height of the swell are numerically investigated. The proximity of the numerical estimates and the experimental data is demonstrated. The dependence of the difference of two cross sections on the wind speed or on one of the backscattering cross sections is analyzed in dual-frequency measurements. It is shown that the numerical model made it possible to describe the nonmonotonic behavior of the difference cross section for the Ku-C and Ku-S pairs for the first time. The developed effective reflection coefficient model made it possible to predict in the numerical experiment the behavior of the difference cross section of a new frequency pair (C and S) for which in situ measurements have not yet been performed.     

Peculiarities of the currents field in the north-western part of the Black Sea

On the basis of the results derived by theoretical analysis [1] and laboratory physical modelling [2] of the circulation seawater and stratification, induced by buoyancy fluxes, the suggestion has been made that, possibly, the Black Sea currents system is three-layered. It has been supposed that an anticyclonic current flows in the basin. To verify this deduction, the data from MHI's archived dataset have been treated, and results from twoad hoc expeditions are submitted here. Analysis of the vertical structure of currents, based on thein situ velocity measurements, using various means and calculations of the geostrophic circulation, has confirmed that a flow with the theoretically predicted parameters may exist in the Black Sea. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Peculiarities of Stratospheric Temperature Stratification Measurements by the Microwave Radiometry Method

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - In this paper, we consider the peculiarities of using the microwave radiometry method for remote sensing of the thermal stratification of the high...     

Peculiarities in the distribution of hydrocarbons in the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea

Data on the contents and compositions of the hydrocarbons (HCs)—aliphatic (AHCs) and polycyclic aromatic (PAHs)—are provided in comparison with the contents of the total organic carbon (C_org), the lipids in the particulates, and the C_org in bottom sediments. Particular attention has been paid to the distribution of the HCs in the water area of the Kravtsov oil field. It has been established that the concentrations of AHCs in the water are governed by the content of particulates, and the elevated AHC concentrations are confined to the coastal areas. In the water area of platform D-6, the sandy bottom sediments were notable for the great variability of the HC concentrations, both laterally and from year to year. In the summer of 2010, the content of AHCs averaged 40 μg/g (19% in the C_org), and that of PAHs, 23 ng/g. Natural seepage from the sediment mass is considered to be a source of HCs along with oil contamination.     

台阶型海脊俘获波的实验研究

基于物理模型实验研究瞬态冲击波在台阶地形上传播过程,揭示由于反射而在海脊上出现的波浪俘获现象。结果表明:在瞬态波产生区域附近,海脊上所测到的先导波即为最大波,其由泄漏至海脊外的深水波绕射至海脊所致。随着传播距离的增加,由于频散效应的影响,先导波逐渐减小,沿台阶近似直线传播的海脊俘获波和在台阶上曲折传播的海脊俘获波逐渐显现。在距离波浪产生较远区域所测的最大波晚于先导波出现,且这些由俘获波所叠加而成的最大波随着传播距离的增加而呈现出更加复杂的波面过程。     

Historical Gorda Ridge t-phase swarms: relationships to ridge structure and the tectonic and volcanic state of the ridge during 1964–1966

The U.S. Navy’s Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) hydrophone arrays are extemely efficient receptors of a high-frequency earthquake energy phase known as the t(ertiary)-wave, or t-phase (Fox et al., 1994). After a nearly 30-year hiatus in such studies, SOSUS arrays are again being utilized to detect t-phases and to locate seismic and volcanic events occurring along the Gorda seafloor spreading center (Fox et al., 1995; Fox and Dziak, 1998). Earlier, Northrop et al. (1968) also used other military arrays to infer tectonic structure along the Gorda Ridge. From October 1964 through December 1966, over 600 low-magnitude earthquakes occurred along the Gorda Ridge. Nearly all of these events had magnitudes below the detection thresholds of land-based seismic networks. Northrop et al. (1968) interpreted the geographic distribution of these events as evidence for a nascent fracture zone near the midpoint of the ridge. In the present study, the spatial distributions of these older data and, for the first time, their temporal distributions as well, were examined with respect to detailed bathymetry of the ridge that was acquired in the early 1980s. This analysis, of 570 on-axis and 74 off-axis events, led to the following observations: (1) nearly all of the Gorda Ridge t-phase events occurred in discreet swarms centered about the ridge axis, (2) most of the events within each of 8 (of 9) observed swarms occurred mainly along single ridge segments, and, (3) reconfirming the earlier Northrop et al. (1968) conclusion, most of the events originated in the region of a major change in the strike of the ridge axis. During the 27-month interval that the ridge was observed, relatively few t-phase events took place along the northernmost segment of the Gorda Ridge where the 1996 eruption occurred. However, a unique sequence of small events which visually resemble the events associated with a Juan de Fuca Ridge eruption in 1993 (Fox et al., 1995) and a Gorda Ridge eruption in 1996 (Fox and Dziak, 1998) may have been associated with an eruption on the ridge during 1965.     

Hindcast of the wave conditions along the west Iberian coast

This paper describes the development of a wave prediction system for the west Iberian coast. The implemented wave prediction system is based on two state-of-the-art spectral wave models, WAM for the ocean area and SWAN for the nearshore. However, because of its extended geographical space the SWAN model will include some generation effects in the coarse SWAN simulations, complemented by wave transformation effects near the coast. The system was validated by means of extended hindcast runs in various regions belonging to the continental Portuguese coastal environment, which were compared with buoy data, focusing on the extreme energetic events and both direct comparisons and statistical results are presented.     

2004年西北太平洋热带气旋特征

本文通过对2004年西北太平洋热带气旋发生源地、月频数、移动路径、强度等方面的分析,找出2004年西北太平洋热带气旋的特征,并对其大气环流场进行了分析,结果表明:2004年西北太平洋热带气旋偏多、偏强,路径以近、远海转向为多,前期赤道东太平洋海温偏低、西太平洋副高位置偏北、偏东,是2004年西北太平洋热带气旋偏多的主要原因。