Large and very large subaqueous dunes on the continental shelf off southern Vietnam, South China Sea

In the course of two regional side-scan sonar surveys on the continental shelf off southern Vietnam after the winter monsoon seasons of 2003 and 2004, and covering a total distance of over 1,000 km, the widespread occurrence of large and very large subaqueous dunes was discovered. On the basis of their size, shape, depth of occurrence and orientation, the dunes were grouped into five spatially distinct regions. In each case, a different height/wavelength relationship is observed. With the exception of region no. 3 where dune dimensions follow the mean global trend, the dimensions in the other regions lie below the mean global trend. The most plausible explanation for this is sediment starvation and/or insufficient time for the larger dunes to fully adjust to changing flow conditions. A good correlation is observed between average dune height in each region and water depth, although this is not the case for dune length. The orientation of the dunes corresponds to the direction of the current pattern induced by the regional winter monsoon winds (NE to SW and S). The generally well-developed asymmetrical shapes and the large size of the dunes suggest that the wind-induced currents are strong enough to reactivate most of the dunes during the winter monsoon season, a conclusion supported also by theoretical calculations of critical current velocities. The largest dunes, which seem to have reached their maximum sizes for the local water depths, may not be reactivated regularly but rather only by exceptionally strong episodic flows.     

南海北部陆坡区内孤立波的垂向热量输送

An integrated analysis of internal solitary wave(ISW) observations obtained from two moorings over the continental slope in the northern South China Sea(SCS) leads to an assessment of the vertical heat transport of the ISWs. The clusters of ISW packets are phase-locked to the fortnightly cycle of the semidiurnal tide. The ISWs appear during large semidiurnal tides, and there is a period of 5–6 d when no ISWs are observed. The effect of the ISWs on the continental slope heat budget is observed. The ISWs can modify a local temperature field in which the temperature in the upper layer can be changed by O(100) °C after the ISWs passed the mooring. Both ISWinduced diffusion and ISW-induced advection contribute to the temperature variation. The estimates imply an average vertical heat flux of 0.01 to 0.1 MW/m~2 in the ISWs in the upper 500 m of the water column. The vertical heat transport ranges from 0.56 to 2.83 GJ/m~2 with a mean value of 1.63 GJ/m~2. The observations suggest that the vertical heat transport is proportional to the maximum vertical displacement.     

南海西北陆坡区内潮与近惯性内波观测研究

通过对2006年南海西北部海域近3个月的全水深流速观测资料的分析,研究了该海区正压潮、内潮及近惯性内波的时空分布特征。结果表明,全日内潮明显强于半日内潮,且最大潮流均出现在海洋上层;内潮的主轴方向基本沿东南-西北方向,近似与局地等深线垂直;内潮能量显示出明显的时间长度约为半月的大小潮调制周期;全日内潮的coherent部分占全日内潮能量的70%,而半日内潮的coherent部分占半日内潮能量的53%;进一步研究发现半日内潮主要由第一模态主导,而全日内潮第三模态能量占总能量的比例仅次于第一模态且量值上与之相当;强风过程可激发出强的近惯性运动,暖涡使得近惯性内波能量更有效地向海洋深层传播,冷涡则不利于近惯性内波能量向下传播。     

A study of internal solitary waves observed on the continental shelf in the northwestern South China Sea

Based on in-situ time series data from the acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and thermistor chain in Wenchang area, a sequence of internal solitary wave (ISW) packets was observed in September 2005, propagating northwest on the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea (SCS). Corresponding to different stratification of the water column and tidal condition, both elevation and depression ISWs were observed at the same mooring location with amplitude of 35 m and 25 m respectively in different days. Regular arrival of the remarkable ISW packets at approximately the diurnal tidal period and the dominance of diurnal internal waves in the study area, strongly suggest that the main energy source of the waves is the diurnal tide. Notice that the wave packets were all riding on the troughs and shoulders of the internal tides, they were probably generated locally from the shelf break by the evolution of the internal tides due to nonlinear and dispersive effects.     

南海北部陆架区内孤立波向岸传播过程研究

南海北部是全球海洋中内孤立波最强和最为活跃的海域。然而,内孤立波在传入陆架区后,其形态发生显著变化,其传播演变过程表现出高度的复杂性。本研究综合卫星图像和数值模式手段研究了内孤立波在向岸传播过程中的空间变化特征。可见光卫星图像研究结果显示,南海北部陆架区存在三种形态的内孤立波,分别为第一模态下凹型内孤立波、第一模态上凸型内孤立波和第二模态内孤立波。受水深和层结变化的控制,它们的分布区域显著不同。基于MITgcm的数值模拟研究表明,上凸型内孤立波由第一模态下凹内孤立波经过极性转换过程发展而来,而第二模态内孤立波由第一模态下凹内孤立波与急剧变浅地形相互作用而产生。     

两相流模型在南海内孤立波与沙波相互作用中的应用

为研究内孤立波与沙波的相互作用,本文对基于OpenFOAM的SedWaveFoam求解器进行改进,建立了内孤立波-泥沙运动欧拉两相流模型。在利用试验资料对模型进行验证的基础上,在南海北部典型代表性条件下,模拟分析了500 m水深位置沙波床面上内孤立波作用下的水动力变化和泥沙运动。结果表明,内孤立波逐渐离开沙波时,海底沙波背流面处出现与内孤立波背景流速反向的流速,在内孤立波导致的流场作用下,沙波床面上的泥沙悬起并运动到床面以上的水体中。振幅100 m的内孤立波可以导致床面以上14 m高的位置处出现约0.07 kg/m³的悬沙浓度。     

内孤立波浅化破碎过程斜坡沉积物孔压响应特征实验分析

观测资料显示内孤立波沿斜坡浅化过程对海底沉积物的作用犹如一台水中吸尘器,在破碎转换阶段达到最强,甚至会触发一系列地质活动,引发地质灾害。为界定此过程中沉积物的动力响应特征和影响因素,在大型重力式分层流水槽中模拟不同振幅内孤立波和不同类型沉积物斜坡连续作用过程,利用孔隙水压力采集系统实时记录孔隙水压力变化,对比分析不同水动力、坡度、沉积物类型情况下沉积物中超孔压变化特征。分析结果表明,内孤立波破碎过程,破波位置海床表层波压力和不同深度超孔隙水压力都存在相似的"U"型负压力变化过程;破碎波经过位置沉积物表现为和表面波压力正相关的孔压响应特征。破碎点沉积物中超孔压幅值随深度减小,约在6%波长深度位置减少到坡面压力的50%。超孔压幅值和内孤立波振幅、沉积物类型和斜坡度密切相关,坡度由0.071变化到0.160时,波压力幅值可增大至1.6倍。内孤立波振幅变化不影响不同类型海床土动力响应规律,只与超孔隙水压力值大小有关,内孤立波对海床的动力作用可认为弹性作用。     

Mooring observed mode-2 internal solitary waves in the northern South China Sea

The mode-2 internal solitary waves (ISWs) generated by mode-2 internal tide (IT) are identified by mooring observations in the northern South China Sea (SCS) from 2016 to 2017. Two mode-2 ISWs with a re-appearance period of 24.9 h observed on 29 and 30 July 2016 are characterized by type-b ISWs. They occurred when the isotherms compressed obviously in the vertical direction. Modal decomposition of IT horizontal currents shows that the vertical compression of the isotherms is mainly caused by diurnal mode-2 IT. The analysis of the role of the density stratification reveals that a deeper and thinner pycnocline is favorable for generation of mode-2 ISWs rather than pycnocline intensity. By comparing the mode-2 nonlinear, dispersion coefficients and the Ursell numbers calculated based on the stratification associated with different kinds of ITs with the observation results, it is shown that the diurnal mode-2 IT plays a crucial role in the generation of the mode-2 ISWs. When the diurnal mode-2 IT interacts with the semidiurnal IT and causes a deeper and thinner pycnocline, the mode-2 ISWs are easily excited.     

陆架斜坡对内孤立波的动力响应特性试验研究

针对内孤立波在行进过程中遇到海底斜坡会对海底产生力的作用,不同坡度斜坡对内孤立波的动力响应应该存在差异。本文通过水槽中制造内波,对不同角度的斜坡对内孤立波的动力响应过程进行了研究。结果表明,内孤立波通过陆架斜坡上方,会造成斜坡沉积物超孔隙水压力的积累;在相同振幅条件下,缓坡沉积物动力响应的幅度比陡坡沉积物大;随着振幅的增加,缓坡发生动力破坏程度大于陡坡;在斜坡沉积物稳定性受到破坏之前,超孔隙水压力的积累和释放同时存在,内孤立波振幅的增大会加剧超孔隙水压力的释放。该结果对于斜坡沉积物在内孤立波作用下失稳破坏的动力学研究和斜坡稳定性分析将起到指导作用。     

南海东沙岛西南大陆坡内潮特征

2008年4月-10月,在南海东沙岛西南大陆坡底部布放了1套全剖面锚系,同时沿大陆坡底部布放了3套近底锚系,应用谱分析和调和分析方法分析温度和海流连续观测资料,进而研究该海域的内潮特征.结果表明,东沙岛西南大陆坡存在强内潮现象,大陆坡底部温度变化受到内潮波的影响,上层海洋存在强日潮周期的内潮波振动;正压潮和斜压潮均以O...     

孤立内波对过渡海域声场干涉结构的影响分析

南海北部陆坡海域是孤立内波的活跃区,孤立内波在该海域能够引起水体环境较强烈的水平不均匀性,从而影响声场干涉结构。将描述宽带声信号强度干涉条纹斜率的波导不变量视为一种分布,能更准确地分析声场的距离*频率干涉结构。本文研究了孤立内波环境下过渡海域声场的距离*频率干涉结构,依据实测孤立内波海洋环境,得到孤立内波环境下随距离变化的声速剖面,利用抛物方程方法仿真过渡海域声场干涉结构。在此基础上,利用拉东变换和傅里叶变换结合的谱值分离方法在低信噪比环境下提取波导不变量分布。分析表明孤立内波环境下过渡海域的声场类影区、类会聚区的波导不变量取值更丰富。     

一个典型南海北部第二模态内孤立波的观测分析

第二模态内孤立波在海洋中极少被观测到。本文基于潜标高时空分辨率观测数据,对南海北部陆架区的一个典型第二模态内孤立波进行了分析。结果表明,该第二模态内孤立波的流核出现在135 m深度处,其最大水平流速为0.66 m/s,传播方向为西偏北58°。沿传播方向的内孤立波流速分布在80～170 m的深度范围内,而与传播方向相反的逆流出现在海表和海底附近。垂向模态分析表明,该第二模态内孤立波水平流速的垂向结构与理论结果吻合良好。能量计算结果显示其动能密度的垂向积分可达14 kJ/m2,而波峰线方向单位长度上的动能估算值为5.98 MJ/m。尽管该第二模态内孤立波的动能比陆架区第一模态内孤立波小1个量级,但其高达0.045 s-1的流速垂向剪切约为典型第一模态内孤立波的2倍,表明其导致的混合可能更强。     

南海北部孤立波对近岸波动的响应

On the basis of the time series observations from a temperature chain and an acoustic Doppler current profiler on the continental shelf of the northern South China Sea, a sequence of internal solitary waves （ISWs） and background waves （BWs, including internal tides and near-inertial waves） on the continental shelf were captured simultaneously after the transit of Typhoon Neast in October 2011. These measurementsprovided a unique opportunity to explore the influence of BWs on the ISWs. The BWs appeared a conversion on the current strength and vertical mode structure during the observational period. The BWs were dominated by weak and mode-one waves before October 2 and then turned to strong and high-mode waves after that time. Meanwhile, the ISWs displayed different wave structures before and after October 2, which was closely related to BWs＇ changes. According to the current profiles of BWs, the high-mode wave structure with strong current could significantly strengthen the vertical shear of ISWs in the near-surface layer and promote the breaking of ISWs, and thus it may play an important role in affecting the background current condition.     

A study of SAR remote sensing of internal solitary waves in the north of the South China Sea: Ⅱ. Simulation of SAR signatures of internal solitary waves

A new model developed from the full-spectrum model of Lyzenga and Bennett （ 1988 ） is built up by us preliminarily through considering the impact of the ocean surface mixed layer turbulence on SAR remote sensing of internal solitary waves. In the partial differential equation of the action spectral density of the surface gravity-capillary waves the source function representing the contribution of the turbulence is added besides the usual source function representing the contribution of the wind. The source function is determined by applying the κ - ε model and adopting the Nasmyth spectrum of oceanic turbulence （ Nasmyth, 1970; Oakey, 1982; Fan, 2002） on the basis of the previous simulation results of internal tide transformation obtained in the companion paper （Fan et al. ,2008）. Either under relatively high wind speed, or under low wind speed, our model predicts significant large modulations of radar backscatter at all three bands （ L, C and X bands） for both VV and HH polarization. These results prove that considering the impact of ocean surface mixed layer turbulence on SAR remote sensing of internal solitary waves is reasonable and appropriate for settlement of the well-known problem of contemporary radar imaging models.     

南海北部陆坡中尺度涡的演化及传播规律分析

The continental slope in the northern South China Sea(SCS) is rich in mesoscale eddies which play an important role in transport and retention of nutrients and biota. In this study, we investigate the statistical properties of eddy distributions and propagation in a period of 24 years between 1993 and 2016 by using the altimeter data. A total of 147 eddies are found in the continental slope region(CSR), including 70 cyclonic eddies(CEs) and 77 anticyclonic eddies(ACEs). For those eddies that appear in the CSR, the surrounding areas of Dongsha Islands(DS) and southwest of Taiwan(SWT) are considered as the primary sources, where eddies generated contribute more than 60% of the total. According to the spatial distribution of eddy relative vorticity, eddies are weakening as propagating westward. Although both CEs and ACEs roughly propagate along the slope isobaths, there are discrepancies between CEs and ACEs. The ACEs move slightly faster in the zonal direction, while the CEs tend to cross the isobaths with large bottom depth change. The ACEs generally move further into the basin areas after leaving the CSR while CEs remain around the CSR. The eddy propagation on the continental slope is likely to be associated with mean flow at a certain degree because the eddy trajectories have notable seasonal signals that are consistent with the seasonal cycle of geostrophic current. The results indicate that the eddy translation speed is statistically consistent with geostrophic velocity in both magnitude and direction.     

南海北部东沙群岛西部海域的海底沙波与内波的研究进展

南海北部外陆架和上陆坡分布着大量的各种类型的深水沙波,经过统计,这些沙波的活动性十分迥异,有着不同于浅水沙波的运移机制。基于国内外对该地区沙波研究成果的总结,指出天文潮、风暴潮等因素均不可能造成海底沙波的持续运动。南海北部同时是世界上内波活动最频繁的区域,与沙波活动区存在空间一致性。经过本文的综述分析,南海北部频发的内波可以造成海底的强流,是造成该海域海底沙波活动的主要原因,未来应在此框架理论下,进行相关证实研究。     

A new method to estimate phase speed and vertical velocity of internal solitary waves in the South China Sea

A new method of estimating the phase speed and vertical velocity of internal solitary waves (ISW) based on dynamic governing equations using Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data was developed. This method was applied to a representative ISW case, which was captured in the South China Sea in the 2007 summer experiment. The result shows that this ISW had a phase speed of approximately 2.6?m?s^?1. This method provides an excellent alternative in estimating the phase speed of ISWs, especially useful in the absence of vertical stratification needed in solving the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV)-type equation, e.g., long-term mooring observation. Analyses show that the new method is fairly self-consistent, and it can be applied when only a part of the ISW observations is available. The computed vertical velocity of the ISW using the new method has a good agreement with the ADCP observations both in magnitude and pattern.     

Large-scale seafloor stability evaluation of the northern continental slope of South China Sea

Abstract

With the continuous expansion of energy demand, the deep-water continental slope in the northern South China Sea has become one of the significant offshore oil and gas exploration regions. The frequent occurrence of marine geological hazards in this region, especially submarine landslides, can cause serious damage to engineering facilities. However, there have been few studies on the stability of the northern continental slope of the South China Sea; these studies mainly focused on a specific submarine slope or small-range evaluation, resulting in a lack of large-scale and quantitative understanding. Hence, considering the variation in the physical and mechanical properties of marine soils with depth, formulas for calculating the safety factor of submarine slopes by an infinite sliding model are established, and the factors affecting slope stability such as soil properties, slope gradient and horizontal seismic action are systematically investigated. Using GIS techniques, the terrain slope gradients and a historical seismic database of the northern South China Sea are obtained. Combined with soil mechanical parameters, a regional stability evaluation of the northern continental slope is carried out. Furthermore, the distribution of risk zones is given. On the whole, under strong seismic action, large-scale submarine slope instability occurs and must be highly considered when assessing risk. This achievement is of great significance to engineering sites, route selection and engineering risk assessment.     

南海北部陆坡的地貌形态及其控制因素

利用精细地貌图、高分辨率多道地震剖面等资料研究南海北部大陆边缘深水陆坡的地貌形态及控制因素。莺琼陆坡具有不同于其他部分的特殊性,红河物源是造成它的地貌形态的主控因素,南海北部陆坡的其他部分的地貌形态依然受控于古新世—渐新世的断陷期所形成的凹凸格局,其空间分布状况决定了陆坡地貌的形态和演变;物源类型和供给数量是陆坡地貌形态的次级因素,决定着陆坡地貌在总体框架下的局部特征,地震和海流等外动力因素则在一定程度上决定了陆坡沉积类型和微地貌形态。南海北部的这种特点与大西洋两岸的大部地区有显著区别,后者在晚侏罗—早第三纪的断陷期所形成的构造格局对陆坡地貌的影响已次于物源状况和向深水的物质分散体系。南海北部陆坡可自西而东依次划分为五段:莺琼陆坡段、神狐陆坡段、珠江海谷段陆坡、东沙陆坡段和台湾浅滩陆坡段;各陆坡段的地貌形态和走向上的差异全面反映了以上三个因素,尤其反映了断陷期构造格局分布状况的效应。     

南沙群岛西南大陆斜坡海域浮游动物的垂直分布

浮游动物是海洋生态系统物质和能量转移的关键环节,也是渔业资源的重要饵料,其种类组成和数量分布均有明显的垂直分层现象。利用2011年4月在南沙群岛西南大陆斜坡海域开展的18个站点90份样品的调查数据,对该海域浮游动物的垂直分布进行了研究,表明:(1)该海域浮游动物种类组成丰富,共出现18个类群580种(类);(2)浮游动物种类组成垂直变化明显,特定水层出现的种类数占总种数的43.6%,各水层均出现的种类仅占总种数的15.8%;(3)优势种组成复杂,垂直变化明显,单一种类的优势度不高;(4)浮游动物平均密度和湿重生物量分别为206.27ind/m3、94.03mg/m3,密度和生物量均以0~2m层和30~75m层较高,沿水深梯度的变化呈明显的双峰型;(5)浮游动物数量的垂直变化主要受温跃层影响,温跃层内浮游动物数量最高,温跃层上方和下方的水层内数量较低;(6)南沙西南大陆斜坡区浮游动物生产力水平较高,表明该海域渔业资源有一定的开发潜力。