Field measurements of coastal waves and currents in Portugal and Greece

The MAST II WAVEMOD Project aimed at improving stochastic modelling of ocean waves and currents in coastal waters. In order to supplement existing data, two measurement campaigns were carried out, one on the Atlantic coast of Portugal, and, secondly, on the northern coast of Crete in the Mediterranean. The Portuguese measurements covered 7 months during winter 1993–1994, while off Crete, measurements started early in February 1994 and continued for 10 months. In both sites, two directional Waveriders and one non-directional Waverider were deployed along a transect out from the coast in water depths between 10 and 100 m. In addition, the Mediterranean site also incorporated measurements of mean current velocities. Available satellite data were analysed to supplement the buoy data. In this paper, both measurement campaigns are described together with a presentation of some of the data collected.     

珠江口东南近海海区污损生物研究

为研究珠江口东南近海海区污损生物状况,于1986年5月至1987年6月,在香港东南约114和160km,水深为95和113m处布设了两个生物浮标站,并对距香港约172km,水深为115m处的Marex水文气象浮标上的污损生物群落进行调查.此次调查共采集和鉴定出污损生物78种,其中在浸海只有3个月的试板上,主要有柄蔓足类、水螅和藻类,优势种是细板条茗荷、茗荷和直杯螅.至于浸海时间达6～12个月的浮标(包括沉标)及锚链系统,其上还有相当数量的多种双壳类软体动物、无柄蔓足类和苔藓动物等硬性污损生物附着.在种类垂直分布方面,污损生物群落组成随深度发生明显变化.     

Fouling in offshore areas southeast of the Zhujiang (Pearl) River Delta, the northern South China Sea

Abstract-In order to understand the type and extent of marine fouling in offshore areas southeast ofthe Zhujiang (Pearl) River delta, within the period form May 1986 to June 1987, two biologicalbuoys were deployed at water depths of 95 m and 113 m located in 114 km and 160 km off the coast ofHong Kong, respectively. Moreover, the fouling community of a Marex hydrological buoy located in115 m depth water 172 km off Hong Kong was also surveyed. The results show that a total of 78species were collected and identified. The panels exposed for 3 months were mainly dominated bystalked barnacles Conchoderma hunteri and Lepas anatifera and hydroids Orthopyxis sp. As for thebuoys, including the subsurface buoy, and their mooring systems exposed for 6 and 12 months, respec-tively, some hard foulers such as common oysters, pearl oysters, acorn barnacles and bryozoans werealso found. The compositions of fouling communities also varied greatly with depth.     

Study of the Characteristics of Wave Buoys by Comparison Measurements

A method is proposed for estimating the accuracy of measuring the wave parameters by wave buoys. The results of comparative field tests of the developed Storm and Waverider wave buoys and a string wave probe are given. It is shown that the standard deviation of the error of the Storm buoy does not exceed 0.1 m for a sea state of 5. The research has made it possible to improve the methods for obtaining the spectral and statistical characteristics of sea waves of different intensity.     

Recent developments in ocean data telemetry at Woods HoleOceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is developing techniques for telemetering oceanographic data from the deep ocean to the laboratory in near real time. Three general approaches that provide a link between subsurface instruments and surface buoys equipped with satellite transmitters are being pursued. These approaches are: cabled systems that use electromechanical cables to connect subsurface instruments to a central controller; high data rate acoustic modems to transfer information between multiple remote units and a central controller; and inductive modems that use standard mechanical mooring lines as the transmission medium between instruments deployed on the mooring and a central controller. These telemetry systems are targeted for general use by the oceanographic community and are designed to be power efficient, low in cost, and capable of integration with most oceanographic data collection systems     

Centrifugal forces estimated from trajectories of drifting buoys in winding paths of the Kuroshio

Radii and angular velocities in the motions of drifting buoys deployed in the Kuroshio are estimated by fitting circles to the trajectories of two drifting buoys, one with a drogue at 300 m depth and the other at 800 m depth. The buoys were deployed in the Kuroshio where it was flowing counter-clockwise around the large cold water mass south of Honshu. The same technique was applied to two drifting buoys with drogues at 300 m depth placed in the Kuroshio where it flowed clockwise around Oshima Island in Sagami Bay. The centrifugal forces were 7% and 6% as large as the Coriolis forces in the Kuroshio around the cold water mass, and they were –56% and –42% as large as the Coriolis forces in the current around the Oshima Island. The temperature gradient observed in the Oshima-West Channel suggested that the pressure gradient there was smaller due to the centrifugal force acting against the Coriolis force than the pressure gradient to be balanced with the Coriolis force.     

雷州半岛东部近海浮标大型固着生物污损特点

对布设在雷州半岛东部距岸约30—42km、浸海时间约24个月的3个近海浮标进行了大型固着污损生物分析研究。结果表明,污损浮标的大型固着生物共35种,优势种以侧花海葵(Anthopleura spp.)、变化短齿蛤(Brachidontes variabilis)、网纹藤壶(Balanus reticulatus)为主,其次为翡翠贻贝(Perna viridis)、刺巨藤壶(Megabalanus volcano)和钟巨藤壶(M.tintinnabulum tintinnabulum)。3个近海浮标均被固着生物严重污损,生物附着量变化范围为3994.20—8641.72g/m2,浮标各部位组间差异不显著。物种多样性指数介于1.49—2.99,丰富度指数1.34—2.68,均匀度指数0.38—0.64。在离岸距离约42km的1号浮标,固着生物种类组成已表现出外海性特点,有少量有柄蔓足类出现,而离岸距离分别约35km和30km的4号浮标和7号浮标,污损浮标的大型固着生物仍为沿岸性种类。离岸距离、采样季节、采样深度、光照强度、海流状况和水域的开阔与封闭程度可能是影响固着生物群落组成的因素。     

The effect of an offshore bank in attenuating waves

Waverider buoys were installed in approximately 16 m of water offshore of the Size-well-Dunwich Bank off the East Coast of England and in approximately 11 m of water inshore of it. Minimum water depth over the bank was approximately 4.5 m at mid-tide level. Simultaneous records were obtained for substantial periods between November 1978 and May 1979. These show negligible attenuation for small waves, but as the offshore waveheight increased, the inshore waveheight tended to saturate at an H_s of about 3 m. The form of the relationship between inshore and offshore waveheight is predicted theoretically assuming that high individual waves which cross the bank are limited by breaking. The theoretical curve agrees well with the measured data. The measured saturation level corresponds to a wave breaking when its height is approximately 0.5 the water depth, which is considerably lower than the usual engineering criterion. However, some published tank results also appear to show the same low value.     

基于中国北极考察布放浮标观测和数值模拟的海冰和积雪厚度变化分析

Sea ice and the snow pack on top of it were investigated using Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition(CHINARE) buoy data.Two polar hydrometeorological drifters,known as Zeno? ice stations,were deployed during CHINARE 2003.A new type of high-resolution Snow and Ice Mass Balance Arrays,known as SIMBA buoys,were deployed during CHINARE 2014.Data from those buoys were applied to investigate the thickness of sea ice and snow in the CHINARE domain.A simple approach was applied to estimate the average snow thickness on the basis of Zeno~ temperature data.Snow and ice thicknesses were also derived from vertical temperature profile data based on the SIMBA buoys.A one-dimensional snow and ice thermodynamic model(HIGHTSI) was applied to calculate the snow and ice thickness along the buoy drift trajectories.The model forcing was based on forecasts and analyses of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF).The Zeno~ buoys drifted in a confined area during 2003–2004.The snow thickness modelled applying HIGHTSI was consistent with results based on Zeno~ buoy data.The SIMBA buoys drifted from 81.1°N,157.4°W to 73.5°N,134.9°W in 15 months during2014–2015.The total ice thickness increased from an initial August 2014 value of 1.97 m to a maximum value of2.45 m before the onset of snow melt in May 2015;the last observation was approximately 1 m in late November2015.The ice thickness based on HIGHTSI agreed with SIMBA measurements,in particular when the seasonal variation of oceanic heat flux was taken into account,but the modelled snow thickness differed from the observed one.Sea ice thickness derived from SIMBA data was reasonably good in cold conditions,but challenges remain in both snow and ice thickness in summer.     

Evidence for the Trapping and Amplification of Near-Inertial Motions in a Large Anticyclonic Ring in the Oyashio

Three ARGOS drift buoys were deployed in the Oyashio Current off the Kuril Islands near 45°N in fall, 1990, during a joint Russia/Canada study of western boundary current dynamics in the Subarctic Pacific Ocean. We here report on one buoy deployed within an anticyclonic warm core ring (WCR86B) which shows evidence of large amplitude inertial motions of near-diurnal frequency. During its first week within the ring the buoy drifted with a mean azimuthal current speed of 0.40–0.45 m s⁻¹ and a radius of rotation of 15–20 km. However, superimposed on the mean rotation of the ring at this time were “loops” of near-diurnal period, radius 7–8 km and speeds exceeding 1 m s⁻¹. During successive rotations the buoy spiraled outward, its mean period of rotation increased and the amplitude of the near-diurnal motions decreased. The large motions are explained by inertial wave trapping and amplification within the extremely large and weakly stratified eddy, wherein the negative vorticity of the eddy reduces the local inertial frequency to near-diurnal frequency. We here suggest that either tidal or wind forcing may generate these high-amplitude “loop” motions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Development of means and methods of drifter technology applied to the problem of the Black Sea research

During the last ten years, autonomous drifting platforms for data collection (drifters) equipped with Argos satellite communication devices have become one of the main components for the observation system in the upper layer of the ocean and surface atmosphere. This article presents the results of the Black Sea drifter monitoring in 2002–2006 within a number of international programs and projects. During this period, about 70 drifters manufactured by NPF Marlin-Yug Ltd. (Sevastopol, Ukraine) were deployed in the western part of the Black Sea. The drifters were mainly standard barometric Lagrangian tracers and a part of them were principally new temperature profiling buoys. Unique long-term data were obtained about the circulation of the surface currents and the dynamics of the temperature stratification within the seasonal thermocline and the cold intermediate layer.     

Characteristics of sea ice kinematics from the marginal ice zone to the packed ice zone observed by buoys deployed during the 9th Chinese Arctic Expedition

Sea ice growth and consolidation play a significant role in heat and momentum exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. However, few in situ observations of sea ice kinematics have been reported owing to difficulties of deployment of buoys in the marginal ice zone (MIZ). To investigate the characteristics of sea ice kinematics from MIZ to packed ice zone (PIZ), eight drifting buoys designed by Taiyuan University of Technology were deployed in the open water at the ice edge of the Canadian Basin. Sea ice near the buoy constantly increased as the buoy drifted, and the kinematics of the buoy changed as the buoy was frozen into the ice. This process can be determined using sea ice concentration, sea skin temperature, and drift speed of buoy together. Sea ice concentration data showed that buoys entered the PIZ in mid-October as the ice grew and consolidated around the buoys, with high amplitude, high frequency buoy motions almost ceasing. Our results confirmed that good correlation coefficient in monthly scale between buoy drift and the wind only happened in the ice zone. The correlation coefficient between buoys and wind was below 0.3 while the buoys were in open water. As buoys entered the ice zone, the buoy speed was normally distributed at wind speeds above 6 m/s. The buoy drifted mainly to the right of the wind within 45° at wind speeds above 8 m/s. During further consolidation of the ice in MIZ, the direct forcing on the ice through winds will be lessened. The correlation coefficient value increased to 0.9 in November, and gradually decreased to 0.7 in April.     

大型附着生物对近海圆盘浮标污损的特点

为了解大型附着生物对近海圆盘浮标污损的特点,对布设在珠江口东南海域和北部湾东北部海域的4个圆盘浮标的大型附着生物群落进行分析研究。结果表明,浮标侧壁大型附着生物的丰度和生物量分别为400.00～78 296.00 ind./m2和659.42～62 276.00 g/m2,底部的丰度和生物量则为412.00～66 585.00 ind./m2和1 861.60～60 784.00 g/m2,多数情况下浮标底部大型附着生物的丰度和生物量高于侧壁。浮标底部的香农-威纳(Shannon-Wiener)多样性指数(H′)介于2.39～3.06之间,马格列夫(Margalef)丰富度指数(d)为4.02～6.98,皮洛(Pielou)均匀度指数(J′)为0.88～0.91;而浮标侧壁的H′为0.64～2.79,d为1.10～4.89,J′为0.58～0.96,其中H′和d均表现出底部高于侧壁。聚类分析和非度量多维标度分析结果表明,在30%的相似性水平上,可将各站位浮标侧壁和底部的大型附着生物群落分为4个群组,其中浮标底部基本上可归成1个群组,但浮标侧壁之间差异较大。单因子相似性分析和相似性百分比...     

A wavelet-based test for swell stationarity

The temporal behaviour of swell is examined using the wavelet transform, and a test of stationarity using the wavelet transform is described. The method is demonstrated on time series data from a Directional Waverider buoy deployed at Duck, North Carolina, and it is shown that non-stationary sea states are usually associated with local wind-sea growth rather than significant changes in the swell component, which can be considered stationary for at least as long as the 160-min records. This is close to the 3-h duration that is typically assumed for a stationary sea state. The stationary character of swell is an important result for offloading from an LNG barge to carrier.     

Surface currents derived from satellite-tracked buoys off Namibia

To study the flow field off Namibia (20–30°S, 10–15°E), 48 satellite-tracked buoys were deployed and tracked in six bimonthly batches between July 1994 to September 1995. In situ supporting wind information was collected from a weather buoy moored off Lüderitz, from coastal stations and from voluntary observing ships. Buoy drift tracks were compared with surface topography data from the TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite and satellite infrared images. Most of the buoys drifted in a northwesterly direction, the buoys deployed in the south generally moving faster and diverging more from the coast than the northern buoys. The overall maximum daily drift velocity was 72 cm s^-1, but typical speeds were 10–30 cm s^-1. In the proximity of the coast some buoys experienced transient southward sets associated with the effect of coastal trapped waves, while tracks north of 23°S showed inertial oscillations.     

Operating experience with a BM-04 wave-tide gauge

A BM-04 microprocessor wave-tide gauge developed at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology is used for the acquisition of data on the parameters of surface waves (the mean height \(\bar h\), the mean period \(\bar \tau \), the frequency spectrum S(ω), and so on) and the mean sea level ζ. As a wave gauge, the instrument can be deployed on the sea floor, on piles, and so on at depths down to 10 m in the near-shore zone and can be mounted on subsurface buoys offshore. As a tide gauge, the instrument can be used at depths down to 6000 m. The instruments were successfully tested and intercalibrated in the Black and Baltic seas and the Sea of Okhotsk.     

Upper ocean near-inertial response to 1998 Typhoon Faith in the South China Sea

During the South China Sea monsoon experiment (SCSMEX),three autonomous temperature line acquisition system (ATLAS) buoys with acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were moored in the South China Sea to measure temperature,salinity and current velocity.Typhoon Faith passed through about 250 km south to one of the mooring buoys located at 12 58.5 N,114 24.5 E from December 11 to 14,1998.The data analysis indicates that the typhoon winds induce a great increase in the kinetic energy at near-inertial frequencies with two maxima in the mixed layer and thermocline.The near-inertial oscillations were observed at the upper 270 m in the wake of Typhoon Faith.The oscillations were originally excited in the sea surface layer and propagated downward.The amplitudes of the oscillations decrease with depth except in the thermocline.The near-inertial oscillation signals are also remarkable in temperature and salinity fields.     

Methods for intercomparison of wave measurements

The paper reviews methods for quality assessment and intercomparison of ocean wave data. The sampling variability for conventional time series recordings is summarized and compared to less common area measuring measurements. The sampling variability affects the scatter seen in simultaneous observations, and variability in excess of the sampling variability signifies real differences between the instruments. Various means of intercomparing wave parameters and spectra are discussed and two somewhat unconventional ways of deriving regression and calibration relationships are also shown. The methods are illustrated using data from SCAWVEX, focusing mainly on wave data from the HF radars and Directional Waveriders.     

A single-ship telemetric seismic refraction system

A telemetering, recoverable, sonobuoy system for seismic refraction surveying using a single ship is described. The novel feature of the system is two-way telemetry between ship and buoys, enabling the setting of gain controls in the buoys and conservation of battery power between recording periods. This makes it possible to have several widely separated buoys simultaneously record the shots. Thus a reversed or multiple-reversed profile is obtained from a single line of shots. By careful design of the telemetry system, a maximum range of 50 km is achieved with an antenna height of only 50 ft on the ship.     

Reliability assessment and integrity management of data buoy instruments used for monitoring the Indian Seas

Reliable performance is the key requirement for instruments used in offshore moored buoys for cyclone monitoring, as under performance of the sensors can have a serious impact on the societal protection, and in addition, lead to costly repair and reinstallations. The instrument selection and application practices are based on the experiences of the global scientific community, and their performances are monitored based on IEC61508 standards. Reliability modeling based on experiences in the operation and maintenance of moored surface buoys for approximately two decades has identified that the sensor suite used for cyclone monitoring has a Mean Time Between Failure of 0.6 years, which is the basis of the implemented reliability centered maintenance strategies. As this is the first attempt to study the performance of such moored buoy instruments which have cumulatively clocked more than 7.3 million demanding offshore instrument-hours, the data presented shall serve as input for the offshore environmental instrument system design.