Experiments with a numerical model of coastal currents and tidal mixing fronts

A three-dimensional numerical model is used to simulate the development of disturbances on shelf-sea coastal currents and fronts. The model, which has a free surface, uses a finite difference grid ☐ scheme based on sigma coordinates. It has a semi-implicit scheme for the barotropic flow and a hydrid advection scheme to retain sharp fronts. The results demonstrate that (i) eddy formation follows changes at the inflow of a coastal current, (ii) a simple radiation boundary condition at the outflow produces nearly identical results for different outflow boundary positions, (iii) eddy growth, with matching behaviour of surface and bottom fronts, follows a small displacement on a tidal mixing front and (iv) effects of friction and mixing can significantly alter the behaviour of the front and the relative strength of the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies formed.     

Tidal-driven dynamics and mixing processes in a coastal ocean model with wetting and drying

A three-dimensional sigma coordinate numerical model with wetting and drying (WAD) and a Mellor–Yamada turbulence closure scheme has been used in an idealized island configuration to evaluate how tidally driven dynamics and mixing are affected by inundation processes. Comprehensive sensitivity experiments evaluate the influence of various factors, including tidal amplitudes (from 1- to 9-m range), model grid size (from 2 to 16 km), stratification, wind, rotation, and the impact of WAD on the mixing. The dynamics of the system involves tidally driven basin-scale waves (propagating anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere) and coastally trapped waves propagating around the island in an opposite direction. The evolutions of the surface mixed layer (SML) and the bottom boundary layer (BBL) under different forcing have been studied. With small amplitude tides, wind-driven mixing dominates and the thickness of the SML increases with time, while with large-amplitude tides, tidal mixing dominates and the thickness of the BBL increases with time. The inclusion of WAD in the simulations increases bottom stress and impacts the velocities, the coastal waves, and the mixing. However, the impact of WAD is complex and non-linear. For example, WAD reduces near-coast currents during flood but increases currents during ebb as water drains from the island back to the sea. The impacts of WAD, forcing, and model parameters on the dynamics are summarized by an analysis of the vorticity balance for the different sensitivity experiments.     

Effect of coastal boundary resolution and mixing upon internal wave generation and propagation in coastal regions

A non-linear two-dimensional vertically stratified cross-sectional model of a constant depth basin without rotation is used to investigate the influence of vertical and horizontal diffusion upon the wind-driven circulation in the basin and the associated temperature field. The influence of horizontal grid resolution, in particular the application of an irregular grid with high resolution in the coastal boundary layer is examined. The calculations show that the initial response to a wind impulse is downwelling at the downwind end of the basin with upwelling and convective mixing at the opposite end. Results from a two-layer analytical model show that the initial response is the excitation of an infinite number of internal seiche modes in order to represent the initial response which is confined to a narrow near coastal region. As time progresses, at the downwind end of the basin a density front propagates away from the boundary, with the intensity of its horizontal gradient and associated vertical velocity determined by both horizontal and vertical viscosity values. Calculations demonstrate the importance of high horizontal grid resolution in resolving this density gradient together with an accurate density advection scheme. The application of an irregular grid in the horizontal with high grid resolution in the nearshore region enables the initial response to be accurately reproduced although physically unrealistic short waves appear as the frontal region propagates onto the coarser grid. Parameterization of horizontal viscosity using a Smagorinsky-type formulation acts as a selective grid size-dependent filter, and removes the short-wave problem although enhanced smoothing can occur if the scaling coefficient in the formulation is too large. Calculations clearly show the advantages of using an irregular grid but also the importance of using a grid size-dependent filter to avoid numerical problems.     

水泥搅拌桩在天津沿海软基加固中的应用

大型工程场地挖填方地基处理面积大、工期紧,需要及时、快速掌握地基加固处理的质量情况,以确保工程质量和进度;同时为确保工程的安全稳定,大型工程对地基土体加固效果的均匀性往往有较高要求。地基土体压实效果常规检测方法主要有原位载荷试验、原位灌砂和土样测试等方法,这些方法要么设备笨重、耗时,要么会造成已加固的地基土体的破坏,从而无法对地基土体展开快速、连续检测。为克服上述问题,本文采用考虑道间时差相位的多道瞬态瑞雷波探测方法,辅以抽样点的取土试验测试,对某大型工程填方地基土体压实加固效果展开快速、连续检测,获得地基土体弹性波速的三维连续图像,进而生成附加应力影响深度范围内地基土体的瑞雷波相速度成像水平切片和地基土体深度平均压实系数水平分布成像。这些地基土体成像结果可以较好地反映出地基土体压实加固效果,从而为地基土体加固质量评价提供重要参考。

     

Biased monitoring of fresh water-salt water mixing zone in coastal aquifers

In coastal aquifers, significant vertical hydraulic gradients are formed where fresh water and underlying salt water discharge together upward to the seafloor. Monitoring boreholes may act as "short circuits" along these vertical gradients, connecting between the higher and the lower hydraulic head zones. When a sea tide is introduced, the fluctuations of both the water table and the depth of the mixing zone are also biased due to this effect. This problem is intensified in places of long-screen monitoring boreholes, which are common in many places in the world. For example, all approximately 500 boreholes of the fresh water-salt water mixing zone in the coastal aquifer of Israel are installed with 10 to 50 m long screens. We present field measurements of these fluctuations, along with a three-dimensional numerical model. We find that the in-well fluctuation magnitude of the mixing zone is an order of magnitude larger than that in the porous media of the actual aquifer. The primary parameters that affect the magnitude of this bias are the anisotropy of the aquifer conductivity and the borehole hydraulic parameters. With no sea tide, borehole interference is higher for the anisotropic case because the vertical hydraulic gradients are high. When tides are introduced, the amplitude of the mixing zone fluctuation is higher for the isotropic case because the overall effective hydraulic conductivity is greater than the conductivity in the anisotropic case. In the aquifer, the fresh water-salt water mixing zone fluctuations are dampened, and tens of meters inland from the shoreline, the fluctuations are on the order of few centimeters.     

Aeolian sediment fingerprinting using a Bayesian mixing model

Identifying sand provenance in depositional aeolian environments (e.g. dunefields) can elucidate sediment pathways and fluxes, and inform potential land management strategies where windblown sand and dust is a hazard to health and infrastructure. However, the complexity of these pathways typically makes this a challenging proposition, and uncertainties on the composition of mixed‐source sediments are often not reported. This study demonstrates that a quantitative fingerprinting method within the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) framework offers great potential for exploring the provenance and uncertainties associated with aeolian sands. Eight samples were taken from dunes of the small (~58 km²) Ashkzar erg, central Iran, and 49 from three distinct potential sediment sources in the surrounding area. These were analyzed for 61 tracers including 53 geochemical elements (trace, major and rare earth elements (REE)) and eight REE ratios. Kruskal–Wallis H‐tests and stepwise discriminant function analysis (DFA) allowed the identification of an optimum composite fingerprint based on six tracers (Rb, Sr, ⁸⁷Sr, (La/Yb)_n, Ga and δCe), and a Bayesian mixing model was applied to derive the source apportionment estimates within an uncertainty framework. There is substantial variation in the uncertainties in the fingerprinting results, with some samples yielding clear discrimination of components, and some with less clear fingerprints. Quaternary terraces and fans contribute the largest component to the dunes, but they are also the most extensive surrounding unit; clay flats and marls, however, contribute out of proportion to their small outcrop extent. The successful application of these methods to aeolian sediment deposits demonstrates their potential for providing quantitative estimates of aeolian sediment provenances in other mixed‐source arid settings, and may prove especially beneficial where sediment is derived from multiple sources, or where other methods of provenance (e.g. detrital zircon U–Pb dating) are not possible due to mineralogical constraints. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a 2-km resolution ocean model covering the coastal seas around Japan for operational application

Ocean Dynamics - In order to expand the coastal ocean monitoring and forecasting system of the Japan Meteorological Agency from the Seto Inland Sea to the entire coastal seas of Japan, a 2-km...     

Calibration of a coupled biological-physical model for prediction in a coastal inlet

We describe a numerical forecast system designed for prediction of physical and biological dynamics of a coastal inlet. It is based on a coastal ocean observatory that was located at Lunenburg Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. Biological, chemical, optical, and physical measurements were collected from instrumented moorings, weekly sampling and detailed surveys from 2002 through 2007. Here we present a framework for calibration and evaluation of an ecosystem model using data from the summer of 2007. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was coupled to a simple biological (Nutrients-Phytoplankton-Detritus) model; a simple model was used so results could be compared directly to observed biological and chemical variables using skill scores as a first step toward data-assimilation modeling. As a complement to this analysis, variability of model output, e.g., the nutrient limitation term, was examined to understand the modeled biological response to the simulated physical environment. Skill scores based on variances in observed and simulated time-series of biological components were also investigated. Coastal upwelling/downwelling simulated through this model has been found to increase modeled biological activity in the bay. Also model skill in reproducing the observed patterns in nutrients and phytoplankton has been increased due to the restoring conditions for biology set up at the open ocean boundaries of the bay.     

Magnetotelluric dispersion relations in a two-dimensional model of the coastal effect

Numerical modeling is performed for seafloor magnetotelluric sounding in a 2-D offshore zone in a period range of 0.25–16 h. An anomaly of the seafloor longitudinal impedance observed at distances of 20–260 km from the shore is analyzed. Dispersion relations are violated for the longitudinal impedance within the anomalous zone.     

多维分形奇异功率谱分析与应用

地球物理信号中普遍含有噪声，消除噪声是地球物理信号处理中的关键技术之一.奇异功率谱分析（SSA）是在状态空间（又称相空间）中研究（系统）动力学、非线性科学与混沌现象的方法.本文在状态空间中通过SSA分解，研究、应用地球物理序列的尺度不变性进行多维分形滤波：通过在状态空间的SSA分解，构造了经验正交函数系（EOF）；在EOF子空间中定义了两种尺度与测度后，发现了两种测度与尺度皆在多个尺度范围内存在尺度不变性；利用这种尺度~测度的尺度不变性，设计、实现了多维分形奇异功率谱(MSSA)滤波模型；处理解释了大洋钻探（ODP）1143A孔岩芯自然反射性（NGR）资料；Fourier功率谱分析结果证明，MSSA能有效地压制噪声，提取有用信号.研究得出，嵌入维数对MSSA基本无影响（小于1/1000），多维分形滤波器（MSSA）能有效压制噪声或提取有用信号.     

多维分形奇异功率谱分析与应用

地球物理信号中普遍含有噪声，消除噪声是地球物理信号处理中的关键技术之一.奇异功率谱分析（SSA）是在状态空间（又称相空间）中研究（系统）动力学、非线性科学与混沌现象的方法.本文在状态空间中通过SSA分解，研究、应用地球物理序列的尺度不变性进行多维分形滤波：通过在状态空间的SSA分解，构造了经验正交函数系（EOF）；在EOF子空间中定义了两种尺度与测度后，发现了两种测度与尺度皆在多个尺度范围内存在尺度不变性；利用这种尺度~测度的尺度不变性，设计、实现了多维分形奇异功率谱(MSSA)滤波模型；处理解释了大洋钻探（ODP）1143A孔岩芯自然反射性（NGR）资料；Fourier功率谱分析结果证明，MSSA能有效地压制噪声，提取有用信号.研究得出，嵌入维数对MSSA基本无影响（小于1/1000），多维分形滤波器（MSSA）能有效压制噪声或提取有用信号.     

Turbulent mixing in the Northern North Sea: a numerical model study

The aim of this study is to intervalidate observations and numerical simulation results for the turbulent dissipation rate under strong wind conditions in the Northern North Sea during one week in October 1998. The observations were obtained by spatially and temporally averaging measurements of small-scale shear with a free-falling shear probe. The 1D numerical model used for this study is based on a state-of-the-art two-equation k− turbulence model with an algebraic second-moment closure scheme. It is discussed by means of annual and seasonal model simulations how the influence of heat and salt advection and internal waves can be accounted for. After these precautions, the agreement between observations and simulations of the turbulent dissipation rate are fairly good. Remaining differences cannot only be explained by problems such as undersampling and noise level, but also by idealising model assumptions.     

Effect of wave-induced mixing on Antarctic sea ice in a high-resolution ocean model

Ocean Dynamics - In this study, we investigate how sea ice extent and thickness are affected by additional turbulent mixing from unbroken surface waves. This ‘surface wave mixing’ (SWM)...     

Effects of vertical mixing on the Lake Michigan food web: an application of a linked end-to-end earth system model framework

Ocean Dynamics - Physical processes may affect ecosystem structure and function through the accumulation, transport, and dispersal of organic and inorganic materials, nutrients, and organisms; they...     

Controlling boundary conditions with a four-dimensional variational data-assimilation method in a non-stratified open coastal model

An innovative way to take the large-scale circulation influence into account in coastal primitive-equation models is explored by an inverse modelling approach. Restricted to barotropic external forcing, this work is a first step in the development of a four-dimensional variational (4DVAR) data-assimilation approach to estimate the best initial and open-boundary conditions that force a coastal model according to interior observations. This development is founded on the OPA modelling system which representation of barotropic coastal dynamics is restricted to motions of long time scales ( a day) due to its rigid lid approximation. Twin experiments are performed in an academic configuration of the Gulf of Lions (located in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea) to study the sensitivity of a remote barotropic forcing to different observational networks measuring surface currents deployed in this area. Three monitoring designs are tested for a large-scale barotropic perturbation in the hindcast mode. It is shown that the space and time distribution of observations acts on the efficiency of the 4DVAR method and then allows coarser datasets.Responsible Editor: Phil Dyke     

Calculations of hydrodynamic time parameters in a semi-opened coastal zone using a 3D hydrodynamic model

Hydrodynamic time parameters (HTs) in a semi-opened aquatic ecosystem are synthetic indicators offering the opportunity to bring out the links between its physical functioning and its biology. The generic term “residence time” is frequently used through literature to mention HTs resulting in various calculation methods. This article presents different computing methods relying on the use of a 3D numerical hydrodynamic model and the HTs to which they give access. Several large-scale (water exchange time, average water export time, e-flushing time) and local time parameters (export time, flushing lag, local e-flushing time) are defined. The applications presented are carried out within the south-west lagoon of New Caledonia (SLNC), on three embedded control volumes. The definition of the control volume is more important for the values of local HTs than for their comparative distribution. The comparison of the global hydrodynamic time scales applied to a control volume provides information on the mixing processes inside the control volume.     

A non-breaking-wave-generated turbulence mixing scheme for a global ocean general circulation model

Ocean Dynamics - A novel vertical mixing scheme to describe the influence of the non-breaking surface waves in ocean general circulation models is proposed based on the second-order turbulence...     

Computing near coastal tidal dynamics from observations and a numerical model

A two-dimensional vertically integrated model of the North Sea is used to compute the distribution of M₂ and M₄ tidal elevations and currents over the region. Comparison of computed and observed elevations and currents in the area shows that the model can accurately reproduce the M₂ tide in the North Sea, although there are difficulties with the M₄ tide particularly in the northern North Sea.Comparison between model and a large number of observations collected in a shallow water region off the east coast of England, revealed that the model can accurately reproduce the tides even in near coastal regions, where model resolution problems can occur. Comparisons of computed and observed M₂ tidal energy fluxes in this region, show that model and observations agree to within the order of 10% (the error associated with the necessary interpolation of the observations in order to compute the energy flux).The problem of computing energy dissipation in the area by subtracting the energy fluxes into and out of the region is shown to be ill-conditioned in that the energy dissipation in the area is comparable to the error in the energy flux. Consequently for the sea region considered here it is not meaningful to compare this energy budget with energy dissipation due to bottom friction.Energy dissipation for the whole of the North Sea is computed using the numerical model and the geographical distribution of dissipation due to bottom friction is given for the M₂ tide.