Structural features of the planetary boundary layer in the continent-ocean transition zone as inferred from data of lidar and meteorological soundings

The results of an analysis of the annual variation of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height in the continent-ocean transition zone determined from lidar and meteorological data are presented. Means of the height and its variances are calculated in a month-long window. The PBL heights reconstructed from these measurements are found to differ substantially in the spring and summer seasons. These results are explained by the influence of dust storms and cyclones, which are the most intense in these seasons, on the structure of aerosol in the atmosphere.     

南海北部洋陆转换带地震反射特征和结构单元划分

张裂大陆边缘和盆地主要通过岩石圈的伸展作用形成,被动大陆边缘岩石圈的减薄导致了岩浆的减压熔融,最终形成了洋壳和减薄的转换带。处理和分析了2010年中国科学院南海海洋研究所"实验2"号采集的南海北部地球物理调查的多道地震数据(MCS2010-1),总结了南海北部洋陆转换带的地震反射特征。转换带主要由北部裂陷期下沉区段,中部海山或埋藏海山隆起带和靠近海盆一侧的掀斜断块带组成。通过对比以前南海北部采集的反射地震数据和折射地震波速度模型,圈定了洋陆转换带的分布范围,洋陆转换带的宽度在南海东北部是225km,中部是160km,西北部是110km。依据零星的大于6级地震震中分布,揭示了南海北部洋陆转换带目前仍是一个地震构造活跃带。     

The continent-ocean transition at the southeastern margin of the South China Sea

The South China Sea formed by magma-poor, or intermediate volcanic rifting in the Paleogene. We investigate the structure of the continent-ocean transition (COT) at its southern margin, off NW Palawan between the continental blocks of Reed Bank and the islands of Palawan and Calamian. Several surveys, recorded by the BGR from 1979 to 2008, established a comprehensive database of regional seismic lines, accompanied with magnetic and gravity profiles.We interpret two major rifted basins, extending in the NE direction across the shelf and slope, separated by a structural high of non volcanic origin.The continent-ocean transition is interpreted at the seaward limit of the continental crust, when magnetic spreading anomalies terminate some 80-100 km farther north. The area in between displays extensive volcanism - as manifest by extrusions that occasionally reach and cut the seafloor, by dykes, and by presumed basaltic lava flows - occurring after break-up.The COT is highly variable along the NW Palawan slope: One type shows a distinct outer ridge at the COT with a steep modern seafloor relief. The other type is characterised by rotated fault blocks, bounded by listric normal faults ramping down to a common detachment surface. Half-grabens developed above a strongly eroded pre-rift basement. The seafloor relief is smooth across this other type of COT.We suggest the pre-rift lithospheric configuration had major influence on the formation of the COT, besides transfer zones. Volcanic domains, confined to the north of competent crustal blocks correlate with the style of the COT.Gravity modelling revealed an extremely thinned crust across the shelf. We propose a depth-dependent extension model with crust being decoupled from mantle lithosphere, explaining the discrepancy of subsidence observed across the South China Sea region.     

深海汇聚区的焦散结构与声能分布特征

在深海汇聚区声场中,不同初始角的声线在传播过程中因折射程度差异形成特定的焦散结构。根据射线理论推导了线性剖面条件下用F算子表示的声线轨迹模型,并讨论了焦散结构与掠射角及声源-接收深度配置的变化关系。折射型焦散线由0°~5°的小角度声线构成,为波导结构;反射型焦散线由掠射角为±(5°~10°)的声线构成,为折线结构,且上行与下行声线的焦散线结构明显不同。应用BELLHOP模型分析得出了汇聚区增益与声源-接收深度条件的变化关系,并根据射线到达结构和焦散特征提出了一种确定汇聚区位置和范围的方法。     

Features of optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosol in the Middle Urals

The results of studies into the aerosol optical depth (AOD) for the atmosphere in the Middle Urals in the spectrum range of 0.34–1.02 μm for 2004–2010 is presented. The interannual, annual, seasonal, and daily variations in the AOD are analyzed. The major statistical characteristics of the AOD, the parameters of the probability density function of distributions over different wave lengths, and the parameters of Angstrom’s formula for the different seasons are calculated. The monitoring stations in the Russian segment of the AERONET network are ranked with respect to the AOD value. A shift from March to May in the spring maximum of the AOD is revealed in comparison with the results of the actinometric observations for the period of 1960–1986. A qualitative assessment is given to the influence of forest and peat fires in the region on the AOD. A classification of the states of aerosol haze in the atmosphere according to the AOD values is proposed.     

Specific features of the distribution of heavy metals in bottom sediments in the Northeast part of the Black Sea

We study the distribution of Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, Ag, and Au in present-day and ancient bottom sediments in the shelf, slope, and deep-trench areas of the northeast part of the Black Sea. The samples were taken in 1990 in the Crimean, Kerch-Taman, and Caucasian regions. The revealed character of the fields of concentration of metals does not allow one to establish exact regularities in the distribution of Mn, Co, and Cu with Fe. It is shown that the values of the ratios of concentrations of metals increase in the following direction: Au/Cu → Zn/Cu → Co/Fe → Ni/Fe → Mn/Fe → Hg/Cu → Ag/Cu → Cu/Fe. The data on Ag are presented for the first time.     

长江口特大洪水浑浊带悬沙粒度分布特征

2020年长江流域发生了历史第二大洪水,大通站洪峰流量达到84 500 m3/s。本文基于2020年7月长江口特大洪水期间最大浑浊带多站位的水沙观测数据,重点分析了悬沙粒度组分的时空分布特征,并与常态水文条件下的粒度数据进行对比。结果表明：（1）最大浑浊带悬沙垂向平均中值粒径为10.4μm,变化范围为6～27μm,以黏性细颗粒泥沙为主;其中核心区南槽、北槽及北港的中值粒径分别为8.4μm、7.6μm和8.5μm,过渡区分别为7.2μm、16.4μm和14.5μm。（2）悬沙中值粒径垂向分布受不同组分影响,核心区底层中值粒径为8.8～9.6μm;底层黏土含量在28%～31%之间,粉砂含量在61%～64%之间,中值粒径主要受黏土及粉砂组分影响;过渡区北港和北槽垂向平均砂组分高达19%,南槽砂组分平均仅占5%,中值粒径主要受砂组分影响。（3）对比2013年洪季浑浊带数据,2020年粒径整体增大5.4μm,核心区黏土含量相较2013年减少12.7%,砂增加6.3%;过渡区北槽与北港平均粒径增大10μm。     

Three-dimensional circulation in the NW Africa coastal transition zone

High-resolution data collected southeast of the Canary Islands during late winter 2006 are analyzed to describe the hydrography and three-dimensional circulation in the coastal transition zone off NW Africa. The data are optimally interpolated over a regular grid, the geostrophic velocity field is calculated and the Q-vector formulation of the omega equation is used to compute the quasi-geostrophic (QG) mesoscale vertical velocity. The coastal transition zone is divided into upwelling, frontal and offshore regions with distinct physical and dynamic characteristics. The upwelling region is characterized by cold and weakly stratified waters flowing towards the equator, with a poleward undercurrent of approximately 0.05 m s⁻¹ over the continental slope. The frontal region exhibits a southwestward baroclinic jet associated with cross-shore raising isopycnals; the jet transport is close to 1 Sv, with maximum velocities of 0.18 m s⁻¹ at surface decreasing to 0.05 m s⁻¹ at 300 db. Vertical sections across the frontal region show the presence of deep eddies probably generated by the topographic blocking of the islands to the southward current, as well as much shallower eddies that likely have arisen as instabilities of the baroclinic upwelling jet. The QG mesoscale vertical velocity field is patchy, estimated to range from −18 to 12 m day⁻¹, with the largest absolute values corresponding to an anticyclonic eddy located south of Fuerteventura Island. These values are significantly larger than estimates for other vertical velocities: diapycnal vertical velocities associated with mixing in the frontal region (a few meters per day), and wind-induced vertical velocities (non-linear Ekman pumping arising from the interaction between the wind stress and the background vorticity, maximum values of a few meters per day; linear Ekman pumping due to the divergence of Ekman transport, a fraction of a meter per day; or the coastal constraint in the upwelling region, about 0.7 m day⁻¹). However, the patchiness in both the QG mesoscale vertical velocity and the non-linear Ekman pumping velocity cause their integrated vertical transports to be one order of magnitude smaller than either coastal Ekman transport (0.08 Sv), integrated linear Ekman pumping (−0.05 Sv) or diapycnal transfer (about 0.1–0.2 Sv). The pattern of the near-surface fluorescence field is a good indicator of these different contributions, with large homogeneous values in the coastal upwelling region and a patchy structure associated with the offshore mesoscale structures.     

Specific features of reverberation in the Black-Sea underwater sound channel

We consider the results of instrumental investigations of specific features of reverberation in the Black Sea and obtain qualitative dependences of the duration of volume reverberation on the parameters of the Black-Sea underwater sound channel, (width, drop of the sound velocity, and dimensions of the inhomogeneities of stratification). We also analyse the behaviour of the intensity of surface reverberation in the far-field zone of acoustic illumination and the influence of bottom reverberation on the detection of underwater objects. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Specific features of the vertical distribution of elements of the main biogenic cycles in waters of the Northwest shelf of the Black Sea

We study specific features of the vertical distribution of elements of the main biogenic cycle in the upper layers of waters on the northwest shelf of the Black Sea in spring and autumn and the correlation between the specific features of the vertical distributions of hydrochemical and hydrological characteristics. It is shown that the location of the halocline always specifies the location of the chemocline, whereas the effect of the thermocline on the distribution of hydrochemical characteristics is ambiguous. The vertical distribution of the hydrochemical parameters can be homogeneous in the presence of the seasonal thermocline. At the same time, in its absence, one may observe significant vertical gradients in the distributions of hydrochemical characteristics inside the upper mixed layer.     

Classification of mesoscale features in the Brazil-Falkland Current confluence zone

The south-western Atlantic region, 30–46°S, 35–55°W is noted for the confluence of the warm Brazil Current and the cold Falkland Current, as well as the eddies created from the two systems. Previous studies of the Brazil-Falkland Current confluence have concentrated on the formation of eddies south of 35°S. However, in situ measurements and TOPEX/POSEIDON imagery of the region reveal eddies developing as far north as 32°S. These features are not evident in the coincident AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) imagery. In this study, the origin of the eddies identified are discussed with reference to the contemporary in situ measurements of temperature and salinity. Using the combination of satellite imagery and in situ data, it can be determined that the surface waters of the eddies north of 36°S are influenced by water from an estuarine source. TOPEX imagery enables the movements and variability of the regions water masses: estuarine outflow, Falkland and Brazil currents, to be monitored synoptically. The combination of satellite imagery and the higher resolution of in situ AMT measurements enables these water masses to be better identified.     

The transition zone of the Canary Current upwelling region

Like all the major upwelling regions, the Canary Current is characterised by intense mesoscale structure in the transition zone between the cool, nutrient-rich waters of the coastal upwelling regime and the warmer, oligotrophic waters of the open ocean. The Canary Island archipelago, which straddles the transition, introduces a second source of variability by perturbing the general southwestward flow of both ocean currents and Trade winds. The combined effects of the flow disturbance and the eddying and meandering of the boundary between upwelled and oceanic waters produce a complex pattern of regional variability. On the basis of historical data and a series of interdisciplinary field studies, the principal features of the region are described. These include a prominent upwelling filament originating near 28°N off the African coast, cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies downstream of the archipelago, and warm wake regions protected from the Trade winds by the high volcanic peaks of the islands. The filament is shown to be a recurrent feature, apparently arising from the interaction of a topographically trapped cyclonic eddy with the outer edge of the coastal upwelling zone. Its role in the transport and exchange of biogenic material, including fish larvae, is considered. Strong cyclonic eddies, observed throughout the year, drift slowly southwestward from Gran Canaria. One sampled in late summer was characterised by large vertical isopycnal displacements, apparent surface divergence and strong upwelling, producing a fourfold increase in chlorophyll concentrations over background values. Such intense eddies can be responsible for a major contribution to the vertical flux of nitrogen. The lee region of Gran Canaria is shown to be a location of strong pycnocline deformation resulting from Ekman pumping on the wind shear boundaries, which may contribute to the eddy formation process.     

Long-term changes in the aerosol optical thickness in moscow and correction under strong atmospheric turbidity

We have estimated and compensated the error in long-term series of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) calculated from the data on direct integral solar radiation measured by a standard actinometer at the Meteorological Observatory of the Moscow State University (MO MSU) for strong atmospheric turbidity conditions. The necessary corrections have been obtained by the Monte-Carlo simulation of the actinometry measurements for different atmospheric conditions, taking into account the angular size of the field of view of the instrument; and a special correctional formula has been obtained. This correction formula has been applied for all timed AOT values of above 0.5 observed at the MO MSU for the entire time period from 1955 to 2013. Changes in the long-term average AOT values in Moscow occurred only when the smoky haze from the forest and peat fires affected the aerosol turbidity of the atmosphere. Here, the significant decreasing trend of aerosol optical depth of the atmosphere from 1955 to 2013 has been retained with the same confidence level.     

Specific features of the field of surface temperature in the Tropical Atlantic

On the basis of generalization of the data of many-year hydrological observations and the data of meteorological satellites accumulated in recent years, we characterize some specific features of the surface temperature in the Tropical Atlantic. The influence of solar radiation, local heat balance, and the advective and diffusion heat transfer on the temperature of the water surface is analyzed. The mechanism of formation of the thermohalocline and local sites of elevated temperature near the estuaries of large rivers (such as the Amazon, Orinoco, Mississippi, Congo, and Niger) is described. We also characterize the formation of the seasonal variability of the near-equatorial temperature maximum, equatorial temperature minimum, and equatorial divergence rate. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 28–38, November–December, 2007.     

Some regularities of the ozone distribution in the near-water atmospheric layer

The results of measurements of the ozone concentration obtained during the first cruise of the R/VVladimir Parshin close to the European Atlantic coast and in the adjacent seas are analysed. A sharp (four-fold) decrease in the ozone concentration off the coast along 50° N was found. This effect is associated with ozone absorption by the ocean, which is conditioned by the interaction of ozone with surface-active substances in the surface microlayer of seawater. This assumption is supported by the local decrease of the ozone concentration when approaching the coast, observed in the Black Sea several times. It is shown that the correlation between the ozone concentration and carbon monoxide above the ocean agrees with the regularity observed.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Influence of a high aerosol concentration on the thermal structure of the atmospheric boundary layer

The influence of increased concentrations of submicron aerosol produced by forest fires on thermal characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) in Moscow and its remote vicinity (the town of Zvenigorod) are analyzed on the basis of regular remote measurements of the ABL temperature profile with the use of MTP-5 profilers. In the air basin of a large city, additional aerosol and accompanying pollutants in early morning hours (at small heights of the Sun) most frequently did not cause substantial changes in the ABL thermal structure. In the locality remote from the megalopolis (Zvenigorod), the atmospheric pollution by aerosol led to noticeable changes in the ABL thermal characteristics. Especially strong changes were observed in the daytime, during the maximum supply of solar radiation. In morning hours, the heating rate of the lower 100-m layer of the polluted air exceeded the heating rate of a relatively pure air by more than one degree. In higher layers, the differences between the rates of temperature changes in a relatively clean atmosphere and in an atmosphere polluted by aerosol (in the suburb) were insignificant.     

A stochastic model of the atmospheric precipitation in the coastal zone of the Tropical Atlantic

A stochastic prognostic model of the atmospheric precipitation in the tropical area of the Atlantic Ocean is developed on the basis of a large data array. The data represent a series of monthly precipitation rates for 31 towns in the Republic of Guinea covering a period of 35–64 years as well as satellite data on the meridional displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone during 11 years. The model takes into account major regularities of the tropical precipitation: their impulsive periodic regime, trends, and the modulation of the stochastic component by the determined variability.Translated by Mikhai M. Trufanov.     

The influence of the microphysical parameters of atmospheric aerosol particles on IR radiation extinction

The influence of the aerosol component on the total transmission of sounding IR radiation is analyzed. The emissions of both industrial and natural origins into the atmosphere were regarded as the medium. It is noted that, in studying the radiative transport through gas-aerosol mixtures, it is necessary to take into account both molecular absorption and scattering from aerosol particles. It is shown that there are certain boundary values of the microphysical parameters of aerosol where it is sufficient to take into account only one of the above-mentioned factors of radiation extinction. The quantitative values of the parameters of an aerosol medium, on the basis of which the solution of the transport equation can be significantly simplified, are given.     

On the influence of atmospheric chemical reactions on the ion composition of aerosol particles in the Baikal region

Monitoring data on the ion composition of aerosols and gas admixtures in the background and polluted atmosphere of the Lake Baikal region are presented. The ion composition and morphology of aerosols are affected by heterogeneous chemical reactions and variations in relative humidity. Two types of aerosol particles are revealed over this region. The fraction of solid particles recorded in most episodes includes primarily carbonates of alkaline and alkaline-earth metals. With increased atmospheric humidity, these particles are engaged in heterogeneous chemical reactions with gas-phase NH₃ and H₂SO₄, proceeding through the phase of watering. As a result, the composition of these aerosols is changed, and a fraction of aqueous H₂O/H₂SO₄/(NH₄)₂SO₄ aerosol particles of a different composition is formed. On the basis of a physical and chemical analysis of monitoring data on the aerosol composition and concentrations of gas admixtures, the average aerosol-size distribution of different types is estimated. For the first time, the mean acidity of aqueous aerosol particles is estimated.