Parameterization of the dispersion relation of internal waves using the data of hydrological soundings in the Tropical Atlantic

Dependences have been determined which connect the parameters of the dispersion relation of the lowest mode of internal waves with the integral characteristics of the seasonal thermocline when 10 min30 min, 20 mh150 m, and 0·4 m²/s² Q5·2 m²/s².Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Transmission and reflection of planetary and topographic Rossby waves in a two-layer ocean

Transmission and reflection problems when kissing≓ occurs among planetary and topographic Rossby waves in a two-layer ocean are studied. The slope parameterS(=dh ₂/dx, whereh ₂is the thickness of the lower layer) is assumed to have constant values in the regionsx 0 andxL and to vary linearly with the increase ofx in the region0xL (refer to Fig. 2 in the text). Furthermore, a wave is entered fromx=– and kissing is assumed to occur in the region (0<)x _axx_b(<L).It is found that a wave of the same type as the incident wave is mainly transmitted when the width of the region in which kissing occurs,L _kiss(=tx _b–x_a), is smaller than _kiss=2/(¦K¦+ _y/2), whereK is a representative wavenumber in the regionx _ab, _y is they-component of , and is the frequency. WhenL _kiss is larger than _kiss, on the other hand, the main wave transmitted is of a different type to the incident wave. As an application, transmission and reflection problems of planetary Rossby waves are considered, and it is shown that when an external (internal) planetary Rossby wave is entered, an internal (external) one can be transmitted due to the effect of kissing.     

Thermolability of dehydrogenases from a psychrophilic marine bacterium

The heat lability of succinic dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase in cell-free extracts ofVibrio marinus MP-1 grown at 15C was compared for the tris buffer suspended enzymes and the NaCl suspended enzymes. The tris buffer suspended enzymes lost 50 percent activity at low thermal exposure between 5C and 27C. No activity was evident on thermal exposure between 32C and 39C. The enzyme extracts suspended in NaCl at 36 % were more heat stable, losing 50 percent activity after exposure between 16C and 40C. The enzymes lost all activity on thermal exposure between 33C and 42C in the presence of NaCl.     

Intrusive Stratification of the Gulf-Stream Frontal Zone According to the Results of Investigations Performed during Cruise 43 of the R/V Akademik Vernadskii

We analyze the data of investigation of the intrusive structure of the Gulf-Stream frontal zone obtained in making frequent drift sections with the help of an MGI-8102 probing complex, study the regularities of variation of temperature, salinity, and density along separate intrusions, and present a series of results connected with the specific features of initiation and development of intrusions and the types of exchange processes determining their transformations. It is shown that the T-diagrams of all intrusions are well separated into segments with different slopes. Moreover, by comparing the slopes and locations of these segments with each other and with the T-diagrams of the Gulf Stream and slope waters, we can fairly reliably attribute the corresponding segments of intrusions to one of the following four types: initial dynamic folds of the frontal zone, layers of domestic water separating the intrusive segments of foreign water from each other, intrusive segments characterized by the penetration of ambient water, and segments not intrusive initially but getting the required slope as a result of interaction with upper and lower intrusive segments. For segments of the last two types, it is possible to specify the predominant type of exchange.     

Rates of net assimilation and respiration of amino acids by marine bacteria

The selectivity of amino acid assimilation by marine bacteria was examined using seven kinds of¹⁴C-amino acids and the acid hydrolysate of¹⁴C-labelled proteins. It was found that the net assimilation and respiration by marine bacteria followed MICHAELIS-MENTEN kinetics for all of amino acids used in our experiments. Maximum velocities of amino acids were 0.01 to 0.19g carbon/hour per 2×10⁷ cells for net assimilation and less than 0.18g carbon/hour per 2×10⁷ cells for respiration at 20C. The velocity of gross assimilation was found with the following order: phenylalanine>valine, glutamic acid>serine, arginine>tryptophan>glycine. The assimilation velocities of amino acids in these laboratory works showed almost the same order as those in field experiments. The assimilation velocity of an amino acid was influenced by coexisting another amino acids or glucose. The assimilation velocity in lower substrate range of amino acids was directly proportional to the number of bacterial cells in the range from 6×10² to 3×10⁴ cells per ml. No linear relation between the assimilation velocity of amino acids and reciprocal of absolute temperature was found, but a marked bending was observed at 15 to 20C. The velocity at the optimum temperature was three to six times of that at 5C.     

Radiation balance and heat budget at the ocean/atmosphere interface in the western North Pacific

The downward short- and long-wave radiation fluxes at the sea surface (S, L) were measured aboard the R/VHakuho Maru, University of Tokyo, for the period of 117 days on six cruises from 1981 to 1985 in the western North Pacific near Japan. The upward fluxes of short- and long-wave radiation (S, L) were calculated by Payne's (1972) table and the Stefan-Boltzmann's law, respectively. The sensible and laten heat fluxes (Q _h ,Q _e ) were also estimated from an aerodynamic bulk method.From April to August, the daily mean value ofS varied with the amplitude of 100200 Wm^–2. The value ofS was estimated approximately 6% ofS in all seasons. The difference betweenL andL was so small that the net radiation flux (Q _n ) was dominated byS. In addition, the net heat flux at the sea surface was also dominated byS due to small values ofQ _h andQ _e , and then the ocean was warmed at the rate of 111 Wm^–2 in April and 63 Wm^–2 in August in the Oyashio Area, and 132 Wm^–2 in May and 164 Wm^–2 in June in the Kuroshio Area, respectively.From September to March, a remarkable negative correlation between the day to day variation ofS and that ofL was observed except when an intense cold air outbreak occurred. It was found that the correlation was caused by the cloud climatological feature of the western North Pacific in this period.S was not a dominant factor in the net heat flux. The value ofQ _h +Q _e in the Kuroshio Area ranged from 260 Wm^–2 to 630 Wm^–2, much larger thanQ _n which ranged from –8 Wm^–2 to 92 Wm^–2 in the leg mean values (each leg period was about 10 days). Then the ocean was cooled at the rate of –160–620 Wm^–2 during this period. The net heat flux in the Kuroshio Area averaged over five legs from late November to February was –473 Wm^–2. This value is 50100% larger than the climatological values reported so far.The temporal and spatial variability of radiation fluxes and heat fluxes during each leg was also discussed.     

Anomalously large marine sedimentary units deposited in a single mass wasting event

This note serves to introduce a group of papers centered around the theme of massive submarine gravity deposits, megaturbidites, presented in a 1986 AAPG/SEPM Symposium organized by Larry J. Doyle and Robert Bourrouilh. Although megaturbidite may be an unfortunate term, massive gravity deposits are significant as marker beds, time lines, and potential hydrocarbon reservoirs, as well as being manifestations of important geological phenomena. The papers which follow begin to explore the inter-relationships among the four principal variables: time, basin size and shape, tectonic setting, and sediment accumulation in the provenance areas, which govern the formation of these extraordinary units.     

The mechanism of the development of wind-wave spectra

The mechanism of the development of wind-waves will be proposed on the basis of the observed wave spectra in the wind tunnels and at Lake Biwa (Imasato, 1976). It consists of two aspects: One is that the air flow over the wind-waves transfers momentum concentratively to the steepest component waves and the other is that the upper limit of the growth of a wave spectral density is given by the ultimate value in the slope spectral density. The first aspect means that the wave field has the momentum transfer filter on receiving the momentum from the air flow. Wind-waves in the stage of sea-waves receive the necessary amount of momentum by the form drag,e.g. according to the Miles' (1960) inviscid mechanism, through a very narrow frequency region around a dominant spectral peak. On the other hand, wind-waves in the stage of initial-wavelets receive it according to the Miles' (1962a) viscous model through a fairly broad frequency region around the peak. The upper limit ofS _max developing according to viscous mechanism is given byS _max =6.40×10^–4 k _max ^–2cm²s andS _max =2.03C(f _max )^–2cm²s(S _max is the power density of the wave spectral peak with the frequencyf _max ,k _max is the wave number corresponding to the frequencyf _max andC is the phase velocity).From the second aspect, the upper limit of the growth of wave spectral density is given by 33.3f ^–4cm²s in the frequency region of late stage of sea-waves. Therefore, the spectral peak, which has the largest value in the slope spectral density in the component waves of the wave spectrum, rises high over the line 4.15f ^–5cm²s. The energy is transported from the spectral peak to the high frequency part and to the forward face of a wave spectrum by nonlinear wave-wave interaction. This nonlinearity is confirmed by the bispectra calculated from the observed wind-wave data. In the stage of sea-waves, nonlinear rearrangement of the wave energy comes from a narrow momentum transfer filter, and, in the stage of initial-wavelets, it comes mainly from small corrugations and small steepness of the wave field.     

Sea Beam,SeaMARC II and ALVIN-based studies of faulting on the East Pacific Rise 9°20′ N–9°50′ N

A study of Sea Beam bathymetry and SeaMARC II side-scan sonar allows us to make quantitative measures of the contribution of faulting to the creation of abyssal hill topography on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) 9°15 N–9°50 N. We conclude that fault locations and throws can be confidently determined with just Sea Beam and SeaMARC II based on a number of in situ observations made from the ALVIN submersible. A compilation of 1026 fault scarp locations and scarp height measurements shows systematic variations both parallel and perpendicular to the ridge axis. Outward-facing fault scarps (facing away from the ridge axis), begin to develop within 2 km of the ridge and reach their final average height of 60 m at 5–7 km. Beyond these distances, outward-dipping faults appear to be locked, although there is some indication of continued lengthening of outward-facing fault scarps out to the edge of the survey area. Inward-facing fault scarps (facing toward the ridge axis), initiate 2 km off axis and increase in height and length out to the edge of our data at 30 km, where the average height of inward fault scarps is 60–70 m and the length is 30 km. Continued slip on inward faults at a greater distance off axis is probable, but based on fault lengths, 80% of the lengthening of inward fault scarps occurs within 30 km of the axis (>95% for outward faults). Along-strike propagation and linkage of these faults are common. Outward-dipping faults accommodate more apparent horizontal strain than inward ones within 10 km of the ridge. The net horizontal extension due to faulting at greater distances is estimated as 4.2–4.3%, and inward and outward faults contribute comparably. Both inward- and outward-facing fault scarps increase in height from north to south in our study area in the direction of decreasing inferred magma supply. Average fault spacing is 2 km for both inward-dipping and outward-dipping faults. The azimuths of fault scarps document the direction of ridge spreading, but they are sensitive to local changes in least compressive stress direction near discontinuities. Both the ridge trend and fault scarp azimuths show a clockwise change in trend of 3–5° from 9°50 N to 9°15 N approaching the 9° N overlapping spreading center.     

The thermal effects of cooling system of a thermal power plant on photosynthesis of marine phytoplankton

The activity of photosynthesis and the contents of chlorophylla and pheo-pigments were compared in the samples of the intake and effluent seawater of Owase-Mita Thermal Power Plant and in the seawater samples in the Yoshimi Bay before and after heat treatment. At Owase-Mita Thermal Power Plant, after passage of sea water through the cooling system chlorophylla content reduced to about a half and pheo-pigment content doubled in August with high temperature (25–27C), but the contents of chlorophylla and pheo-pigments changed little in January with low temperature (16C); whereas the depression of photosynthetic activity after passing through the cooling system was 71–77 % in August and 31–46 % in January. In the laboratory experiments, the heat treatment at 34–43C for 7–8 sec., which resulted in temperature rise of 7–8C, gave the decrease of chlorophylla and an increase of pheo-pigments in August temperature (26.5C), but a slight decrease of chlorophylla and a slight increase of pheo-pigments in November at the initial temperature of 19.2C, while in January and December the samples with low initial temperature (11.6 and 10.8C) showed almost no change in the content of pigments; the decrease in photosynthetic activity was 32 % in August sample,ca. 11 % in November sample,ca. 15% in January and almost no change in December. It is concluded that the photosynthetic carbon assimilation of marine phytoplankton is suppressed by passing through the cooling system of a thermal power plant even at lower water temperature in winter, while the content of chlorophylla is affected very little at a temperature below 20C.     

Occurrence of coprostanol, 24-ethylcoprostanol and 5α-stanols in the marine sediments

The present study deals with the elucidation of sterol composition of the marine sediments in Kagoshima Bay. The identification of each sterol was performed by gas-liquid chromatography, Ag⁺ impregnated column chromatography, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. The sediment obtained near the estuary of River Koutsuki contained large portions of 5-stanols such as coprostanol and 24-ethylcoprostanol basides 5-stanols such as cholestanol, 24-methylcholestanol, and 24-ethylcholestanol in the sterol fraction. These 5-stanols in the marine sediment may be derived from the fecal contamination by domestic sewages.     

Organic geochemistry of the Japan Sea sediments-1: Bulk organic matter and hydrocarbon analyses of Core KH-79-3, C-3 from the Oki Ridge for paleoenvironment assessments

Organic geochemical study of bulk organic matter (OM), hopanoid hydrocarbon and normal hydrocarbon (C₂₃C₃₅) was conducted for a 936-cm-long sediment core sample from the Oki Ridge of the Japan Sea (Core KH-79-3, C-3; 37°03.5 N, 134°42.6E, water depth 935 m). Stable carbon isotopic ratios were also measured for both bulk OM and individual hydrocarbons. The following results were obtained: (1) The weight ratios of total organic carbon to total nitrogen range from 6.2 to 9.4 in the core. The ¹³C values of bulk OM range from –25.1–20.7%.. The ¹³C values of OM in the sections of 140190 cm are lower (–25–24) than those in the other sections (–23–21). This result indicates that OM in the core except for the 140190 cm sections is essentially of marine origin. (2) The ¹³C value of diploptene (a hopanoid hydrocarbon) in the last glacial maximum (LGM), is –66.3 (vs. PDB), which indicates it originating in methanotrophic bacteria. This result provides evidence to support for the previous ideas (Oba et al., 1980, 1984; Masuzawa and Kitano, 1984) that the bottom waters in the Japan Sea were anoxic in LGM. (3) Long chain (C₂₃C₃₅) n-alkanes of higher-plant wax origin were found throughout the core. Their concentration is high in 140190 cm in depth, suggesting that eolian dust load was high in LGM. (4) The n-alkane/TOC ratio increases with decreasing ¹³C values of bulk OM. This result indicates that the load of terrestrial (probably eolian dust-derived) OM to the Japan Sea became higher in colder climates. (5) The CPI values of long-chain n-alkanes are different in different ¹³O stages of paleoclimate, probably reflecting variations in species of terrestrial higher plants as a result of climatological adaptations.     

Some remarks on the spectrum of rapid-changing random data in the ocean

Spectral characteristics of rapid-changing random data in the ocean are discussed. Analysis shows that, if records are approximated by saw-toothed random series ₁ and step series ₂, ₁ and ₂ generally have spectral ranges of the –4th power and –2nd power, respectively, with respect to frequency (or wave number).     

Iodine in the surface water of the ocean

Iodine in sea water of the Pacific was determined with special interest in the relation between iodide and iodate in the surface water of the ocean. The result was discussed with reference to the mechanism of iodide formation proposed byTsunogai andSase. The concentration of iodide varies widely from the lower value than the detection limit to 0.21g at./l, while the concentration of total iodine is nearly constant and the mean value is 0.41g at./l. The vertical profile of iodide often shows the maximum in the surface layer. In the surface layer, the concentration of iodide is higher in warm water (0,10g at./l on the average) than that in cold water of lower temperature than 20° C (0.03g at/l). The highest concentration of iodide among the warm waters is found in the surface water of the equatorial area (0.13g at./l) where the biological productivity is also high. Iodide is generally more enriched in the water having higher biological activity even in the cold water. These results are considered to be compatible with the mechanism of iodide formation proposed.     

Variability of the axial morphology and of the gravity structure along the Central Spreading Ridge (North Fiji Basin): evidence for contrasting thermal regimes

The Central Spreading Ridge (CSR) is located in the central part of the North Fiji Basin, a complex back-arc basin created 12 Ma ago between the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates. The 3.5 Ma old CSR is the best developed, for both structure and magmatism, of all the spreading centers identified in the basin, and may be one of the largest spreading systems of the west Pacific back-arc basins. It is more than 800 km long and 50–60 km wide, and has been intensively explored during the French-Japanese STARMER project (1987–1991).The CSR is segmented into three first order segments named, from north to south, N160°, N15° and N-S according to their orientation. This segmentation pattern is similar to that found at mid-ocean ridges. The calculated spreading rate is intermediate and ranges from 83 mm/yr at 20°30 S to 50 mm/yr at 17°S. In addition, there is a change in the axial ridge morphology and gravity structure between the northern and southern sections of the CSR. The axial morphology changes from a deep rift valley (N160° segment), to a dome split by an axial graben (N15° segment) and to a rectangular flat top high (N-S segment). The Mantle Bouguer Anomalies obtained on the northern part of the CSR (N160°/N15° segments) show bull's eye structures associated with mantle upwelling at the 16°50S triple junction and also in the middle of the segments. The Mantle Bouguer Anomalies of the southern part of the ridge (N-S segment) are more homogeneous and consistent with the observed smooth topography associated with axial isostatic compensation.At these intermediate spreading rates the contrast in bathymetry and gravity structure between the segments may reflect differences in heat supply. We suggest that the N160° and N15° segments are cold with respect to the hot N-S segment. We use a non-steady-state thermal model to test this hypothesis. In this model, the accretion is simulated as a nearly steady-state seafloor spreading upon which are superimposed periodic thermal inputs. With the measured spreading rate of 50 mm/yr, a cooling cycle of 200,000 yr develops a thermal state that permits to explain the axial morphology and gravity structure observed on the N160° segment. A spreading rate of 83 mm/yr and a cooling cycle of 120,000 yr would generate the optimal thermal structure to explain the characteristics of the N-S segment. The boundaries between the hot N-S segment and its cold bounding segments are the 18°10 S and 20°30 S propagating rifts. A heat propagation event along the N-S segment at the expense of the adjacent colder failing segments, can explain the sharp changes in the observed morphology and structure between the segments.     

Seamount gravity anomaly modelling with variably thick sediment cover

Inversion modelling of marine gravity anomalies to derive predicted seafloor topography has provided significant advance in delineating deep-ocean bathymetry where the seafloor both conforms to the half-space cooling model of seafloor spreading, and largely sediment-free. Similar modelling for elevated ridges and seamounts, that are formed by processes other than seafloor spreading and/or have proximal sediment sources (e.g., continental margins and volcanic arcs), have significantly higher errors when validated against modern shipborne echo-sounding data. A three-dimensional, five-layer gravity model is emulated for the cases of both synthetic and real seamounts, with varying degrees of sediment burial, to establish the sensitivity of variable sediment cover as a source of error. A simple `Gaussian' seamount with base radius of 30 km, 2000 m of relief, has a maximum 140–160 mGal anomaly, that decreases to 50 mGal with the addition of 1 km of sediment cover with simple `flood' geometry. Complete burial, with a typical sediment density of 2300 kg m^–3, results in a 120 mGal difference from a sediment-free seamount model. Increasing sediment density results in an exponential decay of the seamount anomaly. More complex synthetic geometries of varying basement relief and sediment thickness show that the anomaly amplitude remains significant, especially where the latter is >700–800 m thick. For the real case, seamounts of the Three Kings Ridge (northern New Zealand) imaged with seismic reflection data, with varying degrees of sediment cover of up to 1 km, when modelled both with and with-out the inclusion of a sediment layer, typically have rms differences of 30 mGal between observed and modelled gravity anomalies. Significantly, the rms errors are reduced by 50% with the inclusion of a sediment layer that corresponds to a reduction of predicted seafloor topography rms errors of 192–684 m to 78–360 m.     

Variation of water system distribution in the Sanriku Coastal Area

We analyzed hydrographic data obtained monthly by the Iwate Prefectural Fisheries Laboratory during 1977–1981. Our attention was focussed on the classification of waters based on the Temperature-Salinity (T-S) scatter diagram analyses, and on the extraction of the mean state of their distribution for each season. The water system was defined as all waters occupying some specific region on the T-S plane, and the mean state for each season was expressed by the distribution of the mode water systems (i.e., the most commonly occuring water system).Because of the coexistence of the Tsugaru Warm Current, the Oyashio and the Kuroshio, and their large seasonal variability, the sea waters had a wide variety of T-S combinations. The detailed T-S scatter diagram analyses allowed us to classify the waters into six water systems. A time-longitude diagram of water systems and the distribution of mode water systems are presented. The latter showed clear seasonal variations of the Tsugaru Warm Current and the Oyashio.Though the water system analysis was successfully able to present the distribution of the various waters in the Sanriku Coastal Area and to clearly extract the mean state of sea conditions, it was found that the classification of water systems on the T-S plane was not complete in all cases for this area.     

Practical Formulas for Intercoupling of Pressure and Depth in the Black Sea

On the basis of the generalization of the concept of standard ocean to the Black Sea, we deduce practical formulas for the conversion of pressure into depth and vice versa depending on the latitude of the place with regard for the equation of state for 1980. The error of these relations for the standard Black Sea (whose salinity is equal to 22.2 at a temperature of +9°C from the surface to the bottom) does not exceed ±0.2m and ±0.2dbar. The difference between the practical and actual depths in winter and summer periods does not exceed ±0.35m for depths varying within range 0–2000m. The proposed practical formulas enable one to simplify the procedure of rapid evaluation of depth (or pressure) in real time by excluding the procedure of integration over a specific volume.     

Primary productivity in the offshore Oyashio in the spring and summer 1990

Primary productivity was measured byin situ method using¹³C in the offshore Oyashio region in the spring (May) and summer (September) of 1990. Most of the values were within the range of 0.1 to 4 gC 1^–1 h^–1 although a very large value, 7.96 gC l^–1 h^–1, was observed in summer. Most daily primary production fell within the range of 372 to 633 mgC m^–2 d^–1 although a very large value, 2,109 mgC m^–2 d^–1, was observed around the frontal area in summer. Chlorophylla (Chl.a) exceeded 1 g l^–1 in many cases, and the maximum was 4.61 g l^–1 in spring and 7.53 g l^–1 in summer. Most primary productivity per unit Chl.a (photosynthetic assimilation ratio) was within the range of 0.1 to 3 gC gChl.a ^–1 h^–1 although higher values, 3–6 gC gChl.a ^–1 h^–1, were observed where small-size phytoplanktons (<2 m) were dominant. These results were compared with results obtained until now in the Oyashio region. The values beyond the range obtained so far in the offshore region were also observed in this study. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the size composition of phytoplankton community has significant influence on the results of Chl.a and photosynthetic assimilation ratio in the Oyashio region.     

On the relation between the growth rate of water waves and wind speed

Various wind velocitiesu _*,U _/2,U andU ₁₀ are correlated to the measured growth rate of water waves , whereu _* is the friction velocity of the wind, andU _/2,U andU ₁₀ are the wind speeds respectively at the heights /2, and 10m above sea surface (: wave length). It is shown that within a range of the dimensionless wind speed, 0.1<u _* /C<0.6, there are no appreciable differences in the correlations, whereC is the phase velocity of water waves. The present relation between andU shows qualitatively similar properties as the one obtained by Al'Zanaidi and Hui (1984); the growth rate for waves with rough surface is larger than that with smooth surface. However, our present relations give, for the both waves with different surface roughness, larger values by factors 1.71.8 than those given by Al'Zanaidi and Hui's relation.