The environmental and biotic impact of the oil spill in Kerch Strait in November 2007

The effect of an emergency oil spill in Kerch Strait in November 2007 on the environment and biota in the southern Sea of Azov is analyzed based on the material of integrated expedition studies carried out by the Southern Scientific Center, RAS, before and after shipwrecks and during monitoring within a year after the emergency.     

Some Environmental Consequences of Soil Dumping in the Black Sea as a Result of Dredging Operations in Kerch Strait

The results of monitoring performed by Southern Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (YugNIRO) in 1990–1998 in the course of dredging operations with dumping in the Black Sea of soils dredged in Kerch Strait are analyzed. The study covered the soil physical properties and particle size distribution; the extent of the soil pollution by heavy metals, oil products, and organochlorine compounds; the amounts of such pollutants delivered into the sea with these soils; the extent of pollution of water and bottom sediment in the zone of soil dumping offshore Kerch Strait. The amounts of pollutants entering the Black Sea as a result of soil dumping are compared with those entering the sea from other pollutant sources, and the extent of environmental pollution in the dumping zone is compared with the background level of the sea pollution. The admissible rates of soil dumping are estimated, and potential consequences of this process are predicted.     

Numerical modelling of the suspended sediment transport in Torres Strait

One-dimensional vertical and three-dimensional fine-resolution numerical models of sediment transport have been developed and applied to the Torres Strait region of northern Australia. The one-dimensional model, driven by measured waves and currents, was calibrated against measured suspended sediment concentrations using a sequential data assimilation algorithm. The algorithm produced a good match between model and data, but this was achieved only by allowing some temporal variability in parameter values, suggesting that there were underlying uncertainties in the model structure and forcing data. Implications of the assimilation results to the accuracy of the numerical modelling are discussed and the need for observational programmes having an extensive spatial and temporal coverage is highlighted. The three-dimensional sediment model, driven by modelled waves and currents, simulates sediment transport over the shelf during the monsoon and trade-wind seasons covering 1997–2000. The model predicts strong seasonal variability of the sediment transport on the shelf attributed to seasonally varying hydrodynamics, and illustrates significant inter-annual variability of the sediment fluxes driven by extreme events. The developed model provides a platform for testing scientific hypothesis. With additional calibration, including uncertainty analysis, it can also be used in a management context.     

不同周期气压波对钻孔体应变仪观测结果的影响

应用相关分析与谱分析方法,研究了天津宝坻、北京东三旗和河北张家口台2003～2006年钻孔体应变与气压之间的关系。分析结果表明,同一台站不同周期的气压波与体应变具有不尽相同的关系,如宝坻台年周期体应变与气压负相关,回归系数为-13.35×10-11/Pa,滞后气压变化62.15天;月周期和日、半日周期体应变与气压均呈同步、线性、正相关关系,回归系数平均值分别为7.489×10-11/Pa和6.301×10-11/Pa。不同台站日、半日周期和月周期气压波对体应变的影响较为接近,而与年周期相比差异较大。根据岩石力学和弹性力学原理,进一步探讨了不同周期气压波与体应变相关性存在差异的原因。     

Dynamics of oil product distributions in water and bottom sediments of the sea of Azov and the Black Sea after ship accidents in the Kerch Strait

The dynamics of concentrations of oil products spilled into the aquatic ecosystem as a result of accidents in the Kerch Strait is discussed. Provision is made for the analysis of the results of long-term monitoring and for the revealing of differences in concentrations and distribution of oil hydrocarbons in the Sea of Azov and in the Black Sea after emergency spills. The available information was used to outline the course of events that led to such redistribution of spilled mazut in marine ecosystems.     

Quality Assessment of Atmospheric Motion Vectors Over the Indian Ocean

Because conventional observations over the oceans are not available, especially during tropical cyclones, multi-spectral atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) estimated from geostationary satellites are routinely assimilated in the numerical weather prediction models at different operational centres across the globe. The derived AMVs are generally validated with radiosonde observations available over land at synoptic hours; however, over the ocean there is a limited scope to assess the quality of AMVs. Over ocean, AMVs can be validated with radiosonde data available from opportunistic ships or using dropsonde data available from aircrafts. In this study, the accuracy of the AMVs derived from the geostationary satellites Kalpana-1 and Meteosat-7 is evaluated over the oceanic region. Radiosonde data available from a ship cruise held in the Bay of Bengal during the period 09 July–08 August 2012 and from the Cal/Val site situated at Kavaratti Island (72.62°E, 10.57°N) in the southern Indian Ocean are used to assess the AMV accuracy. In this study, 83 radiosonde profiles are used to validate the Kalpana-1 AMVs, to allow a better understanding of AMV errors over the Indian Ocean. The RMSVD of Kalpana-1 AMVs for the high-, mid- and low-levels are found to be 7.9, 9.4 and 5.3 m s^?1, respectively, while the corresponding RMSVD for Meteosat-7 AMVs are 9.1, 5.5 and 3.7 m s^?1. A similar accuracy is observed when the AMVs are validated against the NCEP analyses collocated with the nearest radiosonde locations. The high RMSVD and bias for Kalpana-1 AMVs at the mid-level and Meteosat-7 AMVs at the high-level are associated with the limitation of satellite winds to resolve the upper-level easterly jet in conjunction with errors in the height assignment. This study could help the numerical modellers to assign appropriate observation error over this region during the assimilation of AMVs into the NWP models.     

西藏南部地堑构造成因的数值模拟

青藏高原上地壳在印度洋板块的挤压作用下发育出大量断层，因此上地壳的破碎已经从整体上降低了其有效粘滞系数。其所承受的水平向压应力逐渐转移到中、下地壳中。随着应力转移的进行，上地壳和上地幔内σ１可能已转为垂直方向，处于拉张减薄状态，并在藏南地区形成了一系列张性地堑构造。而目前在中、下地壳内σ１可能仍为近南北的水平方向。在印度洋板块的强烈挤压下，该深度范围内柔性的中、下地壳物质仍在垂直方向继续膨胀、增厚，并导致青藏高原的继续抬升。本文利用粘弹性蠕变本构关系的有限元方法模拟了上述设想的可能性。     

地球物理场观测中的大气效应问题研究

作用在地表的大气质量不仅产生引力位的扰动，而且会引起各种地球物理场的附加效应，本文综述了近年来国内外同行在研究地表位移、重力、倾斜和应变固体潮观测中实施的大气效应改正问题，包括利用台站气压资料建立的实测模型，建立大气重力格林函数，利用全球和区域气象数据计算大气效应，建立大气改正的误差模型等，最后文章讨论了今后研究展望。     

Numerical study of mean flow patterns in the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait

Previous investigations have suggested that wind stress curl, the balance of influx- and outflux-induced upwelling, as well as a positive vorticity source fed from the left flank of the Kuroshio are all possible mechanisms that contribute to a persistent cyclonic gyre in the South China Sea (SCS). Studies have also suggested that the loop current that forms from the Kuroshio intrusion in the Luzon Strait, similar to the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), has rarely been observed in the northern SCS. In this research, an idealized numerical model driven by annual mean wind stress was adopted to investigate the relative importance of dynamic processes that control the mean flow pattern of Kuroshio in the Luzon Strait and regulate circulation in the SCS. An analysis of results drawn from numerical experiments suggests that the three mechanisms are of approximately equal importance in the formation of the persistent cyclonic gyre in the northern SCS. Unlike the Gulf Stream which enters the Gulf of Mexico through the Yucatan Channel, the two topographic ridges that align nearly meridionally in the Luzon Strait keep the Kuroshio flowing roughly northward without distinct intrusion into the SCS. Unsurprisingly, an anticyclonic loop current similar to the Gulf Stream pathway in the GOM was barely observed in the northern SCS.     

Internal nonlinear tidal waves generated at the Strait of Messina

Large amplitude internal waves were observed north and south of the Strait of Messina during two different periods. A comparison between the two sets of data is made. The behaviour of the shape of the waves is analysed from the physical parameters and two possible interpretations of these waves are given. The mechanism of formation related to the tide in the Strait is also discussed.     

Numerical Simulation of Solute Transport in Saturated Porous Media with Bounded Domains

This work presents the first attempt to develop unconditionally stable, implicit finite difference solutions of one-sided spatial fractional advection-dispersion equation (s-FADE) by imposing the nonzero Dirichlet boundary condition (ND BC) or the nonzero fractional Robin boundary condition (NFR BC) at inlet boundary and the zero fractional Neumann boundary condition (ZFN BC) at outlet boundary. The results of the numerical studies performed using artificial solute transport parameters demonstrated that the numerical solution with the NFR BC as the inlet boundary produced much more realistic concentration values. The numerical solution with the NFR BC at the inlet boundary was capable of correctly describing the Fickian and non-Fickian behaviors of the solute transport at different α values, and it had the relatively same accuracy at different numbers of the spatial nodes. Also, the practical application of the numerical solution with the NFR BC as the inlet boundary was investigated by conducting tracer experiments in homogeneous and heterogeneous soil columns. According to the obtained results, this numerical solution described well solute transport in the homogenous and heterogeneous soils. The α values of the homogeneous and heterogeneous soils were obtained in the ranges of 1.849–1.999 and 1.248–1.570, respectively, which were in excellent agreement with the physical properties of the soils. In a nutshell, the numerical solution of the s-FADE with the NFR BC as the inlet boundary can be successfully applied to describe the solute transport in the homogeneous and heterogeneous soils with bounded spatial domains.     

同一测点不同地震动分量空间相干性分析

利用SMART-1台阵的3次地震记录计算了同一测点三平动地震动分量问的相干值,并提出了相干函数模型。分析表明,同一测点各地震动分量间是低相干的,随频率衰减不明显;两水平分量问的相干性比水平分量与垂直分量间的相干性大。因此在工程计算中不计相干函数随频率的变化不会带来太大的误差。     

地下管线三向地震动一致激励与非一致激励数值分析

基于某工业地下管道建立有限元模型,考虑管土相互作用和行波效应,综合分析在三向地震动一致激励与非一致激励下的管道动力响应结果,并且简单分析部分相关因素对管道动力响应结果的影响。结论如下:对于地下管道来说,非一致激励与一致激励作用下的位移响应曲线在峰值和形状方面存在较为明显的不同,具体表现为:非一致作用水平向位移远大于一致作用,而竖直向位移稍大于一致作用;对于应力响应,不管一致还是非一致激励,同一截面各处的应力响应有明显不同,并且总体来说非一致作用下较大;位于管道走向变化段、土层变化处和管道弯曲段的截面的位移响应峰值和应力响应一般会产生突变,说明这些因素对管道的动力响应具有较为明显的影响。     

Numerical Modelling of Tsunamis Generated by Hypothetical Landslides in the Strait of Georgia,British Columbia

--A modified and corrected version of the viscous slide model of Jiang and LeBlond (1994) is used to assess the tsunami risk associated with hypothetical underwater slope failures in two coastal areas of British Columbia having potentially unstable sediment deposits: (a) Malaspina Strait, separating the mainland coast and Texada Island in the central Strait of Georgia; and (b) Roberts Bank on the foreslope of the Fraser River Delta in the southern Strait of Georgia. The intent of this study is to demonstrate the capability of the model for tsunami risk assessment and to improve upon previous studies of tsunami risk in the region based on reasonable submarine landslide scenarios. The potential risk from tsunamis associated with slide failures has been examined, but the likelihood of failure events themselves was not considered. For the Malaspina Strait scenarios, simulated tsunamis are generated by failure of a lobe of perched sediment situ ated on the slope of eastern Texada Island. Failure as a flow slide of the estimated 1,250,000 m³ of sediment generates wave troughs reaching ц.9 m and trough-to-crest heights of 6 to 8 m along the coast of Texada Island. At Cape Cockburn, on the opposite side of the strait, wave heights of 1.5 to 2.0 m are produced. For Roberts Bank, simulated waves are examined for two separate failure scenarios. The larger slide (Case 1) involves the failure of a sediment lobe with lateral dimensions of 7 2 3 km² and volume of 0.75 km³ while the smaller slide (Case 2) fails a sediment lobe with dimensions of 4 2 2.6 km² and volume of 0.23 km³. Computations were made both for high (+3 m) and low (х m) tide conditions. For both failure volumes, maximum wave amplitudes (up to 18 m for Case 1 and 8 m for Case 2) occur on the coasts of Mayne and Galiano Islands, opposite the source area. Wave amplitudes are much smaller (1 to 4 m) on the mainl and coast because of the reflection of the initial waves from Roberts Bank. Additional numerical experiments were conducted for both regions to estimate the sensitivity of the computed tsunami wave heights to input parameters, such as slide viscosity, bulk density, and slide position.     

Geology of the peralkaline volcano at Pantelleria,Strait of Sicily

Situated in a submerged continental rift, Pantelleria is a volcanic island with a subaerial eruptive history longer than 300 Ka. Its eruptive behavior, edifice morphologies, and complex, multiunit geologic history are representative of strongly peralkaline centers. It is dominated by the 6-km-wide Cinque Denti caldera, which formed ca. 45 Ka ago during eruption of the Green Tuff, a strongly rheomorphic unit zoned from pantellerite to trachyte and consisting of falls, surges, and pyroclastic flows. Soon after collapse, trachyte lava flows from an intracaldera central vent built a broad cone that compensated isostatically for the volume of the caldera and nearly filled it. Progressive chemical evolution of the chamber between 45 and 18 Ka ago is recorded in the increasing peralkalinity of the youngest lava of the intracaldera trachyte cone and the few lavas erupted northwest of the caldera. Beginning about 18 Ka ago, inflation of the chamber opened old ring fractures and new radial fractures, along which recently differentiated pantellerite constructed more than 25 pumice cones and shields. Continued uplift raised the northwest half of the intracaldera trachyte cone 275 m, creating the island's present summit, Montagna Grande, by trapdoor uplift. Pantellerite erupted along the trapdoor faults and their hingeline, forming numerous pumice cones and agglutinate sheets as well as five lava domes. Degassing and drawdown of the upper pantelleritic part of a compositionally and thermally stratified magma chamber during this 18-3-Ka episode led to entrainment of subjacent, crystal-rich, pantelleritic trachyte magma as crenulate inclusions. Progressive mixing between host and inclusions resulted in a secular decrease in the degree of evolution of the 0.82 km³ of magma erupted during the episode.The 45-Ka-old caldera is nested within the La Vecchia caldera, which is thought to have formed around 114 Ka ago. This older caldera was filled by three widespread welded units erupted 106, 94, and 79 Ka ago. Reactivation of the ring fracture ca. 67 Ka ago is indicated by venting of a large pantellerite centero and a chain of small shields along the ring fault. For each of the two nested calderas, the onset of postcaldera ring-fracture volcanism coincides with a low stand of sea level.Rates of chemical regeneration within the chamber are rapid, the 3% crystallization/Ka of the post-Green Tuff period being typical. Highly evolved pantellerites are rare, however, because intervals between major eruptions (averaging 13–6 Ka during the last 190 Ka) are short. Benmoreites and mugearites are entirely lacking. Fe-Ti-rich alkalic basalts have erupted peripherally along NW-trending lineaments parallel to the enclosing rift but not within the nested calderas, suggesting that felsic magma persists beneath them. The most recent basaltic eruption (in 1891) took place 4 km northwest of Pantelleria, manifesting the long-term northwestward migration of the volcanic focus. These strongly differentiated basalts reflect low-pressure fractional crystallization of partial melts of garnet peridotite that coalesce in small magma reservoirs replenished only infrequently in this continental rift environment.     

循环荷载下吸力锚基础周围孔压响应特性数值研究

吸力锚基础海上安装方便、定位精确且具有较大上拔承载力,可作为张力腿平台的系泊基础,在深水油气工程应用广泛。服役过程中,作用在吸力锚基础上的荷载一般为一定预张力上的单向循环动力作用,动力荷载可分为波频荷载和二阶低频慢漂荷载,其中波频荷载的幅值较小但周期短,低频荷载幅值较大但周期较长。本文建立多孔介质海床中吸力锚在定常力基础上承受循环上拔荷载的有限元模型,对锚体周围的孔压响应特性进行数值计算与分析,重点分析比较波频荷载和低频慢漂荷载作用下的振荡和残余孔压的变化趋势与影响范围。研究表明,循环上拔荷载作用下吸力锚外侧浅层土体孔压累积显著,降低土体有效应力,弱化筒壁-土体摩擦阻力,有可能引起吸力锚失效模式的转化;循环荷载的幅值和周期都将对孔压响应的大小和分布造成一定影响。     

兰州市九州石峡口滑坡形成机制与稳定性分析

基于滑坡区地质环境,通过区域地质调查、大比例尺平面图测绘、滑坡微地貌和变形破坏特征测量、扫描电镜(SEM)分析滑带土微观结构等手段,对兰州市九州石峡口滑坡的特征和形成机制进行了系统研究.结果表明,该滑坡具有显著的分级分块滑动特性,降雨、不合理的人工绿化灌溉及滑坡区高陡的地形是诱发该滑坡复活的主要因素.采用多种极限平衡计算方法并结合滑坡所处的地质环境评价该滑坡在天然、降雨、地震以及降雨和地震耦合作用下的稳定性,为该滑坡的治理提供理论指导.     

Synchronous Variations in the Atmospheric Pressure and Electric Field during the Passage of the Solar Terminator

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The paper presents the field observation data on variations in the pressure and electric field intensity in the near-surface atmospheric layer during the passage of the...