Targeted observation analysis of the tides and currents in a Coastal Marine Proving Ground

Ocean Dynamics - Tidal characteristics in the well-known Coastal Marine Proving Ground near Chudao Island located in Shandong Province, China, are firstly investigated based on Princeton Ocean...     

Migration of volcanism with time in the Marquesas Islands,French Polynesia

Samples from five islands of the Marquesas Island chain (southeast Pacific Ocean) have been dated by the K-Ar method and exhibit a northwest to southeast volcanic migration rate of 9.9 cm/yr. This movement is in the same direction but of intermediate magnitude to results from the Austral Island chain (lower rate) and the Hawaiian Island chain (considerably higher rate). The rate of migration of volcanism in the Marquesas Islands is consistent with the model of rigid Pacific plate movement over a fixed “hot spot” or mantle “plume” provided that the pole of rotation for the Pacific plate for the last 5 my is located near 55°S, 170°E.     

The seismic catastrophe of December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean as a tsunamigenic earthquake in island arc structures

An interpretation of the occurrence conditions and source parameters is proposed for the catastrophic earthquake of December 26, 2004, in the northwestern part of the Sunda island arc. The interpretation is based on the analysis of spatial distributions of aftershock epicenters and regions subjected to destructive tsunamis, seismicity manifestations in the NW part of the Sunda island arc in the past century, and locations of large tsunami sources of historical earthquakes off the Sumatra Island coast. The source parameters of the December 26, 2004, earthquake are compared with the reliably established main characteristics of sources of the largest tsunamigenic earthquakes in island arcs of the Pacific Ocean. According to the proposed interpretation, the December 26, 2004, earthquake source is a steep reverse fault striking NW and dipping toward the Indian Ocean. The source, ～450 km long, is located in front of the NW termination of Sumatra Island, in the southern part of the Nicobar Islands. Possible positions and sizes of large potential seismic sources in the NW part of the Sunda island arc are suggested.     

Marine debris from the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery recovered in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: identification and oceanic drift paths

Two Dungeness crab trap tags and floats lost off the State of Oregon, USA during the 2006-2007 fishing season were recovered 4years later in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI): on Lisianski Island on July 15, 2010; and on Kure Atoll on December 10, 2010. This is the first documented recovery of marine debris from Oregon fisheries in the NWHI. We simulate the oceanic drift tracks of the derelict fishing gear with the Ocean Surface Current Simulator (OSCURS) model using estimated loss dates in Oregon based on interviews with the crab trap owners and known recovery sites and dates in the NWHI. These data confirm the US Pacific Northwest as a source of marine debris deposited in the NWHI and provide enhanced understanding of the oceanic drift pathways of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean.     

Source mechanism of the tsunami of 2004 in the Indian Ocean: Analysis and numerical simulation

The tsunami in the Indian Ocean caused by the earthquake of December 26, 2004, near Sumatra Island had catastrophic consequences in coastal areas of many countries in this region. Notwithstanding extensive investigations of this phenomenon at various laboratories of the world, the focal mechanism of the aftershock remains unclear. The paper analyzes possible seafloor movements in the source area of the earthquake on the basis of the keyboard model of tsunamigenic earthquakes and describes numerical simulation of the generation, propagation, and runup of water surface waves in terms of this model involving vertical displacements of seafloor “keyboard-blocks.” It is shown that generated tsunami waves are essentially dependent on the combination of keyboard-block movements, which results in an irregular distribution of maximum runups along the shoreline. If the oblique nature of the subduction zone associated with the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004, is taken into account, the model results fit well the runup values observed at the Thailand shoreline. It is noted that this model of the subduction zone accounts more adequately for the tsunami wave field pattern in both areas of the Indian Ocean and other water areas such as the region of the Kurile-Kamchatka Island Arc and the Sea of Okhotsk.     

Tectonic significance of Eocene and Cretaceous radiolaria from South Andaman Island, northeast Indian Ocean

Abstract Eocene (Middle) and Cretaceous (Campanian) radiolarian faunas from the basement rocks of the southern part of South Andaman Island in the northeastern Indian Ocean affirm the sedimentological hiatus that encompassed part of the Paleocene to Early Eocene ages in these islands, and its extension northward to Indoburma region and south to the outer islands of the Sunda Arc.     

Geochronology of basalts from the ninetyeast ridge and continental dispersion in the eastern Indian Ocean

Conventional K-Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar total-fusion and incremental-heating ages from basalts recovered from the Ninetyeast Ridge confirm earlier indication from paleontology of basal sediments that basement crystallization ages increase systematically from south to north. A rate of migration of volcanism of 9.4 ± 0.3 cm/yr best fits the age-distance relationship determined from these basalts. The geometry, distribution of ages, paleomagnetism and geochemistry are most compatible with an origin of the Ninetyeast Ridge by northward movement of the Indian plate over a hotspot near Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean, from mid-Cretaceous to Early Oligocene time. The Ninetyeast Ridge and nearly parallel Chagos-Laccadive Ridge provide an absolute frame of reference for the reconstruction of the eastern Indian Ocean.     

海南省南海地震监测和海啸预警服务

2004年底发生在印度洋的地震海啸造成的巨大灾难引起了人们广泛的关注。根据海南岛有仪器记录到地震海啸的事实,从构造角度讨论了海南岛未来遭受地震海啸袭击的可能性,强调了建立海南省南海地震监测和海啸预警系统的必要性和重要性,并提出了预警系统建设的初步设想。     

Numerical study of three-dimensional shelf circulation on the Scotian Shelf using a shelf circulation model

A numerical shelf circulation model was developed for the Scotian Shelf, using a nested-grid setup consisting of a three-dimensional baroclinic inner model embedded inside a two-dimensional barotropic outer model. The shelf circulation model is based on the Princeton Ocean Model and driven by three-hourly atmospheric forcing provided by a numerical weather forecast model and by tidal forcing specified at the inner model's open boundaries based on pre-calculated tidal harmonic constants. The outer model simulates the depth-mean circulation forced by wind and atmospheric pressure fields over the northwest Atlantic Ocean with a horizontal resolution of 1/12°. The inner model simulates the three-dimensional circulation over the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Scotian Shelf, and the adjacent slope with a horizontal resolution of 1/16°. The performance of the shelf circulation model is assessed by comparing model results with oceanographic observations made along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia and in the vicinity of Sable Island (on the Scotian Shelf) during two periods: October 2000–March 2001 and April–June 2002. Analysis of model results on Sable Island Bank indicates that tidal currents account for as much as ∼80% of the total variance of near-bottom currents, and currents driven by local winds account for ∼30% of the variance of the non-tidal near-bottom currents. Shelf waves generated remotely by winds and propagating into the region also play an important role in the near-bottom circulation on the bank.     

Interactions between mesoscale eddy variability and Indian Ocean dipole events in the Southeastern tropical Indian Ocean—case studies for 1994 and 1997/1998

Interannual modulation of mesoscale eddy activity at the intraseasonal timescale in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean and its relation to the Indian Ocean dipole mode (IOD) events are investigated using results from a high-resolution ocean general circulation model. The model reproduces observed characteristics of the intraseasonal variability and its interannual modulation fairly well, with large variances of the intraseasonal variability during the 1994 and 1997/1998 IOD events. Large negative temperature anomaly off the coasts of Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands in boreal summer, due to seasonal variation and interannual anomaly, extended further to the east in 1994, and the associated strong Indonesian throughflow enhanced the baroclinic instability in the upper layer, generating anomalously large mesoscale eddy activity. The eddy heat transport, in turn, significantly affected decaying phase of the 1994 IOD event. On the other hand, the development of the cold region off the Java Island associated with the 1997/1998 IOD event occurred in boreal winter, causing weaker baroclinic instability and hence weaker eddy activity off Java. This led to little influence on the heat budget in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean for the 1997/1998 IOD event.     

Japan Trench and tectonics of the Japanese Island Arcs

Abstract Seven chronostratigraphic stages were established based on the correlation of magneto‐biostratigraphic marker horizons within the Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Program cores from the forearc of the Japan Trench. Because the stages are coeval with changes in the rate of sedimentation, lithofacies, magnetic intensity and composition of fossil assemblages, they probably reflect the tectonic situation in the Japan Trench forearc and also in the arc–trench system. The stages correlate to the tectonic events of the Japanese Island Arcs; for example, evolution of the Boso triple junction, initiation of Philippine Sea Plate subduction and the Japan Sea opening.     

苏门答腊岛8.7级大地震前的辐射异常现象

2004年12月26日印度尼西亚苏门答腊岛西北海域发生8．7级特大地震并引发海啸。对这次地震作者通过监视卫星遥感信息,曾注意到震前数月以来,印度洋东北部地区出现持续性的“长波辐射”(Outgoing—Longwave—Radiation,简称OLR)通量增强的现象。对此现象进行跟踪分析和计算处理,发现震前的1—2个月到临震时,辐射异变在震中附近地区更加显著。由此认为监视卫星遥感的辐射信息,可能有助于突破强震将在何处发生的短临预测难题。     

Interaction of waves,currents and tides,and wave-energy impact on the beach area of Sylt Island

Erosion due to waves is an important and actual problem for most coastal areas of the North Sea. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of wave action on the coastline of Sylt Island. From a 2-year time series (November 1999 to October 2001) of hydrological and wave parameters generated with a coupled wave–current modelling system, a period comprising storm ‘Anatol’ (3–4 December 1999) is used to investigate the effects of waves on currents and water levels and the input of wave energy into the coastline. The wave-induced stress causes an increase of the current velocity of 1 m/s over sand and an additional drift along the coast of about 20 cm/s. This produces a water level increase of more than 20 cm in parts of the tidal basin. The model system also calculates the wave energy input into the coastline. Scenario runs for December 1999 with a water level increase of 50 cm and wind velocity increased by 10% show that the input of the wave energy into the west coast of Sylt Island increases by 30% compared to present conditions. With regard to the forecasted near-future (Woth et al., Ocean Dyn 56:3–15, 2006) increase of strong storm surges, the scenario results indicate an increased risk of coastal erosion in the surf zone of Sylt Island.     

Marine introductions in the Southern Ocean: an unrecognised hazard to biodiversity

This study investigated the potential for transport of organisms between Hobart, Macquarie Island and the Antarctic continent by ships used in support of Antarctic science and tourism. Northward transport of plankton in ballast water is more likely than southward transport because ballast is normally loaded in the Antarctic and unloaded at the home port. Culturing of ballast water samples revealed that high-latitude hitchhikers were able to reach greater diversities when cultured at temperate thermal conditions than at typical Southern Ocean temperatures, suggesting the potential for establishment in the Tasmanian coastal environment. Several known invasive species were identified among fouling communities on the hulls of vessels that travel between Hobart and the Southern Ocean. Southward transport of hull fouling species is more likely than northward transport due to the accumulation of assemblages during the winter period spent in the home port of Hobart. This study does not prove that non-indigenous marine species have, or will be, transported and established as a consequence of Antarctic shipping but illustrates that the potential exists. Awareness of the potential risk and simple changes to operating procedures may reduce the chance of introductions in the future.     

Latitudinal changes in larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages in shallow-water reef sediments along the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Abstract The taxonomic diversity of hermatypic corals decreases with increasing latitude, which correlates with sea‐surface temperatures. However, little is known about latitudinal changes in the taxonomic diversity and biogeographic patterns of larger benthic foraminifera, although their physiological requirements are similar to those of hermatypic corals because of their symbiotic relationships with microalgae. The present study examined how the abundance and taxonomic composition of larger foraminiferal assemblages in shallow‐water reef sediments change with latitude along the Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyus), which are located near the northern limit of coral‐reef distributions in the western Pacific Ocean. Three islands from different latitudes in the Ryukyus were selected to investigate latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages: Ishigaki Island (24°20′N, 124°10′E), Kudaka Island (26°09′N, 127°54′E) and Tane‐ga‐shima Island (30°20′N, 131°E). Four sediment samples were taken at each of three topographic sites (beach, shallow lagoon and reef crest) on the reef flat of each island. Foraminiferal tests of a 2.0‐ to 0.5‐mm size fraction were selected, identified and counted. The variations in foraminiferal abundance in reef sediments from three latitudinally different islands exhibit two contrasting trends along reef flats: a shoreward decrease on Ishigaki and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands and a shoreward increase on Kudaka Island. A total of 25, 24 and 13 foraminiferal taxa were identified in Ishigaki, Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands, respectively. Baculogypsina sphaerulata, Neorotalia calcar and Amphistegina spp. were dominant (i.e. >3% of foraminiferal assemblages) in the three islands. Calcarina gaudichaudii and Calcarina hispida were common on Ishigaki and Kudaka Islands but were absent on Tane‐ga‐shima Island. Larger foraminiferal assemblages from three different reef‐flat environments on Ishigaki Island can be distinguished, whereas those from the three environments on Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands are similar in composition. These latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages in reef sediments may possibly be caused by variations in the topography of reef flats, distributions and standing crops of living foraminifers on reef flats, and the northern limit of some calcarinid species in the northern Ryukyus.     

Analysis of Coseismic Fault Slip Models of the 2012 Indian Ocean Earthquake: Importance of GPS Data for Crustal Deformation Studies

Based on continuous GPS data, we analyze coseismic deformation due to the 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake. We use the available coseismic slip models of the 2012 earthquake, derived from geodetic and/or seismic waveform inversion, to calculate the coseismic displacements in the Andaman-Nicobar, Sumatra and Java. In our analysis, we employ a spherical, layered model of the Earth and we find that Java Island experienced coseismic displacements up to 8 mm, as also observed by our GPS network. Compared to coseismic offsets measured from GPS data, a coseismic slip model derived from multiple observations produced better results than a model based on a single type of observation.     

Spathian to Aegean (upper Lower Triassic to lower Middle Triassic) carbon isotope stratigraphy constrained by the conodont biostratigraphy of carbonates on top of a mid-oceanic seamount formed in the Panthalassic Ocean

The Taho Formation in western Shikoku Island, Japan, consists of Triassic carbonates that formed on a seamount in the Panthalassic Ocean. In order to investigate the stratigraphy and paleoceanography of this carbonate succession, we analyzed the biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy of a 17.6 m-thick section of the upper Taho Formation at the stratotype area in Tahokamigumi, Seiyo City. This section comprises bioclastic limestone containing Triassic bivalves, ammonoids, and conodonts. We recognized six conodont zones (in ascending order): the Novispathodus pingdingshanensis, Novispathodus brevissimus, Triassospathodus symmetricus, Triassospathodus homeri, Chiosella timorensis, and Magnigondolella cf. alexanderi zones. Thus, the studied carbonate succession is latest Smithian to Aegean in age. A δ¹³C profile of this section shows elevated values during the lowest Spathian followed by a gradual negative excursion, a subsequent positive excursion near the Spathian–Aegean boundary, and relatively constant values during the Aegean. The characteristic series of negative and positive excursions correlates with other δ¹³C records for this period, including the peak of the upper Smithian–lowest Spathian positive excursion (P3), lower to middle Spathian negative excursion (N4), and middle Spathian–lowest Aegean positive excursion (P4). This represents a new high-resolution Spathian–Aegean δ¹³C record of the Panthalassic Ocean, for which ages are constrained by conodont biostratigraphy. The Taho δ¹³C profile exhibits a consistent positive offset of ~2 ‰ as compared with those from other regions (i.e., mostly in the Tethyan Ocean). This can be explained by preferential removal of ¹²C from seawater during photosynthesis and calcification by marine organisms over the platform, and/or the relatively high δ¹³C values of dissolved inorganic carbon in the Panthalassic Ocean due to less influence of ¹²C-enriched terrestrial waters and high marine organic production/burial as compared with the more restricted Tethyan Ocean.     

Mathematical modelling of sea water intrusion,Nauru Island

A two-dimensional finite element model for density dependent groundwater flow was calibrated to simulate sea water intrusion in Nauru Island in the Central Pacific Ocean. Nauru Island occupies an area of 22 km² and supports a population of 8500. The island has been mined for its phosphate deposits and current reserves indicate that the mine has about eight years life remaining. The water supply of the island is about one third dependent on imported water which is also used as ballast on the phosphate ships. Imported water will not be available in the future, and a hydrogeological investigation shows that the island is underlain by a fresh water layer, less than 5 m thick. The freshwater layer overlies a thick transition zone of brackish water which in turn overlies sea water. Simulation of several management options shows that it is possible to substitute current importation of fresh water by careful extraction from the groundwater resources of the island.     

Mapping the crustal thickness in southwest Japan using Moho-reflected waves

In this work we have tried to detect and collect later phases associated with the Moho discontinuity and use them to study the lateral variations of the crustal thickness in southwest (SW) Japan. We first compute synthetic seismograms for local earthquakes taking into account the focal mechanism solutions estimated from first motion polarity data. Then we compare the synthetics with the observed waveforms to detect the major later phases in seismograms of shallow crustal earthquakes in SW Japan. Taking the advantage of the high quality and great quantity of Hi-net waveform data now available throughout the entire Japan Islands, we have detected 1659 Moho-reflected phases (PmP and SmS) from shallow events in SW Japan. We estimated the crustal thickness in the study area using travel time differences between these later phases and the first P and S arrivals. Our results show that the Moho is deep in Chubu district and becomes shallower along the coastlines of the Japan Sea and the Pacific Ocean. A thinner crust appears in Osaka Bay and Awajii Island where the 1995 Kobe earthquake (M7.2) occurred.     

Assessment of the ecological quality status of soft-bottoms in Reunion Island (tropical Southwest Indian Ocean) using AZTI marine biotic indices

The ability of the two synthetic marine biotic indices, AMBI and M-AMBI, to account for changes in the ecological quality of coastal soft bottoms of Reunion Island according to disturbances was assessed from macrobenthic samples collected in five sectors between 1994 and 2004. Samples were collected under non-perturbed conditions and at two sites subjected to heavy organic enrichment. Both indices are based on a classification of macrofauna into ecological groups (EG), and their transfer to tropical waters required some adaptations. These indices proved efficient in detecting a degradation of habitat quality. Their use resulted in the classification of all sites sampled between 1996 and 1998 as "good" or "high". M-AMBI nevertheless tended to result in the attribution of a slightly worse ecological quality status than AMBI. Together with an update of the EG species list for the Indian Ocean area, our results support the extension of both indices for the assessment of tropical soft bottoms.