Determination of temperature and humidity of air,wind speed,and sensible and latent heat fluxes on the ocean surface according to the satellite data

Formulas for the evaluation of temperature and humidity of air, wind speed, and sensible and latent heat fluxes on the ocean surface according to the satellite data on the sea-surface temperature and cloudiness are deduced on the basis of the analysis of many-year radiosonde, meteorological, shipborne, and satellite data. The proposed formulas can also be used for the interpretation of the results of remote sensing of the ocean and atmosphere by radiometers in the visible, infrared, and microwave regions. The transformations of radiation and sensible and latent heat fluxes are described depending on the sea-surface temperature for various cloudiness conditions. The computed values of the amount of water in the atmosphere agree with the radiosonde data obtained throughout the Earth, including the data of research vessels and stationary weather ships, as well as the data obtained in the ATEP test ranges and in the Arctic. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 56–70, March–April, 2007.     

Method and results of assimilation of climatic data on temperature,salinity, and sea level into a numerical model of the Black Sea

A method for combined assimilation of climatic hydrologic fields of temperature, salinity, and the climatic dynamic level of the Black Sea into a model of sea dynamics is proposed. The monthly mean fields of the dynamic sea level were obtained from the results of assimilation of satellite altimetry data into the model. The statistical characteristics of errors in the forecasts of the level, salinity, and temperature were assumed to be proportional to the statistical characteristics of the differences between monthly mean climatic fields of temperature, salinity, and sea level calculated by means of assimilating altimetry observations of the sea level and analogous climatic hydrologic fields. The climatic fields of currents are reconstructed and analyzed. The assimilation of the climatic altimetry level allows the reproduction (in current fields) of quasi-stationary synoptic anticyclonic eddies located along the periphery of the Black Sea Rim Current.     

Spatial variability in growth and reproduction of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) along the west European coast

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas was introduced in Europe for commercial purposes in the mid 1960s. It was initially thought that low winter temperatures would restrain this species' reproduction and settlement; however, its present distribution in areas where no introduction has taken place suggests that natural invasion and expansion has occurred. Along the European coast, wild populations of Pacific oysters are already found from northern Germany to southern Portugal. Whether C. gigas will continue to further expand through northern waters will depend on its physiological performance. In this study, the performance of wild oyster populations has been studied in terms of growth and reproduction at three stations: La Rochelle (France; 46°N), Yerseke (Oosterschelde estuary, The Netherlands, 51°N), and Texel (Wadden Sea estuary, The Netherlands, 53°N). The French population had the lowest somatic-shell mass ratio and an increase in maximum shell length, somatic and gonadal mass was observed from France to the Netherlands. In addition, mean oocyte diameter decreased significantly from south to north. The combination of increasing gonadal mass and decreasing oocyte volume suggests an increasing reproductive output in terms of egg numbers from France to The Netherlands. Differences in temperature between locations will at least be partly responsible for the observed patterns; however, other environmental factors (such as food availability, predation pressure, sediment type and/or seston concentration) cannot be excluded. Since smaller eggs (oocytes) are thought to have a longer development time, the environmental conditions along the Dutch coast may result in increased larval dispersal and possibly in further population expansion.     

Growth and reproduction of the bivalve Spisula subtruncata (da Costa) in Dutch coastal waters

The bivalve Spisula subtruncata is usually abundant in shallow coastal waters along the Dutch coast. However, its biomass has been decreasing since 1995. In order to assess whether reproductive failure may be the cause of the observed decline over the last decades, the energy investment in reproduction of a population of S. subtruncata from central Dutch coastal waters was studied. The population studied consisted of individuals of up to four years old. Shell length reached maximum values of around 32 mm and individual total body, somatic and gonadal ash-free dry mass reached maximum values of about 278 mg AFDM, 252 mg AFDM and 76 mg AFDM, respectively. A clear seasonal cycle in somatic and gonadal mass was observed. Somatic and gonadal mass indices increased in early spring and reached maximum values during summer, followed by a decrease to minimum values at the beginning of the following year. Spawning was in June–July and settlement of spat seems to have occurred in July–August. Mean oocyte diameter was 57.43 ± 0.03 μm, corresponding to a volume of 98972 μm³. These results suggested that reproductive failure was not the cause of the current population decline. Most likely, unsuccessful settlement of spat and/or severe predation during the first months of life were responsible for the observed patterns.     

Structure and Quaternary tectonic history of the Woodlark triple junction region,Solomon Islands

The Woodlark triple junction region, a topographically and structurally complex triangular area of Quaternary age, lies east of Simbo Ridge and southwest of the New Georgia island group, Solomon Islands, at the junction of the Pacific, Australian and Solomon Sea plates. SeaMARC II side-scan imagery and bathymetry in conjunction with seismic reflection profiles, 3.5 kHz records, and petrologic, magnetic and gravity data show that the active Woodlark spreading centre does not extend into this region.South of the triple junction region, the Woodlark spreading centre reoriented at about 2 Ma into a series of short ESE-trending segments. These segments continued to spread until about 0.5 Ma, when the lithosphere on their northern sides was transferred from the Solomon Sea plate to the Australian plate. Simultaneously the Simbo transform propagated northwards along the western side of the transferred lithosphere, forming a trench-trench-transform triple junction located NNW of Simbo island and a new leaky plate boundary segment that built Simbo Ridge.As the Pacific plate approached, the area east of northern Simbo Ridge was tilted northwards, sheared by dominantly right-lateral faults, elevated, and intruded by arc-related magmas to form Ghizo Ridge. Calc-alkalic magmas sourced beneath the Pacific plate built three large strato-volcanic edifices on the subducting Australian plate: Simbo at the northern end of Simbo Ridge, and Kana Keoki and Coleman seamounts on an extensional fracture adjoining the SE end of Ghizo Ridge.A sediment drape, supplied in part from Simbo and Kana Keoki volcanoes, mantles the east-facing slopes of northern Simbo and Ghizo Ridges and passes distally into sediment ponded in the trench adjoining the Pacific plate. As a consequence of plate convergence, parts of the sediment drape and pond are presently being deformed, and faults are dismembering Kana Keoki and Coleman seamounts.The Woodlark system differs from other modern or Tertiary ridge subduction systems, which show wide variation in character and behaviour. Existing models describing the consequences of ridge subduction are likely to be predictive in only a general way, and deduced rules for the behaviour of oceanic lithosphere in ridge subduction systems may not be generally applicable.     

A Stable Carbon Isotope Study of the Food-web in a Freshwater-deprived South African Estuary, with Particular Emphasis on the Ichthyofauna

The importance of macrophytes as food sources for estuarine nekton is unclear. Previous carbon isotope investigations in the macrophyte-dominated, freshwater-deprived Kariega Estuary showed that the bivalveSolen cylindraceusdid not utilize the dominant estuarine macrophytes found within the estuary as a primary food source. This finding prompted questions as to what the nekton of this estuary utilize as primary energy sources. δ¹³C analyses of the principal autochthonous and allochthonous primary carbon sources, as well as the dominant invertebrate and fish species, indicate that there are two main carbon pathways within the Kariega Estuary. The littoral community, which incorporates the majority of crustaceans, gobies, mullet and a sparid, utilizes δ¹³C enriched primary food sources namelySpartina maritima,Zosteracapensis and epiphytes. The channel fauna, which includes the zooplankton, zooplanktivorous and piscivorous fish, utilizes a primary food source depleted in δ¹³C, which is most likely a mixture of phytoplankton, terrestrial plant debris and C₄macrophyte detritus. The C₃saltmarsh macrophytesSarcocornia perennisandChenolea diffusa, as well as benthic microalgae, appear to be less important as primary food sources to the nekton of the Kariega Estuary.     

Contemporary ocean and coastal management issues in Australia and New Zealand: an overview

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in the number of international treaties, conventions and agreements dealing with maritime issues and oceans governance. Most nations are attempting to cope with this expanding agenda at a time of fiscal constraint, competing environmental demands and the emergence of a new global strategic, political and economic order. However, similar issues do not always lead to similar outcomes. Australia and New Zealand share some common oceanic and coastal management problems, but variations in response arise from geographical differences, constitutional provisions, political style and administrative arrangements. This paper provides a brief overview of contemporary maritime issues and attempted solutions in both nations.