Model estimates for the interaction of wind waves and tides in the Pechora Basin-White Sea subsystem

The “weak-interaction” approximation is used to investigate the role of wind waves in tidal dynamics. The resulting expression for the drag coefficient in the wave-affected tidal flow is incorporated into the QUODDY-4 three-dimensional finite-element hydrothermodynamic model, and the thus modified model is used to calculate the K ₁ diurnal tide in the Pechora Basin-White Sea subsystem. It is shown that, depending on a combination of local and nonlocal factors, wind waves can cause opposite variations in the amplitudes and phases of tidal oscillations of the level. Local factors control variations in the tidal regime nearly in the entire water area of the subsystem under consideration, apart from the eastern part of the Pechora Basin, the outlet from the White Sea Throat, and Dvina Bay. In the aforementioned areas, the tidal regime changes are due either to the displacement of the nearest amphidromy or to other nonlocal factors resulting from the reorganization of the fields of tidal characteristics. It is also shown that the variations in tidal characteristics induced by wind waves vary within a fairly wide range and that allowance for the interaction of wind waves and tides improves the agreement between calculated and observed values of the amplitudes and phases of tidal oscillations of the level.     

Experimental study of the fine structure of the wind field near a rough surface

The air-flow velocity field near the water surface is studied in the zone of wind-wave intensification. Caused by a periodic separation of eddies, a nonzero time-averaged value of the wind velocity in the near-water streamline is detected at the leading slope of the wave. The distribution of pressure along the wave with allowance for the vertical velocity shear and disturbances produced by eddies and a periodic deceleration of the viscous layer was calculated with the aid of the Cauchy-Lagrange integral. This procedure made it possible to calculate the growth rate of the wave amplitude, whose value was found to be close to its experimental value at the initial stage of acceleration.     

Hadley and Rossby regimes in a simple model of convection of a rotating fluid

This paper analyzes the properties of solutions to the equations describing the motion of a stratified fluid in the class of velocity and temperature fields linear in coordinates. For an ideal fluid, these equations, on the one hand, are exact for the corresponding hydrodynamic problem and, on the other hand, are identical to the equations of motion for a heavy top. In a conservative case, the equations of motion of a top share common solutions with the equations of geophysical fluid dynamics and reproduce motions similar to those existing in the theory of the large-scale atmospheric circulation. This study considers the effects of viscosity and heat conduction in the fluid, which are, in a sense, similar to the effect of friction in the case of a top. The influence of deflections of the vectors of gravity and external rotation from their standard directions for a plane-parallel atmosphere is also considered. The regimes of motions that are described by the starting equations and approximations commonly used to model the atmospheric general circulation (the quasi-geostrophic approximation) are analyzed. It is shown that these equations correctly describe the Hadley and Rossby circulation regimes and transitions between them that are observed in numerical and laboratory experiments. Particular attention is given to the consistency between different regimes of the exact equations and their quasi-geostrophic approximations, which is manifested for small Rossby numbers and is generally absent for large Rossby numbers. The asymptotic behaviors of the curves of transition between the Hadley and Rossby regimes under the conditions of breaking the external symmetry of flows are obtained. These asymptotics explain the corresponding transition boundaries for the regimes observed in the known experiments in annuluses.     

Condition of coastal mesoplankton communities in the northeastern area of the Black Sea in 2005

The structure and distribution of mesoplankton in the northeastern part of the Black Sea along 6-mile and 100-mile sections in the area off Golubaya Bay (near the city of Gelendzhik) were analyzed. The studies were performed from R/V Akvanavt and the boat Ashamba. The observations were carried out during the vegetation season from the beginning of June to the first half of October 2005. Samples of mesoplankton were collected with use of a BSD net with an opening of 0.1 m² and a mesh size of 180 μm. Both the total (over the entire water column) and layer-by-layer (separately for the upper quasi-homogeneous layer, the seasonal thermocline, and the subthermocline layer) hauls were performed down to the bottom (at sea depths of less than 200 m) or down to the upper boundary of the hydrogen sulfide waters. The particular hydrophysical conditions that were observed in 2005 resulted in an approximately one-month advance of the phenological condition of the planktonic community as compared to the usual pattern. Beroe ovata appeared in the plankton at the end of July, the mass development of Mnemiopsis leidyi was suppressed, and the duration of its influence on edible zooplankton was essentially reduced. As a result, the total mesoplankton biomass in August–October 2005 was 1.5–2 times as great as that in 2004. The abundance of Acartia clausi increased approximately 4–5 times and the quantity of Sagitta setosa also considerably increased. At selected stations, Mnemiopsis leidyias, the main predator in the community, was replaced by Sagitta setosa.     

A conceptual design of an underwater vehicle

The paper presents a conceptual design of an underwater star wars’ system, which will be more difficult to detect by the enemy than a recently proposed ‘surface’ star wars’ system.The paper suggests that for the proposed structures needed for the underwater star wars’ system, the material of construction should be a composite and not a metal, as use of the latter for large deep diving underwater vessels will result in such structures sinking to the bottom of the ocean like stones, due to the fact that they will have no reserve buoyancy. The paper also shows that composites have better sound absorption characteristics, thereby making the underwater structures difficult to detect through sonar equipment. It is proposed that these underwater structures should operate up to a depth of 7.16 miles (11.52 km), as at this depth, all of the oceans’ bottoms can be reached.The author shows that current technology can be used to construct and operate such vessels, but more progress needs to be made with metal matrix and ceramic composites, so that the hulls of underwater missiles and torpedoes can be constructed in these materials.     

Numerical Simulation of Wind Currents and Propagation of Impurities in the Balaklava Bay

We present the results of numerical experiments aimed at the simulation of the circulation of waters and transport of impurities in the Balaklava Bay for typical wind conditions established on the basis of the analysis of the data of in-situ measurements. The currents are computed by using the nonlinear σ-coordinate model. The specific features of the integral circulation and three-dimensional structure of the current field are investigated. The statistical characteristics of currents are estimated on the basis of the in-situ data on winds and model calculations. Possible scenarios of propagation of impurities from the coastal sources are analyzed for various hydrodynamic conditions. It is shown that the localized eddy structures in the current fields (in combination with the zones of intense vertical motion) can result in a complex character of the transport of substances in the bay and lead to the formation of local regions of maximum concentrations of impurities on the boundary of the north and central parts of the bay. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 43–58, July–August, 2005.     

Simulation of Hydrophysical Processes in Coastal Regions of the Sea

In the present work, we generalize the results of our investigations in the field of simulation of hydrophysical and ecological processes in coastal regions of various seas and some closed basins. The developed and applied mathematical models and the results of numerical experiments are briefly analyzed.     

Probing molecular-level transformations of dissolved organic matter: insights on photochemical degradation and protozoan modification of DOM from electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Molecular-level characterization of natural organic matter (NOM) has been elusive due to the inherent complexity of natural organic mixtures and to the fact that individual components are often polar and macromolecular. Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a “soft” ionization technique that ionizes polar compounds from aqueous solution prior to injection into a mass spectrometer. The highest resolution and mass accuracy of compounds within NOM have been achieved when ESI is combined with an ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometer such as the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS). With this technique, individual molecules within a variety of natural organic mixtures can be detected and their elemental composition can be determined. At low mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio, the resolution is high enough to assign exact molecular formulas allowing specific components of these mixtures to be identified. In addition to molecular identification, we can now use ESI FT-ICR MS to examine molecular-level changes in different organic mixtures as a function of relevant geo-processes, such as microbial alterations and photochemistry. Here we present the results from the application of ESI FT-ICR MS to two geochemical questions: (1) the effect of photoirradiation on the molecular composition of fulvic acids and (2) the role of protozoan grazers in the modification of DOM in aquatic systems.     

Phototoxicity of pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene to embryo-larval stages of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose a greater hazard to aquatic organisms than previously demonstrated, due to their potential to cause photo-induced toxicity when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The consequences of photo-induced toxicity are reported here for embryo-larval stages of the pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, following exposure to pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene. During laboratory investigations, significant increases in toxicity were observed in the presence of environmentally attainable levels of UV-radiation, compared with embryos exposed to PAH alone, at levels previously deemed to have little acute biological effect. The phototoxicity of pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene completely inhibited the development to the D-shell larval stage when embryos were simultaneously exposed to 5 microg l(-1) PAH and ultraviolet light (UVB = 6.3 +/- 0.1 microW/cm2 and UVA = 456.2 +/- 55 microW/cm2). A linear relationship was also demonstrated for benzo[a]pyrene phototoxicity with decreasing UV light intensity.     

Reconstruction of sea surface dimethylsulfide in the North Pacific during 1970s to 2000s

We proposed an empirical equation of sea surface dimethylsulfide (DMS, nM) using sea surface temperature (SST, K), sea surface nitrate (SSN, μM) and latitude (L, °N) to reconstruct the sea surface flux of DMS over the North Pacific between 25°N and 55°N: ln DMS = 0.06346 · SST − 0.1210 · SSN − 14.11 · cos(L) − 6.278 (R² = 0.63, p < 0.0001). Applying our algorithm to climatological hydrographic data in the North Pacific, we reconstructed the climatological distributions of DMS and its flux between 25 °N and 55 °N. DMS generally increased eastward and northward, and DMS in the northeastern region became to 2–5 times as large as that in the southwestern region. DMS in the later half of the year was 2–4 times as large as that in the first half of the year. Moreover, applying our algorithm to hydrographic time series datasets in the western North Pacific from 1971 to 2000, we found that DMS in the last three decades has shown linear increasing trends of 0.03 ± 0.01 nM year^− 1 in the subpolar region, and 0.01 ± 0.001 nM year^− 1 in the subtropical region, indicating that the annual flux of DMS from sea to air has increased by 1.9–4.8 μmol m^− 2 year^− 1. The linear increase was consistent with the annual rate of increase of 1% of the climatological averaged flux in the western North Pacific in the last three decades.