The near field of internal waves after the moving area of atmospheric pressures

The near wave field generated by the travelling atmospheric pressure zone over a stratified fluid is studied within the framework of the linear theory of long waves allowing for the Coriolis force. The exact solution of the problem as a set of single integrals is deduced for the model distribution of pressures. The characteristics of the near wave field have been computed for the Väisälä-Brunt frequency profile takeu from observations. Their dependences on the geographical latitude and the wave generator travelling rate are analysed.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Submersible observations of an iceberg pit and scour on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland

An elongated sea bed depression (pit), 80 by 125 m and 10 m deep located on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland was identified on high resolution surficial geophysical survey lines and investigated using a manned submersible. The pit occurs at the termination of a long (greater than 3 km) iceberg scour, 1.5 m deep, and 80 m wide in 91 m of water. It is similar to other depressions in the region that indent the sea bed up to seven times deeper than the surrounding deepest iceberg furrows. The pit is interpreted to be the sea bed response to impact and loading by a rolling and grounding iceberg. The iceberg scour and pit appear to be of recent origin.     

Joint Soviet-Turkish expedition in the Black Sea

The hydrological and hydrochemical structures of the upper 300 m water column of the Black Sea in autumn 1988 have been studied. Regularities in the distribution of the physico-chemical characteristics in the zone of interaction between aerobic and anaerobic waters as well as the topography of the H₂S zone boundary and its connection with a certain density gradient have been found.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Regional tectonic trends on the inner continental shelf off Konkan and Central West Coast of India

Satellite imagery and offshore magnetic data were analysed to correlate regional tectonic elements on the inner continental shelf off Konkan and the adjacent Deccan plateau. Three statistically important lineament trends—N-S, WNW-ESE and ENE-WSW—that prevail on land are correlatable well with the offshore trends. This positive correlation suggests simultaneous deformation. The major magnetic lineament observed off Jaigad Bay, west coast of India, may be the extension of onshore lineaments. The correlation of both the offshore and onshore trends indicates that the fracture pattern of the crystalline basement has also controlled the offshore structural pattern.     

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.     

Simulation of additive transport from the land surface on the basis of experimental data on heat transfer in the atmospheric surface layer

A method is proposed to study the transport of a passive additive in the atmospheric surface layer with the use of the atmospheric transfer function. This method makes it possible to estimate the spatial distribution of the concentration of a passive additive in the atmospheric surface layer from the additive’s surface source without experimentally determining the vertical profile of the transport coefficient or without resorting to various hypotheses for the character of its behavior. The transfer function, which contains the information on the wind-field structure, can be obtained from simple one-point measurements of surface-and air-temperature fluctuations and from subsequent spectral processing of the data. The effects of the wind-velocity profile and turbulence on the spatial distribution of additive concentration are assessed. This method allows one to simplify experiments during development and verification of the models of atmospheric diffusion. This method may also be useful in emergency situations to predict the propagation of hazardous additives.     

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.