Cyclone formation and development in the Antarctic Prydz Bay

Using meteorological data of field observation in 1990 - 2000, especially polar orbit high-resolution NOAA satellite cloud maps received from the Antarctic expedition vessel since 1997, the formation and development of the Prydz Bay cyclone are studied in this paper. Some new viewpoints are suggested such as: when surround-polar cyclone enters the Prydz Bay, it can also intensify and develop in summer; cyclone can also develop in the easterlies in this bay. These view points revise old uncom-plete view point that the Prydz Bay is a burial ground of cyclone, and also further consummate formation-development theory of surround-cyclone in the Antarctic westerlies and cyclone in the Antarctic easterlies. In this paper, the mechanism of ice-air-sea interaction in the Prydz Bay is studied, and the physical process of cyclone formation-development is explained. By use of wholly dynamic transportation method, an energy exchange case of a cyclone, which explosively developed after entering the Prydz Bay, is calcu     

Mixed layer variability in Northern Arabian Sea as detected by an Argo float

Seasonal evolution of surface mixed layer in the Northern Arabian Sea (NAS) between 17° N–20.5° N and 59° E-69° E was observed by using Argo float daily data for about 9 months, from April 2002 through December 2002. Results showed that during April - May mixed layer shoaled due to light winds, clear sky and intense solar insolation. Sea surface temperature (SST) rose by 2.3 °C and ocean gained an average of 99.8 Wm⁻². Mixed layer reached maximum depth of about 71 m during June - September owing to strong winds and cloudy skies. Ocean gained abnormally low ∼18 Wm⁻² and SST dropped by 3.4 °C. During the inter monsoon period, October, mixed layer shoaled and maintained a depth of 20 to 30 m. November - December was accompanied by moderate winds, dropping of SST by 1.5 °C and ocean lost an average of 52.5 Wm⁻². Mixed layer deepened gradually reaching a maximum of 62 m in December. Analysis of surface fluxes and winds suggested that winds and fluxes are the dominating factors causing deepening of mixed layer during summer and winter monsoon periods respectively. Relatively high correlation between MLD, net heat flux and wind speed revealed that short term variability of MLD coincided well with short term variability of surface forcing.     

Spatial and Temporal Variations of Sound Speed at the PN Section

Gridded sound speed data were calculated using Del Grosso's formulation from the temperature and salinity data at the PN section in the East China Sea covering 92 cruises between February 1978 and October 2000. The vertical gradients of sound speed are mainly related to the seasonal variations, and the strong horizontal gradients are mainly related to the Kuroshio and the upwelling. The standard deviations show that great variations of sound speed exist in the upper layer and in the slope zone. Empirical orthogonal function analysis shows that contributions of surface heating and the Kuroshio to sound speed variance are almost equivalent. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Seasonal variations of water system distribution and flow patterns in the southern sea area of Hokkaido,Japan

Hydrographic data and composite current velocity data (ADCP and GEK) were used to examine the seasonal variations of upper-ocean flow in the southern sea area of Hokkaido, which includes the “off-Doto” and “Hidaka Bay” areas separated by Cape Erimo. During the heating season (April–September), the outflow of the Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) from the Tsugaru Strait first extends north-eastward, and then one branch of TWC turns to the west along the shelf slope after it approaches the Hidaka Shelf. The main flow of TWC evolves continuously, extending eastward as far as the area off Cape Erimo. In the late cooling season (January–March), part of the Oyashio enters Hidaka Bay along the shallower part of the shelf slope through the area off Cape Erimo, replacing almost all of the TWC water, and hence the TWC devolves. It is suggested that the bottom-controlled barotropic flow of the Oyashio, which may be caused by the small density difference between the Oyashio and the TWC waters and the southward migration of main front of TWC, permits the Oyashio water to intrude along the Hidaka shelf slope.     

Discussion on Coastal Erosion Near Xizhuang, Penglai, China

-In this work, on the basis of the characteristics of coastal erosion near Xizhuang (Penglai, Shandong, China) and the in-situ measured data and theoretical calculation, the causes of coastal erosion there are obtained: (1) natural erosion, (2) beach sand borrowing, and (3) sand borrowing at the Dengzhou shoal near Xizhuang, which results in the loss of the function of the wave force resistance of the shoal. Since the wave energy is increased, the longshore sediment transport rate is increased. Coastal erosions are more and more serious. A scientific basis to reduced the calamity of coastal erosion in local area is presented. Some experiences are accumulated for studying coastal erosion.     

东海西北部水团分析及与渔场的关系

作者用聚类分析法划分浅海水团,目的在于克服大洋水团分析法进行分析所遇到的一些困难,它在根据不同海区特点确定临界值与检验值时有较大的灵活性。本文讨论了浅海变性水团与中心渔场的关系。结果表明,东海底层冷水、东海表层水和大陆沿岸水对渔业生产有重要影响。     

海洋走航式单边连续观测地震折射波Δt解释方法--1种新的浅层折射单支时距曲线解释方法

在浅层工程折射地震测量中 ,通常采用相遇观测系统采集数据和相应的解释方法进行解释 ;对于单边观测采集方法由于与其相应的解释方法较少而少被采用。本文提出 1种方法简单、精度可靠、可直接利用同一点相邻 2排列 2次观测的初至折射时间并适合于海洋走航式单边连续观测系统的折射初至资料解释方法。其精度基本与同观测段的采用相遇观测的差异时距方法解释的精度十分接近。该方法即适合于人工解释又适合于计算机自动解释。     

Atmospheric forcing of fine-sand transport on a low-energy inner shelf: south-central Louisiana,USA

Hydrodynamic and sediment transport measurements from instrumentation deployed during a 54-day winter period at two sites on the Louisiana inner shelf are presented. Strong extratropical storms, with wind speeds of 7.8 to 15.1 m s^-1, were the dominant forcing mechanism during the study. These typically caused mean oscillatory flows and shear velocities about 33% higher than fair weather (averaging 12.3 and 3.2 cm s^-1 at the landward site, and 11.4 and 2.7 cm s^-1 at the seaward site, respectively). These responses were coupled with mean near-bottom currents more than twice as strong as during fair weather (10.3 and 7.5 cm s^-1 at the landward and seaward sites, respectively). These flowed in approximately the same direction as the veering wind, causing a net offshore transport of fine sand. Weak storms were responsible for little sediment transport whereas during fair weather, onshore sand transport of approximately 25-75% of the storm values appears to have occurred. This contradicts previous predictions of negligible fair-weather sediment movement on this inner shelf.     

Tectonic control over topography and channel sedimentation across the forearc slope of the southern Kurile Trench

A high-resolution seismic survey covering more than 2,000 km² has revealed the processes responsible for the slope morphology and channel sedimentation across the forearc slope-basin of the Kurile Arc–NE Japan Arc collision zone, offshore from Tokachi (Hokkaido, Japan). The dominant slope contours parallel the trench but, in the middle and lower reaches of the southern slope, contours are convex-shaped with an offshore trend. This sector of the slope is traversed diagonally by the Hiroo submarine channel. The offshore-trending convex contours and the channel course have developed through the interplay of tectonic and sedimentary processes, including the development of anticlines, anticline-induced lobe sedimentation and channel avulsion. In its upper reaches, the channel is restricted by a topographic low associated with NNW–SSE-trending anticlines which developed within the upper and middle slope sectors during late Miocene uplift. The uplift timing and trend of these anticlines indicate that they resulted from collision, the channel sedimentology and slope morphology of the middle and lower slopes having been influenced by Pliocene uplift of NE–SW-trending anticlines. The trends of these anticlines parallel those of the Kurile Trench. The Pliocene and early Pleistocene strata of the middle and lower slopes consist of ponded lobe sediments deposited along the palaeo-Hiroo submarine channel on the landward side of the anticlines. As a lobe pile accumulated, the channel thalweg shifted to the north of the stack, allowing the channel to bypass the topographic high formed by the growing stack. Thick levee deposits built up along the channel course during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. These levees, along with the Pliocene and early Pleistocene lobes, are reflected in the present-day sigmoid-shaped, convex offshore-trending contours. Thus, the interplay of subduction- and collision-related anticlines, tectonic-related channel ponding, and avulsion has contributed to the slope morphology of the southern Kurile Trench.