Relationship between Anomalies of the Rate of Snow Cover Formation in Western Siberia and Atmospheric Dynamics in the Northern Hemisphere in the Autumn–Winter Season

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The relationship between the anomalies of the intensity of snow cover formation in Western Siberia (WS) and thermodynamic state of the atmosphere of...     

A predictive numerical model for potential mapping of the gas hydrate stability zone in the Gulf of Cadiz

This paper presents a computational model for mapping the regional 3D distribution in which seafloor gas hydrates would be stable, that is carried out in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. The construction of the model is comprised of three primary steps, namely: (1) the construction of surfaces for the various variables based on available 3D data (seafloor temperature, geothermal gradient and depth-pressure); (2) the calculation of the gas function equilibrium functions for the various hydrocarbon compositions reported from hydrate and sediment samples; and (3) the calculation of the thickness of the hydrate stability zone. The solution is based on a transcendental function, which is solved iteratively in a GIS environment.The model has been applied in the northernmost continental slope of the Gulf of Cadiz, an area where an abundant supply for hydrate formation, such as extensive hydrocarbon seeps, diapirs and fault structures, is combined with deep undercurrents and a complex seafloor morphology. In the Gulf of Cadiz, the model depicts the distribution of the base of the gas hydrate stability zone for both biogenic and thermogenic gas compositions, and explains the geometry and distribution of geological structures derived from gas venting in the Tasyo Field (Gulf of Cadiz) and the generation of BSR levels on the upper continental slope.     

Dissolved aluminium and the silicon cycle in the Arctic Ocean

Concentrations of dissolved (0.2 µm filtered) aluminium (Al) have been determined for the first time in the Eurasian part of the Arctic Ocean over the entire water column during expedition ARK XXII/2 aboard R.V. Polarstern (2007). An unprecedented number of 666 samples was analysed for 44 stations along 5 ocean transects. Dissolved Al in surface layer water (SLW) was very low, close to 1 nM, with lowest SLW concentrations towards the Canadian part of the Arctic Ocean and higher values adjacent to and in the shelf seas. The low SLW concentrations indicate no or little influence from aeolian dust input. Dissolved Al showed a nutrient-type increase with depth up to 28 nM, but large differences existed between the different deep Arctic basins. The differences in concentrations of Al between water masses and basins could largely be related to the different origins of the water masses. In the SLW and intermediate water layers, Atlantic and Pacific inflows were of importance. Deep shelf convection appeared to influence the Al distribution in the deep Eurasian Basin. The Al distribution of the deep Makarov Basin provides evidence for Eurasian Basin water inflow into the deep Makarov Basin. A strong correlation between Al and Silicon (Si) was observed in all basins. This correlation and the nutrient-like profile indicate a strong biological influence on the cycling and distribution of Al. The biological influence can be direct by the incorporation of Al in biogenic silica, indirect by preferential scavenging of Al onto biogenic siliceous particles, or by a combination of both processes. From the slope of the overall Al–Si relationship in the intermediate water layer (AIDW; ~ 200–2000 m depth), an Al/Si ratio of 2.2 atoms Al per 1000 atoms Si was derived. This ratio is consistent with the range of previously reported Al/Si uptake ratio in biogenic opal frustules of diatoms. In the deepest waters (>2000 m depth) a steeper slope of the Al–Si relationship of 7.4 to 13 atoms Al per 1000 atoms Si likely results from entrainment of cold shelf water into the deep basins, carrying the signal of dissolution of terrigenous particles with a much higher Al:Si ratio of crustal abundance. Only a small enrichment with such crustal Al and Si component may readily account for the higher Al:Si slope in the deepest waters.     

对虾传染性肌肉坏死病研究进展

对虾传染性肌肉坏死病(infectious myonecrosis,IMN)最初于2002年8月爆发于巴西Piaui州的凡纳滨对虾(Litopenaeus vannamei)养殖场,并很快在巴西东北沿岸蔓延开来,目前已传至亚洲.2004年,经美国亚利桑那大学(University of Arizona)水产病害实验室研究,该病为一种新的对虾疾病,根据其症状,暂定名为传染性肌肉坏死病.     

Two-dimensional analysis of the semidiurnal tide in some regions of the white sea

An improved method of two-dimensional kinematical structural analysis of tides (the “method of the orbits”) is presented. This method allows us to determine the parameters of the primary tidal waves shaping the observed tidal structure. The construction of the vertical orbits for the individual tidal harmonics is performed along the horizontal coordinate axes; one of them is oriented along the so-called “reactive azimuth,” which coincides with the direction of the tidal current at the instant of the zero tidal level. In this case, the orbit parameters include information on the amplitude-phase relations of the interfering waves and allow us to determine the angle of the waves crossing. The suggested method enables us to quantitatively describe the mechanism of the tidal formation with oblique interference both close to the shore and in the open sea. We tested the new method in two local zones of the White Sea (Morzhovets Island and in the vicinity of the entrance to Kandalaksha Gulf) where the presence of rotating semidiurnal tidal currents evidences the significant role of oblique interference of tidal waves. In these zones, the developed method made it possible to perform a detailed quantitative analysis of the local tide structure caused by the M₂ tidal wave, which plays the dominant role in the White Sea. The result describes the structure of the propagation of the primary tidal waves better than the field of “pure” energy fluxes that was used earlier.     

Validating and assessing the sensitivity of the climate model with an ocean general circulation model developed at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Russian Academy of Sciences

A new version of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS), climate model (CM) has been developed using an ocean general circulation model instead of the statistical-dynamical ocean model applied in the previous version. The spatial resolution of the new ocean model is 3° in latitude and 5° in longitude, with 25 unevenly spaced vertical levels. In the previous version of the oceanic model, as in the atmospheric model, the horizontal resolution was 4.5° in latitude and 6° in longitude, with four vertical levels (the upper quasi-homogeneous layer, seasonal thermocline, abyssal ocean, and bottom friction layer). There is no correction for the heat and momentum fluxes between the atmosphere and ocean in the new version of the IAP RAS CM. Numerical experiments with the IAP RAS CM have been performed under current initial and boundary conditions, as well as with an increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The main simulated atmospheric and oceanic fields agree quite well with observational data. The new version’s equilibrium temperature sensitivity to atmospheric CO₂ doubling was found to be 2.9 K. This value lies in the mid-range of estimates (2–4.5 K) obtained from simulations with state-of-the-art models of different complexities.     

The spectral characteristics and kinematics of short-period internal waves on the Hawaiian shelf

Based on the results of analyzing the characteristics of currents and temperature measured in the water space of the Mamala Bay (the Island of Oahu, Hawaii), we investigate the main properties of the field of short-period internal waves, which is very complex. We focus on analyzing the spectral characteristics and orbit parameters for waves with a period of 20 minutes. The results of investigations reveal two types of short-period internal waves for this area: intense and fast waves propagating predominantly toward the ocean and weaker and slower waves propagating mainly toward the coast. Suppositions are made on how these waves form: the strong and fast waves are likely to be caused by the decay of locally generated internal tides near the shelf edge, while the weak and slow and very short waves seem to result from the specific interaction between the pycnocline and strong tidal currents over a steep slope.     

Neotectonic dynamics of the marine coastal zone exemplified by the Antarctic Peninsula

The proposed concept of the “marine coastal zone” (MCZ) is substantiated with considering the role of the neotectonics in the formation and evolution of the corresponding morphologic system using the Antarctic Peninsula as an example. For this purpose, the results of the immediate geologic-geomorphologic observations are correlated with an original schematic neotectonic map compiled for the region in question. It is shown that neotectonic movements are responsible for the block structure of the coastal zone representing its most stable element, which is complicated by subsequent regional exogenic coast-forming processes with the glacial one being dominant. Other aspects of the marine coastal zone influenced by neotectonics are also considered. A new (near-polar) type of the marine coastal zone is defined.     

Optimal interpolation of the data of remote sensing of the sea surface

We analyze the statistical structure of the data of remote sensing of the fields of surface temperature and the concentration of chlorophyll in the northwest part of the Black Sea with an aim to apply the method of optimal interpolation to the restoration of the maps of these fields according to the restricted amounts of data. We determine the scales of smoothing for the selection of the random components of the fields and estimate their difference from the statistical model uniform and isotropic over the space correlation coefficients. The functions of spectral densities are constructed along various sections and the best intervals of discretization of the fields required to perform the optimal interpolation with given accuracy are determined. It is shown that the construction of the maps of fields under the conditions of controlled accuracy of reconstruction of their values remains possible even if the amounts of the input satellite data are significantly decreased. We consider a procedure of evaluation of the best possible amounts of data required for the use of the method of optimal interpolation. Some examples of application of this procedure to the data of remote sensing of the fields of surface temperature and the concentration of chlorophyll are presented.