A simple theoretical interpretation of the cloud system in a dying cyclone from the aspect of the boucher-newcomb model

Резюме С помощью принятия простых кинематических предположений и на основании ω—уравнения выла определена конфигурация полос облаков в полностью окклюдированном циклоне без фронтов. Облачная система определяется полем скрытой теплоты, выделяемой в процессах конденсации. Полосы облаков теоретически представляют собой в основном листы синусоидальной спирали.

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Address: Boční II, Praha 4-Spořilov.     

Waveform Shaping of Sonar Transducers for Improving the Vertical Resolution in Sub-bottom Sediments Profiling

Vertical resolution is of fundamental importance in sonar exploration and is directly related to the duration of the acoustic pulse generated by the transducer. The shorter the radiated pulse, the higher the vertical resolution. Many sub-bottom profiling sonar systems use piezoelectric transducers because they are reversible and well understood. Piezoelectric projectors are normally resonant transducers, which are intrinsically narrowband. A piezoelectric transducer is usually driven by a tone-burst. However, it is possible to use Fourier techniques to find a pre-compensated electrical driving function so that the transducer radiates a prescribed wider band acoustic waveform. This technique can be applied to synthesize zero-phase cosine-magnitude, Gaussian, and bionic pulses, with a conventional sandwich transducer. Zero-phase cosine-magnitude waveforms provide minimum length pulses (and therefore maximum resolution) within a prescribed frequency band.The aim of this paper is to illustrate the synthesis of wideband acoustic pulses using an underwater piezoelectric projector. The conventional acoustic waveform radiated when a Tonpiltz transducer is transiently excited using a “click” and allows its frequency response function to be measured. This function is used to design the electrical signal which then drives the transducer so that it radiates the shortest pulse compatible with its mechanical response. The significant resolution enhancement of the waveform shaping process is illustrated by its application to a sediment wedge model.     

Measuring and modelling temporal trends of 226Ra in waters of a Spanish estuary affected by the phosphate industry

The presence and temporal evolution (1990-2001) of (226)Ra in a tidal estuary affected by the phosphate industry has been investigated. Water samples collected in the course of four separate sampling campaigns were analysed for (226)Ra content using a gas flow proportional counter following Ba coprecipitation. Two (226)Ra sources have been identified: direct discharges from the industrial complex and run-off from a phosphogypsum pile. Although activity levels are similar, or even higher, than those found in other environments affected by the phosphate industry, there has been a general decrease in contamination since direct discharges ceased in 1998 due to new regulations from the EU. However, sediments are now acting as a source of Ra to the water column due to redissolution processes. A numerical model of the estuary has been developed to describe quantitatively the experimental results. The model solves the hydrodynamics and the dispersion equation of (226)Ra including interactions with sediments. Model results are, in general, in good agreement with observations.     

An aromatase inhibitor and tamoxifen decrease plasma levels of o,p'-DDT and its metabolites in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

The objective of this study was to determine if tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor (4-hydroxyandrostenedione; 4-OHA) affected plasma concentrations of o,p' -DDT and its metabolites, o,p'-DDD and o,p'-DDE, in mature tilapia. Male and female tilapia were injected 6 times intraperitoneally with o,p'-DDT (40 mg/kg) alone or in combination with 4-OHA (2 mg/kg) over a 12 day period. An additional group of male fish was injected with tamoxifen (5 mg/kg) plus o,p'-DDT. At the end of the treatment period, plasma samples were extracted and analyzed by GC/ECD. Females injected only with o,p'-DDT had significantly higher levels of o,p'-DDT compared with males. Interestingly, females and males treated concomitantly with o,p'-DDT and 4-OHA or tamoxifen had significantly lower concentrations of plasma o,p'-DDT (about 50%) compared with fish treated with only o,p'-DDT. These initial results suggest that an interaction between endocrine-active compounds occurs in vivo in tilapia and may involve alterations in metabolism of o,p'-DDT.     

A comparative mineralogical study of gas-related sediments of the Gulf of Cádiz

The Gulf of Cádiz area has been extensively surveyed in recent years and several gas-related fluid escape seafloor structures have been identified. In this study, gravity cores, collected during the ANASTASYA/00 and ANASTASYA/01 cruises, on mud volcanoes, hemipelagic sediments and dredged material from diapiric structures, have been studied. A comparative mineralogical analysis by XRD and SEM of samples from different areas has been performed in order to determine whether there is a characteristic mineralogy related to these fluid escape structures, and also to determine the origin of the mud matrix and constrain the depth of the parent units. The mineralogical analysis reflects the different origins of the different units described in the cores: hemipelagic material of the slope, clays that underlie the mud volcanoes and are discharged at the sea bottom surface, and authigenic and diagenetic minerals possibly involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane in the mud volcano sediments.     

Mercury speciation in surface and deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea

Mercury speciation and its distribution in surface and deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea were studied during two oceanographic cruises on board the Italian research vessel URANIA in summer 2003 and spring 2004 as part of the Med Oceaneor and MERCYMS projects. The study included deep water profiles of dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM), reactive Hg (RHg), total Hg (THg), monomethyl Hg (MeHg) and dimethyl Hg (DMeHg) in open ocean waters. Average concentrations of measured Hg species were characterized by seasonal and spatial variations. Overall average THg concentrations ranged between 0.41 and 2.65 pM (1.32 ± 0.48 pM) and were comparable to those obtained in previous studies of the Mediterranean Sea. A significant fraction of Hg was present as “reactive” Hg (average 0.33 ± 0.32 pM). Dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM), which consists mainly of Hg⁰, represents a considerable proportion of THg (average 20%, 0.23 ± 0.11 pM). The portion of DGM typically increased towards the bottom, especially in areas with strong tectonic activity (Alboran Sea, Strait of Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea), indicating its geotectonic origin. No dimethyl Hg was found in surface waters down to the depth of 40 m. Below this depth, its average concentration was 2.67 ± 2.9 fM. Dissolved fractions of total Hg and MeHg were measured in filtered water samples and were 0.68 ± 0.43 pM and 0.29 ± 0.17 pM for THg and MeHg respectively. The fraction of Hg as MeHg was in average 43%, which is relatively high compared to other ocean environments. The concentrations reported in this study are among the lowest found in marine environments and the quality of analytical methods are of key importance. Speciation of Hg in sea water is of crucial importance as THg concentrations alone do not give adequate data for understanding Hg sources and cycling in marine environments. For example, photoinduced transformations are important for the presence of reactive and elemental mercury in the surface layers, biologically mediated reactions are important for the production/degradation of MeHg and DGM in the photic zones of the water column, and the data for DGM in deep sea indicate the natural sources of Hg in geotectonicaly active areas of the Mediterranean Sea.     

Onshore Neogene stratigraphy in the North of the Alboran Sea (Betic Internal Zones): Paleogeographic implications

The Neogene is the period in which the Betic Cordillera, the Rif, and the Alboran Sea acquired their present configuration. The Neogene sediments of the Betic Internal Zones (located directly to the North of the Alboran Sea) show the effects of important periods of deformation. Deposition was clearly controlled by tectonics. Therefore the generation, evolution, and total or partial destruction of basins and the formation of new, often superimposed, basins are common phenomena, according to the locations of the basins in the Betic Cordillera and to the different geodynamic situations.     

Phosphate adsorption and desorption in a tropical estuary (Maracaibo system)

The Maracaibo Estuary is of particular interest because of its location in the tropics, its large size (over 12,000 km²), the economic importance of its underlying hydrocarbon deposits and its increasing rate of pollution. Sediments from this estuary were studied in order to characterise their capacity to adsorb and desorb phosphorus. Considerable variability in capacity for phosphate sorption was found among the seventeen samples studied. This variability can be attributed first to the differences among the samples in total P content and, secondly, to their differences in free iron content. Also, it appears that P retention contributes to the control of P concentration in the water and therefore the sediments serve as a buffer in controlling P eutrophication in the estuary.     

Three-Dimensional Velocity Field and Cross-Frontal Water Exchange in the Kuroshio Extension

A spread of warm water from the first crest of the Kuroshio Extension is periodically enhanced by northward warm water intrusions from the main current. The water type in the spread area was previously found to be the same as that in the Kuroshio front at depth. In looking for the possible mechanism responsible for the northward warm water intrusions, a dynamic analysis in the Kuroshio front was carried out by using CTD, ADCP, AVHRR and ARGOS buoy data, obtained in 1996 by the R.V. Hakuho Maru. Downstream, cross-stream and vertical velocities in the Kuroshio Extension were found by using a "stream coordinate system". The velocity field in the Kuroshio front at the first crest showed a double structure with two surface velocity maxima. In the inner part of the front, relatively high cross-stream (northward) and vertical (upward) velocities were found. Thus, this study suggests that while water particles flow downstream along the first stationary meander of the Kuroshio Extension, they also experience lateral and vertical movements which allow the deeper water from an upstream location to rise to the surface layer, and in certain locations to deflect northward. By assuming isopycnal movement and conservation of potential vorticity, it was found that in those locations where anticyclonic curvature of the meander increases, warm water is more likely to deflect northward. High ageostrophic components observed in the first 300 m of the water column are probably related to the relatively high cross-stream and vertical velocities in the inner part of the front.     

The Equatorial Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel: An Ultra High-Resolution Image of Its Burial History Based on TOPAS Profiles

Multibeam bathymetric and ultra high-resolution seismic data reveal that the distal course of the Equatorial Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (EAMOC) extends further east and south than was previously known, and is controlled by the presence of morphologic highs related to the Fernando de Noronha Fracture Zone. Distal course of the EAMOC is buried by sediments, and does not have bathymetric expression on the seafloor. The channel fill consists of three seismic sequences, suggesting that the recent geological evolution of the channel is composed of successive phases of decreasing sedimentary activity that finally resulted in its complete burial. Tectonic and volcanic activity related to the Fernando de Noronha Fracture Zone and Ridge, together with the effect of strong pulses of the Antarctic bottom water current during the upper Pliocene are suggested to have contributed to the progressive burial and the final abandonment of the EAMOC.