High-Resolution Modeling of Semidiurnal Internal Tidal Waves in the Laptev Sea in the Ice-Free Period: Their Dynamics and Energetics

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The QUODDY-4 three-dimensional finite-element hydrostatic model has been used to reproduce the spatial distributions of dynamic and energetic...     

Weak dependence of the SWAN wave model on hydrodynamic properties of sea bottom

The third generation of the SWAN wave model is modified by the incorporation of new resistance laws for hydrodynamically rough, incompletely rough (smoothly rough), and smooth underlying surfaces. A modified model is used to determine the functional dependences of wave parameters (such as the dimensionless energy of waves and the dimensionless spectral peak frequency) on a dimensionless fetch. The results of calculations are compared to the experimental data obtained in Lake George (northeastern Australia), which has a nearly constant depth and extended, nearly rectilinear segments of coast. The SWAN model is shown to depend weakly on hydrodynamic properties of the sea bottom: distinctions arising from changes in hydrodynamic properties of the sea bottom are smaller than the variances of experimental estimates.     

Discovery of the Late Triassic (Middle Carnian–Rhaetian) radiolarians in the volcano-sedimentary sequences of the Kocali Complex,SE Turkey: Correlation with the other Tauride units

The Kocali Complex in SE Turkey includes pelagic sediments (pelagic limestones, cherts, etc.), basic volcanic rocks of oceanic crust origin together with platform-derived sediments. Its depositional age was previously assigned as Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous. In order to study the radiolarian contents of volcano-sedimentary sequences in this complex, six stratigraphic sections have been measured mainly at the NE and NW Adiyaman city.Radiolarian faunas from these stratigraphic sections reveal that the age of these sequences ranges from middle Carnian to Rhaetian. Based on these data, the depositional age of the complex is older than the previously assigned. Lithological characteristics (widespread Triassic basic volcanic rocks associated with pelagic sediments) and radiolarian contents of these sequences have close similarities with the sequences of the Alakircay Nappe of the Antalya Nappes in western and central Taurides.Based on taxonomic studies, 99 taxa have been determined of which one genus (Adiyamanium) and four species (Monocapnuchosphaera kocaliensis, Paronaella speciosa, Ferresium okuyucui and Adiyamanium crassum) are described as new.     

Kinematics of landslide estimated by repeated GPS measurements in the Avcilar region of Istanbul, Turkey

The aim of this study is to analyze the spatial and temporal behavior of the landslide located in Avcilar region which is situated between Kucukcekmece and Buyukcekmece Lakes in the north-west of Marmara region, Turkey. A network consisting of 10 sites has been surveyed four times from November 2007 to May 2009 using Global Positioning System (GPS). The deformation analysis has been applied to determine the landslide movement parameters of the sites using GPS measurements of the four epochs. The reliable and high precision deformation rates are presented in terms of displacement vectors, velocity vectors and changes of accumulated strain. Landslides of the region are characterized from a regional GPS network. Each site has statistically different temporal behavior and significant relative motions and the region has irregular landslide movements.     

Vineyard site suitability analysis by use of multicriteria approach applied on geo-spatial data

Abstract

In this research, multicriteria decision analysis with pairwise comparison weighting method was utilized to determine the suitable locations for vineyard plantation in Sarkoy region of Turkey. Soil maps, meteorological measurements, slope, aspect and elevation maps were used as input to conduct spatial analysis. Different methods were compared and pairwise comparison method was identified as the most appropriate method of weighting for this spatial analysis. Current vineyard areas were determined using Worldview-2 imagery and their spatial distribution compared with the resulting suitability map to determine the current suitability. Comparisons showed current vineyards were mostly established in locations where suitability map expresses low capability. Further inspection unveiled that, these low capability lands are closer to the transportation networks and city/county centres that tend to be in sea level elevations as opposed to vine grapes thriving in higher altitudes. Results also enabled providing suggestions on alternative sites for new vineyard plantation.     

Influence of the White Sea on tides in adjacent marginal seas of the North European Basin

An investigation into the interaction of surface M ₂ tides in the system of marginal seas of the North European Basin is carried out using the three-dimensional finite-element hydrostatic model QUODDY-4. Three numerical experiments are performed for this purpose. In the first (control), the model equations are solved in the system of the Norwegian, Greenland, Barents, and White seas; thereby the interaction of the tides in these seas is explicitly taken into account. In the second experiment, the White Sea is excluded from consideration and the no-flux condition is posed at the entrance to the sea. The third experiment uses an approach in which the observed tidal elevations that determine the existence of a finite horizontal transport of barotropic energy to the White Sea are specified at the open boundary of the White Sea. It is shown that changes in tidal dynamics represented by changes in the amplitudes and phases of tidal elevations and in the barotropic tidal velocity ellipse parameters are within the model noise in experiments 2 and 3 when compared with the control experiment. On the contrary, changes in energy characteristics (the horizontal wave transport, density, and dissipation rate of barotropic tidal energy) are equal to or greater (in order of magnitude) than the energy characteristics themselves.     

Statistical aspects of Parkfield earthquake sequence and Parkfield prediction experiment

This note discusses three interconnected statistical problems concerning the Parkfield sequence of moderate earthquakes and the Parkfield prediction experiment: (a) Is it possible that the quasi-periodic Parkfield sequence of characteristic earthquakes is no uncommon, specific phenomenon (the research hypothesis), but can be explained by a preferential selection from available earthquake catalogs? To this end we formulate the null hypothesis (earthquakes occur according to the Poisson process in time and their size follows the Gutenberg-Richter relation). We test whether the null hypothesis can be rejected as an explanation for the Parkfield sequence. (b) If the null hypothesis cannot be refuted, what is the probability of magnitude m ≥ 6 earthquake occurrence in the Parkfield region? (c) The direct goal of the Parkfield experiment is the registration of precursory phenomena prior to a m6 earthquake. However, in the absence of the characteristic earthquake, can the experiment resolve which of the two competing hypotheses is true in a reasonable time? Statistical analysis is hindered by an insufficiently rigorous definition of the research model and inadequate or ambiguous data. However, we show that the null hypothesis cannot be decisively rejected. The quasi-periodic pattern of intermediate size earthquakes in the Parkfield area is a statistical event likely to occur by chance if it has been preferentially selected from available earthquake catalogs. The observed magnitude-frequency curves for small and intermediate earthquakes in the Parkfield area agree with the theoretical distribution computed on the basis of a modified Gutenberg-Richter law (gamma distribution), using deformation rates for the San Andreas fault. We show that the size distribution of the Parkfield characteristic earthquakes can also be attributed to selection bias. According to the null hypothesis, the yearly probability of a m ≥ 6 earthquake originating in the Parkfield area is less than 1%, signifying that several more decades of observation may be needed before the expected event occurs. By its design, the Parkfield experiment cannot be expected to yield statistically significant conclusions on the validity of the research hypothesis for many decades.     

Human-Induced Changes in the Diatom Communities of Lake Imandra

The results of the analysis of diatoms from 25-cm-long cores of bottom sediments of Lake Imandra (the Kola Peninsula) are presented. Three phases of the human-induced transformation of the lake are identified on the basis of these data.     

Effect of ice cover on the dynamics and energetics of surface and internal tides in the white sea: Model estimates

The effect of ice cover on the dynamics and energetics of surface and internal tides in the White Sea is investigated using the three-dimensional finite-element hudrothermodynamic model QUODDY-4. The sea ice is represented as a continuous and motionless ice cover that can move vertically but not horizontally. It is assumed that the resulting changes in the tidal regime are the maximum possible in reference to those occurring in real conditions when, in the cold season, a continuous and motionless ice cover is ubiquitous only in Kandalaksha, Dvina, and Onega bays, while drift ices prevail in all other areas of the White Sea. It is shown that the effect of sea ice does not lead to a qualitative restructuring of the tidal regime. However, its quantitative changes prove to be significant, which indicates that the ice-induced seasonal variation in tidal characteristics in the White Sea is important.