Geoacoustic and physical properties of carbonate sediments of the Lower Florida Keys

 Near-surface sediment geoacoustic and physical properties were measured from a variety of unconsolidated carbonate sediments in the Lower Florida Keys. Surficial values of compressional and shear speed correlate with sediment physical properties and near-surface acoustic reflectivity. Highest speeds (shear 125–150 m s^-1; compressional 1670–1725 m s^-1) are from sandy sediments near Rebecca Shoal and lowest speeds (shear 40–65 m s^-1; compressional 1520–1570 m s^-1) are found in soft, silty sediments which collect in sediment ponds in the Southeast Channel of the Dry Tortugas. High compressional wave attenuation is attributed to scattering of acoustic waves from heterogeneity caused by accumulation of abundant shell material and other impedance discontinuities rather than high intrinsic attenuation. Compared to siliciclastic sediments, carbonate sediment shear wave speed is high for comparable values of sediment physical properties. Sediment fabric, rather than changes due to the effects of biogeochemical processes, is responsible for these differences.     

Nonlinear coupled response of offshore tension leg platforms to regular wave forces

Among the compliant platforms, the tension leg platform (TLP) is a vertically moored structure with excess buoyancy. The TLP is designed to behave in the same way as any other moored structure in horizontal plane, at the same time inheriting the stiffness of a fixed platform in the vertical plane. Dynamic response analysis of a TLP to deterministic first order wave forces is presented, considering coupling between the degrees-of-freedom surge, sway, heave, roll, pitch and yaw. The analysis considers nonlinearities produced due to changes in cable tension and due to nonlinear hydrodynamic drag forces. The wave forces on the elements of the pontoon structure are calculated using Airy's wave theory and Morison's equation ignoring diffraction effects. The nonlinear equation of motion is solved in the time domain by Newmark's beta integration scheme. The effects of different parameters that influence the response of the TLP are then investigated.     

On the monitoring of the thermal state of the upper ocean

This paper discusses some problems related to the development of systems of global monitoring of the sea surface temperature (SST). The characteristics of the operational SST data are considered and estimations of their accuracy are given. The applications of varoous models to the computation of SST in relation to the development of an oceanographic data assimilation system are reviewed briefly.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Sheet flow and suspension of sand in oscillatory boundary layers

after revisionTime-dependent measurements of flow velocities and sediment concentrations were conducted in a large oscillating water tunnel. The measurements were aimed at the flow and sediment dynamics in and above an oscillatory boundary layer in plane bed and sheet-flow conditions. Two asymmetric waves and one sinusoidal wave were imposed using quartz sand with D₅₀ = 0.21 mm. A new electro-resistance probe with a large resolving power was developed for the measurement of the large sediment concentrations in the sheet-flow layer. The measurements revealed a three layer transport system consisting of a pick-up/deposition layer, an upper sheet flow layer and a suspension layer.In the asymmetric wave cases the total net transport was directed “onshore” and was mainly concentrated in the thin sheet flow layer (< 0.5 cm) at the bed. A small net sediment flux was directed “offhore” in the upper suspension layer. The measured flow velocities, sediment concentrations and sedimenl fluxes showed a good qualitative agreement with the results of a (numerical) 1DV boundary-layer flow and transport model. Although the model did not describe all the observed processes in the sheet-flow and suspension layer, the computational results showed a reasonable agreement with measured net transport rates in a wide range of asymmetric wave conditions.     

A quantitative analysis on the Egyptian Mediterranean waters

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THE CLIMATIC CHANGES AND THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT

Although the Yellow River Delta and Bohai Sea coastal zone are long distance and different environment with Po River Delta and Adriatic Sea coastal zone, the comparison of data of two different areas and the evolution trend of two areas are quite similar. The influence of natural climatic changes on the evolution of the deltas and coastal zones exists both in ancient and modern times. The cold/wet period occurred in 1300—1400A. D. and 1550 —1850 A.D. within this"large scale" climatie cycle, and shorter periods (10— 35 years) of cold rainy weather alternated with warm/dry period are known as "Bruckner cycles" which have influence on the evolution of the deltas and coastal zones.     

Interference fringes on GLORIA side-scan sonar images from the Bering Sea and their implications

GLORIA side-scan sonographs from the Bering Sea Basin show a complex pattern of interference fringes sub-parallel to the ship's track. Surveys along the same trackline made in 1986 and 1987 show nearly identical patterns. It is concluded from this that the interference patterns are caused by features in the shallow subsurface rather than in the water column. The fringes are interpreted as a thin-layer interference effect that occurs when some of the sound reaching the seafloor passes through it and is reflected off a subsurface layer. The backscattered sound interferes (constructively or desctructively) with the reflected sound. Constructive/destructive interference occurs when the difference in the length of the two soundpaths is a whole/half multiple of GLORIA's 25 cm wavelength. Thus as range from the ship increases, sound moves in and out of phase causing bands of greater and lesser intensity on the GLORIA sonograph. Fluctuations (or wiggles) of the fringes on the GLORIA sonographs relate to changes in layer thickness. In principle, a simple three dimensional image of the subsurface layer may be obtained using GLORIA and bathymetric data from adjacent (parallel) ship's tracks. These patterns have also been identified in images from two other systems; SeaMARC II (12 kHz) long-range sonar, and TOBI (30 kHz) deep-towed sonar. In these, and other cases world-wide, the fringes do not appear with the same persistence as those seen in the Bering Sea.     

Effect of wave-directionality on second-order loads induced by the set-down

At first-order of approximation a sea-state may be considered as an infinite sum of Airy components with angular frequencies ω_i and wave-number vectors k_i. A second-order analysis shows the co-existence of long waves appearing at the difference frequencies ω_i—ω_j with wave-number vectors k_i—k_j. In shallow water they become appreciable in amplitudes and may induce slow-drift motion of moored structures.For small values of ω_i—ω_j,k_i—k_j may take all kinds of directions for an angular-spread wave system. Then it may be questioned how the in-line and transverse second-order accelerations compare to those obtained for a mono-directional wave-system.This analysis is carried out here by relating the spectra of the second-order horizontal accelerations to the directional wave-spectrum. Numerical applications are first performed for deep water. They show that at low frequencies, even for very narrowly spread wave systems, the transverse component is larger than the in-line component. In shallow water both components are dratically reduced as compared to the mono-directional case. As a consequence one may question the validity of model-testings or numerical models which take no account of the directionality of the wave-system.     

Imagery of the inhomogeneities of currents on the ocean surface state

The influence of inhomogeneities of surface currents on the intensity of breaking wind waves is considered and a model for the relation between whitecap contrasts and the tensor of current gradients is developed. The imagery of typical patterns of ocean currents is discussed. The results of field observations supporting this model are given.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.