Open sea berths for liquid bulk carriers

The transfer of liquid bulk through flexible transfer lines can be accomplished despite relatively large ship motions. For this reason, open sea berth terminals have replaced conventional harbors in many places. The thorough understanding of moored ships dynamics when subjected to waves, wind and currents, combined with the use of flexible dolphins, flexible fenders, asymmetric constant-tension winches and nylon tails permit us to design open sea berth terminals for relatively exposed areas. The design of an integrated system of marine sensors to continuously monitor all the critical elements-ship motion and mooring and fender forces-will enhance the operational procedure whilst insuring safe operations. A berth code can then be established for insuring the maximum efficiency of the terminal on the basis of the measurement of these critical elements.     

Multi-scale variability of beach profiles at Duck: A wavelet analysis

Beach profiles have been observed to change over a range of spatial and temporal scales; however techniques for quantifying this variability have not been fully established. In this paper, a wavelet technique is introduced as a method to study the multi-scale variability of beach profiles. The beach profile data comprising a 22-year time series surveyed at the US Army Corps of Civil Engineers Field Research Facility (FRF) at Duck are analysed using the adapted maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (AMODWT). The analysis successfully identifies strong local features in the variability of beach profiles in time and space separately that cannot be isolated by traditional statistical methods. The analysis of spatial wavelet variances provides a new means of investigating the depth of closure. Analysis of variances by temporal scales shows that the combined effects of several temporal scales with one or two dominant scales can be seen at particular points across profiles whilst the dominant temporal scales are different at different portions of the profiles. The method allows for the extremely nonstationary behaviour of beach profile to be analysed into separate frequency bands that can facilitate the interpretation of morphological changes in terms of physical processes.     

Paleomonsoon precipitation deduced from a sediment core from the equatorial Indian Ocean

Rapid shifts in past climate recorded in polar ice sheets have elicited various explanations relating to either thermohaline circulation changes by ice-rafting or natural greenhouse gas concentrations modulated by climatic conditions in the tropics. To compare the tropical paleoclimate record with the polar record, one must choose sediment cores from highly productive ocean regions. Necessarily, such regions reflect the wind records in the tropics, because high productivity is associated with upwelling driven by winds. Comparing tropical precipitation records with high-latitude records is, however, a more difficult task because sediments recording paleoprecipitation usually have low sedimentation rates, and offer coarser resolution relative to polar ice cores. Here, we present δ ¹⁸O data of three planktonic species of Foraminifera (a proxy for precipitation) from such a sediment core, spanning the past 35 ka for the equatorial Indian Ocean, which falls under the southwest monsoon (SWM) realm. Results show that minimum SWM precipitation occurred at the Last Glacial Maximum, with a subsequent increase at Termination IA. During the Holocene, SWM precipitation intensified uniformly up to the core top (∼2.2 ka b.p.), as revealed by generally decreasing δ ¹⁸O values. Variations in precipitation are consistent with climate changes recorded in polar ice sheets. Although the different resolutions of the two records preclude a rigorous comparison, abrupt cooling/warming events appear to be accompanied by sudden reduction/enhancement in (SWM) rainfall. Thus, mechanisms with time scales much shorter than a millennium, such as natural greenhouse warming (e.g., CH₄ concentration), controlled by emissions from the tropics, could have played a major role in high-latitude climate change.     

Shipborne GPS attitude determination during MMST-93

The attitude parameters of a ship underway were measured using a configuration of four 10-channel NovAtel Model 951 narrow-correlator-spacing receivers. These C/A code receivers have output rates of up to 10 Hz and maintain effective carrier phase lock under relatively harsh ship dynamics. The attitude parameters are calculated independently at each epoch using differential carrier phase measurements, carrier phase ambiguities are resolved on-the-fly by constraining the approximately known distances between the antennas that are rigidly mounted on the ship. Carrier phase thermal noise and multipath are minimized by mounting the antennas as far apart as possible. The four-antenna configuration provides redundancy and further improves accuracy. During the Matthew Motion Sensor Trials (MMST-93) conducted off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in June-July 1993, the GPS-derived attitude parameters were compared with those obtained with a Honeywell HG1050 ring laser gyro inertial navigation system (INS) which provides roll and pitch with an accuracy of 15 arcsecs and heading with an accuracy of 2 arcmins. To simulate rough weather conditions, sharp maneuvers were performed to induce roll angles in excess of 10°. No accuracy degradation nor any loss of GPS measurements occurred. The RMS agreement between GPS and INS derived attitude parameters is better than 2 arcmins in heading, 1 arcmin in pitch and 3 arcmins in roll. This level of accuracy demonstrates the capability of GPS for cost-effective shipborne attitude determination at an accuracy level of 0.05     

Notes The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)

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A Preliminary Study of Shear Wave in Seafloor Surface Sediments

This article preliminarily reports and analyses the transmission characteristics and behaviors of shear wave in the offshore seafloor surface sediments in China, discusses the relationships between the physical and mechanical features of the shear wave and the compression wave, and compares the testing results with that of Hamilton and Chen et al. The result shows that the shear wave can be tested if the seafloor surface sediment has tangent modulus. The shear wave velocity ranges from 50-600 m/s and the measuring frequency from 50-200 kHz. The sound velocity rate of shear wave and compression wave can be used to appraise the stress-strain feature of seafloor surface sediments. This study provides a basis for further describing and appraising the seafloor sedimentary acoustic-mechanical feature and building a geological-acoustic model on China's offshore sea area.     

湄洲湾夏季油的分布特征与防护对策

本文根据１９９２年夏季对湄洲湾水质环境质量调查资料，对该海区海水中油的含量及分布特征进行了分析研究。结果表明：湄洲湾夏季表层海水油的含量为５－５１μｇ／ｄｍ＾３，平均值为１９．８μｇ／ｄｍ＾３。海水的混合系数较小，高潮和低潮时油含量分布的差异，除了与陆源污染源分布有关外，主要是由水文动力学条件所决定。     

黄渤海底层盐度预报方法的研究

根据二维流体动力学方程和深度平均盐度扩散方程在河口径流量以及蒸发和降水之差为已知情况下构成的闭合方程组,预报出深度平均盐度,然后利用底层盐度与深度平均盐度、水深和时间(月)之间的经验关系,给出底层盐度的二维预报。为了检验试报结果的可靠性,文中将黄渤海底层盐度的试报结果(1979年7月11日,时效为3d)与标准断面观测资料(7月4—14日观测,124.5°E以西,共104站)作一粗略比较。比较表明,试报结果与实测值的相关系数为0.96,均方误差为α=0.26,绝对误差小于0.2和0.3的站数分别占总站数的63.5％和77.0％,而总均绝差为0.19。由此可见,试报的效果是令人满意的。     

关于胶莱盆地东南缘基性火山熔岩喷发时代上限的讨论

首次对采自青岛即墨WN部两个深钻孔中新鲜玄武岩样品进行Rb-Sr同位素测年,测定年龄值为65.77±13.6Ma。认为该年龄值代表了胶莱盆地东南缘基性火山熔岩喷发的时代上限,对于整个胶莱盆地中基性火山岩的划分和对比具重要的年代学意义。