Dynamics of an elastically moored floating body by the three-dimensional infinite element method

The three-dimensional problem of the dynamics of a moored floating object under the action of regular waves is solved numerically as a boundary value problem by use of the finite-infinite element method. The cross-sectional shape of the floating body and the mooring arrangements may all be arbitrary. The mathematical formulations of the problem and procedures of the numerical method are presented in this paper. A corresponding computer program WALOAD has been developed, which is capable of computing wave forces on fixed and floating structures. Numerical computations using this program could give very accurate results, even though rather coarse meshes were used. The program is easy to use and is readily applicable in many practical situations.     

Descriptive Analysis and Classification of Benthic Communities in Some Mediterranean Coastal Lagoons (Central Italy)

Abstract. Benthic samples were taken seasonally at 32 stations in five coastal lagoons of Central Italy (Fogliano, Monaci, Caprolace, Fondi, and Lungo) during a two-year period (1982–1984). Composition and distribution of benthic populations in each lagoon as well as seasonal trends of species richness, density, diversity, and redundancy are presented and discussed.
The faunal differentiation appeared to be mainly due to the different degree of water exchange, both with marine and continental systems.     

Theoretical wind wave frequency spectra in shallow water

The method developed by Wen et al. (1988 a) for deriving theoretical wind wave frequency spectrum in deep water is extended to the case of water of finite depth, in which a parameter η=H/d is introduced, where H and d represent the average wave height and water depth respectively. The derived spectra reduce to those in deep water when η=0. The case of η=1/2 corresponds to waves impending to break because of the effect of the bottom. Simplified forms of spectra are given. The theoretical results agree with the observed spectra well.     

Trace metals in selected organisms from the Adriatic sea

Extensive surveys were made to establish the concentrations of several metals (Zn, Cd, Pb, Cu and Hg) in various marine organisms from different parts of the Adriatic Sea in the period from 1979 to 1985. The results obtained are based on analyses which were performed in conjunction with carefully tested procedures. Proper sampling, sample storage, treatment of samples and final analytical determination has excluded artefacts which would influence the accuracy, or cause contamination and/or trace metal losses.The metal concentrations in shellfish from the coastal areas of the Adriatic Sea are in the range of the lowest values obtained for similar organisms from other localities throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Special attention has been paid to the anthropogenic influence on trace metal concentrations in organisms living in the vicinity of domestic sewage and/or industrial waste-water outflows.     

海带的一个自然突变型

在多细胞藻的遗传学研究中,被发现的突变型很少[1].绿藻中有一些突变型,其中较多的是某种石莼(Ulva mutabilis)[2].三浦昭雄等在紫菜中发现突变型.在褐藻中未见有突变型的报道.这里所报道的是海带(Laminaria japonica)的一个突变型.     

Sea-structure interaction for tripod-type steel gravity platform

The paper deals with a numerical integrated procedure to calculate the effects of the interaction between sea waves and a tripod-type steel gravity platform. The main aspects to be taken into account for a reliable wave loading analysis of such a new type of platform are emphasized. Among them, the field perturbation effect due to the large bodies presence is analysed. Finally, some principal results in terms of structure global loads obtained by the numerical integrated procedure are presented.     

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.     

Using ocean ambient noise for array self-localization and self-synchronization

Estimates of the travel times between the elements of a bottom hydrophone array can be extracted from the time-averaged ambient noise cross-correlation function (NCF). This is confirmed using 11-min-long data blocks of ambient noise recordings that were collected in May 1995 near the southern California coast at an average depth of 21 m in the 150-700 Hz frequency range. Coherent horizontal wavefronts emerging from the time derivative of the NCF are obtained across the array's aperture and are related to the direct arrival time of the time-domain Green's function (TDGF). These coherent wavefronts are used for array element self-localization (AESL) and array element self-synchronization (AESS). The estimated array element locations are used to beamform on a towed source.