A global wave parameter database for geophysical applications. Part 1: Wave-current–turbulence interaction parameters for the open ocean based on traditional parameterizations

Ocean surface mixing and drift are influenced by the mixed layer depth, buoyancy fluxes and currents below the mixed layer. Drift and mixing are also functions of the surface Stokes drift U_ss, volume Stokes transport T_S, a wave breaking height scale H_swg, and the flux of energy from waves to ocean turbulence Φ_oc. Here we describe a global database of these parameters, estimated from a well-validated numerical wave model, that uses traditional forms of the wave generation and dissipation parameterizations, and covers the years 2003–2007. Compared to previous studies, the present work has the advantage of being consistent with the known physical processes that regulate the wave field and the air–sea fluxes, and also consistent with a very large number of in situ and satellite observations of wave parameters. Consequently, some of our estimates differ significantly from previous estimates. In particular, we find that the mean global integral of Φ_oc is 68 TW, and the yearly mean value of T_S is typically 10–30% of the Ekman transport, except in well-defined regions where it can reach 60%. We also have refined our previous estimates of U_ss by using a better treatment of the high frequency part of the wave spectrum. In the open ocean, U_ss  0.013U₁₀, where U₁₀ is the wind speed at 10 m height.     

<Emphasis>H</Emphasis>ydrological variability of the <Emphasis>S</Emphasis>oummam watershed <Emphasis>(N</Emphasis>ortheastern <Emphasis>A</Emphasis>lgeria<Emphasis>)</Emphasis> and the possible links to climate fluctuations

The long-term variability of rainfall in the Soummam watershed (NE Algeria) has been analysed over the past 108 years using continuous wavelet method in order to identify the interannual modes controlling the rainfall variability. Statistical analyses of rainfall timeseries have shown its distribution following five periods of time, limited by a series of discontinuities around 1935, 1950, 1970 and 1990. The continuous wavelet transform have demonstrated different low frequency modes: 2–4, 4–8, 8–16 and 16–32 years.The annual band is expanded during the full study period with some pics around 1905, 1920–1935 and 1960; it shows a negative long-term trend, in particular since the period 1970–1990 when a major change has been identified. Then, the relationships between climate patterns of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and the hydrological variability in the frequency domain have been investigated; they have shown a mean explained variance of 40 and 24 %, respectively. Such variances are less obvious for the annual mode and increase for the interannual frequencies. The coherence suffer from high perturbations since the period 1970–1990 when the NAO (SOI) shifts from negative (positive) phases to positive (negative) ones. Such anomalies are responsible for significant changes of rainfall variability, emphasising the global warming effects.     

Environmental controls on clay mineralogy of an Early Jurassic mudrock (Blue Lias Formation,southern England)

We present a dataset including clay mineralogy, gamma-ray spectrometry, organic matter content and magnetic susceptibility of the Hettangian to lowest Sinemurian successions of Dorset and Somerset, southern UK (Blue Lias Formation, Bristol Channel and Wessex basins). In both areas, the clay assemblages comprise predominantly detrital illite, kaolinite and illite/smectite mixed layers. Clays probably originated from the erosion of the Hercynian massifs, the relative proportions of kaolinite and illite being modulated by arid-humid climatic fluctuations. The organic matter (OM) content (types II to IV) ranges up to 12% in both areas. A clear stratigraphical trend in clay mineral assemblages is apparent in Somerset, whereas in Dorset sharp contrasts between adjacent horizons and a greater dilution by carbonate mask the long-term evolution. Correlations between both areas based on similar vertical trends in clay mineral abundance support the suggestion of a hiatus within the angulata Zone of the Dorset succession. As expected, the kaolinite/illite ratio correlates with the Th/K ratio deduced from gamma-ray spectrometry. However, significant departures from the correlation occur in OM-rich intervals, suggesting that Th may be partly adsorbed on to OM particles. Surprisingly, high magnetic susceptibility correlates with abundant kaolinite, not with Fe-rich clays, indicating either that kaolinite is accompanied by a soil-inherited magnetisable phase (possibly iron oxide) or that illite-rich rocks are more strongly diluted by carbonate than are kaolinite-rich strata.     

The Influence of the Solar Coronal Radiation on Coronal Plasma Structures,I: Determination of the Incident Coronal Radiation

Coronal structures receive radiation not only from the solar disc, but also from the corona. This height-dependent incident radiation plays a crucial role in the excitation and the ionisation of the illuminated plasma. The aim of this article is to present a method for computing the detailed incident radiation coming from the solar corona, which is perceived at a point located at an arbitrary height. The coronal radiation is calculated by integrating the radiation received at a point in the corona over all of the corona visible from this point. The emission from the corona at all wavelengths of interest is computed using atomic data provided by CHIANTI. We obtain the spectrum illuminating points located at varying heights in the corona at wavelengths between 100 and 912 Å when photons can ionise H or He atoms and ions in their ground states. As expected, individual spectral lines will contribute most at the height within the corona where the local temperature is closest to their formation temperature. As there are many spectral lines produced by many ions, the coronal intensity cannot be assumed to vary in the same way at all wavelengths and so must be calculated for each separate height that is to be considered. This code can be used to compute the spectrum from the corona illuminating a point at any given height above the solar surface. This brings a necessary improvement to models where an accurate determination of the excitation and ionisation states of coronal plasma structures is crucial.     

Seasonal succession of cyanoprokaryotes in a hypereutrophic oligo-mesohaline lagoon from the South of France

The Bolmon lagoon (South of France) is an oligo-mesohaline coastal lagoon that has undergone intense eutrophication in the past decades, resulting from a strong concentration of human activities in its drainage basin. Consequently, it exhibits some characteristics typical of an advanced trophic state; namely, the disappearance of submerged vegetation, the permanently intense phytoplankton growth and the recurrence of cyanoprokaryote blooms. As cyanoprokaryote dominance in south-temperate saline lagoons is little reported, we carried out this study in order to understand the seasonal variations in the phytoplankton composition and biomass, and to analyse the influence of environmental parameters such as salinity, nutrients and climate on the seasonal succession of species. In this lagoon, the phytoplankton was permanently dominated by cyanoprokaryotes, probably because of high availability of nutrients, low light penetration in the water column and frequent turbulent mixing induced by wind. The two most abundant species Planktothrix agardhii (in winter–spring) and Pseudanabaena limnetica (in summer) have low light requirements and are well adapted to a high mixing frequency, which defines the S1 functional group in Reynolds' typology for phytoplankton. Although widely studied in north-temperate lakes, blooms of these typically freshwater species are almost unreported in the Mediterranean area, especially in brackish ecosystems that are not their normal habitat. In the Bolmon lagoon, all their requirements for nutrients, light and mixing are satisfied and they seem to cope with a moderate presence of salt but P. agardhii was less competitive than P. limnetica at highest salinities, the latter being probably more halophytic. Contrary to the observations in lakes located at higher latitudes, the Mediterranean climate seems to induce a typical seasonal pattern of succession characterised by the dominance of P. agardhii (winter) – Chroococcales (spring) – Pseudanabaenaceae (summer) – P. agardhii (autumn, winter). The warm temperatures seemed to have a major influence on the phytoplankton succession, being responsible for the survival of Planktothrix during winter and its rapid and intense development in early spring. Intense mixing and high irradiance in summer promoted the development of Pseudanabaenaceae, as reported in another south-temperate lagoon, the Albufera of Valencia (Spain). The ecological success of Oscillatoriales observed in the Bolmon lagoon is a perfect example of a shift to the “turbid stable state” as proposed for freshwater shallow lakes only. Our work demonstrated that hypereutrophic Mediterranean lagoons can function very similarly to shallow lakes at higher latitudes; but the warmer climate and higher irradiances are probably responsible for differences in the seasonal pattern of species dominance.     

Depositional environment of a Kimmeridgian carbonate 'black band' (Akkuyu Formation, south-western Turkey)

The Upper Jurassic Akkuyu Formation of south-western Turkey consists of pale-coloured carbonate facies, but includes a peculiar ‘black band’ at its base. In order to characterize the depositional environment of this level, a sedimentological, organic and inorganic geochemical study was performed on 30 samples. Three units are distinguished. Unit 1 consists of black marlstones, very rich in organic carbon (22–30%) with HI (hydrogen index) values around 600. The organic matter is an amorphous homogeneous material even at nanoscopic scale. This unit is also characterized by a very high concentration of V ( >1000 p.p.m.) and a δ¹³C_org value around ?26·5‰. Unit 2 shows thin-bedded black limestones with chert layers. Its organic content varies from 2% to 6%. As in unit 1, the HI values are uniformly high (600), and gas chromatography shows a high quantity of hopanes. The V concentration is also high (≈400 p.p.m.). The unit has a high Sr/Ca ratio, an organic carbon isotopic ratio close to ?28·7‰ and diffuse, nanoscopically amorphous organic material that is closely associated with pyrite. Unit 3 corresponds to the white limestones overlying the ‘black band’. This calcitic facies is almost devoid of organic carbon (<0·1%). The δ¹³C_org values are similar to those of unit 1 (?25·5‰ to ?26‰). Deposition occurred in a basinal environment surrounded by a carbonate platform. Primary productivity was high but not exceptional; terrestrial organic inputs were scarce. Bottom waters were probably euxinic during the deposition of unit 1. The presence of both hopane-rich and sulphur-rich nanoscopically amorphous organic matter may be the result of strong sulphate-reducing bacterial activity. Coupled with low amounts of iron, this led to intense vulcanization of the organic matter and thus good preservation. With the onset of unit 2 deposition, environmental conditions became less extreme, perhaps because of cooler water temperatures. Finally, the depositional conditions became oxic, leading to the accumulation of pale-coloured organic-poor limestones of unit 3.     

Ecosystem Responses of the Subtropical Kaneohe Bay,Hawaii, to Climate Change: A Nitrogen Cycle Modeling Approach

The global coastal zone is characterized by high biological productivity and serves as an important channel through which materials are transferred from land to the open ocean, yet little is known how it will be affected by climate change. Here, we use Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, a semi-enclosed subtropical embayment partially surrounded by a mountainous watershed and fed by river runoff as an example to explore the potential impact of climate change on the pelagic and benthic cycling of nitrogen. We employ a nine-compartment nitrogen cycle biogeochemical box model and perturb it with a set of four idealized climate scenarios. We find that hydrological changes play a dominant role in determining the ecosystem structure, while temperature changes are more important for the trophic state and stability of the ecosystem. The ecosystem stability against storm events does not significantly change under any scenario. The system remains autotrophic in the future; however, it becomes significantly less autotrophic under drier climate, while it turns slightly more autotrophic under wetter climate. These findings may have implications for other high island watershed and coastal ecosystems in the tropics and subtropics.     

Sedimentological and stratigraphic evolution of northern Lebanon since the Late Cretaceous: implications for the Levant margin and basin

This paper presents an updated review of the Upper Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentological and stratigraphic evolution of the Levant margin with a focus on the northern Lebanon. Facies and microfacies analysis of outcrop sections and onshore well cores (i.e., Kousba and Chekka) supported by nannofossil and planktonic foraminifers biostratigraphy, allowed to constrain the depositional environments prevailing in the Turonian to Late Miocene. The “Senonian” (a historical term used to define the Coniacian to Maastrichtian) source rock interval was subdivided into four sub-units with related outer-shelfal facies: (1) Upper Santonian, (2) Lower, (3) Upper Campanian, and (4) Lower Maastrichtian. This Upper Cretaceous rock unit marks the major drowning of the former Turonian rudist platform. This paper confirms the Late Lutetian to Late Burdigalian hiatus, which appears to be a direct consequence of major geodynamic events affecting the Levant region (i.e., the continued collision of Afro-Arabia with Eurasia), potentially enhanced by regressional cycles (e.g., Rupelian lowstand). The distribution of Late Burdigalian–Serravallian rhodalgal banks identified in northern Lebanon was controlled by pre-existing structures inherited from the pulsating onshore deformation. Reef barriers facies occur around the Qalhat anticline, separating an eastern, restricted back-reef setting from a western, coastal to open marine one. The acme of Mount Lebanon’s uplift and exposure is dated back to the Middle–Late Miocene; it led to important erosion of carbonates that were subsequently deposited in paleo-topographic lows. The Late Cretaceous to Cenozoic facies variations and hiatuses show that the northern Lebanon was in a higher structural position compared to the south since at least the Late Cretaceous.     

Two-dimensional modeling of fine sediment transport with mixed sediment and consolidation: Application to the Gironde Estuary,France

In order to optimize ship navigation in the macrotidal Gironde Estuary, a recent project funded by the port of Bordeaux aims at better understand and forecast hydrodynamic and fine sediment transport within the estuary. In the framework of this project, a two-dimensional hydro-sedimentary model is built. The model includes hydrodynamic forcings, mixed-sediment transport, and consolidation processes. The harmonic analysis of the astronomical tides reveals a strong distortion of the tidal wave inducing the growth of overtide constituents and the non-significant effect of tide-surge interactions in annual-scale prediction. Depending on hydrological conditions, river discharge can considerably alter the model accuracy due to the migration of the turbidity maximum zone modifying the bottom roughness. Comparison with measurements shows the ability of the model to reproduce suspended-sediment concentrations in the central Estuary. Sensitivity of the model to sediment features has also been discussed in regard of suspended-sediment concentrations and fluid mud deposits. The model will be further coupled with ship squat predictions and a morphodynamic model.