Biodiversity of meiofauna in the intertidal khe nhan mudflat,can gio mangrove forest,vietnam with special emphasis on free living nematodes

The ecological aspect of meiofaunal communities in Can Gio mangrove forest, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam has not been investigated before. The composition, distribution, density and biodiversity of meiofaunal communities were studied along an intertidal transect at the Khe Nhan mudflat. Each time, three replicate samples were collected in four stations along a transect following the water line from low tide level up to the mangrove forest edge. In total, 18 meiofaunal taxa were found with the dominant taxa belonging to Nematoda, Copepoda, Sarcomastigophora and Polychaeta. The densities of meiofauna ranged from 1156 inds/10 cm² to 2082 inds/10 cm². The increase in densities from the mangrove forest edge towards the low water line was significant. Along the mudflat transect, the biodiversity (expressed by different indices) was relatively high at different taxonomic levels but did not vary significantly along the mudflat except for taxa richness. Eighty nematode genera belonging to 24 families with Comesomatidae having the highest abundance 33.8 % were found.Theristus andNeochromadora decreased in densities from the lower water line towards the mangrove forest edge, whileParacomesoma andHopperia are typical and more abundant at the middle of the mudflat.Halalaimus increased from high on the mudflat to the low water line.     

Effects of presence of a circumpolar region on buoyancy-driven circulation

Effects of the presence of a circumpolar region on buoyancy-driven circulation are investigated by using an idealized numerical ocean model. Comparison of circulation and meridional density (heat) transport is made between a closed ocean and an ocean with a cyclic gap near its southern boundary. The presence of the circumpolar region leads to disconnection of the meridional overturning across the circumpolar region. And the circumpolar eastward flow reaches the bottom of the ocean. It is essential for this that the pycnocline is deeper than the bottom of the gap. Since the amount of the mass transported northward must return southward at the levels deeper than the bottom of the cyclic gap, the weak stratification, hence weak vertical geostrophic shear, at the deeper levels leads to inactive communication across the circumpolar region. Meridional heat transport across the circumpolar region is made mainly by horizontal diffusion for the ocean with the cyclic gap, while the contribution of the advection is dominant for the closed ocean. Sensitivity of meridional heat transport to change in horizontal diffusivity is studied. The meridional heat transport for the ocean with the cyclic gap is more sensitive than for the closed ocean. The change in heat transport occurs not only in the circumpolar region but also in the rest of the ocean. It is suggested that subgrid scale phenomena, especially mesoscale eddies, in the circumpolar region controls the whole ocean to a great extent.     

Detection of buried targets using a synthetic aperture sonar

This paper presents observations of buried target detections made using a 20-kHz synthetic aperture sonar. At grazing angles below the critical angle, surprisingly high signal-to-noise detections were made of cylindrical targets buried at depths of 15 and 50 cm. During a separate set of measurements, buried spheres were clearly seen at steep grazing angles, but were generally not seen below the critical angle. Since scattering from wave-generated sand ripples may contribute to detections at grazing angles below critical angle, the information available on the ripple fields is discussed and used in acoustic backscatter simulations for the buried spheres. Lack of information on the ripple height precludes a definitive explanation for the absence of buried sphere detections at subcritical grazing angles.     

The thermohaline fields and currents measured in the sub-arctic frontal zone of the Pacific Ocean

Based on the MEGAPOLYGON data, it is shown that the large-scale elements of the thermohaline structure and the fields of currents in the baroclinic layer (down to 1200 m) are well coordinated. The circulation has a two-layer structure with a transitory layer at a depth of 1200 m. The topography of the isopycnic surface of the layer's core is formed under the influence of small-scale and mesoscale processes which realize the trans-frontal exchange.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

The study of intermittent hydrophysical fields in the vicinity of the frontal zone

CTD data provided by the MGI-4204 and MARK-III probes are used to study the quasistationary subpolar front structure in the north-western Sea of Japan. In order to provide further insights into the intermittent scalar hydrophysical fields, the method of inhomogeneity identification using temperature pulsations calculated by the moving interval is suggested. The experimentally-derived inhomogeneity distribution is satisfactorily approximated by the exponential law.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Joint Soviet-Turkish expedition in the Black Sea

The hydrological and hydrochemical structures of the upper 300 m water column of the Black Sea in autumn 1988 have been studied. Regularities in the distribution of the physico-chemical characteristics in the zone of interaction between aerobic and anaerobic waters as well as the topography of the H₂S zone boundary and its connection with a certain density gradient have been found.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.