Application of an oil spill vulnerability index to the shoreline of lower Cook Inlet,Alaska

Offshore tracts in Alaska's lower Cook Inlet are scheduled to be opened for exploratory petroleum drilling in the near future. Because of the potential for oil spills resulting from this activity, a field study of the coastal zone was conducted in June 1976. A total of 1216 km of shoreline was classified into 3 types: erosional (45 percent), neutral (38 percent), and depositional (17 percent). These were further subdivided into 16 subclasses on the basis of small scale morphological features. This classification was used in conjunction with a vulnerability index of potential oil spill damage, developed through study of three major oil spills, to predict the longevity of oil in the different coastal environments of the Inlet. On a scale from 1 to 10, 45 percent of the shoreline has low values of 1 to 4, which means that oil would be dispersed by natural processes within less than six months after a spill on these coasts. Values from 4 to 6 were assigned to 13.4 percent of the shoreline, where oil residence time may be up to one year. A 6 to 10 rating was assigned to 41.5 percent of the shoreline, where oil contamination may remain for periods of two to ten years, or possibly longer should no major clean-up procedures be initiated. We propose that the use of this type of vulnerability indexing, in conjunction with a biological susceptibility index and oil spill trajectory models, would provide a rational basis for decision making concerning the location of on- and off-shore oil facilities and the design of oil spill contingency plans.     

A simulation of inertial oscillation in drifting pack ice

A simple model for simulating the motion of pack ice during periods of energetic inertial oscillation is developed by writing an integrated momentum equation for the ice and upper ocean driven by surface wind stress. Damping is provided by a term proportional to the component of mass transport parallel to wind stress, which is a measure of the departure from a steady-state balance of wind stress and Coriolis force. Oceanic boundary-layer transport is taken to be proportional to the square of the surface velocity on the basis of extensive current measurements made under drifting ice, providing a relationship between ice velocity and total transport. Ice drift velocities measured at AIDJEX stations during the summer of 1975 are simulated with some success using measured local winds. A simple superposition of waves generated at the corners of the triangular array of stations is considered and it is shown that at times the waves are coherent across the 150 km array and at other times there is considerable interference at lesser scales. The importance of the motions for the production of new ice is briefly discussed.     

Decadal‐scale gravel beach evolution on a tectonically‐uplifting coast: Wellington,New Zealand

Uplift of the shoreline in tectonically‐active areas can have a profound influence on geomorphology changing the entire process dynamics of the coast as the landforms are removed from the influence of the sea. Over decadal timescales it is possible for the landforms to return to their pre‐earthquake condition and this paper examines the re‐establishment of mixed sand and gravel beaches on the coast of Wellington, New Zealand, subsequent to an uplift event in 1855. Over 60 topographic profiles were surveyed, seven sets of aerial photographs from a 67 year period were mapped and sediment size analyses conducted in order to quantify the nature of beach change following uplift, and associated relative sea level fall. These data were supported by surveys using ground penetrating radar. It is found that uplift raised the gravel beaches out of the swash zone thereby removing them from the littoral zone. Intertidal rocky reefs which occur between each embayment were also uplifted during the same event and completely interrupted the longshore transport system. Continued input of gravel material to the littoral zone allowed beaches to re‐establish sequentially along the coast as each embayment was infilled with sediment. This reconnection of the embayments with the longshore drift system is associated with the beach planform being initially drift dominated during infill but then switching to swash alignment once the embayment becomes infilled. This has resulted in shoreline accretion of over 100 m in some places, at rates of up to 4 m/yr, covering shore protection works built in the past few decades. The ability of the shore to adjust back to its pre‐uplift condition appears to be a function of the accommodation space created during uplift and the rate of sediment supply. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

土壤水分特征曲线模型模拟性能评价

土壤水分特征曲线模型作为实验测定土壤水分特征数据的一种替代方法,因其具有计算方便快捷和便于嵌入数值模拟程序的优点,开始受到越来越广泛的关注。虽然文献中存在众多的土壤水分特征曲线模型,但是这些模型的适用范围及拟合性能尚不明确。为了获得更加准确适用的土壤水分特征曲线,在实际应用中通常需要花费大量时间和精力去测试各种模型。为了解决上述问题,在国内外研究成果的基础上收集整理了12种典型的土壤水分特征曲线模型,并利用包含不同质地、有机质含量及容重的8种土壤的实测土壤水分特征数据来评估比较这些模型的模拟性能。模型性能通过均方根误差（RMSE）、平均偏差（AD）、AIC准则（Akaike Information Criterion）和纳什效率系数（NSE）4个指标评估。研究结果表明：大部分的模型能够提供比较接近于实际的拟合结果,评价指标值也比较相近。其中,KCGS2006（包含3个参数）和K1999模型（包含2个参数）拟合效果最好,而Gregson1987（包含1个参数）的拟合效果最差。该研究可以深入了解各种土壤水分特征曲线模型的适用性与局限性,更好地为生态环境建设和农业可持续发展研究中土壤水力参数的选取提供依据和参考。     

The impact of upland land management on flooding: results from an improved pasture hillslope

In response to growing concern about impacts of upland agricultural land management on flood risk, an intensely instrumented experimental catchment has been established at Pontbren, a sheep‐farmed headwater catchment of the River Severn, UK. Primary aims are to develop understanding of the processes governing flood generation and the associated impacts of land management practices, and to bridge the gap between process understanding and ability to predict effects on downstream flooding. To achieve this, the experiment is designed to operate at plot (～100 m²), hillslope (～0·1 km²) and small catchment scale (～10 km²). Hillslope‐scale data, from an under‐drained, agriculturally ‘improved’ pasture, show that drain flow is a dominant runoff process. However, depending on antecedent moisture conditions, overland flow may exceed drain flow rates and can be an important contributor to peak flow runoff at the hillslope‐scale. Flow, soil tension data and tracer tests confirm the importance of macropores and presence of perched water tables under ‘normal’ wet conditions. Comparisons of pasture runoff with that from within a 10 year‐old tree shelterbelt show significantly reduced overland flow due to the presence of trees and/or absence of sheep. Comparisons of soil hydraulic properties show significant increases in hydraulic conductivity and saturated moisture content of soil under trees compared to adjacent improved pasture. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Toward an improved understanding of thruster dynamics forunderwater vehicles

This paper proposes a novel approach to modeling the four quadrant dynamic response of thrusters as used for the motion control of ROV and AUV underwater vehicles. The significance is that these vehicles are small in size and respond quickly to commands. Precision in motion control will require further understanding of thruster performance than is currently available. The model includes a four quadrant mapping of the propeller blades lift and drag forces and is coupled with motor and fluid system dynamics. A series of experiments is described for both long and short period triangular, as well as square wave inputs. The model is compared favorably with experimental data for a variety of differing conditions and predicts that force overshoots are observed under conditions of rapid command changes. Use of the model will improve the control of dynamic thrust on these vehicles     

On the properties of magnetoacoustic surface waves

The nature of magnetoacoustic surface waves at a single magnetic interface, one side of which is field-free, is explored for the case of parallel propagation. The interface may support a slow surface wave or both slow and fast surface waves, depending upon the ordering of the sound speeds in the two media. Phase-speeds and penetration depths of the waves and the associated pressure perturbations and motions are investigated for a variety of field strengths and sound speeds. The fast wave disturbs the interface more than the slow wave. In the magnetic field region the slow wave is mainly longitudinal in nature whilst the fast surface wave is transverse for strong fields, longitudinal for weaker fields. In the field-free region both waves are longitudinal in character. The running penumbral wave phenomenon may provide an example of a magnetoacoustic surface mode, though any direct comparison requires the inclusion of gravitational effects.     

Nitrogen dynamics in nontidal littoral sediments: Role of microphytobenthos and denitrification

Previous measurements from cool microtidal temperate areas suggest that microphytobenthic incorporation of nitrogen (N) exceeds N removal by denitrification in illuminated shallow-water sediments. The present study investigates if this is true also for fully nontidal sediments in the Baltic Sea., Sediment-water fluxes of inorganic (DIN) and, organic nitrogen (DON) and oxygen, as well as denitrification, were measured in early autumn and spring, in light and dark, at four sites representing different sediment types. All sediments were autotrophic during the daytime both in the autumn and spring. On a 24-h time scale, they were autotrophic in the spring and heterotrophic in early autumn. Sediments funcitoned as sources of DIN and DON during the autumn and sinks during the spring, with DON fluxes dominating or being as important as DIN fluxes. Microphytobenthos (MPB) activity controlled fluxes of both DIN and DON. Significant differences between sites were found, although sediment type (sand or silt) had no consistent effect on the magnitude of MPB production or nutrient fluxes. The clearest effect related to sediment type was found for denitrification, although only in the autumn, with higher rates in silty sediments. Estimated N assimilation by MPB, based on both net primary production (0.7–6.5 mmol N m⁻² d⁻¹) and on 80% of gross primary production (1.9–9.4 mmol N m⁻² d⁻¹) far exceeded measured rates of denitrification (0.01–0.16 mmol N m⁻² d⁻¹). A theoretical calculation showed that MPB may incorporate between 40% and 100% of the remineralized N, while denitrification removes, <5%. MPB assimilation of N appears to be a far more important N consuming process than denitrification in these nontidal, shallow-water sediments.     

Astrophysically relevant radiation hydrodynamics experiment at the National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is capable of creating new and novel high-energy-density (HED) systems relevant to astrophysics. Specifically, a system could be created that studies the effects of a radiative shock on a hydrodynamically unstable interface. These dynamics would be relevant to the early evolution after a core-collapse supernova of a red supergiant star. Prior to NIF, no HED facility had enough energy to perform this kind of experiment. The experimental target will include a 340 ??m predominantly plastic ablator followed by a low-density SiO₂ foam. The interface will have a specific, machined pattern that will seed hydrodynamic instabilities. The growth of the instabilities in a radiation-dominated environment will be observed. This experiment requires a ??300?eV hohlraum drive and will be diagnosed using point projection pinhole radiography, which have both been recently demonstrated on NIF.     

Preparing for Climatic Change: The Water, Salmon, and Forests of the Pacific Northwest

The impacts of year-to-year and decade-to-decade climatic variations on some of the Pacific Northwest's key natural resources can be quantified to estimate sensitivity to regional climatic changes expected as part of anthropogenic global climatic change. Warmer, drier years, often associated with El Niño events and/or the warm phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, tend to be associated with below-average snowpack, streamflow, and flood risk, below-average salmon survival, below-average forest growth, and above-average risk of forest fire. During the 20th century, the region experienced a warming of 0.8 °C. Using output from eight climate models, we project a further warming of 0.5–2.5 °C (central estimate 1.5 °C) by the 2020s, 1.5–3.2°C (2.3 °C) by the 2040s, and an increase in precipitation except in summer. The foremost impact of a warming climate will be the reduction of regional snowpack, which presently supplies water for ecosystems and human uses during the dry summers. Our understanding of past climate also illustrates the responses of human management systems to climatic stresses, and suggests that a warming of the rate projected would pose significant challenges to the management of natural resources. Resource managers and planners currently have few plans for adapting to or mitigating the ecological and economic effects of climatic change.