Nutrient variability during El Niño 1997–98 in the California current system off central California

Nutrient conditions off central California during the 1997–98 El Niño are described. Data were collected on 11 cruises from March 1997 to January 1999 along a hydrographic section off central California, as well as every two weeks at a coastal station in Monterey Bay. Perturbations associated with El Niño are shown as anomalies of thermohaline and nutrient distributions along this section. The anomalies were obtained by subtracting seasonal averages for the period from April 1988 to April 1991 from the 1997–98 observations. The first indications of El Niño conditions (high sea levels) were observed at Monterey between late May and early June 1997, but the coastal nutricline did not begin to deepen until August 1997. It reached maximum depth of 130 dbar in January 1998 at the time that maximum sea level anomalies were observed. During this period: (1) the highest subsurface temperature anomalies coincided with subsurface nutrient anomaly minima at the depth of the pycnocline; (2) southern saline and nutrient-poor waters occupied the upper 80 dbar of the water column along the entire section; and (3) nitrate levels were close to zero in the euphotic zone, collapsing the potential new primary production in the coastal domain. At the end of February 1998, the nutricline shoaled to 40 dbar at the coast although it remained anomalously deep offshore. Higher temperatures and lower nutrient levels were observed for the entire section through August 1998 although in contrast with the previous winter, there was a strong freshening mainly due to an onshore movement of subarctic waters.     

Unusual large-scale phytoplankton blooms in the equatorial Pacific

Unusual large-scale accumulations of phytoplankton occurred across 10,000 km of the equatorial Pacific during the 1998 transition from El Niño to La Niña. The forcing and dynamics of these phytoplankton blooms were studied using satellite-based observations of sea surface height, temperature and chlorophyll, and mooring-based observations of winds, hydrography and ocean currents. During the bloom period, the thermocline (nutricline) was anomalously shallow across the equatorial Pacific. The relative importance of processes that enhanced nutrient flux into the euphotic zone differed between the western and eastern regions of the blooms. In the western bloom region, the important vertical processes were turbulent vertical mixing and wind-driven upwelling. In contrast, the important processes in the eastern bloom region were wave-forced shoaling of nutrient source waters directly into the euphotic zone, along-isopycnal upwelling, and wind-driven upwelling. Advection by the Equatorial Undercurrent spread the largest bloom 4500 km east of where it began, and advection by meridional currents of tropical instability waves transported the bloom hundreds of kilometers north and south of the equator. Many processes influenced the intricate development of these massive biological events. Diverse observations and novel analysis methods of this work advance the conceptual framework for understanding the complex dynamics and ecology of the equatorial Pacific.     

Surface heat fluxes and subsurface heat content at a site over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, May–July 1996

Observations from a surface mooring, in a weak-flow regime over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf, were used to derive surface heat fluxes for the period May–July 1996. Changes in heat content of the water column also were determined from subsurface temperature measurements. Agreement of net surface heat flux and change in heat content was within 2%. This result provides additional evidence that heat advection and diffusion are small in this region.     

Evaluation of long-term extreme response statistics of jack-up platforms

This paper is concerned with the models appropriate for the dynamic assessment of jack-ups, concentrating particularly on the long-term response due to random ocean waves and on work-hardening plasticity models used for spud-can response. A methodology for scaling of short-term statistics, calculated using a Constrained NewWave technique, is shown in a numerical experiment for an example jack-up and central North Sea location. The difference in long-term extreme response statistics due to various footing assumptions is emphasised. Results for two environmental load conditions are described (one excluding and one including wind and current effects) and the role of sea-state severity in the variation of short-term extreme response statistics is also highlighted.     

The Structure of A Turbulent Jet in A Crossflow-Effect of Jet-Crossflow Velocity

A comprehensive numerical study on the three-dimensional structure of a turbulent jet in crossflow is performed. The jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio (R) varies in the range of 2 - 16; both vertical jets and inclined jets without excess streamwise momentum are considered. The numerical results of the Standard two-equation k-ε model show that the turbulent structure can be broadly categorised according to the jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio. For strong to moderate jet discharges, i.e. R> 4, the jet is characterized by a longitudinal transition through a bent-over phase during which the jet becomes almost parallel with the main freestream, to a sectional vortex-pair flow with double concentration maxima; the computed flow details and scalar mixing characteristics can be described by self-similar relations beyond a dimensionless distance of around 20-60. The similarity coefficients are only weakly dependent on R. The cross-section scalar field is kidney-shaped and bifurcated, vvith distinct double concentr     

Evidence of NW extension of the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the Marmara Sea: a new interpretation of the Marmara Sea (Izmit) earthquake on 17 August 1999

Active faults aligning in NW–SE direction and forming flower structures of strike-slip faults were observed in shallow seismic data from the shelf offshore of Avcılar in the northern Marmara Sea. By following the parallel drainage pattern and scarps, these faults were traced as NW–SE-directed lineaments in the morphology of the northern onshore sector of the Marmara Sea (eastern Thrace Peninsula). Right-lateral displacements in two watersheds of drainage and on the coast of the Marmara Sea and Black Sea are associated with these lineaments. This right-lateral displacement along the course of these faults suggests a new, active strike-slip fault zone located at the NW extension of the northern boundary fault of the ?ınarcık Basin in the Marmara Sea. This new fault zone is interpreted as the NW extension of the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), extending from the ?ınarcık Basin of the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea coast of the Thrace Peninsula, and passing through B üy ük ?ekmece and K ü ? ük ?ekmece lagoons. These data suggest that the rupture of the 17 August 1999 earthquake in the NAFZ may have extended through Avcılar. Indeed, Avcılar and İzmit, both located on the Marmara Sea coast along the rupture route, were strongly struck by the earthquake whereas the settlements between Avcılar and İzmit were much less affected. Therefore, this interpretation can explain the extraordinary damage in Avcılar, based on the newly discovered rupture of the NAFZ in the Marmara Sea. However, this suggestion needs to be confirmed by further seismological studies.     

Acoustic imaging,visualization, and quantification of buoyant hydrothermal plumes in the Ocean

We develop and apply visualization and quantification methods to reconstruct hydrothermal plumes in 3D from acoustic images and to make the first direct measurements from the reconstructions of scalar properties that describe the behavior of two buoyant plumes discharging from adjacent black smoker chimneys. The actual behavior is then compared to that predicted by a classic simple buoyant plume model. The images are reconstructed as isointensity surfaces of backscatter from particulate matter suspended in the plumes. The measurements pertinent to the role of the plumes as agents of dispersal of heat and mass into the ocean include change with height of diameter, particle distribution, dilution, centerline attitude, surface protrusions, and connectivity. The protrusions are the surface expression of eddies and appear to follow a bifurcating helical flow pattern that resemble simulation of the naturally forced flow of coherent vortex rings as the eddies rise with the buoyant plume. These direct measurements and the derived entrainment coefficient are generally consistent with behavior predicted by the simple buoyant plume model and support engulfment by vortex shedding as a primary mechanism for entrainment of surrounding seawater. Deviations from predicted buoyant plume behavior are diagnostic of particle dynamics.     

Seagrass landscape-scale changes in response to disturbance created by the dynamics of barrier-islands: A case study from Ria Formosa (Southern Portugal)

This study documents long-term changes of a Zostera noltii landscape induced by a natural cyclic event in a coastal lagoon. The barrier-islands forming this system are very dynamic with drifting movements controlling ecological patterns and processes occurring in this area. Changes in the areal extent of the Z. noltii meadows were assessed using historical aerial photographs from 1940, 1980, 1989, 1996 and 1998. Landscape indices such as total patch area (TA), mean patch size (MPS), number of patches (NP), mean shape coefficient of variation (CV) and landscape fractal dimension (D) were calculated for each year and related to an index of disturbance intensity. The spatial distribution of the Z. noltii meadows varied greatly during the studied period and changes observed were related to the disturbance created by the barrier-islands' spatial dynamics. After an artificial inlet relocation the Z. noltii area, number of patches, patch mean size and coefficient of variation decreased. The fractal dimension of the Z. noltii landscape increased by 50% showing that besides a decrease in total area, number of patches, and patch mean area, patch fragmentation was an important consequence of this anthropogenic disturbance.Seagrass natural distribution patterns changed in response to natural and human-induced activities. This study emphasizes the importance of the landscape approach and the historical perspective when studying seagrass changes and the importance of taking into consideration long-term changes in seagrass landscapes to avoid confusion between man-induced effects with natural cyclic events.     

Roles of Biogeochemical Processes in the Oceanic Carbon Cycle Described with a Simple Coupled Physical-Biogeochemical Model

To evaluate the contribution of biogeochemical processes to the oceanic carbon cycle and to calculate the ratio of calcium carbonate to organic carbon downward export, we have incorporated biological and alkalinity pumps in the yoked high-latitude exchange/interior diffusion-advection (YOLDA) model. The biogeochemical processes are represented by four parameters. The values of the parameters are tuned so that the model can reproduce the observed phosphate and alkalinity distributions in each oceanic region. The sensitivity of the model to the biogeochemical parameters shows that biological production rates in the euphotic zone and decomposition depths of particulate matters significantly influence horizontal and vertical distributions of biogeochemical substances. The modeled vertical fluxes of particulate organic phosphorus and calcium carbonate are converted to vertical carbon fluxes by the biological pump and the alkalinity pump, respectively. The downward carbon flux from the surface layer to the deep layer in the entire region is estimated to be 3.36 PgC/yr, which consists of 2.93 PgC/yr from the biological pump and 0.43 PgC/yr from the alkalinity pump, which is consistent with previous studies. The modeled rain ratio is higher with depth and higher in the Pacific and Indian Oceans than in the Atlantic Ocean. The global rain ratio at the surface layer is calculated to be 0.14 to 0.15. This value lies between the lower and higher ends of the previous estimates, which range widely from 0.05 to 0.25. This study indicates that the rain ratio is unlikely to be higher than 0.15, at least in the surface waters.